Since I'll be using them in the rest of this post, hereby I give you a short list of abbreviations, just in case c:
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When it comes to Storybooks, there are a couple of components a person must think about. There's the idea itself, the plot-- and of course, the characters. Without them, the story wouldn't progress. Without them, nothing would really make sense, would it?
From my own experience, I can tell that the characters are what makes the SBs really interesting, and participating in various Storybooks can really do wonders to a person's characterization skills.
In majority of SBs, you will find a character template - a form to fill in with (more or less basic) information about your character, so other writers would have the chance to know him/her. This is, apart from the fact it helps everyone form a general idea about your way of characterisation and the character they'd be interacting with, quite useful in matters of focusing on what's important.
So, you wonder, what is important?
There usually aren't many fields in the character template to fill. With (slight) alterations based on the genre of the Storybook and/or its main subject, the template will ask about your character's name, age, appearance, personality and history.
Since I know that creating a character this way might look like a battle to some, I've decided to give a short explanation of what should each field feature. I shall, as well, offer a couple of blank templates at the end of this post, which will defer in a few fields. Those will not only be there in case you need a template for your own SB and
Onto it, then.
What to focus on when filling in PTs
~Name - quite self-explanatory. Some SBs might require both first and last name, though mostly first will be enough. If your character is human and the setting is such, I'd suggest you to think of a last name as well. There might come in a scene in which s/he might need to be called by last name. Say, if police comes to arrest her, they'd surely say "Come with us, miss Eyre", not "come with us, Jane" - unless if they know each other, which would imply they're either in a small town when everyone knows each other, or are otherwise connected. If you're using an unisex name, it'd be wise and nice of you to also include the character's gender.
~Age - it's not strange to come across an SB with an age range in the brackets. If so, you should of course respect it. If not, you should think of the role you'd like your character to play. Too much plotting before the start of the SB is never too good, yet some is always welcomed - and besides, thinking your characters through could define the direction of the story itself. So do think of some of the things you might want to achieve with your character (Jane in this case ). If we want her to be involved with Mr Rochester, we can't make her 6, now, can we?
..technically we can. But think about it.
On the related note. I do understand we're all young and that playing young characters offers the most options (she can fall in love, she can be a virgin, she can have to run away from home to do stuff, she can be a prodigy because she's so young, she can be unaware of how cruel the world can be..) but on the other hand, an SB with a bunch of teenagers won't really be much fun. Unless, of course, the setting is such rant it requires it (like, a school), but I won't go there now. In some SBs, it's perfectly fine to play young characters - yet if we're talking about an epic quest, is it really realistic to imagine a fifteen-eighteen-twenty-year old going around and overpowering every enemy she comes across? I don't think so either.
Even if you've never had a character outside of that age range, I suggest you to try it - it's always nice to venture into something unknown when it comes to writing c:
~Appearance - Again, varying from SB to SB, you might find ones which accept only a picture, only written description or demand both - personally I find written description preferable, though I admit that a picture can show somewhat more at times. Some SBs might accept anime/drawn pictures, others will not, so check that before posting one, there's no need to potentially get the SB founder angry by not paying attention to such details c:
When writing your character's appearance, mind the genre and the setting of the SB s/he's a part of. If it's set in medieval times, s/he won't be wearing jeans. If it's a real-life kind of thing, s/he will hardly have eyes which change colour or horns or wings or something of the sort. If the character is in a prison, s/he won't really be wearing expensive fabrics and a lot of jewelry - unless it's a really fancy prison.
Avoid describing your character using words such as "perfect smile", "gorgeous eyes" or "awesome hair". I might find messy dark hair awesome - someone else could imagine ginger dreadlocks in its place. Adjectives are subjective, keep that in mind. You're free to subtly state your opinion, but the point of the PT is primarily to put the picture of your character into the minds of other writers.
~Personality - this is the part which tends to send many potentially great characters back to kingdom come. Absolutely, having a charming witty noble hero or an equally charming yet completely corrupted villain is a classic, but let's face it, it's not really interesting. Being powerful and able to talk or otherwise make your way out of every messy situation can surely come in handy, but if the character is never troubled, it just all gets meh.
