Post by J-Bry on Jun 1, 2010 20:16:46 GMT -5
I just so happened to stumble across this, and I think it'd be extremely helpful for anyone who might read this, regardless of what "level" you are at in role playing. All credits are given at the end of the post.
Motivation: When considering a character, always ask yourself 'why'? Question your character's motive for everything they do, think, or say. Delve into the psychology of your character. Don't just make them 'insane' for no reason, or 'just always happy,' or anything that can't have backup. Every thing has a reason, and this should be relatively obvious to your readers, unless you mean to keep it a secret; but a good, solid character has depth. One creates depth through a deep understanding of their character's past, psychology, and motives. For instance, it doesn't make sense for a female character in a sexist society, to "just suddenly have the will to rebel." No, rebellion comes from a catalyst, an instigator, something has to happen for this character to want to rebel; afterall, if you've built that society to generally accept sexist ideals, what would make this female character different from the others? What happened in her childhood to make her think otherwise? How did her father treat her that may have inspired this desire to break the norm? How about her mother? Was there a role model, event, etc, that inspired this character to break the mold? People never do anything without reason, be it conscious or subconscious, and as a writer, it is your job to write their history and motivations.
Stick to what you know: It's hard to have a deep understanding for your character, if they have no basis in reality. It doesn't mean you can't have superheroes or fantasy elements, but their traits and personality must still realistic and believable within that realm of reality. Even in an alternate universe, there is a state of consistency. Lack of consistency creates an unbalance and a poor foundation for your character, and they will be loose and shallow to the reader. A reader connects with a character when they can sympathize, or feel an emotion from them. Keep at least that much realistic in anything you do. In order to understand your character, you have to understand, or research them. Do you know enough about the period in which they were born, or their habitat? Do you know anything about their demographic, their race, their age? All of these things you must familiarize yourself with in reality before you attempt to recreate it in your story. It is the same with an artist; an artist can not learn to exaggerate reality before they learn to replicate it, at least to some extent. Therefore, you must truly know your characters inside and out, and practically live them. These above mentioned traits only come from putting yourself in your character's shoes. "If I were him/her, how WOULD I wake up in the morning? What would be my daily rituals?" Think about your characters all the time, even when you're waiting on a bus, or standing in line, constantly ask yourself "what would my character do in this situation?" This is how you can come up with truly unique character traits, that are both believable AND relatable. Draw from people you know, situations you've been in, or even yourself (but don't be one of those writers who just writes their fantasy self into everything they do).
Clichés, Stereotypes, and Archetypes: Clichés are not the same as archetypes or stereotypes, mind you, and to some extent these things are necessary for a story, however a cliché should never be used as an important story element. That being said, this does not mean that all clichés are bad. You can have a cliché storyline, but a diverse range of characters with depth and personality interesting enough to keep your reader into what you're writing. Cliché characters may run the risk of becoming flat and undeveloped if they are not subject to change. If you do not move beyond it, they will remain stagnant, and thus hinder the potential of your story. Avoid them when you can, and work around them when you have them. What is the difference, you ask? In my personal opinion, archetypes are 'genres' of stories or characters, a very basic and general 'theme.' These are hard to avoid. Archetypes of stories could include: love triangles, the classic Romeo and Juliet fate, jealousy, etc. Archetypes of character may include: the stubborn king, the blinded-by-love youth, the whore or even beast/monster with a heart of gold, the corrupt official, etc. These are things in which you base your story on, but build off of. Stereotypes are only acceptable in moderation. You have to make a character believable. Certain fashions, dialects, and generally accepted truths about a stereotyped character might be necessary to get your point across. This is especially helpful for minor characters. Let's say you have a bartender, who is in only one or two scenes. He needs no real development, as he only acts as a prop for your main characters to interact with. It's okay to go with a stereotype or cliché. If you start going to the extreme opposite, and try to create the 'super unique, most original awesome character ever,' or as I like to call it, the 'anti-stereotype,' you run the risk of 'obviously trying too hard,' which will come off to your reader as amateur. If he's only a minor character, or someone in passing, don't make the bartender "a midget, old woman with a beard, who's lesbian for no reason, has wings, and speaks backwards in French." It doesn't make sense, and is completely unnecessary for a minor character. It is, therefore, unbelievable and leaves the reader questioning "why did they even bother?" Don't try too hard to create something no one has ever seen, because you'll inevitably fail. It doesn't mean that you can't create something original. Originality comes from making the particular character just unique enough from the others to stand out, however many aspects of this character probably have their inspirations from other sources. Don't be afraid of that, but at the same time, don't let your inspirations be all you draw from.
Conclusion: Most of all, keep practicing. Writing is like an art, no one is perfect the first time they start. No one creates masterpieces with their first works. Don't bank all your money on one story, or one character. Continue to create, because you never know which one might be the big hit. Even when you have created something people like, don't stop there. A true artist or writer is never pleased with their work. Continue to aspire to create more, create something new, and most of all, let your love of the hobby inspire you to never stop.
