5 Reasons Why Your Characters Suck (Writing Advice)

[@victorsangabrielg]

Opposite to Titanic, you have Castaway, where Tom Hanks makes a massive effort to save Wilson but he really can’t, and the audience suffers with him.

[@omeara102]

Just rewatched this recently and that scene was so damn well done. Making the audience cry about losing a volleyball! The ultimate Lucas MacGuffin.

[@nathanieln.1732]

Wilson, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Wilson!

[@Iona_Roe_Deer]

I’m upset by the characters who, instead of doing something in their style, do something stupid to please the plot. 😢

[@ryszakowy]

actually a great plot idea guy starts doing things completely out of his character to confuse everyone

[@j-rey-]

Which, sadly, is in waaaay too many stories.

[@FredrikHaugen]

Consistency is king in storytelling.

[@itsblitz4437]

Like Captain Marvel movies?

[@bonnassem]

I get instantaneously and simultaneously uninvested in the rest of the movie, angry at the character, the actor and the writer.

[@BrianHeplerSasquatch]

I hates hates hates it when characters do not communicate with each other in order to move the plot along. It's bad in romantic comedies and it's absolutely nonsensical in SciFi/Fantasy where one character who has critical information keeps it to themselves because it brings up icky memories. How many of your teammates have to die before you mention that the creature(s) you faced before has a weakness?

[@Pardesland]

Exactly. It is always SO dumb.

[@darksideofevil13]

This drove me nuts watching Quantumania.

[@Pardesland]

@@BrianHeplerSasquatch But let's face facts though. Imagine what would happen, if they shall behave more rationally and talk. All of a sudden, the sad production people shall end up with a "movie " that is 53 minutes long, after they have already promised 139. It would not be nice to anyone involved. Questions shall be asked. Wages shall shrink. Careers will be at risk. לא נעים, לא נעים. So, instead of troubling their little heads in the attempt to ashkara create more convincing _Plot,_ it is *always* a whole lot easier to just stick some _extremely DUMB_ behavior, on the side of the characters... 😃

[@loggrad9842]

What are you, golum, or a pirate? Arrr, I hates me that cliche, matey!

[@nejcgrandovec6463]

Its called an "Idiot plot" where usually the plot could be solved with basic communication

[@4xzx4]

When a character is a trope more than an actual individual character...

[@lanychabot-laroche135]

Any examples?

[@briantrafford4871]

This can be a problem, but can also work very well. Mentors who die so the hero can fully emerge is a great trope. But making a character super smart by having them figure out the plot even when that is impossible looks ridiculous. Sage in The Boys S4 or Sherlock Holmes are text book examples of this lazy writing style.

[@Lithilic]

That's a good one. It reminds me of a similar issue I notice with some writing where there's this overly tight adherence to a particular theme that prevents the story and plot elements from breathing naturally.

[@AnujChatterjee-q5b]

​@lanychabot-laroche135 Supporting characters from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Dominion for me. We have Zia and Franklin in Fallen Kingdom and they were just plot device characters with Franklin providing comic relief and Zia being an arrogant bossy female. Then we have Kayla and Ramsey from Dominion. Kayla is just there because the plot needs a pilot and some sarcastic jokes while Ramsey is there to aid the main characters.

[@futurestoryteller]

I don't know what this means, but it reminds me of this claim that all characters should start out as stereotypes, and your success or failure as a writer is determined by whether or not they stay that way. I don't know that I believe "every" or even most characters should begin as stereotypes. Maybe depending on your exact definition. I guess it is reasonable to assume that your character should be introduced simply, and with clarity. Which is literally antithetical to complexity. So there's that.

[@nitzan3782]

You're so right about the door scene! Compare it to, for example, the rocket ship from the first Inside out, where Joy and Bing Bong tried and failed twice before Bing Bong unilaterally decided to sacrifice himself while fooling Joy into singing hard enough to make it without him, since she'd have never made that hard call on her own.

[@christopherdriesenga4156]

I always thought Jack should have climbed on the door and froze to death by laying on top to shield her from the night air. It would show how much he loved her that he protected her till the last.

[@ultimaxkom8728]

Yours is actually better, imo.

[@shawn576]

Damn that's actually a great idea.

[@BW022]

Or was injured and bleed to death, or they tried and he kept slipping off and lacked the strength to hold on the edge, or ... anything else.

[@jeffcoil6181]

The door would not have supported both of them.

[@wren_.]

I don’t give a shit, movie magic yes it could

[@dccaleb5529]

It’s been said a million times before but Daenerys’ homicidal outbreak in s8 will always be one of the worst character changes I’ve ever seen.

[@Evil0tto]

Hell yeah. It was just out of the blue. Daenerys was always willing to be brutal, but she restricted her cruelty to those who were outright enemies. Suddenly she's nuking a city filled with innocent people and turning into Dragon Hitler? Lame.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yep, thought about including this for #4, but I didn't want to overload the video with GoT

[@AnotherDuck]

That only works if you have proper buildup and a decent downfall character arc.

[@taragnor]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty It must be tempting since you could make plenty of videos purely talking about the mistakes of GoT season 8 as examples of what not to do.

[@Tarodan]

So, I think I know WHY it happened. When the show started, George RR Martin told Dave and Dan how he wanted the series to end, in case he died before he finished writing it. And if you ignore the abruptness of it, it was heavily foreshadowed. The story starts with the aftermath of a Targaryen king going mad and massacring his own subjects. A lot of Dany's character is rooted in being different from her predecessors, and it's a rich, poetic tragedy that at the very end she dies on the throne the same way Aerys Targaryen did: Killed by one of the people sworn to protect her. If there's anything George loves, it's a poetic tragedy. The problem is that Dave and Dan rushed the final two seasons of the show because they had a contract with Disney to direct a new prequel trilogy for Star Wars once Game of Thrones was finished. Yet another poetic tragedy that in destroying Game of Thrones they destroyed their Star Wars deal.

[@OlgaKuznetsova]

I hate when characters pointlessly don't share vital information for the purpose of creating conflict. This is why I have a visceral reaction to soap operas and many kdramas. It's such a infuriating way to create drama.

[@Pardesland]

Totally agree. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@sertorrhenclegane]

I can't speak for k dramas, but I don't ever recall a soap opera where someone withheld information for no reason. At least, from their perspective.

