How do I properly formulate questions? (this is actually a bunch of questions)

[JoshRaed]

Thanks. This helps a lot. I kind of assumed “what would you do in my place” was a lazy question, but now i’m going to try to use it more often.

[Katzalcoatl]

To the question of "is it okay if the character is an effeminate gay character?" You already got a response from several people in the thread you originally asked the question.

A whole conversation was done about it...

This is clearly an example of what we meant by "it seems you don't pay attention to people's advice".

Like @darthmongoose said, your questions each time are way more specific but somehow still the same.

At this point it doesn't seem like you are asking for advice.... Instead it looks like you want others to write the story for you.

What you need is a teacher. We are not teachers!!!

We are authors who happily help but we can't go above general advice. We all have things to do and our own stories to write.

We can answer all your questions, but at this point I feel it is necessary you offer us money in exchange for our time. That is the first time I ever had to say that.... it makes me feel extremely sad.

[JoshRaed]

Sorry. The question I asked was actually the wrong one honestly. What I wanted to know was how to make a one-dimensional main character not come off as a lazy stereotype. I should have said that instead, it would have been much more to the point and much easier to answer. But instead, I made it so specific that it became a completely different question, one I had already asked beforehand.

[JoshRaed]

So how do I write a one-dimensional character that doesn't come off as lazy/stereotypical?

[aqua03]

Homeslice, what people think of your work is completely out of your control. The only thing you can do is put your best foot forward and hope for the best. Quit worrying so much and asking nicvhe and unanswerable questions.

[JoshRaed]

Okay. I changed it. Is the question better now?

[Katzalcoatl]

The answer is still the same. You already got a response in the previous thread I mentioned.

Changing the way you formulate the question does NOT make it unique and new. You are still making the same question with different words.

[SleepingPoppy]

I think you just need to do your best to write the character in a way that you think makes sense/isn’t just the stereotype. How does that look to YOU?

I think there would be less frustration directed at you if it didn’t feel like these were questions you could actually answer for yourself. And if you make mistakes that’s actually the best way to learn. That’s why people so often tell you “just go make things”. There’s a lot of things you only learn by doing.

[JoshRaed]

When did I ask this question before? What would make it a new question then? Because i’m trying to formulate a different thought.

What if the question was instead “my stories main character is basically wednesday adams, how do I make her feel like her own individual character?”, or a better version of that question.

Because that’s kind of what I’m getting at now.

[Katzalcoatl]

No..... Your question is still the same just different words.....

And most of your questions are asking us to do your job for you.

For example:

How do I just ask a question and never once forget about it later?

We CAN'T control your memory. You can't expect us to remember each question you make for you. If you really have memory problems you should contact a Doctor aka a proffesional. We can't help you in any way to solve this problem. We don't have the right qualifications for this.

Most of your questions are asking us to solve other problems for you. We are either not qualified to answer or we can't write certain things for you. You are the AUTHOR of the comic you are making.

P.S. I seriously hope you don't need a doctor but since I had already mentioned what to do in case you had bad memory I think it might be worth seeing a specialist. Hopefully, they will tell you that your memory is fine.

[SleepingPoppy]

What if the question was instead “my stories main character is basically wednesday adams, how do I make her feel like her own individual character?”

See, I don’t see why that isn’t a question you can answer for yourself. You’ve recognized the problem- too much like Wednesday Adams- now you brainstorm qualities that make her different, or changes you can make. You don’t need people to make random suggestions if not-Wednesday character traits. Just think about it. Problem solve.

[JoshRaed]

I actually kind of found an answer but i’m not sure about it. Basically i’m considering his origin being that he was a genetically engineered GBF meant to be sold off to narcissists who want their friends to be quirky side characters in their life.

If I go with this story, he will probably start out with a very artificial persona that gradually gives way to the development of a real personality. Like M3gan but a human who does not murder people.

This might be a cool idea but might also be extremely stupid/problematic. I’m not sure which, and i’m pretty sure it will depend on execution. I might potentially replace the concept with something similar that results in something else.

So… I guess I was just being dumb. I already had a potential angle for this character, and I was just ignoring it.

I don’t know what this was all even about. I guess I just blindly accepted the idea that the character would be one-dimensional even though that was never actually something I was bound to no matter who said I was.

Sorry for wasting everyone’s time @darthmongoose @Katzalcoatl

[Nugtown]

This is leech behavior. You cannot "ask" your way into acquiring the skills and effort you want so badly and repeatedly asking questions won't suddenly make your thing spontaneously appear. The only thing this achieves is sapping the time, energy and literal life out of the poor people who keep taking your bait.

[JoshRaed]

If you really have memory problems you should contact a Doctor aka a proffesional. We can't help you in any way to solve this problem. We don't have the right qualifications for this.

Sorry. It’s basically literally just me being lazy. Like I remember all this stuff, sometimes remembering it as I ignore the implications of it. I guess it’s also because questions and advice have become too intangible to me, always related to choices about ideas rather than stories.

[Katzalcoatl]

It becomes a new question when the answer is different...

Your questions are like so:

"How do I buy a car?"
Gets answered.

Next question, "How do I buy a mechanical vehicle to move around?"
Same answer.

Next question, "Do you need money to become the owner of a vehicle with 4 wheels?"
Gets answered.

Next question, "Can I get an automobile with cash?"
Gets told it has been answered multiple times.

After that you either ask us, "how can I make my question different?", "why are people not understanding it is a new question?", or "I changed my question, is it better?"

And for the love of all that is good do not ask me "how do I change the way I ask my questions so people don't misunderstand me?" It has been asked and answered so many times.....

[JoshRaed]

I think there would be less frustration directed at you if it didn’t feel like these were questions you could actually answer for yourself. And if you make mistakes that’s actually the best way to learn. That’s why people so often tell you “just go make things”. There’s a lot of things you only learn by doing.

I think I already had an epiphany about this but ignored that once I was called out for repeating my question and decided to rewrite the question to be better, disregarding the fact that I didn’t need an answer in the first place so the question was useless in any form.

[Katzalcoatl]

There is nothing wrong with asking questions. But asking questions just for the sake of asking questions is counter productive.

If you already knew the answer to 2 of your questions instead of rewriting them... erase them.
In order to gain knowledge you need to ask questions but they have to be the right questions....

Asking for the sake of asking will not give you knowledge or let you advance.
The reason Newton and Einstein are very respected scientists is because they asked the right questions. They didn't get stuck with the small details such as asking why 1+1 is 2 and not 30? (This is just an example of how you can't get stuck in each small detail).

[JoshRaed]

I’m sorry but I still can’t see the connection between how to write a feminine gay man and how to write a one-dimensional character to seem interesting,

Like I believe my opinion is wrong right now, I’ve obviously been repeating the same question, no sarcasm about it, but the idea is still jammed in my head like a tumor and I just want to pull it out and magically see how you’re correct. I don’t know how to properly explain this. Like I am fully incorrect and don’t know how to become a correct opinion having person.

[JoshRaed]

You cannot "ask" your way into acquiring the skills and effort you want so badly and repeatedly asking questions won't suddenly make your thing spontaneously appear.

What would you do if you were in my place right now?

[JoshRaed]

You don’t need people to make random suggestions if not-Wednesday character traits. Just think about it. Problem solve.

Yeah this was a dumb question. It was just me trying to prove the objectively wrong stance that my questions were different questions. I’d actually already solved this problem months ago.