Event 1: Mini KB Article

Many know of the Star Ranking System as the premier ranking system in YWS, but did you know that there is a second ranking system on this site? Maybe! Probably not, but that's okay! It's not the most visible ranking system on YWS, but it's interesting nonetheless!

We'll call this the Post Ranking System

Stars (and pigs!) are the method of YWS that tracks a member's amount of reviews done. The Post Ranking System tracks how many forum posts a member has done utilizing titles.

(Check the spoiler at the bottom of the article for an in-depth guide of what forum posts are and how to do a forum post)

What are the titles of the Post Ranking System?

• New Member: 1 post - 4 posts
• Novice: 5 posts - 14 posts
• Junior Writer: 15 posts - 49 posts
• Writer: 50 posts - 99 posts
• Senior Writer: 100 posts - 249 posts
• Novelist: 250 posts - 499 posts
• Speaker of the Forum: 500 posts - 999 posts
• Master of the Forum: 1000 posts - 2499 posts
• Epic Novelist: 2500 posts - 4999 posts
• Writer of Legend: 5000 posts - 9999 posts
• Rival of Shakespeare: 10000+ posts

Now that you know what the titles are, where do you find them? Well, currently the only way to see someone's post rank title is under their username and avatar in a PM.



You're also able to see your own post rank title by viewing your sent PMs!

Now that you know about the post rankings, you can see where you are on the review leaderboards and forum post leaderboards!

(Did you know there's one member who has their own post title of "Spam Poet"? See if you can find them!)

Forum posts are any posts made in the Forums and Roleplays tab.



You create a forum post in one of two ways: either by creating a new topic or replying to an existing topic.



The "Post a New Topic" button is at the top of every subforum.

If you want to reply to an existing topic, there are two ways you can do this: either at the button at the top of the page or the two buttons at the bottom of the page.





Any time you partake in one of the many forums, you're increasing your forum posts and are on your way to your next title!

How to Write A Composite Poem

One of my favorite poems I’ve ever written was rebuilding of a young mad poet (revised), a composite poem that included lines from every NaPo thread I had made up until that point. It’s a bit like a collage in poem form, taking some gems I’d made in the past and blending them in new ways. If you too would like to make such a poem, here is a brief guide.

Step 1-Poem Selection

Before starting to write, you have to gather the poems you wish to use as potential sources. These should be pieces you have some distance from, as I find that it makes it easier to cut up and mash together. Old NaPo threads make an excellent choice for this, but you can use any poems you want.

Step 2-Line selection

Once you have your poems, it’s time to go through them and find the best lines. Interestingly enough, I found that my favorite lines from this project were often not attached to the best poems. The stronger poems tend to feel complete; remixing them feels strange. In contrast, a lot of my NaPo poems were not very good as a whole, but had some brilliant lines, or they were fragments that I wasn’t sure how to expand upon. Note that the fragments don’t have to be long; “bitter light” is just two words, but was evocative enough for me to add to the list.

Gather the best lines into a “shortlist”. You might not use every line you put here, but it’s good to narrow the list down. Note any themes/imagery/metaphors that come to mind as you make the list. These can help you find a subject and structure for the new piece.

For this poem, I found a lot of nature and weather imagery in mine that I tied together. I also had a lot on mental illness and my recovery from it, as that was a prominent theme in my NaPo threads.

Step 3-Frame the new piece

Now it’s time to pick a subject and structure. The subject could be anything you want. Look at the common themes and images on the short list and see what works together. For me, a poem looking back on my past struggles seemed like a natural fit for the lines I’d gathered and the very nature of writing a highly self-referential poem.

For format, I went with free verse, as most of the source poems were free verse and it’s easier to put together lines without concern for rhyme or meter. But if you want to rhyme, that could also be an interesting challenge.

Even though my lines were free verse, my piece did not completely lack structure. I divided it into sections in roughly chronological order, starting with my life pre-diagnosis and ending on a cautiously optimistic note several years later. You may want to section your piece like this as well, but it’s certainly not required.

