Storytelling - Unvale Blog

Storytelling

Guides on plot, worldbuilding, powers, and narration for OC writing.

Tips on writing a redemption arc

Tips on Writing a Redemption Arc

A redemption arc is essentially an extended period of time that a character spends trying to work on themselves and trying to make up for past choices. Characters with redemption arcs can be anything from being a bad romantic partner to an evil galactic dictator. Of course, this means that

How to Start Writing Your OC Story with Solar Sunrise

How to Start Writing Your OC Story

Any writer knows that one of the most difficult parts of writing is, well, writing. The second hardest part is editing, but that’s something you shouldn’t worry about until you’ve got plenty of story and scenes to work with; so we won’t be talking about that

Doodle Solar presents article on different types of relationships for writing

Different Types of Relationships to Write about for your OC Stories

When it comes to making OCs, most beginners are interested in only a handful of types of relationships; friends, enemies, and lovers. When you’re young, these might be the kinds of relationships you find most important or see the most in media, but it’s important to start exploring

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Common Strengths and Weakness to Give your OCs!

This guide will help you determine the strengths and weaknesses of your OCs. This is key to building believable characters, situations, and story worlds. See where your character ranks!

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How to Create a New Language for Your OC’s World!

Unvale is now an app! Never miss a favorite, comment, or follow again. The Unvale app is now available for iOS and Android! Download for free →

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Top 3 Tips for Entering 2026 with OC Inspiration!

The new year is almost upon us! The new year is the perfect time to try out new ideas, create new characters, and develop new stories! Before we get into the tips, if you need some other ideas for your OCs, try one of these other articles! * 5 Ways to

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Tips on Creating a Story Crossover!

Worlds collide in the new Unvale crossover special-! Just kidding~ To put it simply, story crossover is an event where two or more separate storylines merge into one. This can be anything from a special TV show episode for the fans (The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour), to a movie special

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Making Traditions for Your OCs and Their Worlds

With the winter holidays around the corner, now is a perfect time to think about traditions for your OCs! Whether for a holiday or another special event, creating unique traditions for your OCs can add more depth to their character and their world. But first, let’s define the word

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Designing Citizens in Your OC Worlds

Have you ever thought about designing citizens for your OC’s world? Maybe you need some background characters for your story, or some people for your hero OC’s to save! Is it finally time to create some characters for your OCs world? Before we get started, if you need

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How to Create a Plot Twist In Your Original Stories!

Ever wanted to make your story more interesting and add a little surprise to it? Well, maybe it's time to incorporate…a plot twist! Plot twists are a fun way to spice up your story, and leave your audience surprised in the process! But before we get into

Light and dark blue gradient background. Text reads "Tips for Using MYTHOLOGY in Your OC Stories!". A doodle of Solar in a toga holding a scroll next to pillars.

Tips for Using Mythology in Your OC Stories

Mythology! If you’ve got certain nerdy interests, your mind is probably going to Greek Mythology; an age of gods and monsters, used in popular novels, movies, and even musicals. However, this article aims to expand your idea of what mythology really is, and how you can use it. So,

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How to Use Fear In Your OC Backstories!

How do you make a backstory a little more interesting, in a way where it can affect the main story as well? Well, it’s Spooky Month, and a key part of this fun time of year is…fear! (Wanna know what else is a part of Spooky Month? MONSTERS!

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How to Write a Scary Scene In Your Stories!

Boo! Happy October, Unvale! To celebrate, we’ve prepared a special article about how to write spooky and scary scenes in your writing. Note the word scenes here, not scary stories or horror genre fiction. I’ll explain why shortly! But before that, I think these scary fandoms might be

Light and regular blue gradient background. Text reads "Tips on Writing Hero and Villain OCs!". A doodle of a hero and villain preparing to face off in battle.

Tips on Writing Hero and Villain OCs

Before we start, let’s draw a line between heroes and villains and ‘protagonist’ and ‘antagonist’, as they are not the same things. The protagonist is the character we follow through a story; but not always the point of view (POV) character. Sherlock Holmes is a great example of that

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Tips on How to Summarize Your OC’s Backstory in 20 Words or Less

“Brevity is the soul of wit” - Shakespeare’s Hamlet You might have heard that phrase here and there, especially if you’ve studied Hamlet in high school English class. But what does it mean? Brevity is another word for conciseness or briefness, so in rough summary: “being concise is the

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How to Write a Fight Scene in Your Original Stories

In a fight scene, you need three ‘C’s. This article will cover those, and then delve more into ways to make your original fight scenes exciting and interesting to your readers. Whether you want to use these tips for your own original world or for a RP, hopefully you

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Ways to Add Magic into Your OC's World 🪄

Magic! From near-science to forces of nature, to unknown powers outside of our comprehension, magic in stories can take many forms. You might already know that you want magic in your OC’s world, but you’re not sure how to implement it. Not to worry! This article will

10 Famous Characters You Can Use in Your Story

10 Famous Characters You Can Use in Your Story

So much of modern storytelling is built around reusing and subverting known stories and tropes to create something unique or surprising. It can be helpful, or just more fun, to instead use someone well-known to instantly convey the power, importance, danger, etc. that an original character faces.

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How to Develop World Building Concepts

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How to Swap Between Narrating OCs

Have you ever found yourself reading something where the narration suddenly shifts to a different character entirely, and it takes you a good minute to figure out what happened? Or maybe you’ve seen a character’s name as the transition sign in the middle of a chapter and it

How to Name Your Characters with Meaning

How to Name Your Characters with Meaning

The perfect guide to help you name your OC or new character is here! Get inspiration and make sure it has meaning within your story or universe with our help.

10 Things to Do Before Writing a Story

10 Things to Do Before Writing a Story

There’s no perfect guide to writing a story, but we've compiled 10 things you can do to get off on a great start. Develop a new idea, consider your genre, and world-building. You got this!

5 Examples of Effective Story Twists

5 Examples of Effective Story Twists

Twists can elevate or wreck your story. Twists are trying to surprise the audience, and the audience likes to feel smart. Readers like to feel a step ahead, so if you are you to try to pull one over on them, it has to be clever and fun.

How to Write a Compelling Monster

How to Write a Compelling Monster

How do you write a great monster story and stand out from the crowd? We dive into your origin story, the meaning, and impact of your scary creations.

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Ways to End a Story

Endings are always hard. This guide can walk you through how to resolve the story, add a twist, and finish your character development. You are so close! You got this.