Depending on the Writer/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A character's personality and motivations change depending on which writer is writing the story.

  • Straight: Alice Editor usually writes Amazing Girl stories - and her take on the character is a traditional heroic type. When Bob Troper takes over the writing duties, he writes her as a fallen Anti-Hero.
  • Exaggerated: Alice writes Amazing Girl as a sweet, virtuous character who is The Messiah, but Bob writes her as a Blood Knight who enjoys murdering people for fun.
  • Justified: They're writing about her at different times in her existence; Alice does the stories about her early years, Bob the ones about her later years. Its assumed Character Development occurred somewhere between.
  • Inverted: Both writers write the exact same character, down to her attitudes and convictions.
  • Subverted: Bob was trying to do something different with the character, but it's clear that it didn't take with the fandom, so he decides to change Amazing Girl back to her original interpretation.
  • Double Subverted: However, he later decides that he prefers his take on things and starts writing her his way.
  • Parodied: Everything changes when the writers swap duties - including such things as the character's identity, gender, hometown, Rogues Gallery, and so forth.
  • Deconstructed: The changes don't sit well with the fans, who preferred one style of writing over the other. They voice their displeasure in their buying choices.
  • Reconstructed: Bob shows that he can write a truly excellent character, even if it differs from what the fans expect.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob changes some aspects of the character to please the fandom, but there are certain things he refuses to change.
  • Averted: The fundamental beliefs of the character don't change from writer to writer.
  • Enforced: "I don't care what Alice wrote about. I want to write about an Anti-Hero, so that's what I'm going to do."
  • Lampshaded: "Man, ever since Bob Troper took over, Amazing Girl has done some pretty crazy stuff."
  • Invoked: Alice's bosses, wanting to go in a different direction, hire Bob Troper to write for Amazing Girl.
  • Defied: The bosses force Bob to sign a contract indicating that he won't get any money if he changes the fundamental character of Amazing Girl.
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: "Damn, I'm not fond of this Bob Troper run. Remember when she was sweet and innocent?" "Ah, Alice Editor has no idea how to write a complex character. I like this better."

Back to Depending on the Writer, which may have changed depending on who's editing it.