Post by Aanonchan on May 8, 2011 13:27:51 GMT -5
So you found this really cool roleplay about space cowboys and you want to join. The first thing you need is a character, but you're having a little trouble with it.
So here is Aanonchan's:
Enjoy.
Before you begin, you're going to want a concept, or a basic idea of what you want your character to be like.
A concept could be as simple as
"Sarcastic jerk" and "mad scientist"
Or as complex as
"A lone vigilante new to the colonized planet bent on enforcing justice with his fists."
Was that so hard? Maybe it was. But before you begin with the meat and details, you're going to want an idea of where you're going.
So you've got your concept. Let's say you went with a "sarcastic jerk" type character.
Sounds good.
From here you're going to want to figure out the basics.
Male or female?
How old?
What does your character look like?
Any distinguishing features?
For now, it's easy to stick to the purely visual and aesthetic.
Okay. So our sarcastic jerk. Let's make him male.
Now do we want him to look like a stereotypical asshole? Sure, why not?
So how about kind of skinny, tall, lanky, dark hair, deep set dark eyes....
And the clincher: a pencil moustache.
He looks kind of like a rat. That man you don't want your daughter to bring home.
Perfect. He's the kind of guy that people will remember what he looks like--a bit of a sleaze ball.
Now let's talk about his immediate life. What does he do, does he have a family? How are his finances? Where does he live? Basics like that.
So let's say our sleaze ball lives on this newly colonized planet where society is rather similar to something out of an old west movie.
Let's have him live in a major outpost. Let's say we call it "New Chicago".
Already we have the image of crime and gangs going just because of the name of the city, see?
What does he do for a living?
We could make him a bartender... or even better, the proprietor of a major watering hole in New Chicago. This means he probably knows a lot about what's happening at any given time.
We could also make it more interesting... Hm... let's say his little bar "The Golden Serpent" is also the headquarters of a major smuggling routine. What would they smuggle? Gold? Diamonds? Silver? Or maybe a commodity that this new planet lacks... Steel perhaps?
Does he have any family?
No, probably not this guy. He's a criminal and an asshole. No time for a family life.
Here's where we begin to talk about what the character used to be like, what happened to him, why he is the way he is.
This can be summed up as their "history."
Of course, this is probably where most people get frustrated with a given character.
"I've got the character down, but I just can't get the history right!"
Well, you have to remember that a "history" is more than just a series of events. These events shape personality, provide motives, dictate actions. Every human is very much a product of their own "history."
So this barkeeper is bitter and sarcastic... now what made him that way?
Maybe back on Earth he was in love and the girl scorned him, or maybe he had a hard relationship with his parents.
Why is he a criminal? Why is he greedy?
Maybe he was raised in poverty and always wanted more. Maybe he's just following in his father's footsteps.
Why did he decide to leave Earth?
Maybe he thought there was nothing left for him there? Maybe he was running away from something: his past, or maybe a crime... Or perhaps it was because of his greed that he fled his native planet, or a combination of any one of those things.
You see, characters in essence are like people, and people have many different layers and emotions and motives. And while it can be difficult to recreate this on paper, the more you give a character a history, the more human they become. No longer are they just a tortured soul, they're there for a reason, to do something, because of something. They almost come off the page, and off the screen.
Some people do this step first, I tend to do it last.
Now you give your character a name.
First name, alias, surname... All of these are up to you.
A surname generally reflects nationality.
So our barkeeper could be American, so he could have an ordinary surname like "Jones" or "Smith." Or he could be the son of immigrants and have something more foreign sounding like "Woyzeck" or "Bukowski."
A first name is generally chosen to sound good with a last name. Say the two together out loud a couple of times to see how you like the flow. "Markus Jones" or "Edgar Bukowski" or "Matthias Woyzeck."
Personally, I think the last one sounds the best.
So his name is Matthias Woyzeck. But what does he go by? First name? Last name? Middle name?
Given his personality, people would probably tend to call him by his last name. Just "Woyzeck." It's memorable. Has a good ring to it.
And there you are. A reasonably well fleshed out character, ready to enter a roleplay.
Now the more you roleplay, the more you might end up finding out about your character through the way he or she interacts with others. Characters have a funny way of coming to life on their own.