Lastly, choose a perspective. Present or past tense? First or third person? You’ll need to adjust the grammar of your lines accordingly, as they likely won’t all match. For me, I chose first person present tense to create a sense of immediacy, with the exception of the beginning in past tense.

Step 4-Putting it all together

(Insert Kronk “Oh yeah, it’s all coming togethe” meme here).

Now it’s time to bust out the glue stick and put those lines together! Metaphorically, at least, though if you’d like to print your lines out and literally glue them together, that could be fun. (Tag me if you do this.)

You may find that you need to add some words or adjust grammar to make the lines fit together. That’s fine, but I try to keep the lines recognizable and minimize the amount of new material. Of course, it’s your poem, so if you want to pad your old lines with new ones, that’s perfectly fine.

Now you should have a beautiful collage of a poem!

If you’ve been writing for a while, chances are you came across fanfiction at some point. Maybe you even started your writing journey through fanfiction! Whether you’re an active fanfic writer, or you just enjoy reading others’, this often overlooked genre not only has a huge impact on fans’ experiences with the original IP, but it even makes its mark in pop culture.

What is Fanfiction?
Fanfiction, also shortened to fanfic or fic, is a genre where the writer uses the characters, settings, and other aspects of the original (copyrighted) material to base their stories off of. Think of Star Wars. This franchise has millions of fans across the world, and many of them have ideas of what could (or should) have happened in the series. For example, a fan may have been disappointed with Anakin turning to the dark side, so they may write a story where he and Padme live happily ever after.
However, fanfiction often faces criticism. Critics believe that fanfic writers blatantly steal from the original IP, trashing established and beloved characters. Others believe that fanfiction is a waste of time because it’s not real writing. Even famous authors have differing views on it. George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) cited fanfiction as a legal and moral issue while Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone) was flattered that fanfics were being written about her trilogy.

Famous Examples of Fanfiction
Paradise Lost
Fifty Shades of Grey
Dante’s Inferno

Social Media and Fanfic Sites
Fanfiction allows fans to share their stories and connect with other fans of the same IP. Tumblr is a huge social media platform for fandoms to share fanfics, headcanons, and fanart of their favorite characters. For example, @Kianamaiart built up a huge following on Tumblr for her Pokemon fanart. Users can follow specific tags about fandoms, characters, or ship pairs.
On the internet, there are three huge fanfic sites that are completely free for fans to access: FanFiction.net, Wattpad, and Archive Of Our Own (AO3). AO3 is the most versatile and popular site to publish stories due to the organization of books, movies, etc. They also have an intricate tagging system that can add or remove certain tags like graphic violence, fandom crossovers, or romantic pairings.

Legality
With all the murkiness of copyright and publishing, now we come to the big question: is fanfiction legal? After all, fans are basing their stories off of already existing characters and worlds and publishing them online for thousands to see. However, if fans are not making any profit from their works, fanfiction should fall under the fair use copyright.
Yes, fans publish them online, but they do this out of a passion for the original story. They keep the fan community alive, and they keep fans engaged with the established IP. Who knows, maybe their fanfics will inspire someone to start watching or reading the original work.

CHOOSING A PEN NAME

A few days ago, I got the urge to choose a pen name for myself. If you want to choose a pen name instead of going by your real name, there are some things to consider. This article will point out some of the important things.

YOUR GENRE
Are you more likely to read a thriller by a Sebastian W. Ledger or by a Ryder Kane? Since your name will be on the cover of your book, it is one of the first things a reader will notice about your book. And like JK Rowling said, “A good first impression can work wonders.” You should choose a pen name that complements your genre and writing style. For example if you mostly write about natural scenery with peaceful vibes, a name like “Lily Greenfield” might suit your book.

