Draconic's 101 Lesson 2: Characters and Personality
What the fashizzle is this!?
Well now, you've come to Draconic's 101, Lesson 2! Welcome!
To be clear, this lesson is about how to reflect your character.
Being me, I'll start by asking you a few questions. All of these questions will be answered within this tutorial/guide.
What is personality?
Your character's personality is what your character is like. It is how your character acts within a roleplay. It influences how you write, how you reflect emotions. How you react to different situations. It is the pivotal and all-too-important yet commonly overlooked part of a character which influences everything!
Why are you using big words!? D:
Because big words are fun! Don't understand a word? Get smart and expand your vocabulary! Look it up! And yes, that's a link. Click it.
Why does a character need a personality?
When is it appropriate to reflect my character's personality?
To be clear, this lesson is about how to reflect your character.
Being me, I'll start by asking you a few questions. All of these questions will be answered within this tutorial/guide.
What is personality?
Your character's personality is what your character is like. It is how your character acts within a roleplay. It influences how you write, how you reflect emotions. How you react to different situations. It is the pivotal and all-too-important yet commonly overlooked part of a character which influences everything!
Why are you using big words!? D:
Because big words are fun! Don't understand a word? Get smart and expand your vocabulary! Look it up! And yes, that's a link. Click it.
Why does a character need a personality?
When is it appropriate to reflect my character's personality?
How do I make a personality?
That's a vague question. It's not so much how to make a personality. That's like asking how to defeat a Chuck Norris or how to invent life. It's just not possible. You cannot make personality. You can conceive an idea for a character's personality, but you cannot make it. I think that should be enough to explain that.
Characters are born, not made. A good author, a good writer, a good roleplayer knows that fact. Your characters are simply tools which one uses to create a story. Even though you hold your characters dear, they're not really part of you, they're not your children. They're your creation. A good writer grasps this fact, acknowledges it, and thus allows their character to be imperfect. This includes being open to giving your character a personality you yourself might not enjoy. Heck, a different personality is what can make a character fun to play! Keep this fact in mind, and you have learned one of the first lessons of writing.
It's not so much about making a personality. It's about conceiving an idea and rolling with it. Writing is about sitting back and allowing idea to come and smack you in the face. Keep a journal with you and record the ideas. Eventually, you'll form a new character! Take it all easy, like the Eagles song. You want to relax and let the ideas come to you. Whether those ideas are slapping you in the face with iron frying pans or poking you in the gut gently comes and goes, it's called muse. Learn to deal with it, sometimes you'll have more ideas than you can possibly imaging, and sometimes you'll be in a metaphorical ditch.
How do I portray and/or reflect my character's personality?
Actually, there are many many ways to portray a character. Think of it like this: You are an actor, and your character is the role you play. You must reflect them with your soul and heart. Put more than just fancy words and literary flourish behind your character. Put emotion into your character. Think about it. Tell me, which of these two passages sounds better?
Bob frowned and sat down at the table.
or do you prefer something more like this?
Bob frowned and sat down at the table. He had no idea what was to happen to him. He was alone in the world, and he had been called to the principal's office for going off on one of the boys in his class.
Okay, admittedly, that wasn't the best example, but you get the point. The more emotion you give your character, the more they'll pop. A character with an author that will pour their heart and soul out, and maybe even shed a few tears for them will have more realism than a character with an indifferent author that simply tells the story flat. The job of a journalist or writer is to tell the story. The job of a writer is to make the story and the characters in it come to life.
Now, some of you are probably thinking: This is all fine and dandy, but I want to put my twist on my writing. And that's fine! You can always throw your own opinions into your writing or throw your humor into a story! Go for it. The best writers are the ones that not only allow their characters to live in the book, but also implant small parts of their soul into the story.
Where do I portray my character?
Where? Again, that's a general question. You can portray your character's personality in many different places. How they dress, how they think, how they talk, how they move, how they interact. Think about it!
A bad writer (or a news reporter or journalist) will tell the story like it is. A good writer will give their characters a personality. A great writer will create a character with a personality that acts accordingly and connect with people. An author will make a character with more than a personality. An author will make a character that lives and breaths in the minds of readers. An author will take a character, put him/her through trials, and in the process, they will create a bond between readers and character which causes a reader to laugh and cry.
It's your choice, and your personal opinion, but at least take some time to maybe figure out the mindset of your character. For example, a goth character won't walk around in neon clothing with a idiotic grin stapled to their face. A pirate won't be a clean-shaved, suave, sweet-smelling prince. A street fighter won't stand and let their opponent beat them up. So why would you let your character act contrary to the personality you gave them.
When do I portray my character?
There is no wrong time to portray a character, maybe just inappropriate times. If you are writing in hopes of publishing, you don't want to create a character that will laugh at a funeral, and this holds true with roleplay. Especially on large sites such as RoleplayGateway, you want to make sure you don't create a character that will attract a lot of negative attention. It's just not good for you or for anyone! You can portray your character whenever you want, but if, for example, your character walks into Gambit's and sees two people talking to each other personally, it's not a good idea to have them go over there and start talking it up. People do enjoy having smaller group roleplays. Always be sure to /msg username before you interact if it appears that two or more people are having a small, closed roleplay within a more public area like Gambit's.
Summary
All in all, this guide or tutorial is simply a collection of my personal take on characters. You can portray a character however the hell you want, these are just some helpful hints from me to you. Be aware that though you don't have to follow this guide to a T, you can always take tips from the guide. I'm not criticizing anyone, I'm simply handing out a few pointers. So now, until next time, I shall leave you with some words of knowledge. Bear in mind that everything I've said so far can be held true for both roleplaying and novel writing.
Anyone can pick up a pen and write. Anyone can create a story. Anyone can make their own world. But it takes practice, time, and an extremely special and talented person to create a world in which characters live. It takes a skilled individual to pain pictures of characters that people connect to, and will laugh and cry for. It takes an author to be a truly amazing writer.
