3. your characters

If your main character isn't interesting, then neither is your story.

Personally, I can't read stories with y/n or reader pov type writing.  But if that's your thing, read it.  Write it.  I don't judge, bae.  It's just a me thing. And don't let anyone tell you that writing with y/n is childish or teenager-y or usually signifies bad writing. Bc it DOES NOT.

But whether you're using y/n, or having a named oc, they better be a developed, interesting character, you hear me?

Your character better have some little flaws. They better make bad decisions or judgements sometimes (dating a Jedi is a good example so I guess if it's an Anakin fic, you have that covered). And maybe some physical points of interest, too, a birthmark, freckles, maybe they're an amputee of some kind (this is always super cool in the Star Wars universe).

Faceclaims are great. I love faceclaims. I also love seeing art of original characters, if ocs are the route you're going (aka not using y/n)... if you're an artist, you can diy, or you can commission an artist! (I know so many great artists on instagram you can commission... just say the word!)

But please, for the love of the Force, don't use ai, alright? Please. Get a face claim, get some gifs, draw the worst sketch in the world, commission an amazing artist, or heck, just describe your oc, alright! Use some imagination (ive got one and if you're reading or writing fanfiction, you've got one too, so a description will do me just fine and dandy.)!

Ai does not belong in writing, or art, and it most definitely does NOT belong in fanfiction. Respect yourself. Please.

I said this last chapter, but please don't make your main character basically Padme but with a different name or with y/n. She can have some of the same lines, of course, I do that too. Some lines are integral parts of Anakin/star wars lore. But come on, I know you can invent a personality.

My best and favorite tip?

Base your main character off of yourself. What would you say in this situation, for real? What would you honestly do? You are a beautiful, imperfect, and amazing human being, and so is your character (though maybe they're another species, who knows!) so asking yourself honestly what you might say or do in a situation that your character is in is a great idea. My characters are all aspects of me (hence why they are also not perfect people) and I love writing them that way because it's so easy to characterize them as real, believable people.

Now, your main character may have a certain look that you've imagined for them, and that's great! I love that for you! But don't go about just.. describing it all in one.  You can mention little features throughout the book, like i tend to do, or describe the majority of them toward the beginning, but please don't make an entire paragraph of just description.

DONT:

Leonora is a Jedi Padawan.  She lives on Coruscant in the Jedi temple, and has a blue lightsaber that she built all by herself.  Her master is Obi-Wan Kenobi and she's in a secret relationship with Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight.  She has long, brown hair and hazel green eyes, and laying over her right shoulder is her Padawan braid.  She also has freckles and a birthmark on her left leg. This morning, she put on her light beige robes and picked up her lightsaber, and then went outside to do Jedi training in the courtyard with her master. She's pretty good at being a Jedi, but hasn't been on any real missions yet.

Like bruh. That's so boring.  Give me some exposition, yknow? I'm just imagining a girl standing there until the last sentence. 

DO:

This morning, Leonora slowly awoke, groggy from last night's training with Master Kenobi. She finally mustered up the energy to get herself up and out of her bed, then tied away her dark brown hair and stretched— hands to the sky, then down to her toes. After the quick stretch, she walked toward her window and opened the curtains, letting the Coruscant sun shine on her freckles. She took a deep breath, then went to get dressed.

It was a hot day, and training would be out in the courtyard, so she put on light colored robes. She took her Padawan braid out of the ponytail she had tied earlier and allowed it to rest on her right shoulder. Soon, hopefully, she would be going on her first mission with her master, and just maybe, she would get to see Anakin, who was out there somewhere, fighting in the Clone Wars. She could only hope that she would get to see her love again.

Lightsaber clipped onto her belt, Leonora walked out into the courtyard, where Master Kenobi was waiting for her with a smile. They had done this many times— the first part of the morning was always a quick warm up. Without a word, the master and Padawan pair lit up their sabers. The blue light from Leonora's blade illuminated her face, revealing the calm smile on her lips as she and Master Kenobi began their routine.

I know it's a lot longer. But isn't it much better? There's actually events for you to imagine and learn about the character doing instead of just being all tell. Your character should always be doing something. They're not waiting for you to stand there and describe them before they go about their day. Mention little things throughout your events, even throughout your story. Not everything about your character has to be in the first chapter. You can slowly develop what they look like, what their personality is like, and the special little things about them that make them yours.

NOW. For your other characters... the ones that are already in Star Wars.

PLEASE PLEASE be as true to the character as possible. If youre closing your eyes and you can't picture Anakin or Obi-Wan or whoever it is saying that line, or it feels a little off, maybe you should change it up a bit. My personal "pro" tip: feel like you're losing the character? Watch Star Wars. Literally. Like if you're writing clone wars chapters but your anakin feels a little too attack of the clones-y for this era? Watch some clone wars. Like fr.

It's just so weird to me in a fic when Anakin is like not himself at all. Like he's not gonna be careful just bc your mc asked him to. That man does not know how to be careful about anything. Please make Anakin sarcastic and reckless and a little annoying and slightly childish and deeply in love. He is always so deeply in love. Like every anakin fic... Anakin better be SO deeply in love with your mc. There is no casual with Anakin freaking Skywalker.