Submitted by TomFeltonLove on Wed, 08/10/2005 - 18:23
Posted in
umm yea im 13.. and all these posts and character praposals are like really detailed and good.. and i dont think i can like.. write that much? and write it so well.. i ,mean when i submitted a character application, i just used commas and listed my characters history.. so does it matter if mines not that good? :? :(
- Login to post comments
Post to Twitter
How do I write a character that will be accepted?
If you are really interested, just take some extra time and try to write up a longer, more detailed proposal. You dont have to do it all in one sitting. Take maybe a week to try and make a good one and the send it. :)
How do I write a character that will be accepted?
The trick to getting a character accepted is to be prepared to think about his/her background and put a good amount of detail in. Make the character at least 2 1/2 dimensional, if not 3. Technical writing skills are good if you've got them, but if not it's no biggie. There are moderators on the board who can sort out the worst of the grammatical and spelling issues (if you use a word processor with spellcheck that helps enormously, too).
But there's one thing we can't have too much of, and that's detail. Detail, detail, detail. Give us plenty of material to work with, and even if it's not quite right for the universe we'll find a way to work with you to make it fit. Sometimes characters have to have bits trimmed off them, or an emphasis changed - but if there's lots in the background to begin with then you'll have enough to get our interest.
Characters don't always show up already perfect and fully-formed, but the ones that get a thread to themselves for consideration rather than being lumped in the 'rejected' pile are the ones that stand out. A good, solid concept is your best friend for achieving this.
Don't give up hope. Plug at it, and try again. Anyone here will be more than happy to help you nut out any background details you might be having issues with. Just yell out and someone (probably more than one) will give you advice. If you're lucky, it might not even be conflicting. :)
How do I write a character that will be accepted?
The amount of writing will come naturealy if you keep asking questions.
When you write something about your character like:
Ask youself why they are so fit and handsome?
Ask yourself how they used that to their advantage (or had it turned against them).
Ask yourself what being handsome and fit means to the character.
Suddenly you have trhee things (and likely more) to write.
And that was just from once sentence and three questions! :)
Don't be afraid to write what comes to mind even if it isn't logical. Write it first, and then go back and read to decide if it makes sense. Sometimes new ideas come at you on re-reading. I often find that if I re-read and re-write, that I invariably find ways to re-tell the action or encounter more compellingly.
How do I write a character that will be accepted?
To expand on some of this some more, somewhere around here Siddy posted an interesting "miscellani" thing.
If you want a really, really in depth guide to character creation, I would recomend Orson Scott Card's Characters & Viewpoint, though it's not really necessary to do this.
Chapter One's headings can give you an idea -
A few more tips from Card - most important one is that you are the first audience. While you should strive to make realistic and interesting characters, if the character doesn't interest you, you won't be motivated to write him (or her) well.
But to move on to something more usefull, there's a process he gives in somewhat more detail than Dave - Interrogating the character. When you go out to design, start out like you would writing a story. Just sit down to do an interrogation when you go to plot it out.
The thing to keep in mind is that they don't always have to be related to the same feature, or have a long explanation. Unless you get an interesting answer to a question, you don't necessarily have to go on.
Imagine you're an interviewer, trying to write the life story of Character up to a certain point. You might start with the basic demographics, or something later.
Q: So, tell me about your life right now.
A: I've been married for about five years right now; I just started work as an accountant, but I'm working on getting my MBA.
Q: Tell me about your wife. Where did you meet?
A: Oh, that's a funny story. We were both taking a theatre course, and they wanted us to go see a play; Romeo and Juliett. Little did we know that we had seats next to each other, and both got there a little early. She recognised me from the class, and we started talking about things...
Q: Why were you two taking the class?
A: Well, I was doing it for a general studies requirement. She, however, was always interested in acting, and even wanted to perform in theatre one day.
Q: What did you think of it?
A: I couldn't stand it, to be honest - it's one of the things that's a strain in our relationship. But despite our differences on theatre, we still love each other deeply.
There you go. Lots of possible story ideas can now come out of this one, small factoid - she loves the theatre, even perfoms in it. He hates it. Maybe the strain in their relationship has been building, and just got worse since they were married. Perhaps she secretly cannot stand him any more, and is considering leaving... or is carrying on an affair with one of her fellow actors.
Of course, that's one idea. Maybe even though they argue about theatre, they couldn't bear the thought of life apart from each other. In spite of the standard argument they have once-a-week, they still want to stay together. Maybe he doesn't know it, but she secretly feels guilty, because she doesn't have steady work, and feels like she shoudl be contributing more.
One thing I liked that Amanda does with her submissions is that she devises a list of "quirks." Those, themselves, can make interesting ideas... or just be little things. For instance: Reah hates slimy things. Maybe it's just a matter of taste. Maybe she could never avoid stepping on slugs as a child.
The thing that I find most helpfull is to start with a role or occupation - or even a personality. Make a few decisions on exactly where you want to be now, and work backwards from there.
[/]