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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2017 23:14:31 GMT -5
So this is a lame thread, I'm sorry, but lately I've had the worst time making characters. They're all very inconsistent or contradictory, I'm having trouble describing them, and I feel as if I don't really 'know' them, if you get what I mean.
I'm planning a story and I think that plot isn't my issue right now, but making believeable, interesting, characters. So I was wondering, how do you guys plan out, flesh out, and then write your characters? Any general tips, tricks, etc?
I don't know if anyone wants help me personally, but I can always post my character skeleton here or over pm if you want to see what I mean or lend a hand.
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Post by Headphone Actor on Oct 19, 2017 23:16:19 GMT -5
If you wanna PM the skeleton to me, maybe I could help? I'm not an expert, but another set of eyes might be handy.
As for methods, I kinda start with archetypes, then try to play with them a little? I get a basic idea in my head, and stick with that basic outlook for them, unless something traumatic or life-changing happens to them.
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Post by phantomstar57 on Oct 20, 2017 19:01:50 GMT -5
I base them on real people and pets I have known, and take it from there. For example, I based a couple of characters in my scifi novels on my parents. I then adgusted what was similar and what was different. The characters are alien beings, so I also had to keep that in mind but let us take the female character. I based her on my Mom, but took t much of those characteristics, like her calm during emergencies and other stressful situations, and gave the character strong serenity and ability to control her emotions, while helping others with emotional issues. She also has a difficult time expressing her own emotions, and any eruption of anger, annoyance or sadness is quite rare. With the male character I took the some qualities from my father, and turned this ship captain into a strong volatile individual who is always battling to control his temper. He's smart, a good leader, but impatient. With both I developed them by thinking about what their chidlhoods were like, how they met, their likes and dislikes, and various other things. With other characters I used a known person as a loose base, and went from there. With the telepathic felines in these tales, I based them on my own cats and other cats I have known, and combined the feline attributes with varying degrees of higher intellect. With my fanfic, I based my OCs on cats I have known and owned, weaving those purrsonalities into the warrior world. Kyestorm is based on my beloved Kai, a huge 25 pound Maine Coon cat, and his little quirks and likes and dislikes I weaved into Kyestorm's character. Her mate Demonstone, was loosely based on Kai in combo with Another of my Maine Coons but with his injury, his character took on a life of its own, diverging from my original thoughts. Kyestorm's kits all had personalities based on my Maine Coons and other cats. Once yet get the characters drawn out that way, they often finish the job all by themselves as you write. I have always done this so I can't tell you where I first learned this or the like. My stories have always been character based. I hope this is helpful.
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Post by Dingoleap on Oct 20, 2017 19:22:58 GMT -5
*is fighting turning this into a full-blown tutorial because I'm struggling to talk about this without some kind of visual aid*
I love character development - it's literally my favourite pastime, so I'd absolutely love to help you hammer this out. I have a lot to say from experience, so, uh, I'm gonna attempt to type it up so it has some kind of order.
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Post by Headphone Actor on Oct 20, 2017 19:33:20 GMT -5
*is fighting turning this into a full-blown tutorial because I'm struggling to talk about this without some kind of visual aid*
I love character development - it's literally my favourite pastime, so I'd absolutely love to help you hammer this out. I have a lot to say from experience, so, uh, I'm gonna attempt to type it up so it has some kind of order. I don't speak for everyone but I would totally love a full-blown tutorial, lol.
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Post by Dingoleap on Oct 20, 2017 19:35:56 GMT -5
*is fighting turning this into a full-blown tutorial because I'm struggling to talk about this without some kind of visual aid*
I love character development - it's literally my favourite pastime, so I'd absolutely love to help you hammer this out. I have a lot to say from experience, so, uh, I'm gonna attempt to type it up so it has some kind of order. I don't speak for everyone but I would totally love a full-blown tutorial, lol. I've been actually meaning to do it for a while XD Since there seem to be so many interested parties, I'll definitely put something together.
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Post by Headphone Actor on Oct 20, 2017 19:39:02 GMT -5
I don't speak for everyone but I would totally love a full-blown tutorial, lol. I've been actually meaning to do it for a while XD Since there seem to be so many interested parties, I'll definitely put something together.Yeeeeeeeeeees! Whenever it's up, count on me being there!
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Post by Dingoleap on Oct 20, 2017 20:01:38 GMT -5
I'll dig out some sketches!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2017 21:30:13 GMT -5
Thanks Actor and Phantom! I'll use your advice to try and make better characters.
Dingo, a tutorial would be amazing. I struggle so much with development. Anything you create will be of a huge help to me. Thank you!
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Post by Redfleck on Oct 21, 2017 19:30:50 GMT -5
I've done a ton of research on MBTI theory and cognitive functions. Personality theory in general is awesome for creating characters, and it doesn't have to be MBTI. A lot of people like enneagrams but I don't know how those work, so....
I start with a general idea of what I want the character to be like within the context of their environment. They'll have a very 2D personality. I have an idea of the character's backstory here, but only vaguely, and that is apt to change.