[@Thathumanoverthere1701]

I kid you not, when the notification for Brandon pops up, everything else gets the pause. Brandon's content stay solid. He's the GOAT.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hahaha no way am I the GOAT, but thanks so much for the kind words!

[@j-rey-]

"What are you doing?? We only have 30 seconds until the bomb detonates!" "A new B-Nulty video just dropped." "Oh sh*t, really? Pull that sh*t up."

[@Thathumanoverthere1701]

@j-rey- put it on speaker!

[@AnotherDuck]

Yeah, you're missing the horizontal pupils and a disregard for gravity to be a proper goat. But in other areas you're doing more than well enough.

[@emeralddraegon]

Ugh. You nailed it with Willie's screaming. Love love love Indy Jones movies, but the last time I watched Temple of Doom I almost couldn't finish it because of how annoying the screaming was.

[@grondhero]

It's been a _long_ time since I've seen Temple of Doom (possibly in theaters), but I'm trying to recall if that was toward the end of the "Scream Queen" era or if it had already passed. 🤔Although, I think most scream queens only screamed within reason. Mostly.

[@minutebooks3245]

If it helps any, that performance basically ended her career.

[@grondhero]

@@minutebooks3245 She has 24 credits _after_ Temple of doom, ending in 2002. I'm not sure if I would state "ended" or that was her peak.

[@minutebooks3245]

@@grondhero Being married to speilberg helped but she never had an important role after this disaster.

[@LRich-hg3hu]

@grondhero - I think it was more intended as a humorous "nod" to the scream queens of older movies. (The whole franchise being an homage to old film serials anyway.) But it ended ended up being more annoying than funny. I suspect they overdid it with her because they wanted to establish her as a very different type of woman compared to Marion in Raiders. Marion was a pretty badass character who took no crap and was in her element in an action adventure. Willie being the exact opposite, a woman who could not really take care of herself and was totally out of her element (in the beginning at least) on an adventure.

[@CountCrane2065]

Sees title Rude. But please tell me more.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hahaha it wasn't directed at you, I promise

[@CountCrane2065]

@WriterBrandonMcNulty It's nothing personal. It's just Writing.

[@errantwinds-up8uu]

Excellent comment lol

[@emeralddraegon]

😂

[@b.d.4746]

I watch all these and have no intention of writing anything. I just love how he dissects stories 😂

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha thanks!

[@richardgurney1844]

Same lol! :) I just find it really interesting seeing an expert explain, the way Brandon does it, how stories work I do improv comedy as a hobby, so passively learning from these videos helps make my scenes and characters better in the moment Not that improv will ever be as expertly crafted as an actual planned and written story, by nature. But it helps, y'know what I mean

[@glentz716]

Yep. I'm not gonna write anything. I'm just tired of badly written stories and enjoy other people dissecting why the stories fail.

[@TedMattos]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! You mean the ship sank?! Darn spoilers! :( Great video as always, Mr. McNulty! :) Keep 'em coming!

[@--Sama-]

4:08 I experienced this with the anime Demon Slayer. The protagonist is calm and "normal", while his two companions are loud and over-the-top. One is constantly scared and screaming, while the other is perpetually angry and shouting making the protagonist to be "invisible" on screen. After ten episodes, I dropped the show. Additionally, I became frustrated with the fact that all the villains were always portrayed as victims, and the protagonist never triumphed through his own skill; his "victories" were never fulfilling. Instead, he either relied on others to save him or the villains allowed themselves to be defeated by him because they felt guilty.

[@AlexLopez-by7vj]

That is how I felt about Attack on Titan. The incessant screaming drove me away

[@parkertulk7485]

One character introduction trope that frustrates me to no end is what I like to call threeshadowing. It's when a character is built up long before they're seen. I know it can be very well done, but constantly foreshadowing someone as an absolute beast of a character that must certainly have lots of weight in the world is really annoying and pointless if they turn out to be cliche, predictable, and weak with no plot relevance. Don't tease a big bad wolf if you deliver a slow T rex that bites the air behind the humans it chases.

[@Mariobro4]

Like the Fry Cook games episode from SpongeBob where Plankton hypes up the entrant as a big bad contestant, (floor shakes, the audience is scared, the entrance breaks as soon as the ebtrabt arrives) but as soon as contestant enters, the fish enters and it is big and bad but Plankton tells the fish to turn around and it's actually Patrick Star. The opposite of it being big and bad.

[@parkertulk7485]

@@Mariobro4 Well. That was an intentional joke.

[@Mariobro4]

@@parkertulk7485 Yeah. Couldn't find anything at the top of my head but intentional joke kinda still kinda fits. What's yours?

[@parkertulk7485]

@@Mariobro4 It's just one of those things where I feel like I've seen it in everything when I was younger but can't seem to find an example now. You know.

[@juan-cg1yj]

red John from the mentalist in a way tbh

[@thearthurmarston9897]

Literally my favourite channel to listen to! Your knowledge is always appreciated 🙏🏻

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Happy to hear it! Thanks for the kind words

[@TanyaStrongBooks]

I love how well you explain everything and show examples. Thank you!

[@marcoamotta]

No way we didn't get "This is Katana. Her sword traps souls." as a bad example of character introductions

[@darksideofevil13]

Man that movie sucked. The sad part is most of the characters had cool designs.

[@markfreenick]

"This is Katana. Her sword traps souls. So if she kills you you can't get to hell. No idea why she is not using just normal sword, maybe she feels pacifist today."

[@errantwinds-up8uu]

Hey Brandon I just wanted to mention that I finished The Half Murders recently! (Yeah I started it awhile ago but then life got in the way, oops). By the second half (lol) I couldn't put it down. Definitely your best yet!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks so much for checking it THM! Thrilled you enjoyed it. The second half was a blast to write, so I'm glad it translated into a fun reading experience. Also, please consider leaving a brief Amazon review if you don't mind--those help a ton

[@errantwinds-up8uu]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty I know I'm not the writer so throwing this out here. i felt that the beginning was a bit slow honestly. But I think that was just because you were establishing the husband and little boys too long, and also we know Kelly was a star. There was just something... missing maybe? I really loved it though!

