~Crysi
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Hey, my name is Day and I'm an avid storybooker.
One thing I noticed is the lack of depth in characters created by the people participating in storybooks. This is a horrible thing, and hopefully you never let it happen to your characters. If a user joins a storybook then in essence they are responsible for that topic and thus the character(s) they have created. Every individual character plays an important role in the success of a storybook, and so like any normal book it is important to give them depth and make them original.
For the most part when a user creates a storybook he or she provides a form of guideline or template for other users to follow when they create their characters. These can seem relatively simple, but they hold a great deal of significance to the story and plot itself. Usually a general template will be broken up into a primary sections that are included in all storybooks, and then some that are added depending on the setting. A general template almost always includes name, age, gender, a description of their appearance, their personality, whether they are up for love, and other. It usually looks something like this:
Spoiler! :
Each of these are key in creating your character, and none of them should be skipped over. When making your template include as many details as you can, and don't worry about rushing. A rushed character will usually turn out under developed, and it will be hard for other users to incorporate you into the story. Now let's go over each section.
Name: This one is a freebie. All your responsible for in this section is putting your character's name which shouldn't be to hard. If you're finding it hard to come up with a good name for the setting of the story book then try one of the name generators that can be found here.
Age: Almost always consists of a two digit number that shows what age your character is. The storybook's creator generally puts a range with which you should make your characters, but in the case that he or she doesn't then it is a good idea to contact them.
Appearance: A very vital section of the character template. Here you will be creating a description of your character. Remember that every other user is looking at this to picture what your character looks like in the storybook's world. It would be very hard for others if someone left this blank, and the other storybookers were forced to imagine what this character looked like. It would make for some strange results. People will often create a very short bland description of their hair, eyes, skin tone, height general appearance. While this isn't bad it is only part of what should be done to make your character unique. Overall it is always a good idea to use descriptive and interesting adjectives when filling this out. Another way to step up your Appearance section is to describe the clothing that the character wears.
Also something to note is that using pictures is always helpful for other users. It allows them to see what you're describing without having to imagine it all. Thus, I encourage everyone to use pictures to help users visualize their character, but a problem is that countless people have decided to only post pictures. This isn't horrible, but a classic description accompanied by a picture or two is the best way to go.
Personality: The second of the two big sections. When the storybook begins and throughout its life the characters will interact with each other physically and in dialog. This section helps other users determine how your character would react in a situation or respond to a question. I will say right now that this is hands down the most important thing on the basic character template. Users can be left to determine a characters appearance, but it is extremely hard to develop a character that has no personality. It can be said that for the most part users are primarily focused on their own character, so it is annoying and hard for them to create something for your character as well.
To show how problems can occur you could say that Character A, the posting user's character, is telling a joke to a group of people. Character B doesn't have a personality description so the user is forced to come up with their part of the story and then decide how the other's users character reacts. Seems simple enough but looking through countless previous posts to see what other users made Character B do can be time consuming.
Never have I seen a completely empty personality section, but often they are short and do not give enough information. You should make this section as descriptive and explanatory as possible. When creating your characters personality there are a few questions you can ask yourself.
-If someone picked a fight with my character what would they do?
-Is my character a loner, team player or against the other characters?
-Whose company does your character enjoy? (Examples: Loud people, talkative people, quite people, small people...)
-In a group does my character voice his or her opinion or listen to others?
-If a joke is told would your character laugh and shout for more or turn away and act serious?
Remember the more information you give others they more easily they can create their own posts.
Up for Love?: Is your character will to have a relationship with another users character? This is decided before the story begins, in a discussion thread or it happens as the story progresses. If you have an idea of which user's character would be the best match for your character than it is often a good idea to contact them via a private message. The other users should then be notified if your character and another character already plan to be involved in a relationship. Also it is a good idea to note what your characters preference is such as whether or not the character is gay. Sometimes users will have gay characters, so their girl character will only like other girls. The same applies with guys.
Other: Anything you think that shouldn't belong in the above categories, but you want to include put here.
