I've always felt that the most important thing in any story... is the characters. You can have the crappiest story ever, but if the characters are interesting and real and engaging, they not only help make your stupid plot more believable... they make the story themselves. The characters themselves will influence the story, even if sometimes that means you go in directions you never expected, or don't want to... but all the same, the character guides you there.
Now, I'm not saying that plot and blah blah blah aren't important. I mean, a good plot and good characters will beat a bad plot and good characters. Unless, you know. You're. Looking for a really bad plot. Like when you go to the movies just to see something horrible. But I'm getting way off topic, yes, yes. Let's just go back to the characters.
Most stories have a protagonist and an antagonist, and this is what I'd like to start off focusing on, the very basics. In fact, I'm going to ahead and generalize as "Good" vs. "Evil," because you don't really get more basic than that, and in terms of discussing characters I want to stay simple in this first part. You have your Good Guys, who usually represent... you know. Happiness, peace, nice stuff, good hygiene, and all that. Then you have your Bad Guys, who are usually... jerks, monstrous, selfish, other... negative attributes. Those are the simplest characterizations. Those are cliches and stereotypes in some way, but again, starting at the basics: cliches and stereotypes exist for a reason, never, ever forget that, and never ever dismiss anything - character or otherwise - as instantly unusable because it adheres to a stereotype or cliche. Because they actually do exist, and they actually can serve you well... used properly.
But we'll save that for later, too; in fact, I'm going to save discussing Good Guys and Bad Guys more in specific posts for each of them, because I have a lot to say about both, and I'd like to. You know. Actually do an intelligent post once in my life.
Instead, I just want to finish making that point I started up there. Characters make the story: yes, a good story with good characters is what we should all aim for... but if you are going to be like me and write horrible niche-type stories and poetry that only certain ponies like, then you should put most of your effort on developing the characters. Not just because they'll help make your story more likable, but because the more life you give the characters, the more weight comes off you to make decisions regarding your story and your plot: if you give a character so much life they seem to walk and talk, that you begin to understand their personality, see how they'd react in your mind... then when faced with a difficult choice, you no longer have to work so hard to understand what they'd do, and how to move the story forwards. If uh... Butter Blossom is extremely superstitious and/or religious and she's faced with a choice of going left or right, she's probably going to go right, because 'left is the devil's path.' Yes, very. Sweeping, general, not-completely-thought out example, but work with me here. I'm typing with hooves, Luna's... kind of... maliciously looming behind me, and I gotta keep these posts short.
Yes, focusing on the characters, giving them life, can lead you to problems sometimes. Can take you into places you'd rather avoid. But just think of that as testing your skills as a writer, as... you know, making yourself both experiment, and show that even thrown into a difficult enterprise, you can still come out making things... if not likable, then at least real. Much as reality sucks and a lot of ponies don't want to read about it.
And my time is up. But next post I'm going to talk about one of my favorite things and few things I can be confident in writing about from living so long with Luna and... well, myself: Bad Guys. And Luna is. Chewing on my ear. That's not a good sign.
She wants to show me what a 'villain' she is and pretend that I'm the ohnonothat.
~Scrivener Blooms
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