dunst-rph:

DON’T: Cat Valentine, Victorious.

DO: Cassie Ainsworth, Skins.

I think that writing immature, childish characters is an incredibly hard task, mainly because it’s a stereotype that’s used very often and typically done the same way. Above, I have listed two characters, both very childlike, but written and executed very differently.

Cat Valentine is a character that almost everyone in the roleplay community is familiar with, simply because every Ariana Grande FC seems to be based off of her. The only problem that I see with Cat’s character is the fact that she’s incredibly one-dimensional. She’s comic relief. She’s unsophisticated, naïve, and somewhat dim. Why? Well, they never tell us. Characters that are written like Cat generally have bios like:

Arielle is nice to everyone. She always has a bubbly smile on her face and people love being around her. It’s no secret that she’s not as bright as others, but everyone loves her just the same.

Again—why is she the way that she is? Generally speaking, when a teenager has serious Peter Pan syndrome, there has to be something going on in their lives. They have to be feeling something.

Cassie Ainsworth is a character from the British teen drama, Skins. Like Cat, she is incredibly childlike. She speaks in riddles and dresses like a third grader that has been let loose in their mother’s closet. She is, however, a bit more developed than her Victorious counterpart. There are reasons behind her actions, and she has immense flaws. She’s a dreamer, and she’s silly, and she’s fun, and she’s actually quite smart, but she has several mental disorders—most notably, anorexia. She’s afraid of growing up and she likes to have people take care of her. She likes to have power. She knows more about her friends than she lets on. I can’t describe her character in complete detail, because I will end up rambling for days, but here is a link to a page about her. The point I’m trying to make here is that she’s developed.

When you’re writing any character, you have to remember to ask yourself why?

Why is she always happy? Is it because she’s afraid of growing up? Does she think that being a child forever is easier than facing the real world? Is she too dependent on others? Is she afraid of being on her own?

Keep this in mind: happy is just an emotion—it isn’t a personality.