: Re: Is this character generator useful? After some feedback from this site and a training course, I developed a little tool to help with character generation. It's called "20 Questions" and works

@Jamie945

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Question: Is that a useful approach?

No.

Or does it distract more than it helps?

Yes.

The problem with this approach is that it causes the writer to think carefully and intelligently about their character, which the last thing in the world he should be doing.

When you're writing a story, you're attempting to create a work of art.

You can't create art by filling out a form.

"But at least it can help you get started."

No it can't. Not even a little.

In many ways, characters are like real people. They're capricious, illogical, and contradictory. They have traits, which they betray and subvert at every opportunity. They do the last thing you'd expect.

You, the artist, can't discover these things about your character until you actually live with him. It takes time and effort.

If you try to bypass that time-consuming, uncertain, and somewhat painful process with some sort of tool, your characters will not be anything like real people. Instead, they are certain to be boring, predictable, and utterly implausible.

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