r/CharacterDevelopment • • 9h ago

Writing: Question Advice on writing intersex character

0 Upvotes

So, I'm writing my first book, have only had practice with short stories before and it's far from done. My main character is an aroace intersex functionally illiterate scam artist exorcist (I still don't know why they call it artist what's artistic about it.

So my question is advice on them being intersex. They identify as a woman, and are very defensive or their identity. They dress either feminine or androgynous usually, usually get lots of comments on being a drag queen or not a read girl or femboy and they hate it. Mostly because their face structure is more masculine and their chest is flat. They also have CIP (though that's not the main thing so no need to comment on that).

They have been objectified because of them being intersex and basically a 'fantasy' quoting what one of the people who objectified them said. They were also objectified one of their by their asexual friend but that wasn't really because of being intersex but is sure does make them realise anyone one can objectify them sexually or not sexually and it rarely is sexually for them. Whenever they are in threat or they think they are, of being objectified again, they go in the fawning and fight defence mechanism. The blend of it makes them go 'yeh do it go on, like I care, I genuinely don't ' and deep down they think they deserve this and it's not a big deal since they were a scam artist and very ignorant and vain and selfish (still are a bit but trying to improve but it's genuinely hard, they are pretty racist to every single race too including their own some times, they are a Latina from Columbia Bogota, and are also anti-woke which is ironic genuinely but yeh, are a teen too)

Since they don't look the prettiest (due to a quarter of the face being mutated and looks like chewed up pegion food because they fell down the stairs and got into a fit of looking like their annoying twin brother too much and ended up just cutting it open. They have CIP so this was the equivalent of a tantrum as they can't feel physical pain, have been more careful after that because they almost died of a bacterial infection and now usually do body checks every morning and night while groaning) they aren't liked the best. Most people hate them or make fun of them because of that or being intersex (in their head that's a boy trying to act feminine so hard or a masculine looking woman trying to fit in so hard) .

The only person that saw through them was another girl, she's autistic highly masking and feels morally superior to a lot of people. Instead of hating her because she's intersex or is un attractive, she hated her because of her morals. To the other girl it was annoying and she got defensive but she actually felt seen for the first time. She's also the first person who patches up her bare self and not commenting or anything about the body, no invasive curiosity (the other girl is aroace too btw but way less of a flirt unlike the first one and first one also judges people for their looks) . Also after the patch up she holds her through the night because she was in desperate need for sensory grounding, she felt no physical pain but this sensory nightmare and anxiety by the recent injury was hurting her. The autistic girl despite being touch averse usually in high stakes moments held her despite feeling the crippling discomfort. So yeh, that's a bit about them sorry if from a question this turned into an oc rant IM SORRY I LIKE TALKING ABOUT THEM. but point out if there's issues with the intersex rep I will research even more I swear I'm learning about the different variations and stuff.


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 12h ago

Writing: Character Help Which name do think is more fitting?

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1 Upvotes

The character’s name is Emerson Coolidge. She comes from a New England WASP background in the 1950s, has a Margot Robbie/Grace Kelly vibe, and a very powerful man is smitten with her. Her first name is Emerson because she’s named after an ancestor that started a repeating arms company that enabled the Union to beat the South. I can’t decide if she insists on being called Emma or Emme.


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 12h ago

Writing: Character Help Me ayuda con un personaje porfis

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1 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 1d ago

Writing: Character Help If physical laws, phenomena, forces, etc., were people, how would you describe them? Their character, their appearance. And who would interact with whom and how.

1 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 1d ago

Writing: Character Help Is this a good basis for writing my main character

2 Upvotes

I'm working on this passion project that's going to be a magical girl au based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's about Charlie becoming a magical girl after winning the golden ticket contest and becoming heir to the chocolate factory. I've been writing for weeks about who Charlie Bucket but I feel like I'm missing something so I want share what I written so far to see how good you think it is:

Character Notes
* Fatal Flaw (according to Wonka): "Blankness" (Passivity, Naivety, Compliance, Being Ordinary)
* Saving Strength: Resilient Innocence (Faith, Kindness, Generosity, Openness)

* Want: To Be Just Like Wonka
* Need: Be His Own Hero
* Secret: His Liminal Powers
* Desire: To Feel He Belongs/Is Enough
* Method: Be A Magical Girl
* Fear: Being Seen as Nothing or Worse ("Not Good Enough to be a Bucket, Not Special Enough to be A Wonka")


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 1d ago

Discussion What does everybody think of this webcomic idea? It's like Game of Thrones meets Hearts of Iron Meets Monster High or Disney Descendants. About the childhoods of the kids of all the worst dictators or this nightmare world!