[@j-rey-]

I'm glad you brought up the infamous Door in The Titanic. People always bring up how the argument is stupid bc they tried to both fit and the door didn't hold their weight. But the response is obviously: they tried ONCE. I get that it's a movie and you have to make things as concise as possible, but it wasn't enough to be convincing.

[@LordBaktor]

Yeh, have them fail a few times or use a smaller door where it's obvious they can't both fit. As the scene is, it is stupid.

[@Whookieee]

And then he just nods to himself like, welp guess I'll die now!

[@futurestoryteller]

I'm glad every explanation is "make James Cameron's movie TITANIC longer" because that movie wasn't long enough.

[@retronaut8864]

They tried to both get on the door and it flipped over. He didn't want to flip it, he wanted her to remain safe. I don't really think any of us were up for a game of "let's see if you hold real still on that end and I'll try to grab this end *KERSPLASH!*" at the end of a 3 hour movie, it was about "ok only one of us can be saved, got it." I really think the problem has less to do with the movie, and more to do with people's memories. Do people even remember that they tried and both ended up in the freezing water again? I'm not sure they do. But who knows.

[@Derpsman2021]

Basically the door should have been ditched for another ending prop. Better still, he saves Rose but hears some other girls crying for help, he tells Rose he will be back, she falls asleep on side panel. Finally, she wakes up in hospital with hypothermia where nobody even heard of Jack-- but good news she is pregnant.

[@Venejan]

@@Derpsman2021 Umm... Yes, definitely Oscar material there...

[@Venejan]

During the door scene, Jack and Rose are floating in freezing water ("like a thousand knives") and (in historical fact) in absolute darkness. As their strength and body heat slip away and they quickly enter hypothermia, their survival options are fading away by the second. Under those circumstances, I would hardly expect them to begin experimenting...

[@dhenderson1810]

The fact is, most of the hits commenting would push the girl off and hog it for himself, and maybe even hold her under for good measure. No chivalry on this forum.

[@lucidity1]

Jumping off the lifeboat killed Jack! He'd have that door all to himself if Rose just stayed in the f*cking lifeboat!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@KernelHughes]

Cameron intended to kill Jack all along. The door couldn't fit both of them anyway.

[@lucidity1]

@@KernelHughes I get Cameron wanted a tragic death, but what doomed Jack wasn't the size of the door but Rose's stupidity.

[@Pardesland]

I just felt sorry that no wave came along to actually kill kate winslet LOL

[@lucidity1]

@@Pardesland 😂

[@chunky8684]

he was handcuffed to the bottom of the ship and rose found him and broke him free to save him, so he wouldve drowned if she stayed

[@lindildeev5721]

I agree about Willie screaming and complaining all the time but I think that was Spielberg's intention since he had to show the actress how to scream. I think Willie's role is to show how most people would actually react to the many dangers Indy faces. She's a complete caricature, of course, but most of her reactions were pretty relatable.

[@dhenderson1810]

Spielberg didn't care. He just wanted to bang her.

[@darksideofevil13]

I kinda wish it had ended with her being traumatized and leaving Indie because of it. Imagine witnessing someone's heart get ripped out? Actually, I don't remember if this was part of the plot (it's been years since I've seen the movie). But it would be cool if she had been a movie star who joined up with Indie wanting to get a taste of the real thing. Only to learn that real adventure is actually quite scary.

[@davidsaltwater]

I love how all your videos are full of examples, what a great way to not just tell us how it works, but make us see it ourselves!

[@ludovico6890]

I generally don't like infallible characters, especially when their skills are informed attributes.

[@nohbuddy1]

Vader had probably the best villain introduction ever

[@johntabler349]

Simple and effective agreed

[@moycorbin4750]

Kinda overreated

[@nohbuddy1]

@@moycorbin4750 No

[@moycorbin4750]

@@nohbuddy1 yes

[@nohbuddy1]

@@moycorbin4750 No. He's probably the most iconic villain of all time

[@serhiikoba3505]

Thank you for elaborating the Titanic ending scene. Now I can definitely show some skill of storytelling in front of my friends :D

[@illuzion30]

As soon as you flashed that bit of Game of Thrones, I knew inconsistency was going to be one of the five reasons 😅

[@Simply_here1]

2:31 so, one of my characters has alexithymia, and has heavy mood shifts. Its in-character for him to sometimes do out-of-character things. Its not something that happens constantly, but it does happen. Is this bad?

[@JosephSchneider26]

I am currently writing on a drama about a Spanish train conductor. I can't reveal much but this: He's got loco motives ☻️☻️

[@fiktivhistoriker345]

😬🤣🤣🤣

[@JesusChristSAVESSSS]

Nice one, dude 😂😂😂

[@CameronMetrejean]

Overbearing Personality was my problem with the title character in Nimona. Her first introduction scene had me saying "Writers, calm down, you’re trying too hard. We get it, dial her back a little."

[@VictorCorona2]

I was going to say based, but honestly this is just fair. I like the movie, but yeah, I get what you mean. 😮‍💨

[@bransonallen2925]

I can definitely see it. I liked Nimona and I agreed with all the things they were saying, but there were times where it definitely felt like a writer speaking their thoughts rather than the character.

[@barongeoffrey75]

I misread and believed you talked abiyt Nemonavfrom Pokémon Scarlet/Violet.

[@douglasphillips5870]

The thing I hate is characters who are just puppets for plot. They need to act like people. If they need to act out of the ordinary, they need more focus spent to show the reasons to do it.

[@kingbeauregard]

Characters whose motivation is all off. Their motivations ought to be consistent with what they do and how they do it. But that also means you need a story where the actions they undertake ring true. Like, Bruce Wayne's tragedy led him to feel the need to do something - ANYTHING - to fight suffering in Gotham City. That adds up; the action that is integral to a Batman story lines up properly. But other superhero stories that are similar on the surface, don't get this right; the "Daredevil" movie is my go-to example of where they didn't get the motivations right, or they didn't get Daredevil's activities right. As a result it's a movie where a guy puts on a unitard and gets into fights but I'm never sold on why he would do that.

[@melkor1021]

Well, talking about things far more interesting than what happens on the screen sums up the SW prequels pretty well.

[@johnchastain7890]

There's an example of Smart Characters Suddenly Becoming Stupid in dozens, maybe hundreds, of horror/mystery movies: "Let's Split Up!" Seconded only by one of said characters blundering into the dark (with an inadequate flashlight or candle) in search of the source of an ominous sound, shouting "Hello? Who's there?"

