This is a brilliant question! Thank you for bringing it up and letting us discuss it! I share your sadness there when someone decides they've had enough of that character. I console myself with the hope that they will bring yet another awesome charrie hehe.

A) Yes, thrice. One was the girl character (Grace L. Kettlewell) I've played for only one term. I don't even think she was a character. It was my first RPing experience EVER, so it was more of a trial. I didn't try to 'get her back'. She wasn't 'deep' enough, especially after seeing other amazing characters here, so I decided to plan a better character.

The second and third were ministry charries. I had been excited for them and planned them better than Grace, but the RPs I had with them advanced slowly, so I lost my interest. Then I stopped playing in Ministry altogether after two of my charries failed there (I hope three will do the charm).

In light of these characters, I learnt that I should really plan characters and not reply 7011 days late to my RPs. I don't feel guilty for leaving them, because I was 14-15 years old then and basically a kid, so as I grew older (not that I'm old enough to be wise now, but I'm more or less past the emotional phase of puberty), I realised they were childishly planned.

B) What I do now to avoid this is planning and making sure I am really attached to the character. I make sure I feel excited to play them and let them have a voice in my brain so to speak, and think how they would react in the daily situations I encounter. If I 'force' that charrie to speak (i.e. it takes me a minute or longer to decide how they would react), they aren't ready to come out yet and I would probably stop playing them before they 'mature' in my head.

How do I establish characters? The first thing I do is choosing a model and what that face makes me think, how I would expect them to react. Then I think thoroughly about what would make them behave that way, and I shape their history. By now, they probably have a 'voice' in my head, so 'they' pick their likes and dislikes. (I hope this is what you meant by 'establish'.)

I add faults to their personality (or rather their history does), because I think imperfection creates funny situations. I think about instances that would leave them in a tough situation (whether these scenes are really played or not is irrelevant). Then, for the first few times, I RP with people I've RPed before to 'establish' the character in my head. Then, because their voice is stronger, they stick to me.

If I should summarise it with one sentence: For me, what makes a character stick is their background, so I try to write a strong background that would make me curious to find out how it will affect the character's future.

I've noticed a lot of charrie-changing over the past few terms, too, and I was genuinely sad to see some of them replaced! So, I'd like to give my humble two knuts here though my experience with charries is still not that wide compared to others.

For me, the most important thing is RPing this character everywhere and with everyone. This is how I shape the character, the personality, the flaws, the perks, the ambitions, dislikes...etc. I'm not a planner - or well, I'm a planner who never goes as planned. All of my characters have their personalities defined after a long while, I RP them in every possible situation I can get them in. This is how they grow as a character, too, and it's really pleasurable when you see a character grow from spoiled and fussy to ambitious and determined.

I played my school character for her entire 7 terms, only time I went off was when I lost internet, but other than that I was always RPing her. And even though she got into many poopy situations and messed up to the point that it was tiring playing her, I still found a reason and a new character to play her with. She still hasn't achieved her dreams and still trying to figure out how she wants to lead her life, and she's still my second-primary character!

Second most important thing is to never attach a character to another.By that I mean do not link the existence of your character to the existence of another. This usually happens in romance (shipping), and though it's cute, I think it's the main reason why many great characters just fade away, because they had a bad relationship or an inactive one.

In summary, I build my character's personalities gradually as they appear when I RP them (their background establish very general points, of course), and I focus on her career, friends and significant other so that if one deteriorates, the others help her/him stay.

I've abandoned two characters - Emma Cobblesten, and Tucker Schultz. The reason I left these two is, honestly, I had a better character in mind that I wanted to play instead. With Emma I didn't plan her at all and I think that was definitely my downfall. With Tucker, I DID have him planned out, and really did like his character, but when I realized that I really wanted to play Cale's son, my brain took off and poor Tucker moved to France with his mum haha

Basically, as mentioned above, I think planning is key. Think of EVERYTHING you can possibly think of that goes into creating a character, and plan plan plan. Before you know it, the character will start to take on a life of his or her own, and you'll find character traits you didn't think they had. By thinking of everything from their home life to what pets they've had to who their parents are can create really memorable characters, and that makes you want to play them!

