If someone kills someone and frames it as a suicide and gets away with it, Than another person commits because of the murder that the person did. Does the second suicide count as something the murderer encouraged?

I'm writing a novel, and I want to know what people are looking for in characters. I know a lot of characters in books have troubled pasts, quirky personalities, are really good singers or are heroic and brave, and while these are good in stories, they are quite overused (imo anyway).

Also appearance wise, the main characters are always beautiful and handsome, and of course you might not want an "ugly" character, but what about somebody with a bigger nose, or crooked teeth? They might be traditionally quite gorgeous, but with one feature that would typically be considered "uglier." That doesn't make them an ugly character, but maybe not perfect.

Body type wise, I know most male characters are really tall and muscly, and women are usually slender. There is a fair amount of plus-size characters too, which is great, but there aren't that many people in between. Like maybe somebody who wouldn't be considered plus-size or skinny. Just because a character doesn't have an hourglass body shape doesn't mean they're "fat" or "skinny".

And then talking about fears. I know lots of characters have PTSD, which is fair enough seeing as most characters go through a lot of traumatic events, and there are lots of characters who are scared of the dark, or heights or spiders. But you don't really find characters who are afraid of blood or even dogs (one of my best friends is afraid of dogs).

I'm trying to make my characters realistic, and I know it sometimes contrasts with the story (if Katniss Everdeen was scared of breaking rules, and therefore didn't do so, the story would be a lot more different), but I find that sometimes authors make their characters too perfect for the sake of people judging them, or making them seem less believable.

I tried to make my characters the same and yet opposites of me. I have two main characters, and my novel is told in both of their POVs. With the girl, everything that I'm scared of, she is too. I'm afraid of heights, of fire and most fights. With my male character, it's the opposite. I'm not really afraid or spiders, dolls or clowns, but he is. In fact, my female character actually adores dolls, while he's terrified of them, yet my male character loves being up high, and my female character always wants to stay firmly on the ground.

My female character is also, like me, a complete wuss. She's scared of a lot of things, and often she'll scream or yelp or make any sort of noise. Also she's extremely curious, but also very scared of what she might find, so one trick I use is pretend that there's an angel and a devil on her shoulder and if she were talking to them what would she do, and usually that's the outcome. Often she'll be thrown into battle, and her immediate action is to flee. She's not shy or anything, she mostly just blends into the background. However, my male character just wants to get it over with, so he'll begin fighting straight away. His curiosity gets the best of him sometimes, but it gets him into really bad situations.

I was just wondering what tropes you guys are really sick of. Kinda went off topic there too, but I just wanted to give some examples and maybe you guys could tell me how to improve or change my characters. (Also I don't really get offended so you can say anything, just please be honest)

Realistically ould an empire be stopped just by a huge mountain range ? Like renaissance like society

Is it possible to wake up from a coma and only forget one single person with all the memories involving them?

Recently a new story popped into my head about a sort of flesh virus that mutates and corrupts living beings into gross monsters in service of a central intelligence. Think the infestation from Warframe.

I have a main character who studied the contagion, and i was wondering what her specific field of study would be (and by extension her job title). I would think virologist, but the contagion also causes growth and mutations on infected individuals and the environment. I think that's a bit more than a virus, even if it does propagate by consuming cells to replicate itself.

My musician set in my vaguely medieval-esque world likes playing the lute but hasn't had one in her possession in some time. She finally gets one and plays the thing until her fingertips are either bleeding or, if too much, at least visibly red and raw.

Would her fingers reach that point on such strings? Obviously it wouldn't be like a guitar's strings, but my research hasn't clued me into the abrasiveness of dried animal intestines.

I've done some research on this and have only managed to find general/broad answers but it would be helpful to get more specific details from someone who has firsthand experience. The main thing I've learned is that you need a pretty broad/extensive music knowledge because customers will often ask questions or for music recommendations. Other responsibilities seem to be pretty similar to working in any retail job but it would be nice to get an idea of specific "mundane" tasks that people may not realize is part of the job (e.g. cleaning the space/windows, cleaning records/record players etc?). What tasks are done more frequently/routinely (pricing records, putting out product, taking inventory of what's in stock)? What are some jobs that are done less frequently but are fairly important? Do people often try to sell their records to the store and if so how is pricing of a record determined? It would also be helpful to know, if possible, how some of these tasks may be done (for example, I have a scene where my character is walking around the store 'taking inventory' of what's in stock and documenting it on a sheet of paper. I have a feeling that isn't realistic...but I just threw it in there to give her a task to do in the scene.)

If it helps my FMC is 17/18 so she may be assigned smaller responsibilities (but her coworkers may be handling a broader scope of responsibilities so it's still good to know what those might be). I just want to ensure that the scenes of her working at the store are realistic. Any info is useful! If more information is needed on my part, I will update the post accordingly.