A MEMORABLE NAME
If you want your works to be noticed, you’re probably better off choosing a simple pen name rather than a name like “Konstantin Mikhaylov” which people like me can’t even pronounce. A simple but unique name means readers will be able to remember your name.
But along with choosing a simple name, it’s important that you don’t choose a pen name that is too reminiscent of some other author. Which means you probably should not go with a name like “WS Spear” even if you’re a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet.

YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
The YA author Judith Reumlet chose to publish her novel under the pen name “Cassandra Clare” because she thought her real name was old fashioned and might not resonate with her target audience. The age, and region of your target audience is probably the most important thing to consider while choosing a pen name because after all, you’re writing for the readers right?

After considering all of these factors, it’s up to you to come up with a creative and eye catching pen name. If you’re stuck and need some inspiration, why not give the Reedsy Pen name generater a try?

The Healing Power Of Poetry: Writing To Cope With The Hard Stuff

An inevitable truth about life is that we are all going to suffer.

Whether our suffering comes in seasons, seconds, or never-ending, chronic battles, it is all part of the human experience. Pain is hard, but luckily, there are many tools and coping strategies available that can help us get through things we cannot do on our own. One of these tools is poetry. In this article, I will go over three ways that you can use poetry as a healing tool for your heart, to get through the tough days.

Poetry and Anxiety: Overcoming Powerful Emotions

Have you ever struggled with anxiety or panic? In the moment, when we panic, our heart rate increases, we can feel flushed, overwhelmed, shaky, tingly, or have trouble breathing. Through an intense panic, the first thing therapists and crisis workers recommend doing is controlling your breathing. This allows your body to regulate itself and return to a place where you are in control and able to manage the panic you are experiencing.

But what does this have to do with poetry? Well, poetry can be like breathing sometimes. While dealing with anxiety, distraction can be a wonderful key to keep your mind occupied, while you calm yourself, before you can make a wise choice as to how to proceed in a difficult situation. Writing takes complete focus of your mind, as well as your hands for typing or handwriting. You can put your emotions into words and create a poem that explains how you feel. You can cry and scream words onto a page, when you have no one else to talk to.

Poetry and Isolation: Finding Your Voice

Are you a shy person, or do you struggle to fit in or make friends? Well, poetry can be your voice. On YWS, poetry unites young writers across the world, allowing them to write, share, and discuss feelings and experiences through their own words.

Jen Mueller once said, “The only way to find your voice is to use it,” which I think is also true for poetry writing. One word at a time, you can craft your own style and passion for writing, finding who you really are, all while writing alongside friends who share the same passion.

Poetry and Trauma: Processing Emotions

Have you ever felt that something you have gone through is too much to even think about? Sometimes, when we endure extremely hard, life changing events, it can feel impossible to regulate emotions and return to ‘normal’. Oftentimes, after someone has gone through a traumatic event, they can resort to a lifestyle of avoidance. Avoiding reminders of trauma, such as people, places, or things that remind them of what they have gone through. When the time is right, revisiting these memories in a safe environment is recommended, in order to process trauma.

One way you can do this is through the magic of storytelling therapy, or writing about your experiences through poetry or narrative pieces. Poetry creates a space where you can safely and slowly reflect, crafting sentences to express emotions, people, places, and things that hurt you. It can help you remember hurtful events, find closure, and learn to forgive, one poem at a time.

The simple truth is, poetry can heal your heart.

You may not think you have what it takes to write humor, but it's easier than you think! Comedy sketches are humorous little scenes usually written to be performed, either on television or on stage. From amateur sketch groups to professional shows like Saturday Night Live, sketch comedy is quite prevalent in entertainment nowadays. Here are a couple pointers on how to get started writing your own comedy sketches!

Make sure the concept is strong.

The foundation of a sketch is arguably the most important part. Most sketches I write are from one-off ideas that come to me randomly, though I've found that joking around with my friends, thinking about the stuff that I like, and poking fun at common experiences are great places to start to think of funny ideas. A lot of sketches I personally write come from puns or plays on common turns of phrase. If you can't think of anything, just try writing about the last predicament or funny situation you were in--- sometimes, reality can be the finest source of laughter!