And, of course, RP THEM! Get them involved in anything you can! Obviously don't stretch yourself if you have real life priorities - jobs and school always come FIRST people! But if you see a plot thing happening, jump in! If you see someone sitting alone in a lesson, have your character go up and say hi! Get involved in the classes, even if you have no desire to really win points. Again, things just kind of shape themselves if you do this. For example, with Caleb, my current character, I had no intention of making him terrible at Ancient Runes - but it just kind of happened by getting involved, haha.

First off, great question.

I'm still on my first Hogwarts charrie, but I have an interesting story with her. I got her sorted and all set up when I was still new to the site, and posted her going on the train ride to Hogwarts. After being too new to the site and not knowledgeable enough with how RPing worked, I simply did not post a single other post with her. So, a couple terms later, I decided to play her as a first year. It was successful, and she is a third year now. So basically...

a) Yes and no. I gave up, but I didn't give up my character. I simply restarted her.

b) I think that a great way to really get involved and not give up your character is to connect with other SSers. Honestly, one of the reasons I tried again was to get to know people on this site. I am good friends with the people who play my characters friends (and enemies), and that helps a lot with motivation. Another way is to just play around, especially in Diagon Alley. This just serves as a base for trying new characters out. Lastly, just post! Get involved in a Potions class, do the Herbology homework, et cetera. It helps so much.

Excellent topic, Tegz!

I think that what helps a character stick is to pick an age that you can easily get into the mindset of. Like, when was first starting off with Sky, RPing was so new to me, plus it'd been right around a decade since I'd been that age and I didn't have siblings to base her off of, so she gave me a lot of trouble. But, when I brought her back, there was less difference between our ages and I had more experience RPing, so she was easier for me to play.

Honestly, I find it easier to RP when there's not a lot of distractions around. Maybe just either the TV or some music, but no one sitting beside me talking. Also, having a balance of absolutely nuts charries and calmer ones? Although, sometimes losing the muse for a character is completely unavoidable, either because RL gets in the way, or there's something that's going on that the charrie is unhappy about that makes them uncooperative.

Tegz this is a great question!

I've been sad to see a few charries go lately and I've wondered the same thing on why people leave charries. I don't have much experience yet since I just graduated my first RP charrie, but things I've noticed.

Charries that are suppose to have an attitude or not be so nice. I've noticed they get abandon it seems more than some nice ones and when asked it is said well they didn't have any friends. I think people need to really think about their charries how they want them to act. If they are suppose to be mean or have an attitude than yes they might not have as many friends, but as they grow as a charrie they might lose some of the mean. Another thing I noticed is the lack of rping, people need to try not to get into a rut with just a small group. I try to voice to anyone to RP with anyone and everyone you can. This opens up so many new possibilities.

I say this from experience. I got bored with Minerva around her third term. I was only rping with a small group and not really knowing how to get out and expand. So the next term I dropped her and brought in a different one, but felt so guilty that I just dropped one without seeing her through. I knew Min needed to be seen through and I'm so glad I made that decision and even gladder I was allowed to bring her back That term I pushed to rp with more people got involved and she got more interesting.

I myself have had a mixed bag of experiences. Kat was played from 1st year to 6th, stopping when life was starting to get crazy. A break. Then I had Ainsley for only a term. Another break. Simon and Gideon both came for 4th year til graduation all going well. And then finally my last character before Benjamin started full swing with a lot of force only to end before Christmastime IC.

For one I think you should always play to what feels best for you as an rper. I used to prefer girl characters like my namesake , but have come to feel that guy charries come more natural/easier to me. (hence the three in my post bit) Also, never force anything. Let that character have control and guide you. Sometimes doing stuff with a charrie that fits more to your wants than your character leads to a stalemate with your muse.