I'm a small-time writer, and I'm looking for help with a specific setup for a character/plotline before it can't be changed without a lot of legwork. The setup is this: The main character is a bartender who took over a bar from his mentor and pseudo-father to run himself. He was very strong and prideful when he was young, and working with his adopted children did damn near everything in the bar by himself, eventually becoming a much loved and respected man in his community for contributing to the local scene and helping a lot of people. However, he's getting old and his kids have recently moved out for college/work, and he's still stubbornly trying to do the same long hours and draining busywork he used to, now almost completely on his own except for occasional help from family and friends. I want it to be a small exercise exploring the character's slice-of-life love story and transformational growth as he learns to value taking care of himself as much as he values taking care of everyone else.

I have a lot of questions, but here are the most important ones:

For a smaller bar with a limited capacity of about 600-800 sq ft, how many customers could it handle in a busiest day? This is vaguely set in the US, and I have not nailed down its occupancy limit yet, so if anyone works in a small bar I would appreciate knowing what occupancy limits yours has or you have seen before!

With a simpler menu, what prep work would need to be done? How often would each task need to be done in a week, and how much time would it take one person? If there are machines or processes that speed it up, I would love to hear about them!

What drinks take the longest or are the most irritating to make?

What shifts could a man in his 40s reasonably handle if he was doing literally every job, with only occasional help from friends/family, in a small city?

What strains might a bar or its workers experience if the city it's in experiences a sudden influx of tourism, or starts expanding suddenly within about a year?

What are the absolute worst kind of customers a bar can have? I'm looking for a variety, from irritating to genuinely destructive and/or frightening to just sad.

If you have information about ANY of these or even just general information about how bars are run, I would appreciate hearing it so much! Unfortunately google is spitting out some of the most useless answers known to man or god, and I've been wading through information ranging from semi-helpful to completely useless for a week now (ex. it took four tries for google to understand i wanted to look at COMMERCIAL juicers and NOT juicers that have been seen in viral TV/video advertisements). I understand this is a lot to ask, but anything will help!

Would human skin, properly tanned, actually make good leather, or would it do best as ornamental only pieces, and why?

I'm aware of the fact that making people go unconcious does NOT work like in the movies, in that there's not much that's both quick acting and safe.

In my situation, however, mild sedation (enough to keep someone from being able to put up a good fight) would work, but it still needs to be fast acting, and preferably administered by needle (or something else that can be administered to an unwilling person).

And it does need to be non-harmful to the person.

When I've had IV sedation, at least the "woozy feeling" seems to kick in pretty fast. Could small doses of any of the drugs used in IV anesthesia work?

Protagonist works in a morgue and is embalming a body of a women who lost her eye and wore a fake one for all her life.

Are people buried with their prosthetic eyes still in? And if not, what do they do with socket? Bc they (probably) cant but a eye cap on it

If so, are there clear videos, either of real people or simulations, where you can see the change? I'm animating my work on top of writing it, so I hope this is still within the spirit of the sub.

So, I'm writing this short horror. Based on the title, you might think it's about zombies, no, it's vampires. Taking a bit of inspiration from original Folklore, I came up with how the vampires in my story work.

Yes, they're immortal, however their bodies don't stop rotting. To become a vampire, you have to die first. They have no heartbeat, no temperature, their nerve endings are numb, etc. (They're literally walking corpses). They have super strength, need blood to sustain their power, speed, agility, etc. But no self-healing abilities.

So how does their immortality work? Well, instead of regeneration, they can assimilate organic or non-organic stuff into their rotting bodies. Or they kill and possess a new body—which will also rot with time. It makes them more monstrous, more sinister.

For example, this poor character of mine, who became a vampire against his own will, his body got so decomposed to the point his leg fell off. Luckily, there was a deer nearby, so he killed it, ripped off its leg, and attached it as a replacement.

However, I am wondering. What's the longest time a corpse can last roaming around, until it is unable to move due to decomposition? Assuming a vamp stops assimilating new body parts.

In my story, the male character has the right of way, going 30 mph. A Truck runs a red light and he flips over the hood and lands on the other side. He definitely is wearing his helmet and breaks his tibia. My questions are: What other injuries occur? Do you think he would be in a coma? And how long would he be in the hospital before he’s released? Also, what are some common repercussions of said accident?

the character I'm writing is going to be suffering from memory loss but they know two languages. Would their native tongue be the one that they remember the most or would it be the one they had been speaking the most, would his speech be affected by the people around him while he was in his sleep and would that be the language he remembers how to speak.

Hi all, for a historical fiction novel set around the year 1500 in Northern Europe, one of my characters have dislocated two fingers. I realise that in today's world, you'd go to a doctor to have your fingers rejointed as it sounds like you can royally ruin your joints if an amateur tried to do it, but what would be the realistic solution 500 years ago? How realistic would it be that it went well? Thanks so much!

