So, I have a character that is a college student that's gay but, I don't know if I should have them be out right gay at the beginning of the story or should I have him come out over the course of the story. Also he's a gambling addict.

I'm creating a character who is a young gay prince in the Middle Ages (with some Greco-Roman elements) and who gradually discovers his attraction to men. He accepts that he is gay fairly quickly, but has a much harder time accepting that he might be a bottom.

As a prince, he was raised to believe that his social status and position are incompatible with being perceived as sexually bottom. I'd like to explore this conflict in a realistic way, without relying on the usual clichés surrounding gay characters and sexual roles.

What qualifies a tomboy? “noun. an energetic, sometimes boisterous girl whose behavior and pursuits, especially in games and sports, are considered more typical of boys than of girls.”

I want to make a female character who still likes dresses and “girly things” all while still being masculine and fabulous and who isnt seen just wearing boy clothes with short hair and a plain face with no makeup

I'm working on a novel in which the main character is a woman, and I want to make her just a woman experience life, I don't want to sexualize her like many male authors do, or make her dumb, or even make her flawless, I just want her to be herself, and in some point I can't do that. So how I do that?

I’ve never really liked female characters in media, and I have no idea why. I just always liked the male characters more, and when I think about my favorite male character being female, I just… don’t like them as much anymore.

That being said, I believe I have written 2 female characters (1 teenage girl and 1 adult married woman) that I am satisfied with. The teenage girl is feisty and curious, and is based around my own personality. The woman is fairly more traditional, but open-hearted, kind, and is a caring wife and mother.

This isn’t really an issue of “man not knowing how to write women” as I myself am a woman.
How do you all write characters of a specific gender without irrationally disliking them just for their gender?

Edit: Will provide an example.
For instance, if I write this badass stoic masked killer who is a man, I’ll be very excited to flesh out his backstory. But the moment I change all the he/him pronouns to she/her, suddenly I just don’t like the character anymore. It feels generic and trashy and unoriginal to me. It may be ingrained prejudice inside me, but I cannot think of a single experience I’ve had with stories or media that cemented women as “bad” and men as “good”.

The raccoon in question is an OC of mine named Lucius. Lucius Hutchinson is his name, he’s a pickpocketing trash panda that has a tendency to get banned from stores. He’s 23 years old, and currently lives with his sister.. a 24 year old snow leopard named Keyarra

So I’m an 18, Nordic Non-binary person and have been working on a book series for around two years now and I’m questioning my methods. I want my roster of characters to be as diverse as possible, all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, skin colours, gender identity and sexualities. However I’m worried about whether I’m portraying my characters realistically. I’ve kind decided to write my characters based solely on their personality traits and not their gender identity or race. But I’m wondering if it’s the right thing to do to not take their physical attributes into account. So reddit, am I doing this right or should I change my approach? I mean why should my characters of colour be any different from my other characters? Genuinely asking here, please educate me:)

This is Feyla Synofirth, a character that I have been creating for a story that I am writing.

I created her with AIs to help me find the best design for Feyla for when I am going to write her but I am still doubtful about two hairstyles. I want to know which one matches her style and personality the most.

She comes from a very noble upbringing, from a family that was very cunning and ruthless in general. Feyla never fitted this, despite being smart she was never into politics of the Synofirths and was much more fond or things like hunting and actually wanted to learn how to be a warrior. Her parents died on an internal conflic on her family at a young age (civil war) and she needed to run away and live by herself. Because of that she is very distrustful of people and isolated, not wanting to have to rely or depend on anyone. Feyla is kind of tomboyish but still very feminine and has a slightly playful and a little cocky personality, but is also usually kind and doesn't like to antagonize or disturb people. Feyla is a warrior, archer and hunter and keeps wandering and working as a fighter because "this is the only thing that she knows", but doesn't know her purpose in life (doesn't know what she wants and her goal); at a point when she meets one character that has already a strong drive Feyla starts to have an existential struggle and to question what she wants from life and her actual purpose.

She comes from a viking-inspired (but not exaclty equal to a viking) society and her hair has this color because of canice.

Now that you know the basics about her, I would like to know which appearence fits her the most and why.

Please give me your opinion and explain to me your reasoning. Thank you.

Olivia Marie Sorensen has been with me longer than any of my other OCs. She’s 5'4", sun-kissed, and has an 8-inch scar down her back from a childhood hiking accident with her mom — a moment that shaped how she views strength and vulnerability.

She’s a gamer and cosplayer with a love for survival and post-apocalyptic games like Once Human, Apex Legends, and 7 Days to Die. She’s competitive, but not cold — the kind of player who celebrates her team’s wins more than her own. When she cosplays, she mixes tactical and cute aesthetics — blush pinks, white, and black tones — and she tends to embody characters who’ve been through something but came out stronger.

I’ve been working on expanding her personality:

She cleans and rearranges her setup when stressed; it’s how she resets her world.

