Chapter two to the Godly Guide. I did my best to keep Apollo in character, not sure if I succeeded. But here goes.
O-o
Appearances, they soon learned, were deceiving.
On the outside, the office looked small and dinky. But inside, though a far cry from the grandeur of the other buildings scattered about, it was larger and then Storm's house. The paneled walls were covered with scenes from Greek history. Hercules and the hydra, Sisyphus and his boulder. And, in a fresher looking painting, Percy Jackson riding a tidal wave. Storm scowled at it.
"What is that doing there?"f
"Oh my gods, Storm." Sheva rolled her eyes. "He's a hero, OK?" before walking up to the reception desk. "We have some interviews with the gods?"
"Names, please," the green-tinted nymph sitting at the computer said.
"Aish Sheva, storm—brain, Theia47 and Zoe Nightshade."
"Mmm hmm." The nymph scanned a list of names. "Brain, Aish, down the hall there. Nightshade and 47 are at the door to the right.
"See you later," Storm muttered. Theia nodded, face almost as green as the nymph.
"What if she blows me up?" Storm thought she heard her whisper.
Wondering the same thing about Apollo, Storm opened their appointed door.
The Sun god had clearly forgotten about this interview until the last minute. He was still wearing his Saints jersey and a Speedo. This was in direct contrast to the mahogany desk that separated them, a desk that gave off an air of formality, except for the signed Paris Hilton photograph on one corner.
"H'lo there." Apollo stared at them for a moment. "Aish Sheva, right? And you are…?"
"Storm. Storm-brain." She took a seat in on of the highly polished chairs.
"The name's Brain," he mimicked her. "Storm-brain. You're that beta reader story girl right?"
"Yeah."
"And you're the one that may or may not be murdering my daughter Leto."
"With pride."
"Do you really support the Saints?" Sheva demanded, eyebrows raised. "You're the god of prophesy. Is that why they made it this far?"
Apollo winked. I'll never tell."
The first comment in Storm's notes reads:
Doesn't really look like a stalker, but the Saints jersey is somewhat suspicious.
"Hey!"
He can also read minds. Note to self.
"Anyway. Lord Apollo." Sheva paused a minute. "So we were going to ask you some questions about character development?" It came out as a question.
Apollo leaned back in his seat and made a big show of twiddling his thumbs. "And?"
"So what are some ways that writers can avoid creating Mary Sue character?"
Storm waited with her fingers poised over the computer keys.
"Well, it's hard to say, me being a bit of a Gary Stu myself—"
"Oh yeah." Storm said sarcastically. "You're really perfect. Except for the stalking, womanizing, raping and having an overinflated ego."
"Storm," Sheva hissed. "Watch it."
"You've been talking to my sister, haven't you." Apollo said accusingly.
"Oh yeah. Me and Artemis would be best buds if I stopped killing her hunters or having spies infiltrate the camp."
"Or having Zeus blast them."
"That too."
Apollo grinned. "The main thing you can do to prevent Sueishness is to give your character flaws. Some authors think that making a character clumsy or something will keep them from being a Sue. This isn't true. It has to be something more major. Like your character has a big ego, is a coward, not athletic or whatever."
Later, Storm would add this to her notes:
List of potential character flaws:
Jerk to everyone they meet.
Make them a coward
Can't fight to save their lives
Obsessed with the opposite gender
Show off
Insecure
Shy
Depends too much on what other people think.
"And how do you tell if your character is a Sue?" Sheva asked.
"Well, think of a resounding flaw. Harry Potter thinks he knows and can do everything. Percy Jackson is stupid, and also thinks he can do everything. So if you have a beautiful character who is really brave and self sacrificing and can fight really well, there's a good chance you have a Sue."
"And appearances are important," Storm commented. "I mean, most teenagers are zitty with bad teeth or frizzy hair or are overweight or something. You can't have your perfect haired, flawless skinned teen with an hourglass figure. It just doesn't happen."
"Unless it's a daughter of Aphrodite."
"Yeah. But I once saw a story where the summary was "Do you want to read a story about a beautiful demigod named Emma." I mean, come on." Sheva added. And Storm added another blurb to her notes.
Potential Physical flaws
Overweight
Zits
Frizzy hair
Dorky glasses
Premature balding
Looks about five years younger then they actually are
Really, really short
Really, really tall
"Also, to keep a character realistic, you need to give them a life. A past, a family, hobbies."
"Unlike Bella."
"We know you hate Bella, Storm. You can shut up now." Sheva cut in.
"Sorry."
Apollo was clearly getting into the interview thing now. The other gods clearly didn't ask for his opinion enough."I mean, you can't just take a character and throw them at a monster. What has your character been through? They must have had a family at some point. You can't just kill their mother and then have them forget it as they go off to fight the gods, you know? They should remember their family. Even if it wasn't the best family life there should be a moment they look back on often. What is your character's history? Taking care of their mother while never having a friend isn't a history. It's a cardboard character."
"High five." Storm offered a hand, and Apollo hit it so hard that she flinched. "Ow.f"
"Sorry. Anyway. Where was I? Oh, right. History. Like how at one point I fought the python, and had that incident with Daphne. Or how my mom was Leto and me and Artemis—"
"Yes, yes, we know all about your history." Sheva smirked. "We're talking hypothetical here, remember?"
Another except from Storm's note read as follows.