Hello everyone! (English is not my first language) I'm writting a book in which my character underwent a heart transplant when she was 3 years old. What are some less obvious facts about life after a transplant (she is 16 now)? How might this affect her psychologically, and what physical limitations could she have? What could have been the reason for the transplant? I would be grateful for any information

This is a fantasy story, the world is like the late Middle Ages or the very early Renaissance. A 15 year old boy finds himself in a north port city, what kind of work could he find there to support himself? I know that to get a job at that time, you had to have someone you knew to vouch for you, and that there were already guilds in every profession that were hard to get into. But I need him to survive there. :) And it doesn't have to be something illegal, at least not serious.

The main action of the story takes place later, so these are just some of his memories.

(I apologize for my bad English, I write in another language)

MC gets shot twice, in the shoulder and abdomen area, both bullets are still in the body. Gun was a six shooter smith and Wesson revolver, distance was roughly about 10 to 15 feet away. MC ran away from the attacker an unknown amount of distance but after falling unconscious from blood loss, they wake up in a small rural clinic and patched up. I'm assuming that since blood transfusions aren't a thing in the 1890s and we are assuming they don't get an infection and no vital organs were damaged.

Would they normally dig the bullets out or leave them in? What's a realistic amount of time for them to be unconscious before waking up after the incident? How long are they in bed rest? How long until MC is able to get up and start moving again, and how long until they are fit to travel? I can do some time skips but a general time frame that sounds believable to the reader would be helpful. Thank you!

I'm writing a fantasy book in a medieval European ish setting. Character serves as a personal guard of the monarch

What are his tasks, routines, schedules, how many people could be serving in the guard, what is the structure of this... um... unit?, where does everyone live, train, eat, what about their spare time, what are their weapons, where they're at in the royal palace hierarchy? Is this a noble duty, could there be some noblety serving, or they're just regular folk?

I'm writing on a new idea. In the past, before the book starts, three Characters are in a car accident together.(They cause it, nobody outside of their car is hurt) All of them under the influence of drugs and alcohol. One of them dies in the Crash. What Consequences would this have for the other two in the car, specifically the driver? Surely he would get jail time, but for how long?

I'm trying to write a story and need some inspiration. I'm hoping someone can recommend some fables about stealing. Not a back and white stories though. More of Robin Hood sort of stories where it's not clear cut that stealing is bad.

Thanks

I am writing a story set in Salem, Oregon. Having never lived there myself, I don't know much about the culture or what it is like to live there. I chose it because its geographical location matches up well with what is required for my story. This story does take place in a version of the US where people with magical powers exist so the city will be changed a little bit, however, I want to write the city as close to reality as possible.

What tips or handy resources do you have for researching and writing a city where you don't have much personal experience?

Also, for people who live in Salem or the surrounding areas, what is some info that cannot be learned on the Internet and is just known from living there that would be useful when writing character interactions and the city itself?

You know in games how you go to the NPCs to gather more information about a topic and basically every person you talk to gives you what you need? What would that be like in real life? Like what if you just walked into the local bar and asked about some new gang in town? What percentage of information do you think would be useful and not just bad rumors?

I’m sure the topic and the audience makes a big difference here, but would still love to hear some estimates - especially from anyone with relevant experience.

I tried looking for rumor accuracy figures in police canvassing among other things, but couldn’t find anything.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry if Physics isn't the right flair, lol. I have a character make a bonfire out of socks, (leather) shoes, a waistcoat and a felt coat. I'm focusing on the coat because (except for the shoes) it's the heaviest and biggest part - how long would it burn in a dry environment with little to no fresh air? (a cave-ish thing). For clarity, there are no synthetics - all cotton, linen, leather and felt.

I'm writing up a small mystery story where the killer uses a glock 22 with a suppressor, but I know suppressors don't fully silence shots. How far would the sound travel? I've seen that the dB could be anywhere from 90+ to maybe even reaching 110+, but I know it would depend on the type of suppressor.

A character is in a camp on a battlefield between fights, everyone is sharpening their swords or tying bandages. He needs to engrave a small rune on the side of his sword blade as a precursor to doing magic. But what would you use to engrave a rune into a sword? I feel like a knife blade can't scrape away steel and it really needs to be in the metal of the blade not the handle.

The sword is just normal steel, no mythril or spell-forged-steel. It's a standard pseudo-medieval fantasy setting, perhaps a little more advanced than average and on the cusp of inventing industrialisation. It's a very low-magic setting, most people don't believe magic is real and there's no such thing as off-the-shelf magic tools.

What tool would you need to engrave steel? Could you use a hammer-and-chisel technique to slowly mark out the shape? I feel like using a random boot-knife or nail wouldn't be hard enough and you'd need something very strong. Could he carry a hardened steel point that he uses for situations like this? Or does it need proper blacksmith tools, hammers and dies?

