Experienced roleplayers are also welcome! If you think you need a bit of help creating new characters or just want someone to bounce ideas off of, feel free to post here! I only caution this: criticizing other people's ideas or characters in a way that I see as unkind or not helpful to the other person [i.e. "That's just stupid; why would you make a character look like that?" etc.] will result in being banned from this thread, no questions asked. Instead of aforementioned statement, try [" I don't like how you described your character. Why don't you change......."] Constructive Criticism is key.
Some people may be a bit reluctant to ask for help from an absolute stranger, however, I assure you that I'll do my best to help anyone who asks for it. Although I have only been on chickensmoothie for a few months, I have been roleplaying and writing for much longer than that. [I have written countless short stories and currently have a full length novel in the works, as a matter of fact] I greatly enjoy writing,and believe that anyone can become a great writer if they have passion and a little guidance.
[Just a quick side note: friendly bumps are appreciated!]
Enough has been said about myself, though, and I would like to open this with a short list of steps to take when creating a character.
1.
5 Steps to a Better Character
Keep these steps in mind as you read the rest of this thread; they are meant as a simplified reference for you to start with.
Keep these steps in mind as you read the rest of this thread; they are meant as a simplified reference for you to start with.
1. Give your character motivation
This means that you should know the driving force behind your characters actions early on. One of the worst mistakes that people make is to start roleplaying with only a name and description of a character. Sometimes it's better to keep some of the character's past or inner motivation from the other roleplayers, but YOU still need to know what's going on inside the character's head.
2. Describe your characters vividly
A detailed description of a character will leave a much more powerful impression in others' minds than to a sloppy one-liner. Moreover, a character's description should give hints about that character's personality and experiences.
3. Know your character's limitations
This is an essential step to creating a dynamic character: know their flaws. This isn't to say that you should create characters with extreme disabilities or massive personality disorders, [although you could..] just that you need to define where their strengths and weaknesses lie. In real life there is no such thing as a perfect person; keep this in mind while creating your characters. Not only are "perfect" characters annoying to others, they also make for an uninteresting roleplay.
4. Allow the character's history to agree with the roleplay
Do not try to create a character with a deep or turbulent history that takes attention away from the main plot of the roleplay. An interesting history is fine, but make sure that it does not distract others from the existing plot of the roleplay. If you need a situation that centers more around your character(s), try starting a new RP or writing a separate story about them. Some of my best short stories have started this way.
5. Be unique
It's okay to base some of your character's traits off of existing people or other people's characters, but in the end you must create something new. An original character is easier to roleplay as and seems far more interesting than a cookie-cutter template stolen from someone else's work.
2.
Typical Character Cliches
These are the things you want to avoid when creating a new character.
1. The "mysterious" loner
Often people will be tempted to create a character that "very little is known about" and that is distanced from the main characters in the plot. Although this may sound good at first, in a roleplaying environment it often leads to trouble. The main reasons these characters don't work out is that by nature they don't interact much with others. Unless you have already devised a way for this character to become part of the plot in the RP, think of something else.
2. Mary-sues/Gary-sues
I already talked about this, but I feel that I need to mention it again. Nobody's perfect, so your characters shouldn't be either.
3. "Plain" characters [or NPCs]
Sometimes in a roleplay that doesn't have enough members people will be tempted to create a number of nondescript characters to fill the gaps. I would greatly discourage you from doing this, as these characters are uninteresting and slow down the progression of the roleplay. Instead of randomly creating non-player characters, add a few more detailed ones of your own until more people join. [Note that this does not mean that having a character with "average" strengths is bad, but they should at least have some emotion behind their actions]
4. All-knowing Elders
Another character cliche that appears in a lot of roleplays, particularly fantasy or animal ones. Often there are "Elders" in these roleplays that have a lot of life experience and are called upon for guidance. This in and of itself is fine, however, try to give your elders some life and a sense of humor. An elder that sits there and gives vague answers to questions while staring off into the distance makes for a very dry scene. Have them give detailed or intentionally short answers based on their history. [Note that this requires you to make a history for them, it dosen't need to be long, but It's nice to have something to refer to.]
5. The "main" hero/heroine
When starting a new roleplay, do not allow yourself to be tempted into creating a "main character". It leaves very little room for other people to join the roleplay, causing it to die.
Here is a very useful quote from emgeal in "Guide: How to Start a Roleplay" that illustrates this point exactly.
In general a plot should allow for every person to be equally important. Don't create a plot specifically around your character unless it's something that easily fits others. So your character might have found a treasure map, but they don't want to search for it alone.
Bad Plot:
My character is Celia. She is the last dragon on earth and everyone is going to try and kill her. Do you want to help her? Or kill her.
That makes your character the most important thing in the RP and while it's a plot it's one that revolves around you. People want their character to be important and with that setup the only way to make their character as important is to have them also be the last of something.
Similar, but better plot:
Celia, a dragon, had been raised to think that she is the last dragon. Isolated in a small valley she never saw any reason to doubt this. However traders from a nearby country were talking about other dragons. Faced with the knowledge that she might not be the last she sets out to find a rumored Dragon City.
People are not limited and with the "quest" aspect no matter what happens the RP can be brought back to the overall theme of "searching for the Dragon City." Others are free to play a dragon or another species. Their characters may have various reasons for looking for the city and there's a lot of freedom.
There are plenty of other character cliches, but this covers some frequently used ones.
3.
The "voice journal" technique and some of the other information in this topic is based in part off of information researched in the book The Art of War for Writers. If you are serious about writing novels or wish to increase your writing skill in general, I would definitely recommend this book to you. It is relatively inexpensive, and contains valuable insight into many ways to improve your writing.