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We have covered the basic sections of a character template and what should be included in them. Next I'll be discussing other elements that are often found within a storybook template. There are countless genres of storybooks, but a lot of them have common elements that are added onto their templates. Let's look at this character template:
Spoiler! :
As you can see we have quite a bit of new categories to fill out in this character template. These elements can be found in most storybooks that include superpowers (abilities) or a survivability theme. Now to go over each of them...
Ability: In most storybooks this refers to a supernatural powers. The amount of super powers per character is usually listed in the character template posted by the creator. A list of powers that ranges from elemental to shape-shifting can be found here. Also it is an excellent idea to describe the limitations of your powers.
Strengths: Here is where you place your character's strengths. A lot or little amount of information can go here depending on how many strengths your character has. When deciding on your character's strengths make sure that you keep it realistic. No one likes it when a character seems to have to much. By keeping it realistic I mean that try to add skills that the character would earn naturally.
A bad example is a character that is an ordinary lumberjack who knows how to operate guns, fly planes, and move silently. It may be fun for you to have these strengths, but it ends up making the other users want think of you as "overpowered" and possibly influence them in making their characters the same way. If everyone in the storybook does this then it loses the little bit of realisticness that it possesses. Remember that this can tie in to your character's background that you make later on.
Flaws: Designed to be the opposite of the strengths section; you put all of your flaws here. It can be anything emotional, medical, physical or mental. Those are the four major categories in which most character flaws belong. I know I'm not the only one that would immediately tell you this, but other users will be extremely happy if you have numerous flaws. It also not unheard of and definitely not a bad thing if you have more flaws then strengths. In fact it shows that you do not want your character to be perfect, and thus it makes the character much more realistic.
Side/position:These two are important and sometimes separated for more detailed storybooks. Side is often used in a storybook where there is two or more opposing forces that you must choose from when aligning your character. Position is your character's rank or place within the group. Often if your character is the leader of the group this is where you would put leader or if your character is the prince you would put it here. Here is an example for this section:
In said storybook the setting is a bunch of teenagers performing and hosting their own circus. There is a competitor circus that is also trying to get the most guests. You must decide which side or circus you want to perform in and what role your character will perform in the circus.
Background: Another very vital piece of information that ties into almost every other section of the character template. Sadly most storybook creators will leave this section out of their storybooks. The reason for this is that it isn't essential and is often overlooked by other storybookers who are only concerned with starting and advancing their own character. As the name implies you place your character's history here. It can be anything, but once again it should be realistic and cooperate with the other sections. If this section is included it might be a good idea to start here and then work into the other sections. Once again you must make sure that it is believable. Let's use my previous lumberjack example to give you some simple examples of Backgrounds.
Unrealistic: As a child he grew up in Egypt, and at the age of seventeen he decided that he would move to America. Having no clue what he would do once he got there he set off, and eventually ended up in the northern states as a lumberjack.
Realistic: He was born in Michigan in North America. His family lived their lives out as ordinary country people. As a child he was raised in the forest, and would often spend his time getting lost within its uncountable pines. Taking up the family business he began cutting down trees at the age of 17 and has been doing so ever since.
Well, I'm bad at examples, so those aren't to brilliant. Hopefully you all have your own imaginations and get what I'm trying to say.
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External links (Sites that may help):
All sites are not related or affiliated to YWS in anyway, and were submitted by fellow users. Credits to the user who submitted the link are in parenthesis
A good website to visit when choosing a name (Bolt)
Another helpful website for choosing a name (allmixedup)
For good stock photos (Bolt)
One of the Best name Generator sites I've seen, highly recommended. (Day)
Deviant Art ~ an easy way to find incredible pictures. (Puzzler)
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Just remember when creating your template remember to take your time because you not only influence yourself, but the other users and plot as well. If you have any suggestions on things that should be added to the guide then please let me know. I know my grammar is very far from excellent, so hopefully you bore through the guide.
Thanks for reading,
Day
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