Then, I start ordering functions/defining the character's personality type. I like MBTI, so I'll type a character that way.
Of course, since a personality type can't ever totally define a person, I add fears, values, morals, etc—stuff that's critical to this character's nature. Here is where I begin to craft a more detailed backstory and lining exactly how things have affected this person to do the things they do, and I try to remain mostly consistent with whichever personality type I've put down.
Finally, adding ornaments. What kind of quirks does this character have? What's this character's favorite ice-cream? Tea or coffee? Cats or dogs? Time to add cool trivia.
You can make your character's physical appearance anywhere in this list. Just make sure to keep it consistent as you do things, so keep that in a reference sheet.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2017 16:42:41 GMT -5
I've done a ton of research on MBTI theory and cognitive functions. Personality theory in general is awesome for creating characters, and it doesn't have to be MBTI. A lot of people like enneagrams but I don't know how those work, so.... I start with a general idea of what I want the character to be like within the context of their environment. They'll have a very 2D personality. I have an idea of the character's backstory here, but only vaguely, and that is apt to change. Then, I start ordering functions/defining the character's personality type. I like MBTI, so I'll type a character that way. Of course, since a personality type can't ever totally define a person, I add fears, values, morals, etc—stuff that's critical to this character's nature. Here is where I begin to craft a more detailed backstory and lining exactly how things have affected this person to do the things they do, and I try to remain mostly consistent with whichever personality type I've put down. Finally, adding ornaments. What kind of quirks does this character have? What's this character's favorite ice-cream? Tea or coffee? Cats or dogs? Time to add cool trivia. You can make your character's physical appearance anywhere in this list. Just make sure to keep it consistent as you do things, so keep that in a reference sheet. Just gonna say, this is ridiculously helpful. It really helps me to have a process or steps to follow. I'll definitely try and research personality types and alignments and such. It tends to confuse me but I'll definitely put a solid effort in I think my main problem is consistency and just describing them in general. Thank you so much for your help. This really clears a few things up for me in regards to the creation process!
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Oct 26, 2017 2:28:56 GMT -5
I...could easily turn this into a book length post...but that would be a very foolish endeavor this late at night.
There are three ways that I come up with characters and develop them. 1) is the way Phantom mentioned, where I base them off a real person or some ancient OC or whatever. Whitefire, from Mortality, is based off me (yes, I have self-inserts. Even I have character traits I want to steal). Mostly this is just taking bases. Key character traits. How someone reacts when thrown into this or that situation. 2) is when I use bases from already created characters...that someone else owns. Woooh! Don't call the copy rate lawyers just yet! This is just the same as basing someone off a person. I'm not taking Harry Potter and putting him in my vampire story. I'd loose that court case. But I can take some of the base character traits. I.E. he's loyal, isn't the perfect angel when it comes to rules, ect. Don't take too much! Let your plot effect and change your character as much as you can. This is why I don't really suggest this option unless you are doing fan fiction, just to be extra safe. Marick, from Poisoning the Sea, is a gender-bent Myrnin from Morgenville Vampires. All in all, you probably wouldn't be able to see any similarities (I should hope). However, base character traits are the same. I.E Marick is the healer, the kindest, the weakest, the most likely to be manipulated and used. That's what I took, but it's also through my plot and stories filters. None of those characteristic are typical of Myrnin, because from the point I started to now, Marick stopped being Myrnin. 3) I'll use RP characters as an example for my last bit. I want to make a new character. I have a name. But I can't do personalities well. So I start rambling in the personality section of the form until I have something a little more detailed than 'kind, gets flustered, actually no humor'. But the character still feels flat. What do I do? Jump right in. The best way I develop all my flat characters is to take the plot and world they are in seriously and each time a challenge turns up, I completely ignore the rambling I did to make the form longer and look at those one word bases. Someone just asked my character if they could go out with them. Well, he isn't the type to be cool about it, cause he gets flustered easily. So lets have him try and lean his hand up against a wall and misjudge the distance, have him blush and throw in some 'uhs'. But he's also kind. So he'll try and accept or shoot down the other character as best as he can. As the plot goes on, more of the character turns up. Don't be afraid to let your character change if they need to. Tom Larkton, my main OC for Rps as well as being the planned main character for a novel, started out as having this rambling personality that basically said 'jokester with a plan'. This didn't last long, as it turned out his character couldn't make jokes well. But what slowly happened, as dangerous situations turned up in the RP, I learned something better. He had no survival instinct. He was reckless to a fault, had a complicated background with his ex, and honestly would have been better off if he never heard the word 'secret'. He went from 'jokester with a plan' to 'if he has a plan, it's to jump in and see what happens' in about three weeks of hardcore RPing. To this day, if I have an OC that needs development, I place them in a RP. I did this with Rattlesnake, Dream (Nightmare), Percival, Eveline, Tom, Whitefire, and a whole bunch of others that have or will appear in a book. Works every time.
Cue long post, despite better judgement.
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