If you’ve followed me on Twitter for any length of time, then I’m sure you’re aware that I have garnered a reputation for shitposting. It would be fair to say that I dedicate quite a bit of time to shitposting about my stories, characters, and all related hijinks. I rarely come on Twitter unless I have a few jokes prepared, often scribbling them down when they pop into mind as not to forget them later.To be sure, the definition of shitposting varies depending on when, where, and how the term is used. In brief, Urban Dictionary defines it as:1: The failure to make a constructive post.2: The inability to add useful information to a forum.3: Worthless overly offensive generally racist posts written in a manner which aggravates others.4: An ironic art form of expressive yet apathetic funposting practiced only on s4s, the philosophical meme factory board on 4CHAN.I don’t think what I do stems from a lack of constructive content, nor is what I do offensive for the sake of being offensive. I’m definitely not keeping up with 4Chan these days, either. However, it isn’t really considered best practices by any working professional writer to take the absolute piss out of their own work on a daily (if not hourly) basis. This is why I think of what I do as a kind of interactive performance. Hang on, I can explain myself. (I swear this time.)It’s a genre of content designed to put people at ease as much as it is to amuse me. Online, I joke, at my own expense, or the expense of the long-suffering but obliging audience I project onto my followers. I perform a level of unabashed jackassery and self-awareness with my audience and invite them to participate. My monthly Patreon column, Dear Dorian, is an example of this. It’s an in-character Q&A wherein readers and patrons submit questions for me to respond to as Dorian Villeneuve of my queer monster-hunting paranormal romance, Southern Gothic. Dorian isn’t strictly in-character in every response. He’s portrayed as a more hyperbolic version of the loud-mouthed, fussy, crop top-clad vampire, engaging with a fictional extension of his own fictional world. I only offer shades of earnestness and emotional vulnerability to balance out the shitposting and keep things grounded. Otherwise, Dorian chastises readers for their tone and goes on tangents about hair metal bands and how much Dracula sucks.(Because Dracula absolutely sucks.)There is, of course, a method to my madness, as well as my decision to make this such a large part of my social media presence and Patreon offerings. It all has to do with Flanderization.TV Tropes defines Flanderization thusly:The act of taking a single (often minor) action or trait of a character within a work and exaggerating it more and more over time until it completely consumes the character. Most always, the trait/action becomes completely outlandish and it becomes their defining characteristic. Sitcoms and Sitcom characters are particularly susceptible to this, as are peripheral characters in shows with long runs.The trope is named for one of the examples in The Simpsons, Ned Flanders, who was originally just a considerate neighbor and attentive father, with his devout nature simply being that he willingly attended and paid attention in church, all to make him a contrast to Homer, before becoming obsessively religious.[…]In general, comedies, especially SitComs, fall into the trap of Flanderization because Character Development is far less important than Rule of Funny. Given a choice between getting a laugh or moving the story forward, getting the laugh will almost always take priority.To put it simply, Dorian Villeneuve and Cash Leroy run the risk of becoming Flanderized. This is the nature of writing a romance with comedic hijinks, especially a romance that lets its banter carry much of that burden. Their funny, sexy, opposites-attract chemistry is the selling point of this series – but that can have drawbacks.When working on a long series of novels, short stories, and other supplemental material, you’re dedicating most of your thoughts, time, and labor to the world and its characters. Dorian and Cash have been living rent-free in my head since Fall 2017. Writing them is essentially my part-time job, which I’m hoping to make a steadier source of income as I pursue the trade publication of the series. It’s also my hobby and my dedicated creative outlet. Over time, writing dozens of conversations in a multitude of scenarios, these two can become little monsters of their own making. Their personalities can become intensified. Their dialogue can become a self-perpetuating vortex of banter. Their actions and reactions can become so concentrated as to become completely obnoxious as the stakes continue to rise from book to book.Underneath all of this is a tender, sensual romance, between two characters who try to be their best selves for one another.This is why I shitpost. If I don’t, these characters would suffer for it, and I don’t think I’d be nearly as successful at telling their stories.The Dorian you see on Twitter can be a loud, bossy, slutty mess. He's put upon by everyone and annoyed by everything. This way, he can be a softer character in the books, giving and fiercely loyal despite his sharp tongue.Cash on Twitter can be dumb, despicably horny, and increasingly ridiculous in his thirst for monsters. (Up to and including getting gangbanged by 14 werewolves in public.) Then Cash can wear his heart on his sleeve when you see him next, the clumsy and well-meaning nerd that he is. I write them as shrieking, unruly, irredeemably horny disasters online so they can move through their world intact and compelling. Dorian and Cash can still banter and snark and get into trouble, but I get the extremities of their personalities out of my system. I can tone them down when things get serious and let them run loose on the page when I need a gag about Cash calling Dorian “daddy” by mistake or whether Krampus is real. So, no, technically, they don’t rawdog behind the Denny’s, but their love is real, and that’s what matters.And so is their daughter, Clementine, even if my girlfriend says I shouldn’t put her in the books. Clementine is real and I cAN PROVE IT  But if you're a writer who finds themselves having trouble balancing the extremities of their characterizations, I suggest finding an outlet to get it out of your system. See if it improves your characters and gives you some clarity in where to take them moving forward.At worst, you might have a good time.