I used to loathe the idea of having to research things like weapons for my fiction. It's just not something that interested me. I'd rather just say "he had a sword," or "she pulled out a gun," and get back to the plot and characters. But I know some items, especially if they are important to the main characters, should be specific, should have names technical or given. Then one day this part of the writing process came alive for me when I applied The Legend of Zelda to it.I don't consider myself a "gamer," but there are some games that I fangirl over and have played with a deep love. Zelda is one of those. I haven't played all of them but several. One of the coolest parts about The Legend of Zelda, is that Link, the protagonist, acquires all these wicked weapons during the course of the game. They're unique. They're personalize. They're awesome. Once I married my love for Zelda with writing, I finally gained an understanding of and appreciation for characters' items.
Whether you write speculative fiction, like fantasy and sci-fi, or stick to the real world, you can get something out of this post. Even if your characters' items aren't Magical they can still be "magical," and should be. In this post I'll be talking about how to take your characters' items to the next level, what makes an item a good one, and how to use an item well in your story. But first, lets talk about the different kinds of items your character might have, both fantastical and realistic.