Know your audience.

While a good piece of advice for any writing that will be performed, comedy is especially reliant on audiences. Hearing positive feedback like laughter or cheering not only encourages others to cheer, but energizes the performers and can amplify the effect of a joke or gag. Humor is something that can be quite subjective, and it's important to keep in mind who your work is being shown to. Many comedians try and cater to wide audiences so that their content can be enjoyed by many, and while that's a good goal (particularly when writing for popular broadcast shows), there's a lot of humor in niche experiences as well. By knowing who will be enjoying your sketch, you can maximize the humor and tailor the jokes to the audience to elicit the most laughs you can!

Keep your format in mind.

Think about how the sketch will end up being performed. Sometimes, gags translate much better over a recorded video, where things can be edited in, or vice versa, where the jokes told on stage rely on a live audience to land. It's possible too that you're writing the sketch simply to be read! Knowing how the final product will be performed is also a way to tailor your content to maximize the humor potential. If you have the option to, you could also switch up the final format if you find an idea you originally thought would suit one medium actually better suits the other!

Stick the landing.

I always like incorporating a final twist or joke at the end of all of my sketches. I find that the last bit of a sketch is really the place to bring the running joke the sketch is based around to a grand finale. If you want any part to be funny, it should be the end, as it's what the audience will most likely remember. A lot of humor comes from the element of surprise, so thinking up a clever final joke or twist to put at the end is a wonderful way to guarantee a big guffaw to see you out!

Hopefully these tidbits of advice will help you on your way to becoming the next sketch writer extraordinaire! If you ever get stuck, watching other people's sketches is another great way to get the ideas flowing. Most importantly, have fun--- the best way to make others laugh is to laugh yourself!

~CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT~
The 5 W’s of writing is Who, What, Where, When, and Why. I’m going to talk to about the first W who.
Today I’m going to go over step by step how to make a good character
Step 1. The Basics. Pick their gender, age, and then a name, first, middle, and last. Also, research your character's ethnic background and maybe pick a name from there. E.G If you’re writing about a Filipino female who is 11, you could name her Althea, Jasmine for a middle name, and Garcia for a last. After you do those things, you move on to the next step.
Step 2. Appearance. Your character’s appearance should reflect their personality and again their ethnic background will also determine some of their looks. E.G Althea is Filipino, she has darker skin and brown hair. She likes to play in the forest often, so her hair is short, so she doesn’t get it caught.
Step 3. Background. What is your character’s backstory, is it sad, is it wonderful, is it just normal? You don’t have to figure out every little detail, just get the pivotal events E.G. Althea witnessed the death of her mother when she was 6, and due to her father’s work, she raised herself without any guidance or help.
Step 4. Personality. Take your character’s backstory and then determine their current personality from it. Afterall events change people, if they’ve had a sad background, they might be more depressed than the normal person and if they’ve had a happy background, they might be happier than the normal person E.G Due to Althea’s background she is more of a lone wolf, she prefers to be on her own and is afraid to open up emotionally.
Step 5. Decisions and Knowledge. Like your character’s personality, your character’s background should determine how much they know and what kind of decisions they make. What your character does and knows should line up with what they’ve learned and what’s happened to them. So, your character shouldn’t be a 2-year-old with the knowledge of someone who's been to medical school. E.G Althea is in 6th grade, she’s going through middle school with a lot of hurt and pain, she’s also very lonely and having a hard time. She chooses to stick to herself because she’s afraid of losing people.
Additional Stuff to Think About…
Is your character good or bad?
What message are they sending?
How relatable are they?
I hope this helps you write your next amazing character!

