Most Common Writing Errors ✔️

Why I Don't Like Character Aesthetics

Read the disclaimer if you haven't already

This chapter explains why I dislike character sheets, but keep in mind this is my opinion and not something you should take as fact. If you enjoy character sheets, you absolutely should keep writing and enjoying them. Do not let me stomp on your happiness because my opinion varies from yours. Remember I am not God, I am simply another writer with my own thoughts and feelings.

I am also very aware that this is a hot take since so many like these and I tend to be the odd one out on this opinion.

This is coming from a screenwriter: AKA someone who writes character pages.

I don't care for chapters dedicated to introducing the characters. You know, where there's a reference picture then basic info about them. Like this:

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*insert picture here*

Name: Park Jimin

Age: 28 years old

Height: 5'9

Occupation: Singer

Personality: Park Jimin is known for his duality. Depending on the setting, what he's wearing, and who he is around, his personality will change. He's either very shy, very seductive, or somehow both at the same time. He enjoys reading, singing, dancing, and drinking with friends. He also has smaller hobbies like sewing and billiards. He's always late.

Past: Grew up in Busan with his younger brother. He has always dreamed of being a dancer, but he had good enough grades to go into law school. He chose dance lol.

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I know a lot of people do these. If that's what you like, don't let me dissuade you from writing them. It's Wattpad for crying out loud, do whatever you want. Too many people take this site too seriously when it's meant to be fun and experimental. Experiment with your writing; that's what Wattpad is for.

However, that doesn't change that I dislike these things.

Not to the point where I'll click off a story, but I 110% skip them every single time. The only times I won't skip them is when I'm reading for a contest or review. But if I'm reading on my own time, I skip them.

The reason is because I'm like Dory from Finding Nemo. I cannot remember things to save my life. If you give me information about the characters in a character aesthetics chapter, I am going to forget by chapter one. My brain is not wired to read nine different personalities and somehow remember them. It just feels like an aesthetic version of info dumping where we're told everything about the characters down to what they look like.

Again, it's Wattpad so it's not that big a deal, but for me, I much prefer to be shown a character's personality and appearance. I think it's fine to use character sheets as long as you aren't using them as excuses to not do any showing.

I said it before in the pictures chapter: As long as you are still doing the work in your writing, then it's fine to use references and pictures and stuff like that.

All I'm saying is, make sure if you are doing character sheets, you are still putting in the work to show the audience who the characters are. Don't rely on the character sheets to tell the story for you.

I mean, come on, how many people can read all the personalities for countless characters and remember who the characters are and their roles in the story? No one can. That's why I say it's an aesthetic info dump.

It's one thing if it's like three or four characters, but I see them the most in BTS fanfics. So I'm reading about at least eight different personalities at once: seven for BTS, and at least one for the female lead. Then there's the female lead's sister, and her best friend, and her parents, and her niece that she takes care of, etc.

Obviously, this doesn't happen every time, but it happens quite often.

I really want to make something abundantly clear: I do not care if you make character sheets. As someone who writes character pages, I understand the appeal of them. I write them all the time for my scripts, the only difference is I don't publish them. So yes, I know they're fun to write. That's why I'm telling you to keep writing them if you like them.

My one and only point is you shouldn't use character sheets as an easy way to tell the audience who the characters are without putting in effort to show the audience who they are throughout the actual story.

Just keep in mind that you are the author, not the readers. While you know your characters in and out, readers don't. If you info dump a bunch of personalities on them, they are not going to remember. The readers shouldn't have to do homework before starting a story. They shouldn't have to turn back to the characters page to remember who a character is or what their personality is like.

As long as you are describing the characters, then you're all good. Just remember that as readers, more likely than not, we aren't going to remember half of what the character page says.

Some people might remember every word, but a majority will not.

This is a small thing, but I'm also not a fan of face claims for original characters (and for some reason, for women the face claim is always Sabrina Carpenter...?). I only say that because I like to have my own imagining of what an original character looks like, and face claims can limit my imagination when reading a story.

None of these things are big deals, and again I want to emphasize that I'm not saying any of these things are bad, this is just my opinion and also a caution to authors to make sure you're still describing the characters and showing their personalities instead of relying on the character introduction to do all the work for you.

This was just a short chapter to talk about character aesthetics and how they are not a substitute for character writing. I hope it was enjoyable!

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STARFIELD WEEK, DAY 2:

Starfield is my next big story that will be published on December 21, 2023.

Starfield takes place in 2330 when the entire Milky Way is colonized. It is an x reader story, although I do offer alternative names if you do not want to read it as an x reader.

Jimin grew up in the cyberpunk city of Neon known for its criminal activity and corruption. Meanwhile, the Y/n character grew up in the clean and safe city named New Atlantis. They come from two completely different planets in two completely different factions with two completely different viewpoints on life. What could go wrong?

Starfield will include all seven BTS members, but they will have different roles than you are used to seeing from them. For example, Min Yoongi will be an optimistic commander taking on the evils in the galaxy.

Check out my most recent message board post for more information + the official Starfield book trailer!

Here's the cover in case you missed it: