Write Characters Who Feel Dangerous (Even If They’re "Good")

Write Characters Who Feel Dangerous (Even If They’re "Good")

╰ Make their unpredictability a feature, not a bug

A dangerous character isn’t just the guy with the gun. It’s the one you can’t quite predict. Maybe they’re chaotic-good. Maybe they’re lawful-evil. Maybe they’re smiling while they’re plotting the next five ways to ruin your day. If the reader can’t tell exactly what they’ll do next — congrats, you’ve made them dangerous.

╰ Give them a weapon that's personal

Anyone can have a sword. Yawn. Give your character a weapon that says something about them. A violin bow turned garrote. A candy tin full of arsenic. Their own charisma as a leash. The weapon isn’t just what they fight with, it’s how they are.

╰ Let them choose not to strike and make that scarier

Sometimes not acting is the biggest flex. A truly dangerous character doesn’t need to explode to be terrifying. They can sit back, cross their legs, sip their coffee, and say, “Not yet.” Instant chills.

╰ Layer their menace with something else, humor, kindness, sadness

One-note villains (or heroes!) are boring. A dangerous character should make you like them right up until you realize you shouldn’t have. Let them charm. Let them save the kitten. Let them do something that makes the eventual threat feel like betrayal.

╰ Show how other characters react to them

If every character treats them like a nuclear bomb in the room, your reader will, too. Even if your dangerous character is polite and quiet, the dog that won’t go near them or the boss who flinches when they smile will sell the danger harder than a blood-soaked axe.

╰ Make their danger internal as well as external

It’s not just what they can do to others. It’s what they’re fighting inside themselves. The anger. The boredom. The itch for chaos. Make them a little bit scary even to themselves, and suddenly they’re alive in ways pure external "baddies" never are.

╰ Don't make them immune to consequences

Even the most dangerous characters should get hit—physically, emotionally, socially. Otherwise, they turn into invincible cartoons. Let them lose sometimes. Let them bleed. It’ll make every moment they win feel twice as earned (and twice as scary).

╰ Tie their danger to what they love

Real threats aren't powered by anger; they're powered by love. Protectiveness can be feral. Loyalty can turn into violence. A character who's dangerous because they care about something? That's a nuclear reactor in a leather jacket.

╰ Remember: danger is a vibe, not a body count

Your character doesn’t have to kill anyone to be dangerous. Sometimes just a glance. A whispered rumor. A quiet, calculated decision to leave you alive — for now. Dangerous characters control the room without ever raising their voice.

Tags
ffr

More Posts from The-enhanced-project and Others

1 month ago

Robyn!! Community, 7, 15 and 17 i think

7 - Who is your character most honest with?

Definitely Charlie. She's his best friend in the world, and the only person (right now) that knows he's enhanced ('cause she is too, obviously lol). They've been through a lot and both really hate secrets, so they're really honest with each other

15 - Is there a person your character would turn to for backup in a fight?

Ok I gotta be careful with how I answer this bc spoilers. For a while, it's Charlie and Charlie only, but after UNKNOWN SPOILER THING THATS NOT RLY A SPOILER YET I AM OMMITTING IT ANYHOW happens, he also is able to turn to Adam for backup :3

17 - How well does your character work with others?

Really well! He's super sociable and enjoys talking to people! He's a lot less paranoid and closed off then Charlie :)


Tags
2 weeks ago

They’re so happy in the first few chapters …….

………………..

I can’t wait to ruin it


Tags
3 weeks ago

How to Write SIBLING Relationships

If you're looking to write a sibling relationship but don't fully understand how a sibling relationship actually works, this is for you! As someone who has a younger brother, here are some points you'll want to consider when writing siblings!

Oldest, Middle, and Youngest

First, let's talk about the three types of siblings and explore their general roles, expectations, and characterization within a family!

*Oldest*

Starting with the oldest child, oftentimes, the eldest child is expected to act as the most responsible and as the role model. This doesn't mean they will go out of their way to set an example, but typically, no matter their personality and relationship with their younger siblings, they will have an innate sense of duty and protectiveness over their siblings. They want their siblings to enter the right path.