She keeps a little plush her mom gave her beside her PC monitor.

Her gaming chair has an embroidered quote: “Keep respawning.”

Socially, she’s independent but not isolated. She has a best friend she’s never met in person — someone she games with almost daily — and she quietly mentors a younger cosplayer online who reminds her of herself. She doesn’t chase attention, but she once went viral for a cosplay and hated how it made her feel like an image instead of a person.

I’m trying to make her feel deeper — authentic, layered, real. What would make her stand out more to you? Are there details you’d love to see added or explored further?

Hello, so let me first say that I am a white guy and, by no means, racist. I have a story in mind, and I'd like one of the main supporting characters to be a Black man. There's no real reason behind it, I just feel like I naturally default to writing white characters, so I wanted to create a fully realized Black character.

Anyway, this character has quite a few mental and emotional blocks in his life. As a child, he suffered physical abuse from his father, who was an alcoholic and beat him while he was growing up. Because of that, he spent much of his life desperately seeking his father's affection and acknowledgment, never really realizing that his father didn't give two shits about him.

That trauma pushed him to pursue physical strength and build an athletic physique, believing that if he became strong enough, he might finally earn his father's approval.

Throughout the story, he serves as a big brother figure to the main character. He also has a soft spot for criminals who claim they're fathers when asking for lighter sentences, because he instinctively sympathizes with the idea of fatherhood, even if he doesn't fully understand why.

Eventually, a creature or monster appears, forcing him to confront all the anger, pain, and unresolved emotions he's buried about his father. By the end of his arc, he realizes he doesn't need his father's approval. Instead, he decides that he's going to become the kind of man, and the kind of father, that he never had.

My question is this: I'm worried someone might see this as playing into the stereotype of absent Black fathers, even though that is obviously not my intent. I'm already really attached to this character and the way he acts, so I don't want people to assume his race was chosen just to reinforce a harmful stereotype.

So I would like your thoughts thanks and I appreciate any comments

I have a main character, who I’m realizing is just a bit too perfect. Bubbly, very good with relationship advice, trans fashion model, in a loving relationship with her partners… she virtually has no negatives, except being a micromanage when it comes to her job. I don’t know if that’s enough though. But I don’t know what else would come to mind. I’m so lost, please help.

I am writing a book in a post-apocalyptic fantasy/dystopian setting featuring a character, MC, who is introduced as male. For the first half of the book, I use he/him pronouns to write MC's POVs and other characters refer to and think of MC as being male. However, I plan for MC to have a conversation with another character wherein she reveals that she is actually a woman who has assumed a male identity and a fake name. MC is an aspiring musician, and in this world, only men are able to pursue music as a career. Thus, when MC displayed great musical talent as a child, her parents cut her hair and gave her a boy's name to enter competitions under, effectively creating a male persona that she assumed in order to pursue her dreams. She outgrew her childhood music career, but still lived under the assumed name and presented as male for her comfort and safety.

It is also worth nothing that MC is an autistic woman (though in my world, they do not have the language to describe her condition) and thus felt freer and more comfortable living as a man: large baggy male clothes and short hair helped to manage her sensory issues.

My aim was for MC's gender reveal to be a plot twist that I vaguely alluded to (for example, another character notices blood stains on her bedsheets that she quickly hides). I planned for her to tell another character that she was born female, and wanted this conversation to mark a shift in how she viewed herself, so that the following chapters from MC's POV are now written with she/her pronouns.

My rationale for writing MC's POV initially with he/him pronouns was both so that the reader discovered MC's true gender alongside other characters in the book, and also to illustrate how MC has been aspiring to be a musician and thus lived as a man for so long that she viewed herself as such. She wasn't inherently dysphoric about her gender nor felt she'd been born in the wrong body/ wished she was a man. However, verbalising to someone that she was actually a woman forces her to confront her reality as a 'woman pretending to be a man' and she starts to see herself outside of being just a male musician. She enjoys the social privileges of being a man, but does not wish she was one/sees herself as one, and asks the character she told about her female identity to consider her a woman from that point forward.

My question is if it is feasible for me to pull off switching MC's POVs from he/him to she/her midway through the novel. Throughout MC's earlier POVs there is no indication of her being a woman and she often refers to herself as male. Would it be too confusing or jarring for a reader? Most iterations I have seen of the 'woman disguising herself as a man' trope inform the reader/audience that the character is female from the very beginning. In light of that, would you suggest I rewrite MC's POVs as being female? I wanted the reader to discover this and be equally as shocked as the characters, but for clarity's sake, I am willing to abandon that narrative.

I am also conscious of writing this topic sensitively as, while I do not intend for MC to be trans, I understand that others may interpret her character that way and want to be mindful of that.