Popular in the literary and art communities, zines are a casual, artsy, creative way to display literature and art in paper form with relatively low-cost printing and easy distribution. If you’ve always wondered how to get a zine started and haven’t been sure how, here are some of the main considerations you’ll want to tackle. Zines are historically PUNK and anti-establishment, anti-rules so please feel free to take my points as friendly suggestions and utilize your creativity to create the best zine possible that makes you happy! I will be basing my article on the zine concept that @Rook and I started called “COOP: chickens of our poetry” (which you can enjoy at coopzine.com.)

First, Choose a Theme

To make a wonderful zine, just like any poetry collection, you need some sort of theme. A lot of zines have seem to have kind of quirky themes like Taco Bell, Tattoos, Ghosts, Chickens… your best bet is to choose something you are passionate about, or maybe something you already have plenty of existing art or poetry about. Once you have a theme take some time to reflect on what makes that theme special and wonderful – write some notes down! This process and theme selection will inform your title, cover, art, branding, editor-notes and entries.

Second, Get your (legal) Affairs in Order

So, let’s talk about copy-right shenanigans. If people write or produce things or if you write or produce things, that gives you some rights and responsibilities to keep in mind. Checking out this KB article Copyright Laws and YWS can get into the nitty gritty a little bit more, but the main idea in terms of your zine is, you want to be sure that authors and artists are clearly informed about their rights when they trust you with their work. What we do over at COOP, is we publish under what is called a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. This means we, the distributor, may share and redistribute the material in any medium or format as long as proper attribution is given, we can’t sell the material for commercial purposes, no one can snatch a work and “remix” it without permission, and if the person wanted to submit their work to another publication later they could. These bounds work for us and what we want, but be sure to know what you’re looking for before you start using or distributing people’s works!

This is also the step where you’ll want to think through the logistics on if you are paying people for their works, will you accept international submissions? Where will you acquire the funds? How will you distribute the funds in a safe way? Will you charge for your zine? How will people give payment? Do you have any obligations in terms of taxes in your region / country if you charge for your product?

Third, Acquire Submissions

Okay, now unless you’re going to fill all the pages yourself, you’re going to need some submissions. Use your networks. Friends, Libraries, Schools, Internet Communities (like YWS 😊 ) and other social media platforms are great places to start with. Especially when you’re first starting out you may want to get all of your submissions from close friends, that’s okay. As you gather submissions, you’ll be able to put a process together for selecting and rejecting pieces and communicating with submission participants. Let your theme and practical limitations (size, length, theme, rating, intended audience) guide some of these decisions too. Free Tip: Chill Subs (chillsubs.com) is an excellent place to post to gain submissions! Think about the places you go to when you are looking for places to submit.

Fourth, Arrange, Rearrange, and Arrange Again

Now you’re ready to organize your zine! If you’re doing a double-sided printing (flipping on short side) you’ll need to ultimately have a multiple of four. Keep in mind extra pages you’ll need for title, front-material, title page, table of contents, editor notes etc. Really arranging your zine is up to you and your vision but a few suggestions are to be sure to start and end with some of your strongest pieces, watch for tonal dissonance (ie. don’t put the cotton candy next to the barbeque chicken wings on my plate! Try to not have uncomfortable tone-jumps between pieces as you read or view), and also keep in mind “page spreads” that most 1 page pieces will be directly next to one other piece, these two can be read together or comment on each other if done right. You may want to print all the pieces out to let you stretch out on the carpet and figure out what goes where, or get a word doc and write a short one sentence summary of each piece and then experiment with where things fit best.

Fifth, Distribute

You’re almost done! Now it’s time for all your hard work to come to fruition! Print out some zines (check out your school or local library if you don’t own a printer) and give them to friends, relatives, enemies, stray pigeons, and leave them behind in coffee shops, thrift shops, airplane seat pockets, and add to your bookshelf! You can also distribute digitally through email or social media. Be sure to let people know where they can get future zines from you or submit to future editions to keep the joy going! Be sure to share your successes with us on YWS once your zine is out in the world!

