Thread:Epzilon/@comment-5651818-20140407235926/@comment-24384232-20140408032247

Not trying to but into your business, but from my experience, one characteristic I've noticed with a lot of authors, especially the main characters of authors is that they are too invested into the character, to the point where they are the character when they roleplay.

What I mean is, the personality, the actions they take in and out of combat are all reflections of what the author would do in such a situation. Rather than writing from the perspective of the character the author writes it from their own perspective. Attacks against the character are considered attacks against the author. It's why we can get very emotional about our characters, and why we strive to see them as the best, the strongest and most powerful among our peers.

Whether this is affecting you or not, I'm not entirely sure, but this is advice you and anyone would be well advised to read and understand. One thing I've managed to learn to do over the years is to distance myself from my characters on an emotional level. I try not to write for the character itself, but for the story in which the character is engaged in. This distinction is very important. A character is just a collection of traits, and powers, but with a story? They can come alive. Having their own wants and desires, their own conflicts, virtue's and flaws will help you create an interesting and engaging story and at the same time move it forward.

To put it simply; a characters personality and motivations should compel them to take action. If you want your character to have a story, they need to do something: this gives them the unique characteristic of agency. By this I mean that their actions are deliberate, and they have real consequences in the world in which they live. Its the reason why so many try to emulate Seireitou and Raian. In their stories, these characters are giants, their mere presence is a game changer. Other authors notice this, and they want to experience this too. But to do that, their own characters need a story, but in lacking an understanding of why they feel that particular way, they instead strive to do the only thing they can. And that is to "surpass" these characters in power.

Do not write from the perspective of what you want your character to do, but of what the character themselves would do given their personality and history. These two sections are more important than any other on the character article. Afterall they are the foundation of the story in which the character is a apart of. When you spend your time just adding a laundry list of powers and abilities to a character, you aren't really accomplishing anything. If a character is going to obtain a power, that power should have a story surrounding how it was acquired. Challenge's, trials, life or death situations, these magnify the importance and relevance of the power itself with regards to the character. Again and again the key here is in the creation of a story.

You don't even have to write out a complete history. But if you consider how they developed their powers, and why they, you'll eventually construct a mish-mash of events that reveal the character's history based on the battles they've fought and the adventures they've had.

Don't just become invested into the character. Become invested into the story surrounding that character and you'll have a much easier time writing out these complex attack patterns, you'll find out how the character fights, discover their strategies and so much more. You'll be amazed at how much your writing has changed.

Again, apologies for being a busy-body, but Brave, Epzi, consider what I said. It may help, it may not, but it doesnt hurt to have another perspective on the matter to think about. Good luck guys.