Hello fellow writers! I need help.

[mr_clean]

I'm part of the way through writing a novel, and after finishing worldbuilding, I am just starting to write the first draft. however, the main thing I'm lacking is characters, more specifically, female characters. As a guy with a Neurodivergency, I can't figure it out, and since I need at least 7 more characters who will have at least some major interactions with the main characters. I'm getting overwhelmed

 

[pmmg]

How do you know you need seven?

I would start with the MC, and their adventures and add characters organically as they come. It may or may not get up to seven.

 

[mr_clean]

well, I need at least 7, because the book is called the 12 sages, and you will see all 12 multiple times. even if they have no dialogue, I want them to have at least relatively developed personalities, because I can base what they look like off that. so far, I have 5 male sages, a male side character suggested by my friend, and a male villan

 

[ThinkerX]

Sages come in multiple flavors. Maybe one runs a brothel? Another could be a musician of the street variety. Both of those could easily be female. One could be a married peasant woman, the grand dame of the village that everybody listens to. Another could be a prisoner, locked away for some intrigue relevant to the plot.

 

[mr_clean]

well, they're all teenagers. the setting is also somewhat modern, with some areas of technology that are almost modern, but also some areas that aren't nearly as developed due to magic.

 

[Bick vire]

well, I need at least 7, because the book is called the 12 sages, and you will see all 12 multiple times. even if they have no dialogue, I want them to have at least relatively developed personalities, because I can base what they look like off that. so far, I have 5 male sages, a male side character suggested by my friend, and a male villan

Mmm...
Ok then you can just add 3-4 female mages and say that the strongest female mages are rare.....
and there are only few of them etc etc......
And you said that you already have 5 male characters in mind right....
Is there a mc in that 5 male characters...?

 

[ThinkerX]

well, they're all teenagers. the setting is also somewhat modern, with some areas of technology that are almost modern, but also some areas that aren't nearly as developed due to magic.

The female street singer sage still works. The married sage becomes the 'wise daughter.' And the prisoner is a hostage or imprisoned relative of a person involved in the intrigue that led to the current situation.

 

[Bick vire]

The female street singer sage still works. The married sage becomes the 'wise daughter.' And the prisoner is a hostage or imprisoned relative of a person involved in the intrigue that led to the current situation.

Oooo ok...
What role does the sages play in your story...?
Are they super strong or maybe they are wise...?

 

[mr_clean]

Mmm...
Ok then you can just add 3-4 female mages and say that the strongest female mages are rare.....
and there are only few of them etc etc......
And you said that you already have 5 male characters in mind right....
Is there a mc in that 5 male characters...?

The main character is a sage, and yes, he is one of the five, the true dragon sage. I have a Google doc with all the info, including the magic system, setting, characters, etc. I will below paste the magic system info.

The type of magic you possess is innate and typically manifests between the ages of 5 and 12, and it cannot be altered or removed. However, it is possible to partially or completely seal this magic using sealing magic or various magical items (see ‘Ring magic’), rendering it completely unusable. Nonetheless, there is always a method to reverse such sealing. In some instances, this can be accomplished with the magic item used to seal the magic. This is not universally applicable, as some of these magical items can only apply the seal and cannot be removed. In such cases, the magic can only be undone by a highly experienced user of sealing magic or by a rare practitioner of shattering magic.
There are four kinds of magic, each with its strengths and weaknesses, each working differently.

Blade Magic
The most common type of magic (tied with ring)
Offensive in nature
Generally, elemental, exceptions are listed in ‘all magic abilities’
Magic is only useable when the user is holding their bound weapon, which manifests when magic does, and is not chosen by the user, but is shaped by the user's core personality.
A Bound weapon can be summoned by the user and is usable only by them. The summoning process takes exactly 10 seconds, which is when the user is entirely vulnerable.
The kind of weapon you have affects how your magic works and the changes are split into three self-explanatory characteristics: speed, power, and range
Sword: speed, power, and range are well balanced. However, this means that sword users are only most effective against other sword users, as well as in one-on-one combat, and are on less than equal ground with the other weapons.
Spear/other polearm has good range and power but lacks somewhat in speed. It’s most effective against great weapon users, as well as large groups. It's the second most balanced weapon.
Dagger/short spear: amazing speed, but lacking in both power and range most effective against spear users.
Great weapon: excellent power, and average range, but suffers horribly in speed. Most effective against dagger users.
Bow/other ranged weapon: excellent range and okay power, but speed is an issue. On equal ground with all other blade users.

Ring Magic
The most common type of magic (tied with blade)
Defensive/creative in nature
No specific kind of magic. Can be elemental, however, non-elemental users are normal
Similar to blade magic, an object is needed to perform magic, however, the object in this case is a ring.
Ring cannot be summoned. The user can get a ‘hot or cold’ sense of where it is if they lose it.
Ring magic users are the only users that create magic items, however, if they can, they have no abilities in battle. This particular kind of ring magic is as rare as eye magic

Eye Magic
The second rarest type of magic
Supportive/utilitarian in nature
The only type of magic capable of healing others
Magic is tied to one of their eyes, so it's harder to lose. If the eye is taken out, it grows back over a week. During that time, magic is unusable.
The linked eye is a distinct color
All eye magic users have the ability ‘Observe’ which lets them see how powerful a magic user is, and what kind of magic they have generally, such as blade or soul (true magic is hidden)
The color of your linked eye decides the type of magic
Red: Healing
Purple: utilitarian
Yellow: supportive