Apologies for the lengthy post, but I would really appreciate any advice people have to offer. Thank you.

edit: I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and perspectives on this. It's been really helpful, and I've taken a lot of it on board - I'm rewriting my FMC's POVs with female pronouns to avoid any confusion/carelessness. This is my first time writing so all of your help has been much appreciated. thank you :)

My story's antagonist, Erlano who I have posted about in this subreddit quite a lot is a tyrannical Emperor. He was born blessed by the devil, although the reason he became who he is now is because of the environment he grew up in. He's got reasons to behave the way he does. Although he's still very much a monster. He's a cannibal & rapist who doesn't care for anyone other than his 2 friends and himself.

He shows signs of BPD as well, although Im not sure if it is accurate. He goes from being affectionate with his concubines to out right threatening them. He always has a smirk on his face and acts psychic. He is a blood thirsty monster who acts like God. He sees others as pawns and can change his opinion about others in an second. What more can I add to make him seem like he has BPD?

I’ve been thinking a lot about a question that sits somewhere between AI, HCI, robotics, and character design:

Can people feel genuine sympathy for something that is clearly artificial, rather than human-passing?

What interests me is not whether AI can perfectly imitate a human face or fool someone into thinking it is real. I’m actually more interested in the opposite case: a being that is obviously constructed, obviously synthetic, maybe even visibly robotic, and yet still feels socially legible, emotionally readable, or strangely sympathetic.

My intuition is that human connection may not depend entirely on realism. It may depend just as much on coherence. If something has a stable presence, recognizable traits, consistent behavior, and a believable “way of being,” people may start responding to it as more than just an object or visual output.

That raises a few questions for me:

• Do humans need human likeness in order to feel sympathy?

• Can obvious artificiality still feel approachable rather than alienating?

• Does consistency across different contexts make an artificial character feel more like “someone”?

• Where do you think the line is between tool, character, and presence?

I’m curious how people here think about this, especially from the perspective of AI, social robotics, digital identity, or interface design.

Is emotional sympathy toward something clearly artificial a dead end, or do you think obvious artificiality can sometimes work better than imperfect human imitation?

Hi Everyone,

I’m currently writing a book that features a dark cult, and while working on it I had the idea to base the 7 members of the cult’s leadership on real-life serial killers, using either their names or altered versions of their names.

The ones I was considering are: john wayne gacy, andrei chikatilo, richard speck, ted bundy, richard ramirez, edmund kemper, and joseph deangelo.

I love the thematic punch of using real names, but I’m worried it could be insensitive to victims’ families or triggering for readers. To be clear:

• I will not glorify these killers; the cult is meant to be monstrous.

• I may include a note/author’s statement explaining intent and sensitivity.

Questions for the community:

• Does using real killer names in this way feel exploitative or disrespectful?

• Would you be offended seeing these names in fiction, even if symbolic/placeholders?

• Is it better to always fictionalize the names from the start (twisted variants, invented names), or is using them as placeholders okay until I test reactions?

• Any suggestions for wording, disclaimers, or alternatives that preserve the vibe without hurting people?

I’m asking because I want to be both creative and responsible. Appreciate any honest thoughts. Thank you!

Been thinking about this for my character Matrix. He's a super human so to speak, but he's not above his own emotions. He kills robots as they have no soul, but the prospect of killing actual people is where I have trouble.

Whether he does it directly, indirectly or as an accomplice. I don't know if the thought of him killing, would make him feel unredeemable. The goal is that he's trying to find closure with all the problems in his life. But his current line of work might make him seem unethical. Or at the very least keep him up at night.

How his ending is resolved I still have to figure out. But generally, could someone find forgiveness or closure of death that they caused?

I don’t know if a teenage angel is 100% pure because I believe they still have curiosity and nightmares. If you think they are pure let me know why, and if you don’t explain why not. Don’t let this die.

Hello all,

Would like to know if there are any impactful, inspirational, dignified female chars in stories who aren’t known for their bodies/aren’t pushed to be sexualized, but do in fact have large breasts. (But also aren’t hiding them, for Ex like Hianata from Naruto, it’s usually show it off too much or hide it, there isn’t much in between?)

I feel that the only time large breasts are “used” is when the author wants that char to be a sleaze, which irl people have large or small breasts because of genetics, because of life.

I’ve noticed this trend of using more or less of specific body features for pushing a feeling rather than just having some randomness of life For example we don’t really see many half way chubby characters which irl many of us are somewhere in between chubby and fit Whereas many characters in stories are usually one or the other

So after my long rant, would like to know if there are any impactful, inspirational, dignified female chars in stories who aren’t known for their bodies but do in fact have large breasts.

————-

Edit) after taking some time to Understand a bit more, perhaps the OP may have been geared towards more of a visual medium

as it may less of an obvious thing to know a char had large breasts through written context rather than a visual medium because it may not have come up as part of the narrative

Also apologies for any who may have taken offense, I want to ensure that it wasn’t intent behind the post

Purely out of curiosity for those who have done it well, was the reason the OP wanted to know of any examples of writers or char designers that have done the creation of such a char well as the only examples recallable in recent memory only show a sexualized version of such chars