Thread by @ALeeMartinez

Another writing tip for the middle of the night:

Make your characters different by using the four humours. Or, if it's easier, just think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It's basic stuff, but it works.

A lot of all-ages entertainment gets written off too easily for what it can teach us. You don't have to follow it rigidly, but there's a reason these stories work. There's a reason the TMNT stick around. They have a dynamic that most any writer can work with.

Little is more boring in a story than characters all agreeing with each other. They don't have to be always in conflict, but even when agreeing, they aren't lock step in sync with one another.

All the TMNT fight for honor and justice, but they all do it for different reasons. They all approach it in different ways. They aren't just four default ninjas. They each have their perspective, and that perspective makes them memorable.

If TMNT is a bit too outside of your wheelhouse, we can always go Golden Girls. @KateCornell recently drew a solid comparison of the Avengers and The Golden Girls. And it works because each of those characters has a memorable presence and interior life.

If I can slip a secret of storytelling: People don't like complicated characters. They think they do, but what they really like is memorable characters. And memorable characters have two or three really memorable elements. That's all you really need.

Boba Fett (in the original trilogy) is just a guy with a cool name and a good outfit. But it was enough to make people think he was a badass. Even though all he ever did in the trilogy was follow someone, call the cops, and then get knocked into a pit.

Cruella Deville is one of Disney's most memorable villains, even though she's a pathetic weirdo who tries and fails to kill some puppies. But, again, great name, great outfit, cool song.

Ideally, your characters should have more than that, but if they have that, it's something to work with.

Again, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Golden Girls. Or Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Or Nancy Drew and Bess and George.

You can pick what you want. But, really, just make sure that your characters don't simply agree with one another. And when they do agree, make sure they don't really quite agree.

Every ninja turtle should be special.