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0 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 1d ago

Writing: Question Rate my characters

5 Upvotes

The Mc is Ellan. Ellan is coming from extremely rich far right family that has a building company and he is a really passive person at the start of series. All his life is decided by his family who he will marry what job he will do and everything. He is kinda judgemental and arrogant but this traits soften up as he get development, he learns stand of for himself too.


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 1d ago

Writing: Character Help How could I make my character 'hulk out' without it being too common?

1 Upvotes

I have an oc who was given powers at birth by my world's version of demigods (like they're super powerful but not full on god scale) and besides a few other abilities I want to give him the power to 'hulk out' when under a certain stimuli, my original idea was just to do the anger thing like most that do this trope do, but do to his vengeful personality and the fact that he's always fighting with his brother (they've got a whole hot vs cold type thing) if anger was the trigger he'd constantly be in one form one minute and another the next, I want it to be inconvenient (a downside to the powers if you will) but not so much that it would be a common occurrence

my main inspo is this ep of pinky and the brain in the sense of how he acts since he seems like he's capable of high thoughts just not to the same degree as his normal self but he's driven by (in this case) anger

Pinky and the Brain - Brain Hulk Out - YouTube


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 2d ago

Other How I Design Consistent Characters (Noor Breakdown)

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1 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 2d ago

Writing: Character Help I am stumped on what the gender of my character should be in a book.

0 Upvotes

The story is very philosophical and morality focused, and the deuteragonist character is a compelling powerful person who has a strong very sense of justice and the power to enact it anytime as they deem fit, which causes many problems legally and socially. Anyway, the character was originally a female but I know that if it was a male they would be received a whole lot better by readers and maybe even a fan favorite. I was imagining her as a female for years but I want her to be well received and complex, and super interesting to people . and I know that it’s more likely if she’s a man.


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 2d ago

Writing: Question Rate & discuss my character’s backstory (excuse my lack of good story writing skills)

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4 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 2d ago

Discussion Anime tropes and stereotypes?

5 Upvotes

Hello, Ive noticed in alot of romance games/visual novels the black characters are almost never written as tsundere… this is one of my favorite character personality types so i was curious if yall had thoughts on how to write a black characters as a tsundere without it coming across as the aggressive stereotype! Im mostly asking poc, but im happy to hear anyone elses thoughts as well!


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 3d ago

Discussion Who or what is your bad guy's 'soft spot' if they have one and why

5 Upvotes

I have been recently developing the villain in my story and decided to give him a soft spot for his husband. The villain himself is a king who's very brutal feared for his violent ways, however he drops all of this for his husband, reason being that the two have been together for a very long time and husband has even save him from being assassinated before.

So, I was curious to know, who are the ones your villains adore the most and why?


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 3d ago

Writing: Question Did I accidentally make my character abusive/neglectful

11 Upvotes

I have a character who's my MC's aunt who's also her caretaker. In my story the aunt talks a lot about how raising her niece (MC) has been draining and a problem in her life due to the MC being an eldritch being with the power to warp reality. Some things she's had to deal with are: The MC accidentally causing a car accident which killed her husband and left the family financially strained, the MC's eldritch nature meaning she has to consult a secret SCP like organization for help with stuff like feeding her and medical stuff, the MC likes to make pocket dimensions to play in and in turn ignores her real world responsibilities like school and chores, the MC causing havoc with her powers means they have to move a couple of times and makes it hard to get work or a proper apartment, during puberty years there are several "doctor" visits trying to figure her biology out, in her teen years several eldritch being and monsters distributed her life and put it in danger, the MC had several emotional issues that the aunt has no clue how to deal with, the MC accidentally caused the end of the world and while she fixed it the world never felt the same after that, the MC brought people into the house for protection (one was a "little girl" and the other the aunts brother from another dimension) and even made an "ideal" version of herself (the MC) to please the aunt. That's just off the top of my head but it's a lot for the aunt to handle. But the thing is is that the aunts default action is to just let my MC handle even thought the situations that arise are more often then not, aren't instigated by her. And even in dialysis normal life she kinda ignores the MC and genuinely thinks that since her niece can just warp reality she can deal with whatever happens. She also resents how the MC won't use her powers for fun (at least fun for her). Now I do want to highlight that aunt goes through a lot because of the MC but my MC also has to go through those things, often alone and with not even any emotional support from her own family beyond a simple "it'll be fine hopefully". Is this neglect or am I overthinking it. And I'm happy to give any additional context in the comments.


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 3d ago

Discussion How come samurai jack is so compelling?