As the role model, the oldest child normally feels the most stress and anxiety, yet they also try not to show it to avoid worry from others. They highly value independence.

*Middle*

I'm sure you've heard of the jokes that the middle child is invisible child, and while those jokes are often exaggerated, the truth isn't terribly far off.

Between the eldest and youngest child, the middle child has a more difficult time standing out, which may lead to more reckless behavior for attention. They are characterized as more free-spirited and might act as a mediator between the youngest and oldest.

They will likely be more responsible and experienced than the youngest but can act similarly to the youngest.

*Youngest*

The youngest child can look like many things. Sometimes, you'll see the youngest is the most spoiled because they're the parents' favorite, and sometimes they're ignored because they have the least experience. Despite that, they have their fair share of pressures and burdens because they are often expected to meet, if not surpass, the achievements of their older siblings.

The General Dynamic

A sibling relationship differs from a typical friendship. They WILL find each other more annoying, but that doesn't mean they can't get along.

Siblings are also more honest and nit-pickier with each other. For example, if a friend changes the radio without asking, the character might not think too much of it. However, if their brother changes the radio without asking, then the character will likely feel irritated and call them out for it.

And when I say honest, I don't mean that they're super honest with each other emotionally, because that's not always the case. When I mean honest, I mean they're rather honest with each other at a surface, verbal level. They hardly hesitate to say their thoughts and can be pushy about them.

They will have an opinion on everything.

Personalities

If you've ever had some friends that have siblings, I'm sure that you're aware sometimes siblings can be similar and sometimes they're total opposites.

However, this doesn't mean that a pair of "opposite" siblings are ying and yang. While they may seem visibly different, such as fashion sense, and introvert or extrovert, there are still shared traits that they hold. This is especially true if they're biological siblings and/or raised in the same environment together.

They influence each other, so there's bound to be some similarities in personality or values no matter how distinct each one is.

Love, Even If Unseen

No matter what, siblings love each other. They might not say it, they might not express it, or they might show it in a toxic and unhealthy way, but there's always an underlying sense of familial love. These are the people that your character has (or was supposed to) grown up with, after all.

There's going to be attachment, they will defend each other, even if they claim to hate the other.

Parents

Okay guys, now let's move on to parents and how they might play a part in sibling relationships!

*Comparisons*

Regardless of whether you have a sibling or not, you've likely experienced what it feels like to be compared to someone else. I'm not saying people with siblings have it worse, but they do have a wider range of people to be compared with.

It's not uncommon for parents to compare their children to each other, and it's not uncommon either for a child to compare themselves to their siblings. Sometimes, outsiders and/or distant family members will also compare the siblings, causing feelings of inferiority and envy.

When siblings have a poor relationship, it can sometimes be because of the parents.

*Fighting and Arguments*

Siblings fight and argue a LOT. However, you'd be mistaken if you thought a parent resolves all of these fights.

The truth is, after a certain age is reached, parents won't step in or resolve a fight unless it's right in front of them. They expect their children to be mature enough to solve their issues out, and honestly? They were tired of breaking up conflicts years ago.

Bonus point: yes, siblings can fight often, but the quarrels are usually forgotten pretty quick too. I've had several fights with my brother in which we were back to normal literally a few hours later the spat. Will I remember it for the next year? Absolutely. But do I care anymore? Not really.

Conclusion

This post may not apply to all siblings--everyone has different types of relationships--but here are some good points to start at!

TL;DR: The eldest sibling has the most responsibility, the middle sibling is a blend between the oldest and youngest and often strives for attention, and while the youngest sibling may look like they have it the easiest, they have their pressures too. Sibling relationship does not mimic a friendship, and they will have similar traits despite distinct personalities. They love and care for each other, even if it doesn't look that way. Having siblings sets up for many comparisons between them, and parents won't always resolve sibling spats.

I'll likely release some posts detailing how to write specific sibling relationships, so let me know if you want to see one in particular! Thank you for making it here!

Happy writing~

3hks <3


Tags
ffr

Weekly word count update !!!!!!!

