I have been wondering about this recently,did ancient stoics believed that stoicism had the ultimate truth in life or they actually thought that it wasn't perfect and but still chose to follow it?,
I have been writing my story in the last months,I have always wanted to make a story to show to everyone and stuff like that,I have studied storytelling,pacing,character arc,character development,etc.
Now,I must confess that since I have been a kid,I have never cared much about stories having good writing or being perfectly or even well made,as long as the story and content was fun to me,I was fine with it,now since I started to write my story,I have felt the burden of making everything good,well developed,well pacing,keeping an eye on characters arcs and development,good arcs,etc,etc. and honestly,I know that this is good and stuff,but there are points where I feel that I am making something for others instead of myself,like I am writing it to impress and be approved by others instead of writing what I want to make in my story or writing whatever fun thing i want to write,I have been in this dilemma recently,how do you guys deal with it?
I don't know if this fear is normal and is more common that many people think,but since I started writing my story,I have been anxious that if I don't finish it soon,somebody else will make the same story too,that includes characters designs,backstories,personalities names,arcs,even the name of the series, don't you guys have the same fear?
I wonder that If this is the case, how can companies,studios or other authors take years developing their stories knowing that someone else can release before they do and therefore they will either have to throw away everything or change everything
Humor is a tool that is used by many Authors and writers to make you feel relieved in a story after so much stress or intensity,make you connect with the characters or world,etc. But the thing is that I have never been someone with a good sense of humor,even as a kid,I always preferred emotional honesty and seriousness in the story to comedy or silly moments( with few exceptions for course) It's not that i hate Humor,I love laughing and when a scene makes me laugh,great. But I always preferred when the story took itself seriously. Now that I am making my story,there have been times where I have been constantly thinking of making a fun scene to relieve the tension or make the audience care about my characters,Sometimes I think of a good one,while other times I can't think of good humor,since the only humornthat I can think of is like very absurd or silly for my taste and therefore I think that the audience might dislike it or something. But at the same time I dont want to be 100%, edgy either, so I can't find a way to be funny naturally and at the same time,I want my audience to care about the characters and story
There are many tv shows from few to barely existent funny scenes that are loved by many people Andor Star Wars TV Show
Better Call Saul (from season 3 forward)
The punisher
Black Mirror
The Wire
They got some humor but it is a few of them ,yet they are loved by many
What is the secret?
So the thing is that I have always liked simple stories,since I was kid,simple themes,characters,etc.I never cared much about Good writing or character development or stuff like that until I became terminal on the internet.
Now,the thing is that I have been very perfectionist in my life,in everything,so now as a author or writer,I am scared of making my story very simple,like,making everything straight to the point,clear or not too complex.
It is like my mind is asking me to make the most complex and best structured story ever or else people will hate it for anything.
For example
If I were the director of the Prince of Egypt,I would have thought that the movie wasn't good enough for the audience since it wasn't very complex,scenes were kinda simple,even when characters argued I would have thought that their arguments were too short or not deep enough,side characters need big arcs for the story,scenes of Moses and rameses were not many enough,etc,etc.
It is like my mind can't find a way to determine if a scene,dialogue,character,goal,etc is good enough for the audience to understand or care about.
How do I know?
I am making my story,I have the main cast;the protagonist and the side characters, the thing is that I have been worried about giving proper screentime or moments to stand out or show how they push the story to all of them, like.
How can I know if I am giving too much screentime to my main character and less to my side characters?
How can I know if my side characters are the ones standing out in the story more than the protagonist?
How can I know if all have the same screentime but that makes the protagonist equal to the rest of the cast?
Is there a golden rule or you think that there is no absolute or universale answer and that will depends on every reader?
I am asking since I have seen many characters in fiction that barely have character development or a character arc, and even if they do,it just happens once and the character stays the same.
For example
Toph from Avatar The Last Airbender barely changes and I dont remember her having a character arc or something,yet,she is the most beloved member in the Gaang,
Han solo and Lando Calrissian from Star Wars pass from bad guys to good guys at once and stay the same,yet,they are loved by many fans.
Most Members of the Justice League in Justice League Animated Series barely change and yet that TV Show is really loved
So what happens here?