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Old 07-07-2007, 04:42 PM   #7 (permalink)
laudienne

Wotcher, Harry!
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Philadelphia
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I generally create my character's name, physical appearance, and manner straight away. I think, in RPGing, a character's appearance and name should really say something about the way they act, and the way they act should say something about their history. It isn't like real life, because the people you're interacting with don't get to see your expression or talk with others about you. You're given a limited amount of space and media to convey what you want to get across, so you have to use every bit that you have to tell the world who your character is.

Once I have the name, the looks, and their characteristics, I delve into the history. This is something that, for me, usually develops itself over multiple posts - I'm still not sure exactly what I want to have happened to my character now to get her to where she is in her life. I know she has overcome many obstacles, does not have much support from her family when going to Hogwarts, and is looking for some sort of stability and peace. But I add specifics to that when the time seems right - I never, ever force anything to come out when it doesn't seem to fit into the story.

But of course, your process will be different! I think it depends on your style of writing as well. If you're descriptive and wordy (like me, lol), you would probably feel the need to describe details of your character at length while enjoying the surprise and the spontaneity of creating new things as you go along. If you're more concise, you might rather iron all of your details out ahead of time so that you're free to just address the issue/class/conversation/situation at hand.

Either way, you really can't make any wrong choices about your character. It is yours, after all! If you make a decision that your character is shy and find later that you wish him/her to be outgoing, you're free to make that change. You're the author!
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