I don't wanna/I don't know what to do with this character!!!

Don’t make me do this, Demetrius! DON’T MAKE ME!!!

Ugh! Anyway, moving on towards the reasoning behind this topic/thread.

I hate having to start this character’s story. Every single freaking time I do Demetrius’ story far as introduction, it is ALWAYS him at some fancy ass party/celebration.

I can’t figure out what to do with him far as introducing this person. Nothing else feels right for introducing him. I LOVE Demetrius, but I cannot figure out a good way to introduce him with it being a damn party.

I’ve mentioned this before in another thread. My god! I seriously need to introduce him in another way.

Like I have better understand who Demetrius is as a character.
Honestly the celebration doesn’t have much to do with the plot overall, it’s just there which is stupid. Well…I guess it does in a sense because it is showing what type of people Demetrius’s family are and him too.

I am just sick of it being a party.
There are many ways to introduce Demetrius that could be helpful.

Ugh! Can you guys help me out with this madness?
Lend me your thoughts!

What’s going to happen at the party? Terrorist attack? Everyone gets poisoned by the salmon mousse? Why not write out the party scene and let Demetrius meet people until he introduces himself to someone in an interesting way. Then delete everything that happens before that, move it to some other situation or venue, and resume the story from there? ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯

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Nothing. Nothing at all.
Like the party is pretty much Demetrius’s family flaunting that they are wealthy, royalty, and that they got it made.

Other than that, nothing really happens other than Demetrius getting bored and running into his ex-girlfriend.

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I have seven options (including the party) where Demetrius can be introduced far as the scene.

Yet I feel only some of them will make sense to the plot overall.

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Maybe it would help to have a purpose for the party in the plot instead of removing it. If it helps portray the character, it makes sense to keep it. But if there needs to be more purpose behind it, weaving it into the plot would help as well.

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A party after a funeral.

The Sovereign died and all of the members of the Thirty Dynasties, members of the Global Union Committee, the Elder Primes, and few members of High Order are all gathered at the party honoring the memory of the former Sovereign while preparing for the upcoming Sovereign Election.

Damn, that might have to be a prologue. I say this because along with Demetrius, there are five main characters in the story. These five main characters are the real focus in the story.

So, I would still need to figure out how to…introduce…Demetrius…I got two options that I can mix together.

Ha! In your face, Demetrius! You ain’t nothing!

Sorry, that was weird. :sweat_smile:

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There are several things you could do to make this a bit more intriguing for both you and the reader:

  1. Introduce some stakes. These stakes don’t necessarily need to tie into the main plot, nor to they need to be life threatening. It just needs to reveal something important about your character, and possibly introduce their “problem”.

Oftentimes with main characters, although their journey is had through the main plot/conflict, there’s oftentimes an underlying subplot that asks: what does this character need to overcome about themselves? In other words: show the reader their flaw/gripe/problem.

  1. Most of the advice I’ve read pertaining to character introductions was: have the characters make a choice. This choice can be as miniscule as picking between breakfasts, or what clothes to wear, but it should tell us something about the character.

Example: Maybe the character decides to skip breakfast. Why do they decide this? Because they’re late to school? They’re on a diet? They’re a picky eater? – Though somewhat boring, this allows for a floodgate of information to seep through in a more authentic way. We learn something about the character even though the decision was small.

Something that would be more closely related to your story would possibly be what outfit your character chooses to wear. Do they eat and drink at the party? Why/why not? Do they engage in small talk–how charismatic/social are they?

  1. Use your environment to engage with your character.

What’s going on in the scene? Who is this party for? Why is this party happening? Even if these questions/answers won’t ever come up again, or at all pertain to the main plotline, they’re still things that effect/involve your character.

Your reader doesn’t know who Demetrius is at all. They don’t know if he’s a servant at this party, if he’s an important aristocrat, if he’s the King of Wales–nothing. Introduce this information! It’s intriguing and tells us a lot about the character.

  1. Perhaps write some rough introduction scenes that don’t take place at the party. What if we bumped into him on the street? Met him why he was sitting down for dinner? He’s on a carriage ride that gets highjacked, perhaps he’s at school, work, a friend’s house, admits an argument with someone, kissing someone, killing someone, etc. Take these nuggets and expand on them. Perhaps at the end of it all you’ll realize that a party is the best way to go, or you’ll realize “wow, this introduction works way better!”

  2. Introduce him through the lens of another character who is perhaps a bit more impactful to the plot.

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