Three Pillars of RoleplayBased On: Advice on Novel Writing, How to Avoid Being a Novice
Back To TopThe CharacterCharacters are pretty important. They’re the writer’s personal playthings, allowing a whole variety of roads to walk down. Romance, glory, certain death, etc.
Your character determined by its opinions, which you have to define. While you create a character, you’ll invest time into carving out a whole three-dimensional sculpture from an otherwise bland marble block.
Who is your character? What does he/she look like? Where does he/she come from? Things like origin greatly determine a person’s characters. Here are a few things you might want to keep in mind:
Depth. Try not to make them too bland or one-dimensional and avoid expressing different personalities through one and the same character, unless you're going for a schizophrenic. A brooding character with a painful backstory seems unlikely to suddenly flip to a cheerful demeanor. That said, you don't want them to be a constant sad sack who is basically a friend to death but you also don't necessarily want Superman. Someone that understands the thrill of victory and the pain of defeat makes for a balanced, human character.
Finally, you don't want to create a character that's so flawed that he becomes a parody. The most fleshed-out characters all have more to them than a jinx. But you don't want to make a Mary Sue either - someone who's /so/ perfect that readers associate the character with being an author/writer's pet.
Detail. Be specific and don’t be afraid to elaborate. Tiny details like your character’s view on the world, his personal ideals, quality of life and even his favourite food; all add detail and colour to your character and make him or her more human-like and less bland. Don’t be afraid to use symbolism here either. For example, a grey and sick king sitting on the throne of a corrupt and dying kingdom.
Avoid adding too much detail, as it may end up dragging your post down. Reading something must be enjoyable and at least a little fluent. Getting bogged down by a list of many tiny details distracts the reader.
Character. Both behaviour and speech determine this aspect. The way he talks (rather shy, composed, very bold, etc.) and the way he acts towards other people depending on their own origins. A poor peasant possible lacks the vocabulary of a Lord.
Motivation. As mentioned in “The Plot”, each character has a personal agenda, with his own motivation for his actions. It’s unique to him, and one should especially remember that it is subjected to change from events that take part during the story. Perhaps a bold and daring man suddenly turns humble when he meets the love of his life? Some factors carry a heavier influence than others, but the influence is still there.
A few questions you might ask yourself about your character are:
- What is his/her origin/background? (Ethnic background, social class, parents’ occupation, civil status, intelligence/education, etc.)
- What does he look like? (Appearance, but also health and possible disabilities)
- What does he do? (Skills, occupation, hobbies, etc.)
- What are his values and beliefs? (Religion, politics, views on life/death, etc.)
- What are his personal qualities and preferences? (Taste in …, sexual orientation, sense of humour, ambitions, fears/anxieties, etc.)
- Are there any important events that define him? (both positive and negative)
Note: Avoid stereotypes and clichés, unless they fit into the situation or RP. Try giving a female character some decent clothes for a change, instead of pencil skirts or school girl outfits. With this I mean that you should give you characters the clothes that fit their personality, some actually do fit pencil skirts, but would they wear them themselves in reality? The PlotIn most RPs, there isn’t just one plot, there is a whole mass of sub-plots that originate from the unique background and actions of your characters. They have their own agenda, their own reasons to do what they do. Make sure their actions make sense for your character.
These individual plots are modified throughout the story, and require improvisation because you can’t control other characters’ actions. Don’t fret – and especially don’t have a hissyfit – but rather adapt to the circumstances.
Adapt to changes in the plot.Avoid random events. When something happens, it should ideally affect the plot (or a subplot) - although it’s not always possible. Sometimes not in a very obvious manner, such as by using symbolism. It makes your participants think. It’s a great experience for someone to find out later that that seemingly irrelevant pedestrian you mentioned a long time ago was actually the serial killer they’ve been hunting all along! Basically, by mindfucking your audience you give everyone a great show. Everything holds a reason, or at least most of it does.
Ask yourself this question: Why this element and not something else? This applies to names, actions and even dialogue.
Foreshadowing is a great way to create suspense. Whether through an omnious warning or an ancient prophecy, it keeps your characters on the edge of their seats and curious as to what will actually happen when you push that shiny red button that’s called plot advancement. Don’t abuse it, though. Show people what’s coming through an opaque lens. They know something’s coming, but what, where and when is a mystery.
Apply counter-pressure. This is physics, people. Every actions induces an equal but opposite reaction. Turn on the fan and throw stuff at your characters, try to slow them down or even kill them, and those masochistic gremlins will be even more motivated to get to the goal. Play hard to get, but don’t make it impossible either, you might risk sacrificing your plot in the process.
The DialogueDialogue comes in different forms, but when you consider adding one to your post you should ask yourself whether it actually sounds like speech, so try repeating your sentences inside your head or out load.
The function of dialogue is to convey information from your character’s point of view. This way, you can pass on information, build your character’s personality (eg. Passive-aggressive, calm and verbose, etc.), develop conflict and much more.
Note: Try your best to avoid chatter that doesn’t really serve much of a purpose. Also, it can sometimes become quite dreadful when you have you character explaining too much, especially if you have him or her say things that he wouldn’t know or are completely irrelevant. Additionally, dialogue should conform with the speaker’s background (eg. Having a biker gang member speak formal English), I cannot emphasize this enough. Make sure your character speaks naturally, as they would in reality.Words are often not enough to bring across the entire picture, which becomes especially obvious when you have a character that is in conflict with his own words.
His actions can betray what he’s feeling, and as we know people don’t always speak their mind, making the use of actions more imperative.
Also, when using dialogue, try and justify its use. Does your character reveal or advance the plot?
Some more tips:
1.
Moderation. don’t exaggerate things like dialect, addressing others and especially dialogue itself. Avoid ‘all speech’ posts.
“Hello, Tom” “Ah, Andy! How are you?” “I’m doing fine, Tom!” “That’s good, Andy.”
“Awrite! Far hiv ye been, min?”
2.
Variety. use common synonyms of ‘say’ – preferably those that carry across some kind of mood or sentiment from the speaker, like snarl or snap – and
maybe some other frequently used words, but don’t go overboard with words that sounds like you’re at a really fancy party full of barons and lords.
Sometimes, your characters will be so unique in their speech that you rarely have to use “he said” or “she said”
“I can speak for all of us when I say you should shut up” She averred, flinging an empty can in Earl’s direction, which rather irked him.
“Maybe you should shut your trap yourself?” He riposted.
3.
Paragraphs. Add a new paragraph for each new speaker, this is mainly to avoid confusion
4.
Thoughts. Many would suggest italics. To emphasize a word in a line of thought, don’t put it in italics (or use bold if you feel comfortable with that).
It’ll stand out.