This is an informative article for those who are looking to modernize Greek Mythology in their writing. There will be four sections, and hopefully each one will come in handy when you’re starting your ambitious journey to step into the world of reimagining!


Settings are important when it comes to any story. When writing anything revolving around Mythology (Greek, Roman, etc.) the settings are almost the most important and most described aspects of a novel or story. When we think about settings in Greek Mythology specifically, we think about Olympus, The Underworld, Islands, and small towns like Delphi and Athens. But what if we were to reimagine these settings and transform them into something modern?

1) Pick your setting. Do we want an urban setting, a suburban setting, or a mix of both?
2) What country are we placing these gods in?
3) What can the setting do to enhance the representations of the gods you’re choosing to write with?
4) How can I use this setting to progress the story and keep the reader immersed?

Creating alternative vibes for characters that we’re used to can be challenging. When it comes to Greek Gods and Goddesses, my solution is simple. Pick a profession that goes along with the affinity of that god or goddess. Think about their personalities according to ancient lore. For example:

1) Athena is known for being stubborn, smart, and wise. A lawyer, professor, or school superintendent is a good match for her.
2) Zeus is the ruler of all gods in Olympus. He could be the Mayor, President, or any authoritative figure in today’s society.
3) Hades is the God of the Underworld. He could be a Jail Warden, a Funeral Home Coordinator, or a Horror Author.

There are so many options for professions. Don’t be afraid to get creative. Think of modern names for these characters, along with appearances and hobbies that could seemingly match their professions. Examples for modernized names could include:

1) Athena: Ava, Alexis, Nina.
2) Zeus: Zane, Eli, Volt
3) Hades: Damien, Luca, Hunter

This is when we start to think about how we can include modern day challenges and issues into our writing. A big part of classical Greek Mythology literature is hierarchy, internal government affairs, and familial bonds and relationships. Each god represents something in our real lives, so touch on that if you will. There are many topics we can include to show that this is based in modern-day life, such as:

1) Poseidon may be concerned with rising sea levels, preservation of coral reefs, and sea life. How can we incorporate his hobbies to the overall plot of the story?
2) Social Media: The Gods could use social media for communication.
3) High stakes political scandals (Zeus being unfaithful to Hera, as Greek Myth usually touches on, anyways.)
4) Gender Equality with a mythological twist: Athena or Artemis would most likely fight for gender equality when it comes to sensitive political topics (i.e traditional gender roles).

You can even create new mythological characters by combining elements from different cultures. The story could even be set in a multicultural city where different mythological beings interact—ultimately becoming a melting pot of various mythological traditions mixed with modern life. I always like to focus on themes that are important in each culture, such as:

1) Justice
2) Power
3) Love
4) Morality

Adapt mythological stories to fit different cultural contexts. For example, retell Greek myths using the cultural values and settings of other traditions, highlighting how universal themes can be expressed differently. This is the beauty of rewriting Greek mythology to fit modern day, there are so many possibilities.



How do the cultural backgrounds effect the overall tone and existing themes in your story? How can we make this more modern by taking existing myths, and turning them into something that would happen in modern day? How do our characters feel about social issues and the corrupt government? These are all things we should think about while writing a Greek Myth Modernization.

When making claims about ultimate truth it is important to have all the facts so that you can communicate with accuracy and wisdom, this is especially true as a writer. You may have sometimes wondered … is my favorite color, the ultimate color?

This article is going to help you in figuring that out… for writing and life purposes where you may need to know.

Let’s start with some basic terms:

Color - the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object reflects or emits light. (source: Oxford Languages)
Ultimate – clearly the best (source: alliyah)
Dark Cyan – a color of dark greenish-blue, specifically represented by hexadecimal code #008B8B, not to be confused with teal, green, blue, cyan, or light cyan.