I have had Heather (All seven terms straight through). Daisy (two terms). Kahylee (Half a term). Jezz (two an a half terms). I think what made me struggle with the second and third charries is that I was on and off a lot because of RL. When I came back (changed my UN) Jezz became my first charrie. She was wild. Young. First year. I did good until RL came into play again. When I came back she was a sixth year and even though her life had continued, I knew NOTHING about her and the four years I missed. I tried to build her story again but I couldn't get much out of her. Now I have Hope. I feel bad for dropping Jezz because a lot of people enjoyed her and had come to love her and because this would have been her seventh year.

Heather is my prized charrie. I came in with her as my first ever everything. So she was new and all of this was new. So with her I tried to get a large group to RP with. To this day I use her as a Ministry character because I'm comfortable with her and I have developed her so much that she's easy to write. I hear her in my head and I let her freely do and say what she wants. I think that's what makes her stick. I explored her and she came to life. With Hope, it's the same way. Her voice is there in my head and it's very loud and clear. She's mean but with good reason. I started planning her out a bit and got her out with so many different people and it allows her to develop a little more of her personality each new person she meets.

So my advice would be to think about your charries. Let them have a little piece of your brain reserved for their voice. Get to know them almost as well as you know yourself.

I really LOVE this topic!

I am actually considering changing my Ministry Charrie to my other previous charrie that i have worked with..Belle. Because now she is old enough. Jasmine's story like i have no where to go with. I have no motivation to play her anymore. Idk what it is, but i am more excited to play Belle in the ministry since i have worked with her for so long already.

I have had Belle all seven terms but i do not remember much of her in her 1-5 year. I think it was because i was busy with school and i just couldn't keep up. Plus i did join a little late in like 2010...but besides the point. I think what stuck out for Belle was her personality because she was basically like me. She had the kind caring heart and hardworking personality i portrayed her to be. So it wasn't that hard for me to leave her. Plus Belle getting to be prefect was a major bonus and meeting ALL new people .

Now Kace my current charrie, is amazing. I love that his history coincides with Belle's. I wanted to make him a respectful and cute boy in his first year. Which i managed to do. It was just fun to base him off two fandoms i enjoyed actually which was One Tree Hill and Supernatural. So doing Kace based off Jackson Brundage from One Tree Hill's, personality was no issue. It was fun and it worked! I had so much fun.

All in all i think to make your charrie stick out, you just gotta have fun and maybe you could base some of the characteristics from fandom main characters you enjoy? That is what i do. It makes it worthwhile and i will stuck with Kace till 7th year. Get to know your charrie well...get inside their thoughts and actions. Maybe go out and observe how boys and girls act? XD.

THIS. Brilliant idea. Thank you so much for bringing this up, Tegz.

A) So this actually happened to me. I got bored with Kat in her fifth year (I don't know why she stopped talking to me. It got really quiet in my head!) and I thought of dropping her for my charrie now, Astrid. I don't regret not switching Kat out. *clings to her*

B) What I did was think about it. Kat was my first charrie ever and it didn't seem right for me to give up on my first RP charrie especially since I've reached this far, you know? I know that sometimes our first RPs can be embarrassing because, well, we used to be inexperienced. I guess we should learn from our fail!RPs and develop our charries a bit more. I used run on one-liners, but that's changed. I got to express Kat and her thoughts more as I kept RPing her.

I also thought about the friends she's made as a student. I didn't want her to leave them behind. That's just sad. And also I thought about the OTHER students, the ones she hasn't met yet. I wondered what it would be like if she met the others, especially since each charrie has his own uniqueness and personality. It would be fun, you know? Yeah?

Lastly, I got involved. I agree with Lissy on the "you should get involved" stuff, especially plotty stuff. Quidditch is also a thing that made a big impact on me as an RPer. I got the chance to RP with different people (both here on SS and SS!Twitter). I got to meet different RPers OOC and Kat got to meet different charries IC. I posted her in class and I learned a lot about her and her reactions towards certain situations. And, as Laila said, I built her personality as I RP'ed her. Turns out she's not as mean as I thought she was. I mean, ANYTHING could happen.