[@emeralddraegon]

Yes! And why don't they ever freaking look up?!

[@johnchastain7890]

@@emeralddraegon LOL!🤣

[@LRich-hg3hu]

This is just a guess on my part, but I think this may be a bit of a trick in the horror movie genre. Physiologically, fear and frustration are very similar (faster breathing and heart rate, etc.). So I think when the filmmakers can't always fill the audience with fear, they anger by giving you anger at "dumb" characters. The same way that some horror movies use jump scares properly, and some use them just because they need a substitute for a proper scare.

[@lotharrenz4621]

"Hello? Is there anybody in here?" "Nope, nobody." "So who's giving me answer?" "N-nobody, seriously." "So I don't have to nuke this room with napalm just to make sure?" "That would absolutely not be necessary." "Okay then." *retreats, closes door* "*biiiig sigh* It's shyte to be the monster. Tell me again why I agreed to this?" *other voice* "You lost a bet, I bet?"

[@shawn576]

The one time it was done right was in Scary Movie. They say they should stick together because it's safer then they immediately split up.

[@headlessnotahorseman]

I'm pretty sure I read an interview woth James Cameron where he said something like if he had known hpw upset viewers would get by the door scene he would have made the door smaller.

[@ftt7429]

I love Willie Scott, sure she is annoying, but she is supposed to be. She is a fish out of water, but she still is likable and has a good character arc. I always liked that they did something different with the female lead in the first 3 Indiana Jones movies.

[@dhenderson1810]

She was useless. At least Marion has some fight and spirit, and stood up to both Indy and Belloq.

[@Venejan]

Interesting video, but I disagree about the door scene. The fact is that Rose and Jack THEMSELVES determined that the door wouldn't hold them both, and that's all we the viewers have to know. They were there, we weren't. It's the silliest version of Monday morning quarterbacking and a distraction from the meaning of the scene.

[@rylansato]

I was expecting to see Michael Burnham from Star Trek Discovery on here. Her character frustrated me because she has to be involved in everything. It’s never anyone else. She even brings up information that other characters should already know such as telling another character they have a certain ability that will help them in the situation. Why would she have to tell them that when they know that?

[@jcohasset23]

I think the biggest problem with her character is she's not very likeable, which can be fine for a protagonist but the show treats her as if everyone likes her and the character suffers from borderline Mary Sueness. I don't know if this is in part due to Discovery having only 10-15 episodes a season compared to the standard 26 episodes a season most of the Star Trek shows had which let the other shows characterize the rest of the cast more (SNW and Picard also have similar issues to Discovery), if the serialized nature of the series just doesn't let the show have episodes to let the rest of the cast have a spotlight, or some combination. Her character is certainly the most divisive of Star Trek's captains (though I know many would argue Picard doesn't act like the same captain in ST:Picard as he did in TNG).

[@futurestoryteller]

@@jcohasset23 Number of female characters not accused of being a Mary Sue: 0. Still fucking 0.

[@huro1845]

​@@futurestorytellerI don't understand your comment, honestly. There are plenty of well written female characters out there that nobody would think of accusing of being a Mary sue. 🤷‍♀️

[@futurestoryteller]

@@huro1845 LOL! Sure buddy.

[@rylansato]

@@futurestoryteller Who accused Janeway of being a mary sue? Ripley? Leia?

[@djhicks7994]

Man I love this guy I’m gonna be great writer one day because of him

[@onthewaycyam]

The movie Tombstone has a scene where the villains shoot up a church. The men inside the church have guns and could have easily taken cover. Instead, they run out just to get shot. I was so mad that I stood up in the theater and yelled, "This is some bull$h!t."

[@michaelschroeck2254]

What frustrates me the most about fictional characters is that for my favorite ones I can’t actually ask them to dinner.

[@shawn576]

Ha, loser. I asked Thanos to dinner and he said yes.

[@cristinawilligs]

the end that frustrated me the most is the en of a bridge over the river kwai, it ends because they got short of time

[@micahmills5769]

The latter seasons of game of thrones can give examples of each point on this list multiple times over. Agonizing was the correct word 😂

[@BigDaddyJinx]

The Jack/Rose debacle could've been easily resolved by simply making the broken piece smaller so that even the audience could see that realistically, only one of them is going to be surviving no matter what they do. Making it large enough to accommodate two people, which many have deduced would be more than possible, only served to take us all out of that moment and to dissect it for 20+ years now. It's still an annoyance of mine years later. Had they both attempted to get on at the same time but from opposite ends, thus providing counter-balance, after an attempt or two they both would've made it on that piece of flotsam successfully. Watching both try to get on from the same side still aggravates me. Of course it'll tip. GRR. So annoying.

[@ColonelGreen]

No, they wouldn’t have. Even when _Mythbusters_ looked at this they found the only way it might have worked was some complicated jerry-rigging using the life vests. The film clearly shows that only one person can get on. People just won’t let this go.

[@Venejan]

@@ColonelGreen Indeed. Some people really have WAY too much time on their hands!

[@Venejan]

@@ColonelGreen BTW, what people fail to perceive about this scene is that Jack and Rose were operating in literally freezing water and in absolute darkness. Jerry-rigging some sort of crazy solution wasn't exactly in the cards at that moment...

[@Daniel-en1on]

I feel like for Anakin in AotC, that the speeder chase across Coruscant attempts to act as the character introduction but then its too late into the movie, even though it does set up the character relationship between Anakin as the padawan learner and Obi Wan as the mentor well.

[@cmh1232]

The funny thing about Jynn saving that little girl is that later the whole city gets blowed up by the Death Star.

[@davidunderwood1773]

I never even thought about that.

[@lanychabot-laroche135]

Oof, brutal, had not thought of that. Hard to spot, but it does put in question why that scene was there, it just makes it worse.

[@intergalactic92]

You say that like she knew that would happen or that it’s her fault. What are you trying to say? It's her save the cat moment. The kid isn’t important it’s the fact that Jyn puts herself in danger to help a stranger that's relevant in that scene. If anything it enhances the tragedy of the city being destroyed and adds to the feeling of hopelessness that is the Rebellion, even that small act of kindness is wiped out by the overwhelming might of the empire.