The "Voice Journal" technique.
This is an incredibly useful technique to help you create characters, learn new things about older characters, and it can even help you overcome writer's block! I've been told of this seemingly magical technique in a number of places, but the most powerful influence was the detailed description in The Art of War for Writers.
The voice journal technique is incredibly simple, and can be applied to any character. To start, open to a new page in your writing journal or create a new document on your computer. Then, (in your head) ask your character to tell you their name. Allow them to describe themselves to you. Basically, you start writing as if the character had just met the reader and was introducing themselves. Do not stop to edit what you're writing. Instead, continue writing stream of consciousness for about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how much you want to know about the character. After you finish, leave the project alone for a while. Go read a magazine article or check your email. Anything will work so long as it takes your attention away from your character. Later, go back and read what you wrote, editing out what doesn't fit the character. Then you can use your finished voice journal to fill out a form or create a character reference sheet for roleplays.
When I'm writing stories as opposed to roleplaying, I will often voice journal to "hear" my character's thoughts about the situation. If you become good at this it can also lead to a better ability to describe your character's feelings to the reader.
Finally, voice journals also are an easy way to get rid of writer's block, as they provide something that's easy to write about for a couple minutes straight at a time; this has been shown in multiple studies to help you come up with new ideas when you come back to the writing after a short break. (i.e. reading a magazine article. look up ↑)
Disclaimer: Remember that you are talking to characters in your head. Actually speaking out loud can lead to your family/friends suspecting you of schizophrenic behavior and ultimately sending you to an insane asylum. If this actually happens, I claim no responsibility for your apparent mental demise. P
4.
Creating a History for your Character
When you create a character in a roleplay, it's unrealistic to think that they just appear, ready to begin their adventure. They have to have come from somewhere, and explaining their past can be incredibly useful to other roleplayers and to yourself.
A character history exists for two main reasons:
One, to help other people get to know your character better, and
Two, to tie your character into the existing plot.
Describing your character with a history.
This is more or less the main function of a character history. You have total freedom over this part, but I would recommend using it to explain their personality or physical appearance. For example, you may want to describe the origin of a strange scar or missing digits,etc. Posting a history in your form doesn't mean that other characters know your character's history. In some cases the others will know automatically [i.e. your character is the sibling of an existing character] , but usually your character needs to tell them first.
Fitting your character into the plot
This is another important thing that a character history accomplishes. You need to be more careful with this aspect of the history, as it must agree with the existing plot without drawing interest away from it. Creating too much of a focus on your character will create useless subplots, as described above. Instead of creating a mystery surrounding your character's past, try to incorporate other characters into your history. [With their owner's permission, of course.] Adding other,established characters to your history will create more interest in your character, just make sure that you don't contradict facts that have already been written by the previous RP'ers.
5.
Character Types: Hero vs Villain vs Antihero
Setting aside personality and physical appearance, one of the most basic traits of a character is their alignment to the plot. As you probably learned in kindergarten or preschool, there are "good" characters and "bad" characters. Now, simplifications aside, knowing that your character is "good" or "bad" should be one of the first things that you decide when making a character.
However, before we jump into character types, I would like to familiarize you with 2 new terms. If you already recognize both of these, feel free to skip ahead!
Protagonist(s)- The main character(s). They don't have to be heroes, but the story plot should center around their conflict with the antagonist(s).
Antagonist(s)-The force that is stopping the protagonists from reaching their goal. This force doesn't have to be other characters, it can also be something natural, like a tropical storm, and can even be the protagonists own feelings or thoughts.[like their conscience]
3 Main Character Types
Hero
The hero is your basic "good" character. Unlike your stereotypical superhero or knight, they come in all different shapes and forms. Thus, almost all roleplays have heroes, whether they are actually fighting the villains or are facing off with them in social situations. [i.e. in a school environment where there is no physical violence] Another thing to remember is that a hero is always aligned with the "good" side. This means that they would in general have a keen sense of justice. Main characters [protagonists] don't always have to be heroes!
Villain
A villain is the exact opposite of the hero character type. Like heroes, they come in many forms. Also, villains will always be aligned with the "bad" or evil side of the plot. One of the things that you can do to make a roleplay or story especially interesting is to have the main characters be villains! This often leads to some very interesting situations, and sometimes it's fun to break the rules of society. [Only in stories and roleplays, of course!
] Finally, remember that most villains would be attempting to overcome the "good" force in the plot. If they aren't, then they're probably not villains!Antihero
This is the final character alignment. An antihero is not a villain! They are a slightly less defined type, a more accurate word for them might be "loner" or "rogue". The basic antihero is somewhere between the "good" and "bad/evil" alignment, and will often have to pick a side over the course of the plot. They tend to be someone who does not have stereotypical "heroic" qualities, but have the potential to good [or evil]. It's not easy to work an antihero in as one of the main characters in a roleplay,as they are naturally antisocial, but if you do it right [check the "mysterious loner" in section 2 for things to avoid.] they make excellent additions to the plot. An Antihero can even be part of a hero/villain group, but will usually have different motives than the other characters in said group.
That's all for now, folks! Some more information will eventually be added to this thread, so check back often! Also, feel free to ask questions or submit opinions on how to create characters. If there's something that you've thought of or that you think is missing from the thread, please tell me or post here!I'm always open to new ideas!
Just in case you missed it: I'm always looking for advice on how I can help you. Please post here or message me if you think of something that will benefit this thread! Go ahead and ask questions or throw suggestions out there. I (usually) don't bite!
I like it. Maybe you could post a guide also, like a list to help people as they build a character? I know that when I make mine, I never start off with the name. That comes last after I do everything and then I fill in the name.