Question Tree

To determine if your favorite color is the ultimate color ask yourself this:

1. Is my favorite color dark cyan?

If Yes -> Your favorite color is the ultimate color, congratulations.
If No -> Your favorite color is not the ultimate color, please consider dark cyan to be your new favorite color.

2. Is my favorite color teal?

If Yes -> Have you heard of dark cyan?
If No -> I am so glad you agree that dark cyan is the ultimate color.

For extended facts and data

For additional information on this subject, please refer to the YWS classic, “A Study in Color: Dark Cyan Versus Teal” available here for your reading pleasure.

Sometimes on the site or in pads, I see users saying things along the lines of: "I want to review poetry but it's hard for me to understand." or "I want to review poetry, but I don't know where to start!"

So, this article is here to help. I'll be giving you an idea on how to review poetry. Of course, everyone reviews differently, so this might not work for you.

When I review poetry, I try to use the acronym SIFT. SIFT stands for: See, Intruige, Feel, and Think.

For example, let's use my poem "color theories" from the collection miscelanious thoughts strewn upon odds & ends

See

First, what do you see? What imagery, themes, or metaphors are there? For example, I see that there's a clear theme of colors in lines like: "aquamarine petrichor" and "sun-kissed yellow". I also see a theme of hopelessness and childhood. In my review, I might quote some lines that support my thoughts.


Intruige

Second, what intruiges you? Are there word choices or mistakes that you want the author to know about? If so, include them! Of course, poetry comes in all forms, and spelling errors can be intentional, but it's nice to point them out just in case. For example, Wist helped me catch my error of "petrichol" instead of "petrichor".


Feel

Next, what does it make you feel? Are there any emotions that you gain from this? What does it mean to you? In this case, Feel is the most reader-focused. Sure, the poet writes the poem for themself, but it's up to how the reader interprets it!


Think

Finally, what does it make you think? Are there any questions you have after reading, or any ending notes? Sometimes, I read oetry and have a lot of questions to ask about them poem itself. For example, you could ask: "Why did you choose to represent the sun with harsh words?" or "What does the poem mean to you?"

So there you have it! The SIFT method! Of course, take everything you do like, and feel free to forget the rest. But if you do want to use this, remember to SIFT through poetry!

Every roleplayer's been there: you join the newest roleplay, you copy down the character template, and you stare at it blankly, forgetting how to write. You may know how old your character is or a certain magic power that inspired you. But your momentum grinds to a halt once you reach the writer's kryptonite: the backstory.

How does a roleplayer decide the past of their character? What information belongs in the CP and what should remain a mystery? Well, this article has the answers. Using a template called Foundation Laying you can create the most complex backstories using one thing: your character's personality. Seems impossible? Let's get into it.




It's no secret that our lives affect who we are as people. Certain events, important relationships, and achievements determine our self-esteem, how we approach problems, and our overall outlook on life. Your character is no different, the personality you gave to them had to come from somewhere. Your goal when creating a backstory should be to explain why your character is here and why they developed this way.

For example, if you want to write a shy character who struggles to speak with others, think of events that would cause someone to withdraw like that. Were they bullied in school? Have they frequently been in situations where they were ignored? However, not all traits are caused by childhood events, but rather by genetics. In that case, explore how those traits would affect a child in school. If they have trouble focusing, how did they cope with grades? Did they learn tricks to help them stay on task or were they controlled by this difficulty? Whatever the traits you have, first determine if they would be caused by life or if it would be inherent to their nature. Then, either pinpoint the cause or explore the effects.

Once you have the basics down of how their personality affected their backstory, zoom out. In this step, you should examine how the people important to them reacted to the previous events. For example, let's say you decided that your disorganized character struggled in school and never got good grades. Here, you would determine how their parents, teachers, and classmates felt about that. Were they ridiculed? Did they get a lot of tutoring support? Did they just sort of slip between the cracks? The main way to use the personality to your advantage here is to examine your character's confidence. Insecure people usually have a history of being belittled, whereas arrogant people can either be hiding insecurity or have never been taught self-awareness of their flaws. The closer your character is to being well-adjusted, the less extreme their backstory should be.