[@cmh1232]

@@intergalactic92 it was never her fault in the first place. This is the fault of the writers not realizing they have contradicted themselves by including this.

[@futurestoryteller]

@@intergalactic92 You see that? He literally thinks it's bad writing. "Objectively" This is like a very spoilery "discussion" I got into about Last of Us Part II that was if them doesn't kill so-and-so then rescue no happen and it's just... so dumb.

[@DTHMusic45]

Titanic spoiler warning : the ship sinks

[@jennygates]

Right time to watch this video. Big help. Thanks!

[@TotemStorms]

The worse version of Inconsistent Characterisation is just telling us that they are one thing and then showing us something different. It can be done well: "Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero" tells us that Rupert Triumff has a grand reputation and great favour with the monarch, but starts out by showing him in a post-drunken duel that he doesn't even remember having instigated (he swaps his weapon from one hand to the other not to show off, but because he temporarily can't remember which hand to hold it in); it's as the book progresses that we find out what brought him to that state and we get to see the more skilled side of him revealed where he lives up to the reputation. By contrast some characters in EE Smith stories (the main place I can think of that it stands out) go from somewhat ineffective leaders to (in one book) challenging the military authority on their mission simply based on a conversation where someone told them to "be more assertive." That one would work if: a) they tried and failed at being assertive at least once rather than succeeding straight away, and b) there had been more than one or two scenes (if that in some cases) before going "oh right, now I can have a dramatic shift to the character I want to write."

[@davidbeveridgejr7089]

When a character completely changes without any reason or cause. Think Acolyte.

[@braedenfrantz]

Almost every character in the show suffers from this. They attempted to make “twists” where we were surprised by the characters action. But the only reason their actions were surprising is because they made absolutely no sense.

[@gosnooky]

The Titanic door scene always irritated me. In my mind, I rewrote it so he did lift himself onto the door, but died from hypothermia before the rescue boat came.

[@invader8491]

personally, i dont like it when they abruptly change for no reason, or that their personalities adapt to the tone of the story.

[@dhenderson1810]

So you like predictable characters?

[@invader8491]

@@dhenderson1810 a character doesn't necessarily have to be predictable if they don't change

[@mrsturtevant1]

I would say my biggest petpeve with fictional characters is when they feel some strong emotion but I can't feel anything. Like how at the end of The Good Dinosaur when Arlo and Spot part ways. I want to feel for Arlo when a tear rolls down his face but I feel nothing.

[@blshouse]

That scene from Groundhog Day. Right in the feels.

[@lkf8799]

Have you seen that video about how long he was trapped in the loop? 👀 I think there's more than one estimate but the director I think guessed around 30 years!!! Which I thought was a lot but then another video calculated way more just based on the skills and knowledge he picked up along the way. It's crazy.

[@blshouse]

@@lkf8799 Dude, that scene, not the movie.

[@jjstuartonwriting8150]

I know this may sound silly, but as I'm reading the Wheel of Time series (again) it's bothering me that 1. Every emotion is displayed by flushing faces, drained faces, tugging braids, and so on. And 2. None of the characters ever goes to the bathroom. They eat, sleep, bathe, and walk a lot, but never once has the story had to wait while one took an absurdly long dump in the woods.

[@DJFlowers1995]

I love this video. Nice work!

[@1adamantium1]

I respect but disagree with your Willie comments. Yes she is annoying as hell, but she is supposed to be, that's what the writer intended, she is spoiled, famous, and entitled, she breaks a nail and her world is over. The over-the-top screams are for comedy and fit with her character, just like the over-the-top Indie punches, narrow escapes, one-liners, etc. Her style of character fits in that world. And if you notice at the end her character changes for the better after all the struggle they endure. She's no longer a brat, she is humble and respectful to the people(and the elephant too) To make a great critique, you must separate "what you like" from "what works". For example, I hated the movie The Joker, I felt miserably depressed after, and I'll never watch it again, but I can't deny it was an exceptional movie, with incredible writing/acting/directing.

[@asmith3846]

I'm only 42 seconds into the video, and we've seen Kate Capshaw maybe 5 times. I love it.

[@mattsager914]

Forced romantic plots almost always piss me off. Especially in stories where romance is secondary to the plot. It feels like a contrived distraction or stakes, when it's perfectly reasonable to think "this character has more on their mind than sex"

[@l24ub]

Part of, if not the main point, of Rogue One was that Jyn was just going to let the Empire do whatever they wanted. She took action when she realized she didn't want to live that way.

[@fiktivhistoriker345]

Just to mention it, i found Jyn Ersos introduction way better than adult Anakins. She was obviously in trouble for something she did. And we had seen her child trauma just seconds ago. Anakin looked like he just got out of bed, talking about some wild things. He was boring.

[@shawn576]

Can you explain what you mean? It's already established that Anakin has been training under Obi Wan for about 10 years, so it's expected that he has powers. He seems like a normal person until he learns that his mother was kidnapped and violated by sand people, so he does the responsible thing and brings justice to those who need justice. Those movies sucked, but Anakin did feel like a real person until the point where he turned to the dark side. That part made absolutely zero sense. He wants the power to bring back the dead, and this somehow justifies k'ing a bunch of jedi children? Who the hell knows.

[@fiktivhistoriker345]

@@shawn576 Well, when we saw Anakin first in part two, he and Obi Wan talked about their adventures and training, we didn't see anything of it. It's tell, don't show. Excusable in a book, but deadly in a movie. And yes, Anakins turn to the dark side came to aprupt.

[@shawn576]

​@@fiktivhistoriker345 It feels like that could have worked if they showed him doing something impressive before it. If they had an action sequence first and then show him casually talking about past adventures, it would establish that he has lots of experience doing what we just saw. Han Solo's character is introduced as talk before show, and it actually sort of works. Han is a bit different because his past experience ends up being radically different from the job he signed up for. Smuggling cargo and dodging everyday police is a bit different from smuggling someone on the FBI most wanted list.

[@Soundwave1900]

About Harry Osborne, I think his arc is a symptom of a different writing sin. In your fix you propose he should go for Peter because he still needs his blood, but there's no reason Peter wouldn't just agree to give it to him so we still get a forced conflict because the plot demands so. But why did Harry turn into green goblin in the first place? Because Peter refused to give his dying friend his blood for no other reason but because the plot demands so. It all falls back to inconsistent characterization.