Character history
Friends from a long time ago
Parents divorced
Dad is still living with cancer and the kid wants to save him
Step mom the best person in the world
Moved from state to state
Almost kidnapped when they were little by monsters
"Ah yes. Anyway. You also have to give your characters some personality. Everyone has something they're passionate about. I, for example, play the lyre and write haiku. Sheva kills Mary Sues. And Storm…"
"I write," Storm said quietly.
"Ah, of course. And their hobby can't be all related to their parents. I mean, if a genius kid who is a musical whiz shows up, everyone knows they're mine, ya know? But if a kid shows up and is obsessed with photography, then the possibilities are endless. After all, Storm, do your parents like writing?"
"My mom's a biologist and my dad works for Microsoft."
Apollo frowned. "Macs are better."
"Not even. PC."
"Mac stands for Most Awesome Computer, where as PC stands for Piece of—"
"Hello!" Sheva shouted. "I hate off topicness. You were saying?"
"Ah, yes. Hobbies. Now you could have your character obsessed with Most Awsome Computers or something. Everyone has something that makes them tick."
And that, of course, was the next list that Storm has decided to publish.
Potential hobbies
Writing
Photography
Listening to Music
Soccer
Computers
Pottery
"Also, your characters need to change throughout the course of the story. I mean, after you go through some dramatic and traumatizing experiences you're not going to be the same person. Percy wasn't the same after his first quest. Bella was the same after the James incident, but we don't talk about cardboard cut outs like her."
"Let's not talk about her," Sheva agreed. "Ever. We don't want to confuse the readers by bringing up bad role models. "
"They're easily confu—hey. What's that?" Storm pointed to a keychain on Sheva's belt loop. It was shaped like a disco ball, but had the glow of magic about it.
"This? I stole it off a Gary Stu the other day. It turns into a spiked mace. Really good for killing Sues."
"Nice." Apollo stared at it for a moment, then blinked. "So. Character development can be something basic. Maybe they stop hating someone, or start fighting instead of running away. Or maybe they end up more confident. Or, if they were a show off, maybe they're less confident, less inclined to try and impress people."
"That might do you some good."
"Be quiet, Aish."
"Sheva."
"Whatever. Hey Storm are you writing this down?"
Storm's hair had swung down to cover her face as she pounded away on t he keyboard.
Apollo is acting like a bighead again. No I have not missed one word of your speech, except for a few apostrophes. My English teacher would not approve of that.
The god frowned. "Have we covered everything? Mary Sues, flaws, hobbies, development, appearance. Oh!" He snapped his fingers. "Out of character-ness."
"That's OOC for all you newbies," Sheva added, and Storm made a note.
"If you have a shy character, they can't suddenly become witty and sarcastic before going back to shy. And if you use Riordan's characters, such as myself, they must not suddenly change. Percy can't suddenly become the Hottest Person Alive, because that title is reserved for me. But you know what I mean?"
"Yes. Very well." Sheva scowled, and Storm knew she was imagining all the OOC Percy's she had battled.
Storm glanced at her list of possible talking points. "Do you want to go over POV?"
"What about it?"
"They're abusing the third person. You know how this whole chapter is from my point of view? I'm not suddenly breaking into Sheva's head. You can't bodyjump. At least have a line break."
"You're one to talk," Sheva muttered, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"I know I know. I don't do that anymore."
"Oh, and you can't retell an event from the other character's point of view. It's just really annoying to see 'Annabeth POV: "Hi Percy!" I said. Percy POV: "Hi Percy!" Annabeth said." Apollo clearly couldn't be left out for long, but he had a good point. Storm made a note in capital letters.
PICK A POV AND STICK TO IT.
"Uh oh. We're almost out of time." Storm looked at the clock in the corner of her screen. "Thanks for helping the fandom become a better place."
Apollo grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Any time. Oh. And a child of mine would never be a Titan."
Storm stood, shoving her computer back in her tote bag, which had "Green is the new black" written on the side in large letters. "You never know. You kind of abandoned her."
"Hey! I did no such thing."
"Sure. Sure you didn't."
"I resent that remark!" Apollo called after the two CCers left.
Storm laughed, and the door swing short behind them.
Summary of Storm's notes:
Overall Apollo is kind of self centered, but don't tell him that if you value your life. Or if he's reading your mind. Whatever. But he has some good ideas about characters. There's a really great character helper on Rick Riordan's website. But if you want a quick way out, here are some things to remember about your new character.
-Flaws in personality
-flaws in appearance
-hobbies
-history
-talents.
-Point of View. How does your character see things? Critically? Optimistically?
These things will help bring your character to life.
One thing that we didn't mention is names. Names aren't really a big deal, though I like to give my character's names meanings. Leto, for example, means "Hidden One" And "Melanie" means "Dark, black." If you go to a baby names website and search for green names by meaning, you can type in part of their personality and se what fits. It just adds an extra layer to your characters.
So go shape up those characters you have no, or else Sheva will be greatly displeased. And, to be frank, I won't be too happy either.
Coming up, Zoe and Theia will be discussing the finer points of plot with Athena. So stay tuned.
O-o
Hope you picked up some good tips in there. It's all too true.
Pineconeface—that's the goal. Because most people don't really read the boring ones. I'm trying to keep Apollo in character as well.
Zoe—I don't think you're a jerk. It was an accident. Anyway. Everyone kicks me when I get my camera out…
Sheva—ask and you shal receive. I wasn't sure if you liked Twilight or not, so yeah. Had to guess there.
Theia—I meant netbook, like the computer.
Kal—yeah. I fixed that. Gracias.