Focus on flaws. On what makes your character different from others of the type. Think of his/her weaknesses, at least one to go on every two strengths. Give your character something which makes him/her vulnerable - it will make us all happier to see him/her getting out of the trouble anyway.
And don't be worried - characters are supposed to change and evolve as the story progresses, and eventually you don't need to completely follow your own description anymore; by then, the others will know her/him well enough to be able to follow those changes and what lead to them.
~History - sometimes, SB founders require at least three paragraphs in this section or something along the lines. However, as a wise person once said, uselessly detailed histories are useless - so do fill it with important information, but try to keep to what really is important. We don't need to hear about every pet your character's ever had, you can detail that in your posts if you find it relevant - but if there was one or a few which shaped your character in some way, do mention it.
His/her history doesn't need to explain every point of their personality - not all people do is connected to something from the past, nor is very trait a result of some major event - yet some just ask for the said explanation. Say, if your character is terrified of caterpillars, you should mention it in the history as well - either how s/he got to be so afraid, if there was an event which made him/her be, or when did s/he first notice that fear if there's no rational explanation for it. However, again, though it might be a really interesting story, do keep yourself from going into writing a whole novel about the past events. Basic information will be enough, and focusing on the most important bits - as I said, you can always add details in your posts, via talking to other characters or dreams or thoughts or whatever comes to mind
~Other - quite obviously, this part is reserved for what doesn't really fit in any of the other categories. More often than not, here's where you'll say if your character is up for love (meaning you're open for relationship suggestions from other SBers), perhaps add a theme song (which, frankly, I don't really see the point of, but hey, if it's up your street, go for it) or add something OOC for the other SBers (like "I'd like to see Jane interact with Mr Rochefort later, if that's ok with y'all").
Apart from that, make sure to read the rules and make sure you've noticed everything the SB founder said. More often than not, things can be discussed and one can be allowed to make some alterations to the profile template if needed, but generally the best recipe is to follow the founder's instructions on the matter (that especially goes for things like races, or types of magic in fantasy SBs).
What to focus on when creating PTs
If you happen to be the founder of the SB, you'd want to consider creating a PT for people to fill in, because it makes it easier for them and you can be sure everyone will mention what you judge necessary to be mentioned when it comes to the characters.
When creating a profile template, there aren't really any rules - however, you should make sure everything important is mentioned.
If, say, you have an SB in which each character must have a magical familiar, make sure to include that as an item to fill in as well. If they all must be descendants of Greek Gods, you should put in the field "Descendant of:" and let them tell you. Adding fields to the PT can make one's life much easier c:
Another thing that I find important is to think in advance of a general direction of your SB. By doing so, you will most surely have no problems with deciding if and what should the age limit be, must they all have at least one drastic weakness, do you require the writers to provide both first and last name and so on and so forth.
If your SB has magic in it, I suggest you to specify the limitations regarding it - for too much freedom can be interesting, but not if it gives birth to countless overpowered characters. It's just not fun, trust me.
The empty templates
As I said. Especially if you're new in the world of SBing (no one will really ask you if you were if you don't say it yourself, don't fret to post in any case), you're more than welcome to fill one or a few up and post them here. I'm sure many of the experienced SBers (allow me to count myself in that category as well) will be glad to assist on anything you might need, answer possible questions and point you in the right direction c:
You are free to post characters you used to use, characters from SBs you're in, potential ones, ones you think of randomly on the spot, even ones you maybe use in your novels or so.
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I might eventually think of more. Forgive me if I haven't put together one which would work perfectly for your particular SB's genre, I have to admit I let my own preferences guide me. However, feel free to mix the templates as you wish, or create new ones, or suggest new ones for others to fill in (though I'd prefer to see the number of filled ones exceeding the number of empty ones) c:
For the time being, I believe this would be all. Finally, allow me to direct you to the sticky topics at the beginning of this forum, which, in short, are made sticky for good reasons
I hope to see some replies here - or if not, I at least hope I've managed to give an advice or two along the way and perhaps answered some questions.
Aria~
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