Beginning of week: 3,806

End of week: 5,106

Total words written: 1,300

By the day

- Monday: 387

- Tuesday: 321

- Wednesday: 404

- Thursday: 70

- Friday: 118

- Saturday: 0

- Sunday: 0

Can yall tell I’m most productive when I’m not supposed to be writing (school) 💀

I’m very happy with this week’s progress!!!!!!! Hopefully I can keep it up and get enough written to start posting!! :3

Pls let me know how yall feel about this kind of post :)

Tag List

(Ask to be added)

@corinneglass @sunflowerrosy @eon-tries-writing @lunesartsworld @ark-inkweaving @nykenima @mymomsaysbobcipher @houndsofcorduff


Tags
2 weeks ago

I like to have multiple projects running at the same time !!! Whenever I get stuck on one, hop over to the other and keep going!!!!! It helps keep the brain juices flowing and stops me from getting tired of a story!! :3

As for sharing what I’ve written… all I have to say is keep an eye out!!! My tag list is very very open so please let me know if you’d like to be notified when chapters begin to post!!!!!

See yall here next month, this was a blast!!!

Writeblr Live in May

Last One!
Everyone gets stuck, or blocked, in one way or another.
How do you deal with yours?
Does it work?

In that vein, share something you wrote this month!

Whatever it is, share a link. Or a link to something else you’d like to give attention to. (remember to share others’ links!)

This is the promo post.

PROMOTE YOURSELF.

DO EET.

SHOW ME THOSE LINKS.

Hope you had fun and I’ll see you again next month!


Tags
1 month ago

I made the blog!!!!!!!!1

@the-enhanced-project is the official blog of this story! Give it a follow and watch out for updates!! I'm very excited to introduce you all to this story that means a lot to me <3

For right now the posts will probably be character intros and things like that, because I am still working on getting it written! My plan is to start posting chapters once i'm finished writing act 1 so that I can have a semi-consistent posting schedule :)

@vesanal @xunfix-writes @gay-hoe-boy @thebookishkiwi @inspirationallybored @corinneglass @sunflowerrosy @seastarblue @seafloor509 @the-ellia-west @ark-inkweaving @leahnardo-da-veggie @adhdalex15 @ifmasonbasonwasawriter @carb0n-m0n0xide

1 month ago
Thank You @write-with-will And Everyone Who Got Me To 25 Reblogs!

Thank you @write-with-will and everyone who got me to 25 reblogs!

‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧
‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧
‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧

‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧

‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧

picrew here

‎‧₊˚✧ Basic Info ✧˚₊‧

Name || Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Barak

Age || Twenty-Two

Birthdate || August 25th

Gender + pronouns || Trans girl + she/her

Orientation || Lesbian

Ethnicity || Syrian

Alias || Conductor

╰› This was the alias Charlie used during her time as a fighter. She was one of those kids who was really into trains, so it was a play on that and an electrical conductor.

Enhancement || Electrokenisis

╰› Charlie's body creates an excess amount of static electricity, which causes many health issues such as chronic migraines and seizures (powers with drawbacks my beloved). She can expel small amounts of electricity from her body (typical lightning powers you'd see in media), as well as manipulate electrical devices around her (lights, for example).

Alignment || Neutral good

Daytime occupation || Bartender

College Major || Kinesiology

Likes || Sports (she’s on the track and basketball teams), working out, running, going to the gym

Dislikes || Her past, wide open spaces, feeling exposed, her own anger

‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧
‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧
‎‧₊˚✧ Charlie Barak - Character Intro ✧˚₊‧

‎‧₊˚✧ Appearance ✧˚₊‧

Charlie has warm brown skin and caramel brown eyes that look almost gold in the sun. Her wavy dark brown hair is usually tied back in a small ponytail or bun, especially when she's working or at the gym, though a few strands hang loosely over her forehead.

She's quite tall and well built, considering how active she is. She has one of those noses that's clearly been broken before and never really healed right, so not it's kinda crooked.

Height || 5’11’’ (180 cm)

Outfits || Her work outfit is a simple white collared shirt rolled up to her elbows, under a black vest type thing--typical bartender uniform thingy. When she's not at work, she doesn't put a huge amount of effort into her appearance, dressing simple and practical rather than for fashion.

