Creating a character can be very difficult. Not all of us are great at writing, and not all of us will know where to begin, even after years of experience in roleplaying or neverwinter servers. This thread is being made to (hopefully) serve as a form of guidance, whether you are creating someone from scratch, or looking to add something to an already-existing character.
To start with, JJ posted a 32-question writing exercise in discord that helps one get a feel for some basics of the character, when answered from their perspective.
Personally, I had the bare basics figured out for a while, and got a vague idea of what I was making- but nothing I felt truly confident with yet. I filled this out and got to brainstorming further. As a result, I ended up having another idea that took the first into a totally different direction than what I initially proposed for myself- one that I thought would be far more engaging to play out, as well. Energized, I sought out further resources to help me write more, and stumbled upon two seven-minute long youtube videos by Diane Callahan.
To break this first one down to a tl;dr, it highlights an acronym, 'ARCS', as a helpful tool to design a character that people will naturally be interested in. This acronym stands for:
Attractive Qualities
Room for Growth
Clear Goals
Something to Lose
Thinking about these things for your character can lead to a lot of synergies with other facets of their personality and background. I'm not a writer by any means, but even I found it entertaining to see where these leaps evolved my idea. For more detail, I suggest watching the video.
Speaking of which, the next one is:
This one covers fleshing out your characters and making them feel 'real'.
-Think of 3 strong memories they might have. One is good, one is bad, and one leaves a long-lasting question on their mind.
-Think of 3 identity labels that fit them- not what others perceive, but how the character actually -is-.
-Think of a secret this character might have. What would happen if someone found it out? What might they do to ensure it never comes to light?
More detail is once again offered in the video, and it also includes an additional writing exercise.
That's all I wanted to mention. Hopefully this helps others out as it helped me. If anyone has or knows of additional resources, feel free to post them here for everyone as well.
To start with, JJ posted a 32-question writing exercise in discord that helps one get a feel for some basics of the character, when answered from their perspective.
Personally, I had the bare basics figured out for a while, and got a vague idea of what I was making- but nothing I felt truly confident with yet. I filled this out and got to brainstorming further. As a result, I ended up having another idea that took the first into a totally different direction than what I initially proposed for myself- one that I thought would be far more engaging to play out, as well. Energized, I sought out further resources to help me write more, and stumbled upon two seven-minute long youtube videos by Diane Callahan.
To break this first one down to a tl;dr, it highlights an acronym, 'ARCS', as a helpful tool to design a character that people will naturally be interested in. This acronym stands for:
Attractive Qualities
Room for Growth
Clear Goals
Something to Lose
Thinking about these things for your character can lead to a lot of synergies with other facets of their personality and background. I'm not a writer by any means, but even I found it entertaining to see where these leaps evolved my idea. For more detail, I suggest watching the video.
Speaking of which, the next one is:
This one covers fleshing out your characters and making them feel 'real'.
-Think of 3 strong memories they might have. One is good, one is bad, and one leaves a long-lasting question on their mind.
-Think of 3 identity labels that fit them- not what others perceive, but how the character actually -is-.
-Think of a secret this character might have. What would happen if someone found it out? What might they do to ensure it never comes to light?
More detail is once again offered in the video, and it also includes an additional writing exercise.
That's all I wanted to mention. Hopefully this helps others out as it helped me. If anyone has or knows of additional resources, feel free to post them here for everyone as well.
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