Adaptations from The Writer's Guide to Character Traits © Fyuvix.
Fyuvix's deviantART homepage.
Motivation: When considering a character, always ask yourself 'why'? Question your character's motive for everything they do, think, or say. Delve into the psychology of your character. Don't just make them 'insane' for no reason, or 'just always happy,' or anything that can't have backup. Every thing has a reason, and this should be relatively obvious to your readers, unless you mean to keep it a secret; but a good, solid character has depth. One creates depth through a deep understanding of their character's past, psychology, and motives. For instance, it doesn't make sense for a female character in a sexist society, to "just suddenly have the will to rebel." No, rebellion comes from a catalyst, an instigator, something has to happen for this character to want to rebel; afterall, if you've built that society to generally accept sexist ideals, what would make this female character different from the others? What happened in her childhood to make her think otherwise? How did her father treat her that may have inspired this desire to break the norm? How about her mother? Was there a role model, event, etc, that inspired this character to break the mold? People never do anything without reason, be it conscious or subconscious, and as a writer, it is your job to write their history and motivations.
Stick to what you know: It's hard to have a deep understanding for your character, if they have no basis in reality. It doesn't mean you can't have superheroes or fantasy elements, but their traits and personality must still realistic and believable within that realm of reality. Even in an alternate universe, there is a state of consistency. Lack of consistency creates an unbalance and a poor foundation for your character, and they will be loose and shallow to the reader. A reader connects with a character when they can sympathize, or feel an emotion from them. Keep at least that much realistic in anything you do. In order to understand your character, you have to understand, or research them. Do you know enough about the period in which they were born, or their habitat? Do you know anything about their demographic, their race, their age? All of these things you must familiarize yourself with in reality before you attempt to recreate it in your story. It is the same with an artist; an artist can not learn to exaggerate reality before they learn to replicate it, at least to some extent. Therefore, you must truly know your characters inside and out, and practically live them. These above mentioned traits only come from putting yourself in your character's shoes. "If I were him/her, how WOULD I wake up in the morning? What would be my daily rituals?" Think about your characters all the time, even when you're waiting on a bus, or standing in line, constantly ask yourself "what would my character do in this situation?" This is how you can come up with truly unique character traits, that are both believable AND relatable. Draw from people you know, situations you've been in, or even yourself (but don't be one of those writers who just writes their fantasy self into everything they do).
Clichés, Stereotypes, and Archetypes: Clichés are not the same as archetypes or stereotypes, mind you, and to some extent these things are necessary for a story, however a cliché should never be used as an important story element. That being said, this does not mean that all clichés are bad. You can have a cliché storyline, but a diverse range of characters with depth and personality interesting enough to keep your reader into what you're writing. Cliché characters may run the risk of becoming flat and undeveloped if they are not subject to change. If you do not move beyond it, they will remain stagnant, and thus hinder the potential of your story. Avoid them when you can, and work around them when you have them. What is the difference, you ask? In my personal opinion, archetypes are 'genres' of stories or characters, a very basic and general 'theme.' These are hard to avoid. Archetypes of stories could include: love triangles, the classic Romeo and Juliet fate, jealousy, etc. Archetypes of character may include: the stubborn king, the blinded-by-love youth, the whore or even beast/monster with a heart of gold, the corrupt official, etc. These are things in which you base your story on, but build off of. Stereotypes are only acceptable in moderation. You have to make a character believable. Certain fashions, dialects, and generally accepted truths about a stereotyped character might be necessary to get your point across. This is especially helpful for minor characters. Let's say you have a bartender, who is in only one or two scenes. He needs no real development, as he only acts as a prop for your main characters to interact with. It's okay to go with a stereotype or cliché. If you start going to the extreme opposite, and try to create the 'super unique, most original awesome character ever,' or as I like to call it, the 'anti-stereotype,' you run the risk of 'obviously trying too hard,' which will come off to your reader as amateur. If he's only a minor character, or someone in passing, don't make the bartender "a midget, old woman with a beard, who's lesbian for no reason, has wings, and speaks backwards in French." It doesn't make sense, and is completely unnecessary for a minor character. It is, therefore, unbelievable and leaves the reader questioning "why did they even bother?" Don't try too hard to create something no one has ever seen, because you'll inevitably fail. It doesn't mean that you can't create something original. Originality comes from making the particular character just unique enough from the others to stand out, however many aspects of this character probably have their inspirations from other sources. Don't be afraid of that, but at the same time, don't let your inspirations be all you draw from.
Conclusion: Most of all, keep practicing. Writing is like an art, no one is perfect the first time they start. No one creates masterpieces with their first works. Don't bank all your money on one story, or one character. Continue to create, because you never know which one might be the big hit. Even when you have created something people like, don't stop there. A true artist or writer is never pleased with their work. Continue to aspire to create more, create something new, and most of all, let your love of the hobby inspire you to never stop.
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Adaptations from The Writer's Guide to Character Traits © Fyuvix.
Fyuvix's deviantART homepage.