‎‧₊˚✧ Personality ✧˚₊‧

For as long as she could remember, Charlie's been angry.

At the world, at the people who ruined her life, at her brother, and most of all at herself. It started as a quiet burn inside of her when her brother died, and only intensified as she grew older and eventually escaped the facility. Eventually, though, with the right people to help, she's learned to start managing it. She's still angry, but now she doesn't have to beat up people twice her size to deal with it.

...at least for a while.

ANYWAYS.

She's friendly at the surface level--she has to be, working in customer service--but she's still pretty reserved and secretive. Paranoid, almost. She doesn't give up personal information easily. But if you're someone she's already close with, she's fairly loyal and open. It just takes a bit to get there.

She's really athletic, and enjoys playing and watching sports, working out, going to the gym, etc etc. She's reactive, adaptable, and a fighter at heart.

Myers-Briggs || ESTP

‎‧₊˚✧ Background ✧˚₊‧

tw - charlie's backstory includes themes of kidnapping, loss of a family member, ???. Keep yourself safe first and foremost <3

Charlie was twelve years old when her enhancement developed. She was simply sitting in her 6th grade science classroom, trying to ignore the boys in her class who kept throwing colored pencils at her. But eventually, she turned, yelled, "will you quit it?", and the lights in the classroom went out.

While in hindsight, it was painted as simply a coincidence--faulty wires, or something--Charlie knew deep down that it wasn't. She'd heard the stories of the kids who could do crazy things on tv, of course. But she'd also heard stories of those people being murdered, kicked out, and other unspeakable things. So, she was smart enough to stay quiet.

Unfortunately, someone else noticed.

Her science teacher, Mr. Holt. He'd always talked in class about the enhanced, seemed fascinated by them. Charlie had never thought much about that.. until he took her.

One moment, she was simply walking home from the park with her 5 year old little brother, Caleb, and the next.. a sharp pain in her neck, then darkness.

The siblings awoke in some sort of makeshift science laboratory that looked like it had been built out of a shed.

The next three and a half years of Charlie's life were a blur of experiments and agony. From what she could gather, Holt was fascinated by the enhanced, he would do anything to figure out why they could do what they could do, how that could help him, etc etc. Charlie and her brother were the unfortunate guinea pigs for his tests.

Caleb was killed a year into it, experiment gone wrong, and maybe he was the lucky one. And then Charlie was alone, terrified.

She was fifteen when she finally escaped, by stealing some chemicals from the lab, dumping them onto Holt's face, and making a run for it.

She wandered for a while, having no idea where she was, what to do, where to go, etc. She eventually found her way into the city, and for a while she.. survived. She slept wherever she could, found food, used the public computers in the library to find out that not only had she been pronounced missing and then dead, but her parents had died sometime in her absence as well. She doubted it was an accident.

She was angry. She was alone, terrified, starving, but most of all she was so, so angry.

Eventually, she came across this sort of.. fight club, for enhanced people. It offered a pretty good pay for the simple act of going into a pit and beating the shit out of someone.. no rules, just entertainemnt for whatever sickos decided to check it out.

It wasn't perfect, but it was the best opportunity she had. So, Charlie signed up. Even though most of her opponents were twice her size, she was able to fight defensively and use her powers to her advantage.

She used this as her primary income for food and basic needs for a while, until she met Robyn.

He was also a fighter at this place, around her age. They met between matches, quickly becoming good friends. Good enough that they were eventually able to scrounge together enough money to get a tiny apartment together and enroll in school.

Charlie now works as a bartender at the Sine, a sports bar a little away from her college campus. She shares an apartment with Robyn while she works on a kinesiology degree.

‎‧₊˚✧ Links ✧˚₊‧

-> Tumblr tag

-> Character hub wiki

-> Pinterest board

‎‧₊˚✧ Tag List ✧˚₊‧

(ask to be added)

@corinneglass @sunflowerrosy @eon-tries-writing @lunesartsworld


Tags
3 weeks ago

So were one follower away from 50 on this blog too??? Yall are madlads I swear

I need ideas for what to do on this blog to celebrate... bc I wanna do SOMETHING but idk what :/

@corinneglass @sunflowerrosy @eon-tries-writing @lunesartsworld @ark-inkweaving @nykenima @mymomsaysbobcipher


Tags
1 month ago

This story sounds fantabulous! Definitely would have read as a child

Thank you so much !!!!!!!


