[RANT] On RolePlay-esque things
[RANT AHEAD]
I'm starting to do rants now because it will help me relieve some stress, get some new writing ideas and hopefully get into a few good debates (even though no one really watches me, so... whatever... moving on). This rant was inspired by a SP RP I'm helping to manage. (as well as submissions that were made to a literary magazine at my school)
--
Character Depth
and a bit about sex
This is an interesting topic, really.
I feel that the general, open opinion on this is that people try to say, 'We want more plot than we want porn' but what I usually hear when someone says this is 'let's make it interesting, kinky sex'. Not saying that all people are out only for a good, porny roleplay, but that's what I see these days (these days, listen to me, I sound like I'm an expert and I've been around since the dinosaurs - I'm younger than most people I RP with online/talk to/etc).
And there's nothing wrong with having lots of sex in your roleplay... from a realistic point of view, of course.
One thing that gets on my nerves is whenever people post character profiles that just scream 'I want this character have as much action as possible kthnxbai'. Even when well written, these profiles will drive me crazy and there's nothing I can't stand less than I can a generic, pre-packaged profile for a character. Example: My character is a succubus, she is very attractive but she can only look attractive when she's [you fill in the blank here].
I can't stand that. Character flaws are meant to be interesting, they're meant to give the character depth. Just because your character is amazingly beautiful but very shy does NOT MAKE HER INTERESTING. What about how shy she is? How is she beautiful? Why is she shy? Who thinks she's beautiful? Why do they think she's beautiful? Does she think she's beautiful? The list can go on forever! You can suddenly take this shy, beautiful girl and give her a backstory, a life, a plot, a personality that will make the world spin in reverse. And, BAM, suddenly she's interesting. Suddenly she's worth the shred of attention I would have used to do homework.
Character depth is something that I used to have trouble with and that many people struggle with (I sound like I'm being preachy, or that I'm trying to sell you something - I'm not, I promise.). I still have to struggle with it from time to time because I really didn't understand character development until recently. And suddenly the world opened up for me and it was like, 'Woah, things make sense now. In a weird, crazy, twisted way...' - no, not really, things still don't make much sense.
Back to character depth.
It's an aspect that I find to be vital to any story/fanfic/roleplay. I do not want my character to interact with you if all your character are the same. Plain and simple. Your character is boring, no matter how interesting you may think they are, they're boring to the reader or to your partner. If you're in love with your character, then there must be something about her/him that you are unable to communicate properly.
Learn how your character thinks. Develop their mindset. And no, this does not mean 'they are stubborn and headstrong' or 'they are shy and reserved'. When I say develop their mindset, I mean take a moment out of your time and sit down with some paper and a pen and freaking write about them. No, I don't mean write about them as in write a random roleplay sample that you think is good because it has something about destruction or mayhem or sex or hurt or suicide in it.
Pick a unique topic. Chances are, most human beings will not come across destruction, mayhem or suicide (unless it is that of someone close) and these topics are overrused anyways. Sex and hurt can be used, but should be done so sparingly. Again, most human beings cannot connect on a direct level with the sort of thing you're writing about so pick something that is simple but real. Something that anyone can come in contact with on a daily basis. I find that natural objects work well for this sort of a challenge.
Let's say your word choice is butterfly. And just stick with one word for now, you need to roll over before you can even begin to consider crawling.
Alright, how could a butterfly influence your character? And don't go with the generic: 'sitting in the grass, watching the butterflies and smiling at how beautiful they are'. No. Please.
Think about your word choice. What parts make up the whole? Can they be taken apart? Can they be put back together again? What colors make it up? How does it move (if it moves at all)? Does it give an air of superiority?
NEVER stop asking yourself questions about how your character thinks. Try to relate that object to your character somehow, think about how it could affect it or how it plays a part in society. Think about what your character would think of it, how your character would react to it.
(Psst, for any of you who are actually reading this and have read/are reading my fanfic Like Pinning Butterflies, this is a bit of foreshadowing I'm doing here for you people. ;3 )
The key to writing isn't writing something that is moving, it isn't in writing something that is even remotely good or grammatically correct. It's only in writing something that interests a human. What can we all connect to on the first floor? What is it about this character that makes it feel real to me and my audience? Even if you don't come out and say this things directly to your reader, they should be subtly hinted. They're much better that way, really. After all, a normal person doesn't outwardly think to themselves about the actions they are doing, why they're doing them, etc, etc... Right? Right.
And to think that this rant was originally going to be about sex in roleplays. huh.
