Character 101--How to make really great characters for role-plays

[shadowsown88]

Nice thread, Larkrose!!

For me, my main flaw with characters is that if I join more than one RP of the same kind, I tend to use the same characters in them—but other than that, I've been trying harder to make characters more unique.

For me, I come up with a name, and usually, the description goes with the name—I also try to be creative with the descriptions, though. For example, I'll make a cat green if it means being creative, even if it's not exactly realistic—it's all for fun, anyway! And then the personalities, I just come up with something random, but I try to make sure that it's unique, as compared to my other charries.

[geros9]

Well one way to make your character interesting is by looking at other forms and making them stand out from all of the other characters. If you want your character to be deaf, and there is another deaf person already, save it for another roleplay.

I also like to make original characters, as opposed to taking them exactly from television and books.

One last tip is to have different ethnicities, religions, etc.

[shadowsown88]

Great tip, Geros!! That's something I like to do, although it gets to be kinda hard when there's a lot of characters—I like to try and create some fantasy aspect to a character, in such a way that it still sort of fits in with everyone else.

[ave]

Oh, wow, I've been so entertained by reading over the posts that I haven't actually posted. xD

I'm actually creating a character right now, a warrior cat. His name is Nightstep, and he is a newly appointed warrior. I've been working on him for a bit now, writing down a few notes. What I like to do is then organize the information, like this. I don't care about complete sentences in this, I just like to sketch a few notes.

Vitals
Name- Nightstep
Any reason why- Because of his unusual pitch black pelt, sometimes tinting a navy color in the moonlight
Age- 12 moons
Gender- Tom


Description
Pelt- A dark black, sometimes tinting navy; short hair
Eyes- Yellow with a golden outline
Height- About 9 and a half inches
Length- 42 centimeters from nose to the base of his tail
Build- Slim and agile, nothing quite muscular
Markings- He has a torn ear from an abusive father, and quite a few scars
Weight- 5.5 kg

Personality
-Quick to fight if harsh words are thrown at him, and could care less about getting a mate
-Hot tempered, impatient, and witty
-Words "I 'give up" have probably never left his mouth
-Goes to any length to advocate what he believes in
-After he got kicked out of his clan, he learned to trust no one and tried to treat people the same way his father did, wanting revenge
-Can be reserved until you tick him off
-Keeps to himself, doesn't usually offend unless offended
-Is better in defense than offense

History
-Born into DuskClan, to the leader
-Leader and father killed mother
-Nightstep was abused by his father as a kit, who often attacked him [DuskClan didn't they care; they were an evil clan]
-Nightstep ran away the day he became an apprentice.
-Found a rouge who helped him travel to the clan he is currently in [which depends on the roleplay I join. xP]


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Now, I'm gonna put all this into an actual form, to make it more oganized, nice, and neat.
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Name
Nightstep [Because of his pitch black pelt]

Age
12 moons

Gender
Tom

Description
A golden outline surround the pupils of this newly appointed warrior. The golden ringlets are then topped with a dull yellow- no, this tom doesn't exactly have the most incredibly good looks in the forest. Nightstep's pelt is a dark black, short haired and tangled. He doesn't like to take much care of it, as he believes there are more important things in his life. His fur is thrown onto a slim, agile body that isn't too good at fighting. With his long legs, he's fast at running, but his small body makes it hard for him to confront other clans in battles. His paws are small and so is his head and everything on it. He's about nine inches in height and 42 centimeters from his nose to the base of his tail. He weighs about five and a half kilograms.

Nightstep has a scar over his eye that's about one inch long. He got it from a fight with his abusive father, and many other scars as well. His left ear is half torn off from another fight with his dad. Sometimes he'll feel a bit of regret at the fact he's not going the right way in his life, however he'll just look at his ear and know he has to get revenge, even if it isn't on his dad but the world that gave him his life.

Personality
Nightstep is a confusing cat. At first glance, one might think he's just quiet and shy. They might guess that when he comes out of his shell, he'll be funny and exciting, that he'll be something new. Oh, he'll be something new- but not in the way you would expect. This warrior is reserved, and enjoys keeping to himself. However, once he gets insulted and offended, Nightstep is ready for action. He likes to have fights in words, as if they became physical, he would surely be denied. He's witty and doesn't back down without winning. The words "I Give Up" have probably never left his mouth and this tom will go to any length to advocate what he believes in. He doesn't offend without being offended- keep that in my mind, anyone who choses to mock him about his unusual ways.

History
Nightstep was born into DuskClan, to the leader. His father attacked him many times as a kit, fighting him and tearing his soul apart, thus making the little kit believe violence was good. Although Nightstep has changed, he wants revenege, hence the way he acts now. When he was just a tiny kit he was mocked and abused, deciding to run away the day he was appointed an apprentice. He followed through with his word, fleeing from the Clan's territory. He met a rough, who went with him to the area of the clan he currently resides in.

Nightstep is simply lost, undecided, and alone. A cat in the right neighborhood, but not quite the good house.

A tom who knows the way out, but isn't sure if he wants to go.
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I personally like this way of creating a character, first planning it out then writing it into an actual form. I made this form right now- I usually don't make them that length, but planning it out seriously helps. I like how I made it a good length but I didn't use super long words. I've seen some bios on other forums, and you just get LOST [hehe, like Nightstep]. It's like, there's one paragraph for the eyes, one for the pelt, one for the build. -shivers- It's scary.

Sometimes I listen to music while I write. I listened to "Thanks for the memories" while writing this, and it helped! It got me in the mood to write a character like this. Maybe if I was writing a giddy character, I could listen to Here Comes the Sun or something.


So....yup.

[shadowsown88]

OMG, Ave, I'm so giving you rep for that!! That has to be the best way to create a character I've ever seen! Do you mind if I use your . . . information organization system some time?

[ave]

Originally Posted by shadowsown88

OMG, Ave, I'm so giving you rep for that!! That has to be the best way to create a character I've ever seen! Do you mind if I use your . . . information organization system some time?

Awww...thanks! And sure, you can use it any time!

Let's call it...the Avecratic Method. xDDDD JK!!!

[xnewmsx]

Originally Posted by Nightowl

Enough with the shallow, surface level descriptions. Lets really get into our characters.
First lets talk about humans. What would the world be like if we all looked and acted the same? That’s right, BORING! Here are some things to consider when you are describing your characters, both physically and personality wise.
Questions for character development: Are all of us perfect? Does every girl have blue eyes, blond hair and perfect skin? Are all guys extremely handsome? Is your character concerned about their looks? Is there anything specifically striking about them? How is their body built? Are they skinny, fat are in between? Are they an adult or a child? What do they do for a living? What do they do in their free time? What about their family? How did they grow up? Do they have siblings? Parents? Do they have any secrets, or do they have a mysterious past? What kind of strange habits do they have? What kind of people have they been around? What do they like to wear? Do all your characters need to be like you? (Personally, I LIKE making my characters have really wacky personas,) Why doesn’t everyone try describing their character’s nose? Or even how their voice sounds? Do they have any mysterious scars? And what about their hands?

Ohmigosh! Great questions, Nighty. (Er...why do we hafta call you Syrup?) I don't have allot of human characters, but these really are things to consider when making one. Did you write all of these?

[shadowsown88]

OMG, I think that sounds perfect!! The Avecratic Method!!

Yah, what's with the food names? I've seen Horsie being called Apple. But anyway . . .

[Nightowl]

Nah, you don't have to call me that, it's just a nickname. And yes, I did write them all.

[inlovewithstitch626]

This is offtopic, but its a loong story shadow. XD