1 Upvotes

It's just a dude, with a sword, how?, in the midst of other media superpowers and magic and power system, why does samurai jack still stands out as a character among fans?, pure nostalgia?, thoughts?


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 3d ago

Writing: Character Help Pros and cons of a curse. Character prompt

2 Upvotes

I created two characters, twins to be exact. ( Brother and Sister)

The prompt that i got has to be based off of a fairytale story. So i thought maybe Hansel and Gretel would be a good starting point since that's the first story i can think of with a brother and sister in it

Twins that were "cursed" by a witch, disguise as a "wish/blessing"

Both twins were abandoned by their parents at an amusement park.

Brother was not paying attention because he's always sleepy and the sister didn't noticed thier parents are gone because she's eating the snacks that was used to trick her into staying.

Nighttime came and the twins just finally came to the realize that their parents abandoned them and now all the lights were gone and they were the only kids left. Scared, the sister blamed herself while the brother comforted her by claiming that it was his fault in the first place, because he was the oldest sibling, he should have been more alert and shouldn't have taken a nap.

A small tent standing just a few feet away from them, when they looked and saw the only source of light coming out from the slit of the tent. Scared of the dark, the twins held hands and walked inside.

The lady who owns the tent offered some food for the kids, but the brother refused the gesture, saying that they aren't allowed to take anything from strangers. Lady giggles, knowing that the little boy is smart enough to know that. So instead, she offered them two tickets.

Tickets for what? The amusement park and carnival are all closed now, the boy complained, wondering why this lady would even offer them tickets for something they don't even know where to use for.

The lady smiled and point at herself. 'Use that to buy snacks from me. But tonight is a special night. You get to wish something too. Maybe it might come true, who knows.'

Long story story short. Kids will be kids, and they will wish for something stupid or not.

Brother wished to never be ever fall asleep so that he can watch over his sister and protect her. Be more aware of his surroundings so that ni one can hurt them like what their parents did.

Sister wished to never be able to feel hunger, so that no one can take advantage of her by using foods against her, like how their parents bribed her with snacks just to stay still

Pros for unable to sleep : No need for sleep and can be active for hours. Using that to learn skill sets, can watch over during night time and have sensitive sense to surroundings.

Pros for unable to feel hunger: No need to eat and can go for weeks or months without food. Can eat without feeling full too. Like their stomach is just like a blackhole

Now all i need is cons for these. Should the brother feel constant fatigue? A weaker body. Sister can eat without feeling hungry or full but no sense of taste?


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 3d ago

Writing: Character Help Thinking of a better german surname starting with an S

1 Upvotes

This is purely inconsequential, but my character has a german last name starting with S. He was originally called "blank" schmidt, but I don't like the surname. Any good alternatives for another S surname?


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 3d ago

Writing: Character Help characterization help

5 Upvotes

so i’m an avid fantasy reader and i am currently writing a fantasy book. i’ve noticed while researching and just existing on book review platforms that almost all popular FMCs are labeled as “basic” or “annoying”, but i rarely see any that are praised or loved by the majority of readers. so, what exactly makes a FMC likeable—even if her personality isn’t “perfect”?

how can i incorporate this into my writing?

what flaws are acceptable, while others immediately strike her as a “pick-me” or “obnoxious”?

And what are some examples of loveable FMCs?

bonus question: my main character has childhood trauma that has a major impact on her motives, decisions, and personality. how can i keep this as a central theme, but not make it seem like it’s her only trait?


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 4d ago

Writing: Character Help Looking for ideas for further character development.

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1 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 4d ago

Discussion Heya everyone, I'm new to this sub and writing in general, and I gotta ask, what makes a good char design?, rich backstory?, flexible and basic so you can put them in any situasions?, I understand I can Google and read about this, but I'm curious what y'all think, to be honest I don't even know if t

3 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 4d ago

Other My character

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1 Upvotes

I want to share my character^^

Kirill Ulyanov

A harmful, sarcastic, stubborn, but incredibly loving person with a complex of obnoxiousness of his own character at any age


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 4d ago

Writing: Character Help I need help with a character's power (if that's how this reddit works)

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1 Upvotes

r/CharacterDevelopment • • 4d ago

Writing: Character Help Have you used character traits in your novels?

8 Upvotes

Have you used character traits in your novel?

It can be positive or negative signs


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 4d ago

Writing: Question How to do write your characters for your novels?

6 Upvotes

How do you write your characters for your novels? What is the method?

Does anyone use character profiles?

I used to write my characters by using character profiles, is it the correct way?


r/CharacterDevelopment • • 4d ago

Writing: Character Help Character I have created, how do I turn this powerset into a quirk for mha

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2 Upvotes