Soul Magic
Nature is dependent on bond
This magic creates a bond with the soul of a deceased magic beast. The power of this beast can range from a pixie (not to be confused with a faerie) to a dragon
The bond allows three abilities:
Projection: the magic energy of the beast is projected in a suitable form, either as a ranged attack Ex: if bound to a storm giant, you could shoot a blast of lighting or a pulse of thunder
Enhancement/imbuement: the strength, durability, or speed of the magical creature is used to enhance your own, or the energy of the beast (same energy as projection) is imbued into a melee attack. Ex: an ogre bound could make himself as strong as said ogre, or a fae bound could imbue their punch with radiant magic.
Transformation: the physical body of the beast is pulled from the afterlife to temporarily replace the body of the user. This ability is much harder to master than the other two to master, as the focus needed to pull physical matter across from the realm of the dead takes an incredible amount of energy. Someone who has completely mastered soul magic could fully transform into their beast for about 3 minutes, and it would probably cause them to pass out afterward.

The Twelve Sages
The Twelve Sages were supposedly responsible for creating all magic, and are the only wielders of true magic, of which all other magic is a pale reflection. Every 5,000 years, their souls are reincarnated in new bodies, bringing their true magic with them.
There are four kinds of true magic: true blade, true ring, true eye, and true soul. Within these, there are three of each, making a total of twelve.
The true magics are as follows:
True blade
Twelve blades: similar to ‘steel’ (see all magic abilities), but with the ability to control twelve weapons at once
Five elements: can use all five of the basic elements, and combine them for some devastating combo attacks
Ghost master: similar to ‘spirit’ (see all magic abilities), but with the ability to control up to 100 dead souls at once and can use an ability similar to ‘imbuement’ (see soul magic) using said souls.
True ring
Divine blacksmith: similar to ‘item crafter’ (see all magic abilities) but can imbue made weapons with any of the ring magics.
Eternal warden: similar to ‘sealing’ and ‘reflection’ (see all magic abilities) but much more freedom, and longer-lasting seals.
Unstoppable pacifist: similar to ‘defender’ (see all magic abilities) but with the ability to use all five elements
True eye
Thankless angel: similar to ‘healer’ but with the ability to heal in an area, as well as much more potent healing, with it even being able to regrow limbs
Inner strength: similar to ‘upgrade’ but with the ability to buff multiple targets (up to 12) at once without losing effectiveness, and give more strength, speed, and stamina.
Dark transfer: similar to the leech, but instead of self-healing, can heal others as well.
True soul
Quick Note: The reason true soul magic works the way it does is that three of the sages were beasts themselves: Deovir the Dragonlord, Aratgar the mountain king, and the split-persona queen of all fae, who went by Mab in one persona, and Titania in the other.
Great dragon: similar to ‘dragon soul’ but instead of one element, you can use any. However, unlike some of the other multi-element powers, to gain a new element, you must fully master the one before it, starting with a ‘fire dragon.’ In addition, the ‘transformation’ ability is much easier to master and does not exhaust the user.
Looming giant: similar to ‘giant soul,’ but instead of having just one power, you can utilize any power, following the same conditions as ‘Great dragon,’ starting with ‘hill giant.’ Additionally, the ‘transformation’ ability is much easier to master and does not deplete the user.
Faerie queens: similar to ‘faerie soul’ but you can use the powers of both the winter and summer courts, but only one at a time. In addition, the ‘transformation’ ability is much easier to master and does not exhaust the user.

 

[Phoenix Writing]

Everyone's writing process is different, but something I found helpful is to write a scene with the characters in it, let them show you their personalities and how they respond to their environment and the people around them, and that can tell you a lot about their personalities. Knowing that, I then ask, "What kind of upbringing/background would form this type of person?" Are they blunt, or verbose? Quick tempered? etc. I also like to look at the stereo type of classes- say a blacksmith- and then find something that you don't see a lot of. For instance, in my current work I have a blacksmith, but he only works in silver and likes to surround himself with finery.

 

[mr_clean]

thats funny, because I have a blacksmith who has a personality that goes against the norm. his name is Jun Caestota. here the disciption I wrote of him:

Jun Caestota is recognized as the reincarnation of the First Sage of Rings, Telrune, and serves as the second member of Taled’s party. He possesses the magic Divine Blacksmith. Jun is regarded as a respectable individual, frequently characterized by many as possessing a "heroic will," a description he, however, tends to deny. usually upbeat and open, but stoic when the moment calls for it. one of Taled’s best friends.
Physical Traits: Suntanned body, toned physique. Medium brown hair with yellow eyes. Usually keeps his hair tied up to see better. He is abnormally tall for his people, standing at 6’4”. He has various dark markings on his body, mainly under his eyes and around his limbs,

Appearance: medium-length brown hair, bright green eyes. has multiple markings across his body, mainly under his eyes and on his forearms. Generally wears the garb of a farmer (i.e. overalls and a flannel shirt) or a beachgoer (i.e. a hawaiian shirt and hybrid shorts)

 

[minta]

Characters can be tough. You should try building them one at a time and starting with simple motivation. You got this!