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Character Creation



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Gender: Female
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Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:43 am
NepoGirl says...



Alright! Everyone has trouble creating characters time to time and so do I. Here are a couple of my tips on how I develop characters and you guys can share them too.

Tip 1. Don't start with a physical description

Almost everyone I know starts with a physical description when they think of a character. It's alright I you do, keep it in mind, but don’t just look through baby names and find different shades of hair just yet. Just having a physical description isn’t enough to make a good character. You need to create their personality that if you put them in the scene that doesn’t fit them, you can just imagine they’ll say, “I’m not doing that!”

Tip 2. Personality Wise

The thing I usually start with is there personality. For example; she is carefree and happy, doesn’t give the real world a single glance. She is led to believe that everything is sunshine and rainbows.

Not the best, but you get what I’m saying. Basically I’m summing up she is an optimist and is lead to believe that there is only good in the world. Once you build up their personality, you can start planning their dreams, life styles, and such.

Tip 3. Dreams and Goals

Dreams and goals is something I do after I do personality. There personality is still fresh in my mind so I can think of goals and dreams for them. My character that I just descried is an optimist right? Well, I can imagine her as a daycare worker with how she acts like. Do you get my point? When you build their personality, you can find suitable dreams and goals for them.

Tip 4. Statistics

Now, I hate these things, however they’re important. You need some measurements so you’ll be able describe you character. I’m not talking that you’ll have to find out how many hairs that they’ll have or how wide her head is. I’m just talking about how tall they are, how much they way, when’s they’re birthday, act.

Tip 5. Flaws and Strengths

Have you ever read a fan fiction and just hate it when someone makes an OC (Original Character) that is unreal and stuff like that.

Say, they made Harry Potter’s twin sister. They tell them that she’s an animagus, a parsletounge, and the greatest family. That’s just unreal and everything. No one is good at everything. So take the time to write there flaws and strengths.
For example; she is the greatest prankster, though she gets low grades.

Remember no one is perfect and your characters aren’t too

Tip 6. Physical Description and Names

Now, I hope you build your character enough so they have a complete personality. You can imagine what they say, how they feel if they’re hurt and such. Now you can start on how they look like. However, you need to keep an open mind. I’m talking about let’s say you were stabbed in the back by a blonde or a red head broke you heart. Not ALL red heads with break your heart or not ALL blondes are back stabbers.

Do you get my point? Maybe you character might be better as a brunette, even though you greatly detest them.

So, try to find realistic descriptions. Not everyone has hazel eyes or is 6’11.

Tip 7. Have Fun

The point of characters is suppose to be enjoyable, not some boring day job. If you’re not having fun, then what’s the point of writing?

So, I think it’s best for whenever you have a character that you don’t particularly need for your current story, just write it down and maybe use it for you next work!

Now share tips and stuff on here to get ideas on how to create your own character!

Ciao! :elephant:
This Months Disney Film: Beauty And The Beast

~Is It Wrong That I Find The Beast More Attractive As An Actual Beast Then His Human Prince Form?
  





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Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:23 am
hero says...



I think that the above is great, but I'd like to suggest an 8th Tip, if it's okay:

8. Put Them In Challenging Situations. Not like rockclimbing, or having to go through an entire SAS course, although they can do that as well. I'm talking about when they have to think/act their way out of a situation. Basically, say you have your character decide whether to cheat or not in a math test; the ensuing decision will speak worlds about the character. Or have your character choose between what's right for him or her and what's right for his or her family, or something. And this means that their personality shows through; do they give up some of their dreams and goals, or do they stick with them? It basically shows a lot, which is a great thing.

And 9th Tip:

9. Don't Be Easy On Them. You know what I mean, when they basically have no obstacles in doing whatever. Like in romance; we all know that the girl with end up with the boy, and there will never be anything to go against that, that they will love each other always etc. etc. Why shouldn't the girl not get the guy? Why shouldn't the journalist not get promoted? Why shouldn't the band be booed off the stage? Why shouldn't the hero lose the footrace? etc. etc. Not to say that they shouldn't constantly be put down; that's just depressing. No, I mean that they shouldn't have every one of their goals and dreams fulfilled, or that they should really work for all of their goals.
This guy is so evil you could put him in between two slices of bread and call him an evil sandwich.

Coming at you like a jetpack Shakespeare.

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http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic53905.html
  





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Sun May 09, 2010 12:07 am
ultraviolet says...



Hi!

OK, these are all wonderful tips. I just have one thing to add.

I started thinking about the answers to some of these and was about to start the personality one and thought, wait a minute! I know her personality, but does she? Because really, we know what they're going to do. We know why. But do they? I mean, I don't know why I do some things or don't do somethings that I do. So I have a 10th tip.

10. Answer everything from both your point of view, and your characters. It really does make you think a lot more. How does your character view themselves?

:elephant: LOVE --ULTRAVIOLET
"Blah blah blah. You feel trapped in your life. Here is what I am hearing: happiness isn't worth any inconvenience."

~asofterworld.com
  





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Sun May 09, 2010 12:18 am
RayquazaKid says...



Possibly another one.

11. Know their relationship. To make a good, consistant character, you need to know how they would relate to their surroundings. Does character A disagree with character B on certain things? If character C did something character A doesn't like, would character A bare dislike toward Character C? Why in sam-hill would character A act silly in a tense situation? It's things like this that you have to keep in mind. The way a character interacts must be in relation with their personality, who or what they are interacting with, and the situation.
Call me RK :)
  








I wondered why we put villains in our stories when we have plenty of them in real life; then I realized that maybe we wanted stories where the good guy wins.
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