: Re: If two characters are blood relations will it seem coincidental? I have a character who is a seasoned CIA agent and is part of the task force that is bringing in my MC. I have another character,

Two answers.

(1)

If the great uncle is the reason that the nephew became a CIA agent, I think this is fine. The uncle provided the motivation to the nephew. These are causal, not coincidental.

I think ^^ this answer ^^ is more relevant to your question than my other thoughts, below.

(2)

More broadly, my sense is that coincidences are fine if a reason or two is provided before the reveal.

In the case of the MC discovering that the assassin is a relative of the agent, you can world-build things in ahead of time:

~Adoption might be part of the storyline wherever it fits.

~These two related characters share a distinctive feature or characteristic, perhaps a fondness for spicy food or some such. This is tipoff to the reader to soften them up.

~I am sure you can brainstorm creative world building explanations. Maybe only a slice of society has access to certain careers. Play with it.

If you have these sorts of things up front, although you'll need to hit the right note with it, it can work.

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: All of the answers are good. I will add that safe and nurturing places also help. Positive traditions--traditions of light--these help. Minor characters who are only good also help. So build

: Re: If two characters are blood relations will it seem coincidental? I have a character who is a seasoned CIA agent and is part of the task force that is bringing in my MC. I have another character,

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: How to Write a Colossal Cast of Characters I'm planning a book series called The Weasel Sagas. Things have been going great up until now, where I've realized I've hit a bit of a problem:

: How to create a memorable line? I recently re-watched the Overwatch animated short "Honor and Glory". You can tell the writers were proud of the line "Live with Honor, Die with Glory", as the

: Using real words from a foreign culture feels like 'Calling a rabbit a "smeerp"' I'm working on a novel, that's set in pre-Islamic Persia, in the same general way that The Lord of the Rings

: All of the answers are good. I will add that safe and nurturing places also help. Positive traditions--traditions of light--these help. Minor characters who are only good also help. So build

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