Congratulations, you have done the hardest part! Now, you just have to take all of your hard work and put it into the template. What's that? You don't know what to put? That's okay because this article tells you how to do that too!

The amount of detail your backstory has should ultimately depend on two things: your taste and the DM's preference. Some DMs want something straight to the point, and others prefer details about every major event. To determine which DM you're working with, you can either wait for them to submit their CP or you can do some thread digging and look at their previous work. Once you've determined what DM you're working with, you can move on.

If it's a concise DM, focus on the broad strokes of the backstory. You want to capture the general vibe without bogging it down with details. Focus on why they're here to be a part of the plot and if their history is relatively good or bad. Summarization is your friend.

If you're with a long-winded individual, start with bullet points of the main events that caused each personality trait. Once you have that, add more details to each bullet point until it reads more like a story.

And that's it! You have successfully written and integrated an RP backstory with just the personality. With this method, your character should be more realistic and much easier to make. Good luck roleplaying!

Character Profiles. It is the first big step of being a part of any Roleplay on YWS. Once you've been accepted by a DM, that is almost always the first thing you'll be asked to do. One of the best ways to make a unique and interesting character that still fits with the cast is to hash out a general vibe first.

Step One: The Hole that Needs Filling

One of the biggest favors you can do yourself when making a Character Profile in a SB is to read through everyone else's characters first. Its a step you have to take eventually, so do it right away. You're looking for these things:

How does the group fit together right now? What skills are missing? What could make them a stronger group?

This is a great place to get a start on your character because you know sort of what hole you have to fill. Does the team need someone more responsible? Does the team need a gentler character to offer hugs?. Or sometimes just, wow no one thought of using ice as a power??

Its not going to decide your character's entire vibe but it will get you going in a direction, something to focus on.

Step Two: Personalize

Now its time to think on what about this world calls to you. Don't be afraid to explore. Go hunt your DM down and ask questions. What species exist in this world? What powers? Can I be a ghost? As a fairly experienced roleplayer and a DM myself, I can tell you that I have yet to find a DM who was not excited at the prospect of answering obscure lore questions.

Like with all things, there's a healthy limit of course, if your roleplay requires your character to be afraid of fire, don't try to squeeze in Flames Fon Frodo the Fiery. However, say everyone in your roleplay has to have committed a crime. You've seen its a whole lot of hardened career criminals and you want to play someone gentler or more naive. You could ask if maybe your character could have been framed? Or if they ended up here because of badly filed paperwork?

Now you have some notes that might look like this:



Step Three: Nailing it Down

Your task now is to figure out how to make this a little bit more coherent. First you have to look at that hole you wanted to fill.

For example "badass queen" is my shorthand for someone responsible and able to lead. If you have that you look at making someone who would be a leader of some sort in their life. Perhaps by occupation, perhaps by being the main provider for a family or even a monarch. In the same way if you wanted this naive sort of pampered you look at making someone who is a spoilt noble perhaps.

Once you have that you look at the way it was personalized. In this case I had decided I wanted this specific gal to be physically small and a little fragile looking but lead a gang. Asking my DM I got a species that would work but I she still had to be able to. So I asked some more questions and gave her an unnaturally loud voice. Then came the scythe, subtly using the image of the Grim Reaper. Maybe you wanted to be that one person who got framed so you'd try and make someone who would be a target of something like that, who has enemies or just accidentally angered someone in power.

Before you know it, you've got a working foundation. A powerful, charismatic gang leader with a loud voice that dresses like the Grim Reaper. A young, naive rich noble who angered a family friend enough to have them framed from a crime.

Now armed with this knowledge, you can go ahead and bring your character to life adding in detail where needed. You've already got a rough idea of what they may look like, what the personality is and even a rough backstory. Have fun and don't forget to spread some chaos in the Roleplay Section!