[@shawn576]

Yeah that does seem weird. Donating blood is not like donating a kidney. You sit in a chair for 5 minutes and it's over. There would need to be some kind of conflict where Peter believes donating blood would harm Harry, but Harry believes otherwise. The refusal to donate blood would be interpreted as some kind of attack and thus justifying a counterattack.

[@chamoy111]

2:23 i didn’t even write this character and this still STUNG 💀 brutal

[@GrimSoldat]

Hey great vid! 100% agree! I feel like there is a lot more that can be unpacked, because all of the points you made are very profound. For example, in 1 with the lack of emotional connection has so much that can be elaborated on and I feel like a lot of character arcs fail because of that. If there is no way a character can be relatable, which includes their growth and vulnerabilities they come off as flat and uninteresting. Some Examples that immediately come to mind is Rey and Master Chief. (Sorry, not sorry.) They are already super powered, but have a really bland and robotic personality as though they are just inputted into to fix the universe they were dropped into. Rey had a very weak arc, and it wasn't like Revan where there was a logical explanation as to why they were that powerful so quickly in the first place. Master Chief was a super soldier, so that's already difficult to relate to, but if they showed more of how much he struggles with post-traumatic stress or how his sociopathic tendencies cause him to make poor or impulsive decisions, that would be way more interesting. Maybe even show how much he is alienated from his peers. We kinda caught a glimpse of that in Halo 4, which I actually really liked, but the war was basically over at this point. (Disclaimer: They may very well have rectified the problem with Master Chief in the books, I just haven't read them in over 15 years because I lost interest. Case in point.) Thank you for your vids! They are a huge help! 😇

[@lonjohnson5161]

I'm having trouble with a story where the main character is a high school student who wants to get through school without too much attention, but enough so he is favorably remembered by some of his classmates (part of the story is revealing his reasons). I worry that my character's goals are too small to be interesting, but I've watched many shows (mostly anime for this setting) where these apparently small stakes are still interesting. Could we get a episode showing the good and bad ways to use small stakes in a story?

[@ssssssstssssssss]

I don't think the goals are too small. In fact, starting with small goals is often better. Don't worry about whether the goals are inherently interesting, but instead try and dig deep and figure out what's interesting about them.

[@Army_Dog]

One thing I really hate about certain characters is when they're revealed to have a really cool ability only to never use it again

[@shawn576]

Can you give an example? It feels like I've seen this many times. I guess one that stands out is Star Wars Episode 1. The jedi run super fast but then it's never brought up again. Also they choose to use the force to cheat at a dice game. If they're going to cheat and lie to get what they want, why don't they just threaten to k him if he doesn't give them the boy? It breaks character because they're supposed to be moral crusaders who would never do an armed robbery, but then they're willing to cheat at dice. It's so stupid. I think they also tried to force persuade him into accepting their trash fiat currency. Again, if they are willing to force people to accept garbage currency, why wouldn't they also be willing to do an armed robbery?

[@Army_Dog]

@shawn576 one example is that in Nightmare Before Christmas Oogey Boogey uses his powerful breath to pull Sally towards himself and never uses it again

[@sterling7]

Marcos Inaros from "The Expanse". We are told of a brilliant leader possessing messianic charisma, a tactical genius capable of successfully carrying out a conspiracy with many moving parts across multiple planets, one that could easily fall to pieces if any of its executors betray him or fail in their missions. When we finally meet him, he's nepotistic, mercurial, manipulative in obvious ways, squanders his people to feed his own ego, and generally seems like he should have been stabbed in the back a dozen times before he ever got so far.

[@futurestoryteller]

You were shocked that the genocidal maniac with a messiah complex was a manipulative narcissist. I see this is where the intellectuals gather.

[@kevingluys3063]

​@@futurestorytellerI think they are saying that it's not believable that so many people wouldn't see him for what he is, given his behavior. I didn't watch the show so I can't comment personally.

[@electricdawn2258]

People follow Trump. Need I say more?

[@kevingluys3063]

@@electricdawn2258 very fair point. Wasn't it Twain that said "Fiction is harder to write than history because fiction needs to make sense."

[@futurestoryteller]

@@kevingluys3063 Show me the homicidal dictator who seemed like a loyal, chill guy to his confidants, so that any lurking historians who may stumble in can quickly disabuse.

[@Traffydrhart]

Gotta do a vid on good vs bad (strong) female characters

[@jeffcoil6181]

It was proven on Myth Busters that the door wound NOT have supported both Jack and Rose; it would have sunk. This was immediately apparent when they both first attempted to climb onto it. What could they have possibly done to make the door more buoyant? Nothing. So, Jack sacrificed himself so that Rose could survive and stayed with her until the last moment. It was his final words that gave Rose the will to survive.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

I am having trouble making the protagonist of my grimdark fantasy novel not too passive, while establishing them (a young girl who is a princess) as timid and introverted in demeanor, and dislikes being around other people. This is regarding the first half of the book as a young child, since as a young adult, she is supposed to become more proactive and driven.

[@futurestoryteller]

You either change the role to suit the story, or change the story to suit the role. Depending on your exact plot beats it sounds like the least disruptive thing you could do is have her personally witness important plot elements. "Witness" doesn't have to be a passive role for a whole host of different reason, setting most of those aside though, if the events explain why she takes a more proactive role in the future - which they should, it doesn't matter that she's not an active participant earlier on. Probably better if she can concoct some excuse for why her intervention would have helped. It might be good to establish something early on that she is activated by though, because it shows that when pushed she will push back, and hints at unrealized potential. A writer usually has man more tools than they realize in their toolbox. Another idea might be to use red herrings. If you have a character who's meant to become the beloved leader of a ragtag group of rebels, they might be introduced as a reckless troublemaker who plays mean-spirited pranks on their peers. Despite a clear gap between character types, both are inherently anti-social, so it's much less of a leap than it might be if they were frustratingly obedient to begin with. I genuinely think the recipe for making a character complex and nuanced is to... make them complex and nuanced. If your character clearly doesn't like public speaking, and you show the exception that will make them address a whole crowd - typically without peer pressure - then we're cooking. So there's that possibility. You might need to find your character's exceptions..