Let's go over some basic things... NOT to do when you're making a character.
DON'T MAKE A MARY-SUE OR GARY-SUE
This is writing business lingo for perfect, flawless characters.
Your typical Mary-Sue would be the blond haired, blue eyed cheerleader down the block with straight A's, a football player for a boyfriend, with an amazing singing voice, a perfect family, and et-cetera.
These are boring, predictable, and highly unrealistic. Real people have flaws and annoying habits and things they aren't good at, so characters should have all those too.
BUT, you could also get a character as equally Sue-ish if things have gone too wrong. For example, his parents were killed when he was a kid, he was abandoned by his older brother, he's been training his entire life for revenge, he's ridiculously over powered and has special abilities, and everyone is out to get him. (Hmm... sounds like Sasuke Uchiha)
So really, using too many cliches could also make your character into a monstrous Mary or Gary-Sue
If you're afraid that this is the case with your character, here's a link to a very nice survey that you can fill out The Mary Sue Litmus Test. Keep in mind that even if a character gets a high score, this doesn't mean they're a Mary-Sue. It's just a guide. For example, Morpheus from The Sandman is considered a very well-developed character, but he consistently scores as a Mary-Sue on the test.
DON'T MAKE A SELF INSERT
A self insert is pretty much a character that is you. Not only is this bad writing, but it's not very entertaining, and it doesn't help you grow as a writer at all.
A self insertion isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it can be done well (see the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri,) however it lets people get lazy in their writing, and often times is used simply as wish or fantasy fulfillment.
A very well-known example of BAD self insertion is Bella in the Twilight series by Stephanie Myer. The physical characteristics of Bella and the author are extremely similar--and we won't get into more than that here.
To make a long story short, it's alright to base a few characteristics of a character off of yourself, but it's better not to make yourself a character.
Well, that's my spiel. If you have any questions, feel free to post or private message me and I'll be happy to respond.
Please keep in mind that these are MY methods of creation, and not the only correct ones to use. This is REFERENCE ONLY.
Thanks much
<3
Aanonchan
Admin
Azzie
So here is Aanonchan's:
Help and Tip Sheet for Character Creation!
Enjoy.
STEP 0
Before you begin, you're going to want a concept, or a basic idea of what you want your character to be like.
A concept could be as simple as
"Sarcastic jerk" and "mad scientist"
Or as complex as
"A lone vigilante new to the colonized planet bent on enforcing justice with his fists."
Was that so hard? Maybe it was. But before you begin with the meat and details, you're going to want an idea of where you're going.
STEP 1
So you've got your concept. Let's say you went with a "sarcastic jerk" type character.
Sounds good.
From here you're going to want to figure out the basics.
Male or female?
How old?
What does your character look like?
Any distinguishing features?
For now, it's easy to stick to the purely visual and aesthetic.
Okay. So our sarcastic jerk. Let's make him male.
Now do we want him to look like a stereotypical asshole? Sure, why not?
So how about kind of skinny, tall, lanky, dark hair, deep set dark eyes....
And the clincher: a pencil moustache.
He looks kind of like a rat. That man you don't want your daughter to bring home.
Perfect. He's the kind of guy that people will remember what he looks like--a bit of a sleaze ball.
STEP 2
Now let's talk about his immediate life. What does he do, does he have a family? How are his finances? Where does he live? Basics like that.
So let's say our sleaze ball lives on this newly colonized planet where society is rather similar to something out of an old west movie.
Let's have him live in a major outpost. Let's say we call it "New Chicago".
Already we have the image of crime and gangs going just because of the name of the city, see?
What does he do for a living?
We could make him a bartender... or even better, the proprietor of a major watering hole in New Chicago. This means he probably knows a lot about what's happening at any given time.
We could also make it more interesting... Hm... let's say his little bar "The Golden Serpent" is also the headquarters of a major smuggling routine. What would they smuggle? Gold? Diamonds? Silver? Or maybe a commodity that this new planet lacks... Steel perhaps?
Does he have any family?
No, probably not this guy. He's a criminal and an asshole. No time for a family life.