Hi! I was hoping someone here might be able to help me. I did some initial research when I was in the early planning and writing stages of what's turning out to be a trilogy, but now that I'm getting close to the chapters in question (mid book 3) I'm needing a bit more specific information.

In the world I have created, about sixteen years have passed since natural disasters struck every country. One capital city was hit by a tsunami, another was hit by a hurricane, a desert country was battered by sandstorms, I think you can get the idea.

I'm hoping to focus on one country for now, one with a classic "huge ancient forest" type region that was hit by a wildfire. (which was first set and spurred on by the bad guys, but that's not entirely relevant) The majority of the trees are white oak, and I have a few questions.

Does the tree type matter when it comes to forest recovery? For example, pine trees need fire in order to open the seeds from the cones, from what I remember. I imagine oaks and White oaks aren't the same, but I'm wondering if fire does something for or to them as well.

Would the trees die, or would they survive the fire, albeit charred? The canopy would be fairly thick, save for some clearings, lakes and rivers. Would the fire likely reach up through the leaves and burn it entirely, or just the lower branches and trunk?

Does anyone happen to know if a tree burl would get through a fire more or less unscathed?

How much regrowth would be considered "possible" after sixteen years? Undergrowth, new canopy, if the trees died and new ones started to grow, or if its likely nothing but a wasteland by then?

I appreciate anyone who can give insight at all, it really means a lot!

! Trigger Warning ! Depression, suicide attempt.

Hi ^^.

First, I want to apologize in advance for any mistake I might make, English isn't my first language.

I have a few questions about something I want tl write. The questions will be related to the topics listed in the TW a bit, so feel free to avoid if needed.

Context : The story is set in France. At the beginning, one of the character, "A" wants to end his life. At some point he's on a bridge ready to jump, but "B", another character, who's there on a walk and also happens to know "A" a bit prevents him from doing so. Once A is off the barrier, B, not being sure of what to do, and after talking to A, says it might be a good thing to call the 15/the SAMU (medical emergency in France, that you can also call for advice if you are not totally sure if it's an emergency).

1. I wonder, in this situation, would the emergencies dispatch an ambulance, even if the person isn't physically hurt, or would they give advise on where to go (psychiatric hospital, etc) to get mental health help (and A would then have to go on his own?) ?

2. In case they do send an ambulance to go to the psychiatric hospital, would B be allowed in too ? I myself accompanied someone after a suicide attempt that made an ambulance necessary a few years ago, but that was because she was my friend and neighbor. A and B know each other, but not well and are more like vague acquaintances (A is B's former boss).

3. At the hospital, would A still be examined by a doctor even though he is not physically hurt, like, just to make sure, before seeing a psychiatrist ?

4. If the psychiatrist suggest that A should stay at the hospital for his depression and suicidal thoughts and attempts, how long would the stay be ? Is 4 months too much / not enough ? And then, what would make a psychiatrist decide if the person can leave (I mean, I'd like to make it a voluntary stay, so, from what I read, it's the patient choice anyway, but still, what would make a psychiatrist go "I too think you can go back home now"?)

5. If you are voluntarily admited to a psychiatric hospital for a while and are isolated (no family, no friends) in the circumstances I stated, how would you do to get your stuff like, I don't know, your Carte Vitale (The card French people have and need for everything medical to be reimbursed + it gives infos to the practitionner), your clothes or even your toothbrush ?

And IF you could get your stuff, would there be things you'd be forbidden to bring to the hospital (not dangerous things of course, but things like you smartphone /laptop) ?

6. If B wanted to visit A at the hospital, would there be a period to wait after A's admission, like 24h or something ? Also would B even be allowed to, since she's not a close one (would she be asked by the hospital what her relationship to A is ?) ? What would B have to do (example : Complete a paper, call the hospital beforehand) ?

7. I suppose it depends on each hospitals and each units within them, but I prefer to ask : Where are the visits happening ? Is there a common room, or are the visits in the patient's bedrooms (if the room are individual) ? Are the visits supervised ?

8. Would you be allowed to bring food like biscuits or things like tea to the person you are visiting ? If yes, I suppose it would need to be things that are bought and unoppened, as to avoid contamination or something.

Thank you in advance for your help, and thank you for this very helpful subreddit for existing ^^.

So I’m currently writing a story and in one scene the couple is supposed to do the whole “12 grapes” on new years, and I was wondering if you can be allergic to red grapes and not white or vice versa? I want this to be a big theme, like them entering this new year in a hard way and the hardships that come after due to the mistake but the characters are Cuban so I really want the 12 grapes to symbolise the first minute of that hard year. Should I simply make it something wrong with the dinner rather than grapes?