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@futurestoryteller My book was meant to be a retelling of The Lion King, mixing it with Star Wars Revenge of the Sith. It has to fit within that framework, which is non-negotiable to me

[@futurestoryteller]

@@unicorntomboy9736 I'm not sure what you're qualifying here, so all I can say is being a little too rigid with your original idea is often the thing that will get you into trouble, if you're not careful.

[@galfisk]

Give her a rich inner life. She can observe and think without engaging, she can love knowledge but not social interaction, love intrigue but only at a distance, find people overwhelming while being curious about them, treasure her alone time, have trouble connecting, have trauma that made her withdraw, or a number of other interesting facets. I recently re-read The Murderbot Diaries, and the way the main character is awkward around humans and really want to be left alone to watch TV shows, but at the same time violently protective of the same humans if they're in trouble, is quite endearing.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@futurestoryteller What do you mean by that

[@bucksdiaryfan]

The Mythbusters proved that the door would not have sunk if both had gotten on top and buoyed the door with their life jackets. The director Cameron was a guest on the show and insisted the door would have sunk... "the script said the door would have sunk" lol

[@Lithilic]

Characters being inconsistent is one of the most frustrating and probably the thing that causes me to lose interest the fastest, which is almost as bad as being inconsistent with the rules of the fictional universe. As a reader or viewer, you simply reach a point where you decide, if the author doesn't care, then why should I? This is why I gave up on Disney Star Wars after I saw TFA.

[@jcspoon573]

Harry has few magic items. He is given a magic mirror to contact his god-father, but the plot requires a kid who grew up with no magic to forget he has a magic mirror to contact the one person he must reach.

[@susanam.826]

I like Willie... I mean, I think she fits the story well, including the screaming. In my opinion, there's 0% wrong with the Temple of Doom. :)

[@glentz716]

The most frustrating character of all-time for me was Anakin in the prequels. Everything about him was badly written. For one thing, we didn't need his story as a child at all. You could have started the prequel with the second movie and nothing would have been lost. The second problem is that Anakin's increasing abilities are simply not that believable. He is easily defeated and captured on Geonosis, impotent against Dooku, but a movie later we're supposed to believe he easily defeats Dooku with no setup and with Dooku not trying any of the tricks that confuddled Anakin in the movie before? And finally, the thing that turns Anakin into an insta-evil bad guy is too simple, too easy and too sudden and the next thing you know he's killing children. And despite being billed as this guy who hunts down and destroys the Jedi, he never once in the entire prequel kills a Jedi in a fair fight. There's no way that you can be convinced that he is the same character as the Darth Vader in the next 3 movies.

[@shawn576]

They fucked up so many things about him. At no point was he ever shown to be more powerful than Obi Wan or any other jedi. He's supposed to be highly skilled yet arrogant and inexperienced jedi, which is something we can all relate to because everyone is like that at some point. We never see it. He's not a better swordsman, he's not stronger, he's not faster, he's not smarter, he doesn't have psychic powers, he can't shoot lighting from his fingers. He's just a regular dude. There were so many opportunities to show his exceptionalism. Him making droids as a kid was good - it shows intelligence, but it stopped there and was never brought up again. He was unintelligent for the rest of the trilogy. He also lacked charisma. He couldn't read peoples emotions very well, he couldn't manipulate people, he was not diplomatic. He doesn't come across as a dangerous person, so the jedis talking about him being dangerous never made sense. A truly dangerous enemy would be likeable, charismatic, intelligent, strong, good looking, fast, and highly skilled. A dangerous enemy is one who never shows up alone, and they can turn your own friends against you. Anakin is not that person. Interestingly, Vader has most of those qualities. He's intelligent because he always seems to show up at the right place and right time. Vader has real actionable plans. Vader is also ridiculously powerful. In Empire Strikes Back, he blocks a blaster shot with his hand, so it gives the impression that there are very few ways to hurt him. Vader also used diplomacy; he used intimidation and force to turn Lando against his friend Solo. Vader only shows up alone when he chooses; he usually shows up with a small army to back him up. The movies did a great job of showing how Vader is a dangerous enemy. We're only told that Anakin is dangerous.

[@Mostirrelevant]

If you ever considered doing such thing, I would really love to read your book on writing. You definitely know how to explain writing problems. Let us know if something like that will come up on the shelves

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Good news… I’m releasing one soon. Hopefully December, but it may have to wait until early 2025, depending on how the audiobook recording goes

[@Mostirrelevant]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Looking forward to it

[@shelbybrown3041]

I hate when the main characters don't have any chemistry with their love interest. It's painful to watch.

[@TurquoiseStar17]

Tyrion Lannister dumbed down pretty much the minute they ran past the books (I don't want to say ran *out* because they barely touched books 4 and 5). It's easy to see why he's George's personal favorite character, and the perfect example to your point.

[@glentz716]

He was pretty dumbed down in Book 5

[@WhiteFangofWar]

On #2, characters should be allowed to grow and change or reveal hidden depths. What matters is having a solid reason for that. Like a character who is actually kind-hearted has to put on a facade of being cold and blunt because they work for a Repossession Agency.

[@VincentEdelstein]

thanks! Will be sending this to my high school Literature Club!

[@dashinvaine]

Not only is the girl Jyn Erso rescues not seen again, she is presumably blown up with everyone else in the city. Still it was not a bad bit of rescuing, bought her a few more hours of life...

[@brettsteinbook5370]

I'm most upset by passive characters. Jyn Erso is just pulled by the plot until she sees her dad's message and the whole movie is dragged down before that because of it. Unconvincing goals and motivations are bad but sometimes movies gloss over them so quickly it's like they don't even exist at all like in Black Widow. how do you have a revenge movie and not show the Red Room doing anything bad to any of the main characters? the main characters put in less thought and interest in to going on a revenge mission then most people put into going out to see a concert for a band they don't even like.

[@wikusklinkert]

For me one of the worst examples of Inconsistent Characterization is the titular character of the TV Show Castle He starts off smart, funny, and competent - including but not limited to being a great shot with a firearm As the series progresses, he becomes stupider, incompetent, and inept at most things to the point of even being scared of firearms. He also constantly makes rash and idiotic decisions that often leaves him in need of rescue I feel the show's writers did this in an attempt to make the other lead, Beckett, seems more like a bad-ass than she actually was, by throwing the character of Castle under the bus.