And, by the way, I'm not trying to be preachy or act like I'm better than everyone else. But these are just some tips that have helped me in my goal to become a better writer and I want to share them. =3
I'm starting to do rants now because it will help me relieve some stress, get some new writing ideas and hopefully get into a few good debates (even though no one really watches me, so... whatever... moving on). This rant was inspired by a SP RP I'm helping to manage. (as well as submissions that were made to a literary magazine at my school)
--
Character Depth
and a bit about sex
This is an interesting topic, really.
I feel that the general, open opinion on this is that people try to say, 'We want more plot than we want porn' but what I usually hear when someone says this is 'let's make it interesting, kinky sex'. Not saying that all people are out only for a good, porny roleplay, but that's what I see these days (these days, listen to me, I sound like I'm an expert and I've been around since the dinosaurs - I'm younger than most people I RP with online/talk to/etc).
And there's nothing wrong with having lots of sex in your roleplay... from a realistic point of view, of course.
One thing that gets on my nerves is whenever people post character profiles that just scream 'I want this character have as much action as possible kthnxbai'. Even when well written, these profiles will drive me crazy and there's nothing I can't stand less than I can a generic, pre-packaged profile for a character. Example: My character is a succubus, she is very attractive but she can only look attractive when she's [you fill in the blank here].
I can't stand that. Character flaws are meant to be interesting, they're meant to give the character depth. Just because your character is amazingly beautiful but very shy does NOT MAKE HER INTERESTING. What about how shy she is? How is she beautiful? Why is she shy? Who thinks she's beautiful? Why do they think she's beautiful? Does she think she's beautiful? The list can go on forever! You can suddenly take this shy, beautiful girl and give her a backstory, a life, a plot, a personality that will make the world spin in reverse. And, BAM, suddenly she's interesting. Suddenly she's worth the shred of attention I would have used to do homework.
Character depth is something that I used to have trouble with and that many people struggle with (I sound like I'm being preachy, or that I'm trying to sell you something - I'm not, I promise.). I still have to struggle with it from time to time because I really didn't understand character development until recently. And suddenly the world opened up for me and it was like, 'Woah, things make sense now. In a weird, crazy, twisted way...' - no, not really, things still don't make much sense.
Back to character depth.
It's an aspect that I find to be vital to any story/fanfic/roleplay. I do not want my character to interact with you if all your character are the same. Plain and simple. Your character is boring, no matter how interesting you may think they are, they're boring to the reader or to your partner. If you're in love with your character, then there must be something about her/him that you are unable to communicate properly.
Learn how your character thinks. Develop their mindset. And no, this does not mean 'they are stubborn and headstrong' or 'they are shy and reserved'. When I say develop their mindset, I mean take a moment out of your time and sit down with some paper and a pen and freaking write about them. No, I don't mean write about them as in write a random roleplay sample that you think is good because it has something about destruction or mayhem or sex or hurt or suicide in it.
Pick a unique topic. Chances are, most human beings will not come across destruction, mayhem or suicide (unless it is that of someone close) and these topics are overrused anyways. Sex and hurt can be used, but should be done so sparingly. Again, most human beings cannot connect on a direct level with the sort of thing you're writing about so pick something that is simple but real. Something that anyone can come in contact with on a daily basis. I find that natural objects work well for this sort of a challenge.
Let's say your word choice is butterfly. And just stick with one word for now, you need to roll over before you can even begin to consider crawling.
Alright, how could a butterfly influence your character? And don't go with the generic: 'sitting in the grass, watching the butterflies and smiling at how beautiful they are'. No. Please.
Think about your word choice. What parts make up the whole? Can they be taken apart? Can they be put back together again? What colors make it up? How does it move (if it moves at all)? Does it give an air of superiority?
NEVER stop asking yourself questions about how your character thinks. Try to relate that object to your character somehow, think about how it could affect it or how it plays a part in society. Think about what your character would think of it, how your character would react to it.
(Psst, for any of you who are actually reading this and have read/are reading my fanfic Like Pinning Butterflies, this is a bit of foreshadowing I'm doing here for you people. ;3 )
The key to writing isn't writing something that is moving, it isn't in writing something that is even remotely good or grammatically correct. It's only in writing something that interests a human. What can we all connect to on the first floor? What is it about this character that makes it feel real to me and my audience? Even if you don't come out and say this things directly to your reader, they should be subtly hinted. They're much better that way, really. After all, a normal person doesn't outwardly think to themselves about the actions they are doing, why they're doing them, etc, etc... Right? Right.
And to think that this rant was originally going to be about sex in roleplays. huh.
And, by the way, I'm not trying to be preachy or act like I'm better than everyone else. But these are just some tips that have helped me in my goal to become a better writer and I want to share them. =3