Tags
Loading...
End of content
No more pages to load
  • the-bitch-in-the-tower
    the-bitch-in-the-tower liked this · 5 days ago
  • sawdust-emperor
    sawdust-emperor reblogged this · 5 days ago
  • pulseofthesea
    pulseofthesea liked this · 5 days ago
  • carnivalstuffedanimal
    carnivalstuffedanimal liked this · 6 days ago
  • bookshelfbrunette
    bookshelfbrunette reblogged this · 6 days ago
  • silvermoonsunshine
    silvermoonsunshine liked this · 6 days ago
  • xillanelle
    xillanelle liked this · 6 days ago
  • vanillamidnight-us
    vanillamidnight-us liked this · 6 days ago
  • dastardlyplumproe
    dastardlyplumproe liked this · 6 days ago
  • bullriderjacob
    bullriderjacob reblogged this · 6 days ago
  • peggiepratt
    peggiepratt liked this · 6 days ago
  • inky-spider
    inky-spider reblogged this · 6 days ago
  • rat-2
    rat-2 liked this · 6 days ago
  • booksaregreatpillows
    booksaregreatpillows reblogged this · 6 days ago
  • booksaregreatpillows
    booksaregreatpillows liked this · 6 days ago
  • thegreenfaery
    thegreenfaery liked this · 6 days ago
  • an-ocean-viewer
    an-ocean-viewer liked this · 6 days ago
  • univ3rsally-unknown
    univ3rsally-unknown liked this · 6 days ago
  • yuafukuda
    yuafukuda liked this · 6 days ago
  • alec0melx
    alec0melx liked this · 6 days ago
  • batzao3
    batzao3 liked this · 6 days ago
  • thornew
    thornew liked this · 6 days ago
  • vhiveka
    vhiveka liked this · 6 days ago
  • youarereally7
    youarereally7 liked this · 1 week ago
  • wrappeddinplastic
    wrappeddinplastic liked this · 1 week ago
  • amaranthine-undying
    amaranthine-undying liked this · 1 week ago
  • bandyla
    bandyla liked this · 1 week ago
  • animaniac51
    animaniac51 reblogged this · 1 week ago
  • covesideviolets
    covesideviolets reblogged this · 1 week ago
  • flarefloofer
    flarefloofer liked this · 1 week ago
  • sacredlilygarden
    sacredlilygarden liked this · 1 week ago
  • pwachtree
    pwachtree liked this · 1 week ago
  • ladybugcharm
    ladybugcharm liked this · 1 week ago
  • flosoull
    flosoull liked this · 1 week ago
  • mysticalsunrisecupcake
    mysticalsunrisecupcake liked this · 1 week ago
  • burningheartsandbrokenpromises
    burningheartsandbrokenpromises reblogged this · 1 week ago
  • matthewwards
    matthewwards liked this · 1 week ago
  • midnightantihero
    midnightantihero liked this · 1 week ago
  • otakuvampyre
    otakuvampyre liked this · 1 week ago
  • extraordinaryslice
    extraordinaryslice reblogged this · 1 week ago
  • futurehauntedghost
    futurehauntedghost liked this · 1 week ago
  • sweetlilbirb
    sweetlilbirb liked this · 1 week ago
  • chrysopoeia-of-the-heart
    chrysopoeia-of-the-heart liked this · 1 week ago
  • paladinofheart
    paladinofheart liked this · 1 week ago
  • coastalshifts
    coastalshifts reblogged this · 1 week ago
  • cuntylilcal
    cuntylilcal liked this · 1 week ago
the-enhanced-project - The Enhanced
The Enhanced

Side blog run by @write-with-will for my story The Enhanced!!!

136 posts

Explore Tumblr Blog
Search Through Tumblr Tags