[@ns6247]

I just came across your channel recently and I really enjoy your content but unrelated I think for your book Entry Wounds, there was a missed opportunity to title it Six Shooter 😂

[@michaelschroeck2254]

2:20 i hate hate hate hate that trope. They did it in pirates of the Caribbean and all I could think was “ why is this little kid in the middle of downtown without his parents in the middle of the night?!” I hate that tripe. When I see it I need to pause , redact then try to push in with the rest of the story. In rogue one the goal was “ oh she’s a bad ass but she has a heart of gold.” Today they would have done that with Han Solo. I’m surprised Solo did not have a scene like that .

[@momiriseni5320]

Everything being as you said, I couldn't care less about the characters if the story or the novel contains unforgettable ideas or images. For instance, Randezvous with Rama by Arthur Clarke, or works by Lovecraft or Thomas Ligotti. What I like the most are ideas: if a grandiose, imaginative visions are there, the characters may as well remain of cardboard and I don't care.

[@2424Lars]

I'm writing a DnD campaign for my friends, and since you keep mentioned character introductions, I have a question about this. I have this major (in)famous antagonist character in the world that the characters should become aware of, but are not supposed to actually meet them until later in the story. I want to introduce him through another important npc they are meeting soon, but I don't want to turn it into a boring info dump/history lesson. How would you introduce such characters in a good way when you're bound to the POV of the protagonists?

[@JJ-nu8qi]

Pretty much all your GOT compliments came from the later seasons when they out ran the books. They were in such a rush to finish it for some reason.

[@QuickHaxx]

Was entry wounds inspired by the gonne in Discworld Men at Arms?

[@karenshea7877]

The worst part of the door, even if he was on the door he is likely to freeze to death first. They could have talked both on the door. Then when he died, she could have shaken him repeatedly and shaken so hard he falls off the door.

[@LillyTheLonelySock]

I don't like when characters who don't know each other, or are in separate "groups" use the same phrases, expressions, or slang terms. For example, characters who are very different from each other won't all say a drunk person was "hammered." Some might say "wasted," "smashed," "intoxicated," "under the influence," etc ... People who are close and spend a lot of time together tend to adopt the same expressions and slang terms. So when characters who are strangers or who have little in common with each other use the same expressions, it seems like lazy writing.

[@jojonight-h4e]

I think you've missed the point with the Titanic ending..I think having Jack in the water was symbolic of how he put her wellbeing above his and thus served the romance; knowing the ship has sunk, he romantically gave into his fate along with it. Having a struggle between them and the sea would only have made the scene clumsy and distract from the romance.

[@Jason-Alighieri]

Hey Brandon, I wanted to ask if you if it's okay to mention you in my current novel in the dedication section. I wanted to give you credit for teaching me how to become a novelist.

[@The_Com-Mentor]

Don Corleone's plan to send Luca Brasi to spy on Salutzo. That wasn't in line with how brilliantly clever he's supposed to be.

[@shawn576]

I saw a guy do a video explaining this. In the book, it's not a 1 day thing. it's like a several month operation where he's slowly switching sides and slowly gaining their trust. he doesn't just show up and say "hey I'm trying to betray my boss. please tell me your plans." It had to be cut for time, basically.

[@DavidMay-cc1xo]

I loved the TV show "Sliders" for the most part. But they had a lot of stupid character moments. So the basic premise was 4 characters ended up getting trapped on an alternate Earth but the timer that opened the vortex (wormhole) lost the coordinates home, so each time they went through the vortex, it was to a random Earth and they kept hoping that the next leap will be the leap home (wait, that might be a different show). But it was clear, the timer told them when the next vortex would be open, but that it didn't stay open for long, so they all had to be together or risk being left behind. So there would be no reason to split up so drastically, especially in a world without cell phones. So in the episode "Slither", the 2 guys head from San Fran to Mexico by plane for a little vacation time. The 2 girls stay behind. WHAT? Without even going into why you need a vacation when every world you visit is new, why would you travel so far away just to be away from the girls (at this point 1 main character was killed off and replaced with a new girl who hadn't been with them that long). Of course, trying to fly home they have a problem when they get bumped from their flight and catch a charter plane home, without bothering to even try to call the girls (although it's not clear if there even was a number to call). Well, that plane crashes in the jungle and so the girls get worried the guys aren't back and decided to head down to Mexico to find them. WHAT? You have no way to contact them and you didn't know they crashed in the jungle. What if it they took a later flight and showed up and now you're heading to Mexico? They also constantly go to new Earths where things are always different, even if slightly, but usually it's laws and customs. But the characters rarely, if ever, try to figure out what's different until it's too late. They went to a world where singing was outlawed, but The Crying Man can't stop singing and what's the worst that could happen? The problem with bad characters, or characters making poor choices when they shouldn't, is then the plot has to be written to fix the issues. So it's just becomes bad writing because it's manufactured drama by creating a problem to solve. What's odd is the entire episode of "Slither" could have played out in a similar manner without needing to split the characters up.

[@Nuh_uh696]

perfect video to watch after school😊

[@davidanderson9103]

Related to Pacing, not characters. I was just going through a book and the pacing was painful at times, and it made me think of your channel and wondered if you had touched on it. You sorta touched on it on your previous video on pacing, but not quite. In particular, I have noticed that in a few of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files stories, his pacing gets a bit long winded during an action sequence... and what I mean by that is that during the course of a bit of action that probably took just a couple of minutes of story time, it actually took over half an hour to read about it. Do you ever consider the speed of the reader reading when writing action scenes, so that the time it takes to read doesn't heavily eclipse the actual time elapsed within the story?

[@lotharrenz4621]

many comic authors most certainly don't. especially superhero comic authors, which is why I never caught on those really, until those Dark Knight graphic novels came out early 90's. an action scene a mere two seconds long and they engage in witty banter or exlain their life story or whatever. some things can take you a minute to read, each bubble takes up time, and don't get me started on putting them bubbles in out of reading order, so you read it all wrong...

[@LarryThePhotoGuy]

I hate it when the romantic duo break up because of misunderstandings and spend 500 pages torturing themselves when a 2 minute conversation would clear things up. Think Ayla and Jondalar in "The Mammoth Hunters" by Jean Auel.

[@allycat2836]

In all of the examples of bad anything is the movie the Room.