Breathing Life into Characters
Table of Content:
- The Beginning...part 1
- Work and Play...part 2
- A Little Motivation Goes a Long Way...part 3
- Getting to Know Each Other...part 4
- Things to Keep in Mind...part 5
You search through the endless line of titles, eyes shifting from one line of text to the next. Suddenly, you see it, an intriguing title that catches your eye. You click it and read the intro post, hardly believing your eyes at the awesomeness. It’s the perfect story, and you can’t wait to join! There’s only one problem…you haven’t the slightest idea how to create a character, and you don’t want to reuse any of your old ones because they have become dull and uninteresting, lifeless as the text on the screen.
But don’t give up! Because there’s still hope…I will show you how you can create a character, and for those who may be a bit more experienced…Well, you might learn something as well, so stay tuned and feel free to read on.
The Beginning…
My characters often tend to pop up uninvited right when I am trying to write something. They poke their heads through the door to introduce themselves (or not, sometimes they simply sulk in without a word), and I never have a say in whether they can stay or not. You, however, may want to do it rather differently, because no one wants to just write a bunch of stuff until a character finally decides to make an appearance. You also may really want to join that rp, so you don’t have the time to do it the long way, so we’ll cut it short and go out to meet our characters instead of waiting for them to come to knock on our door.
To make this all really interesting and fun for all of you, I shall be creating a character along with you. Or actually, let’s call it meeting a new character, because really all characters already exist, we just give them life. Does that sound a little easier? Instead of making up a character, you are just going to step into your creative mind and meet him/her/it.
Ok, before anything, you need to relax. Don’t try to think of a character, don’t try to think about what you’re going to write, just relax and listen to the music if that’s what you do. Now, when you’re ready, think about what kind of character you need. Do you need a villain? A sidekick? A friend? Do you need someone who can handle themselves, or a princess in distress? What you will see (figuratively of course) is something kind of like a first impression. When you meet someone new you begin to judge them, consciously or not, according to what they seem to be like. This is what you are doing with your new character. You are seeing them for the first time in your mind’s eye, so it makes sense to fit them into a stereotype.
My Turn…
Ok, I need a character for an rp I’m going to join, so I’ll start at the basics. I need a rival for the main character of the game, someone that is perhaps pretty good at many things, and the idea has popped into my head that he is decidedly male. I don’t know why he is the main character’s rival, and I don’t even know what his name is yet, but when I was reading the intro post a rival-type character seemed like a good idea. So I have a stereotype to start with…but who is this guy? We’ll find out who he is in the other sections, but first it’s your turn.
Your Turn…
Even if you don’t need a character right this minute, it’s always good to practice, and who knows, you might like the character enough to use it in a future rp.
Tip 1…Make sure you’re relaxed, stress does not help creativity whatsoever.
Tip 2…Think about what it is you need, or many different kinds of personalities, when a particular idea or stereotype sparks your interest (even if you don’t normally write that sort of thing), then grab onto it. It’s important to listen to our muse. The problem that often comes as a “lack of inspiration” or “writer’s block” is simply that we sometimes forget how to listen to our creative minds.
Tip 3…Say hello to your new friend, they can be a bit shy sometimes and stay in the back of your mind, so make sure to give them a warm welcome and they will happily come forward.
Tip 4…Don’t worry if you don’t “see” your character clearly (or can’t seem to make up a good one if you prefer to think of it that way), because your character will come up to meet you on its own eventually.
(Since this tutorial turned out a lot longer than I intended, I separated the whole thing into five nice, bite sized chunks
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