STEP 3
Here's where we begin to talk about what the character used to be like, what happened to him, why he is the way he is.
This can be summed up as their "history."
Of course, this is probably where most people get frustrated with a given character.
"I've got the character down, but I just can't get the history right!"
Well, you have to remember that a "history" is more than just a series of events. These events shape personality, provide motives, dictate actions. Every human is very much a product of their own "history."
So this barkeeper is bitter and sarcastic... now what made him that way?
Maybe back on Earth he was in love and the girl scorned him, or maybe he had a hard relationship with his parents.
Why is he a criminal? Why is he greedy?
Maybe he was raised in poverty and always wanted more. Maybe he's just following in his father's footsteps.
Why did he decide to leave Earth?
Maybe he thought there was nothing left for him there? Maybe he was running away from something: his past, or maybe a crime... Or perhaps it was because of his greed that he fled his native planet, or a combination of any one of those things.
You see, characters in essence are like people, and people have many different layers and emotions and motives. And while it can be difficult to recreate this on paper, the more you give a character a history, the more human they become. No longer are they just a tortured soul, they're there for a reason, to do something, because of something. They almost come off the page, and off the screen.
STEP 4
Some people do this step first, I tend to do it last.
Now you give your character a name.
First name, alias, surname... All of these are up to you.
A surname generally reflects nationality.
So our barkeeper could be American, so he could have an ordinary surname like "Jones" or "Smith." Or he could be the son of immigrants and have something more foreign sounding like "Woyzeck" or "Bukowski."
A first name is generally chosen to sound good with a last name. Say the two together out loud a couple of times to see how you like the flow. "Markus Jones" or "Edgar Bukowski" or "Matthias Woyzeck."
Personally, I think the last one sounds the best.
So his name is Matthias Woyzeck. But what does he go by? First name? Last name? Middle name?
Given his personality, people would probably tend to call him by his last name. Just "Woyzeck." It's memorable. Has a good ring to it.
And there you are. A reasonably well fleshed out character, ready to enter a roleplay.
Now the more you roleplay, the more you might end up finding out about your character through the way he or she interacts with others. Characters have a funny way of coming to life on their own.
NOW
Let's go over some basic things... NOT to do when you're making a character.
DON'T MAKE A MARY-SUE OR GARY-SUE
This is writing business lingo for perfect, flawless characters.
Your typical Mary-Sue would be the blond haired, blue eyed cheerleader down the block with straight A's, a football player for a boyfriend, with an amazing singing voice, a perfect family, and et-cetera.
These are boring, predictable, and highly unrealistic. Real people have flaws and annoying habits and things they aren't good at, so characters should have all those too.
BUT, you could also get a character as equally Sue-ish if things have gone too wrong. For example, his parents were killed when he was a kid, he was abandoned by his older brother, he's been training his entire life for revenge, he's ridiculously over powered and has special abilities, and everyone is out to get him. (Hmm... sounds like Sasuke Uchiha)
So really, using too many cliches could also make your character into a monstrous Mary or Gary-Sue
If you're afraid that this is the case with your character, here's a link to a very nice survey that you can fill out The Mary Sue Litmus Test. Keep in mind that even if a character gets a high score, this doesn't mean they're a Mary-Sue. It's just a guide. For example, Morpheus from The Sandman is considered a very well-developed character, but he consistently scores as a Mary-Sue on the test.
DON'T MAKE A SELF INSERT
A self insert is pretty much a character that is you. Not only is this bad writing, but it's not very entertaining, and it doesn't help you grow as a writer at all.
A self insertion isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it can be done well (see the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri,) however it lets people get lazy in their writing, and often times is used simply as wish or fantasy fulfillment.
A very well-known example of BAD self insertion is Bella in the Twilight series by Stephanie Myer. The physical characteristics of Bella and the author are extremely similar--and we won't get into more than that here.
To make a long story short, it's alright to base a few characteristics of a character off of yourself, but it's better not to make yourself a character.
Well, that's my spiel. If you have any questions, feel free to post or private message me and I'll be happy to respond.
Please keep in mind that these are MY methods of creation, and not the only correct ones to use. This is REFERENCE ONLY.
Thanks much
<3
Aanonchan
Admin
Azzie