So yeah, that's what I have to say.

This is a good topic, man. When I first read it, I thought, "I've never abandoned a charrie!" :O And then I realized....... yes, yes I have.

I think the main reason I lose a charrie or don't roleplay them much is...

This. UGH. It's SO HARD NOT TO have your charrie fall for another charrie, just cuz... that's what humans do, y'know? I don't 'ship' them, as in, I never ever PLAN their little romances... they just get tangled up with other charries! And then the other RPer either goes inactive or leaves SS or wants to bring in a new charrie..... and then, BAM! My charrie goes inactive too because I don't know what to do with them without their other half.

How to combat this: I don't know. I'd love some advice? I mean, I'm currently RPing Bunz and her husband/the REAL Truebridge is, as Tegz knows, not really on SS. lolololol. It's odd.

But as for how to make a charrie stick: I think that dates back to when you first create them. I try to make all my charries DIFFERENT from each other, with their own personalities, hobbies, interests, jobs, quirks, etc. I kind of base them off people I know, or personality TYPES I've always WANTED to know. I have fun. I have too many charries now that I feel like if I made any more, they'd all start being alike. And that is not what I want to do.

I've had here alone, I think last count of 14 charries around the site in the main RPG areas. The longest running one, was Gavin and he was there for over 10 terms, and I finally retired him.

Students:
Liz - I dropped after everyone, family and friends left the school. She was all alone and after 5 terms most people have their 'set' people their charries are friends with, so those her age pretty much didn't see her anymore :/ sad but we decided to move on.
JD - okay not going there, long story short, I stayed but changed houses
TJ - She's still around here she's engaged to Ivan now (Cinn-o-bun)
Isaac - He's still around here, engaged to Amelia (Saiai)
Zoe - is here for the long haul she's not going anywhere

Okay so on to my other charries lots of them, and these don't include red people I've had, or anything *stares at my list*
Mackenzie (DP/Time Room Div Head) - This is where I agree with Ro. Ships ruin everything lol. If the person becomes inactive, or decides to just drop the ship, the charrie just falls apart and don't want to be RP'd. In the end Mackenzie/Erik got together and had 2 children. BUT we don't RP anymore (Cinn-a-bun) and I with those two. I miss them a lot but we don't RP the two of them...

Stefanie (DP) She was in the DP before it closed for a time, and when the DP closed, she disappeared. :/ There wasn't anyone she was really close to, though she does have a cousin or...aunt...or something around here xD I believe Evie played...nooo....Sarah. Okay I give up it's been too long, going on 4 years xD

Lizbeth - She's in St. Mungo's. She kind of lost her mind in the Hall of Prophecy.

Gavin - Now here's a ship that went wrong. Due to inactivity BUT Shelby and I played it out that he and his wife separated after losing the baby. It was heartbreaking! But we made it through, and Gavin even stayed an additional 2 year IC! But he finally decided to move on after 10+ years as I said

Gidyun - He's here to stay! He is so flexible, with all his training and age he could be anything that comes into the picture (except a shopkeeper...no way xD[/s], and I adore playing with him. He's married to Becca Lee (Becky) and they have 4 children (James, Norah, Torie and Emma). I can't see me giving him up for anything lol I can see him years from now still on SS in the RPGs.

Orlando Torres - (Bowling Alley) He's around....I think. I haven't decided lol. He died on another site recently, and his half sister Sophie (Nordic Witch) thinks he's dead there....so I don't know.

Kathryn - She's one of my favourites, I can't see her going anywhere, I love playing her as shopkeeper!

Willow - Was my DP journalist until just recently. She's still here with Luke (Nordic Witch)!

1 other that is here but not...
Jordan Stevens - a healer that's running around DA

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Okay so after all that is said. Ships are real killers for continuing to RP them. The way around that is to have a good back story if the ship falls apart. It's sometimes impossible! Like with Kenzie? I can't RP her, she has no want to RP or even write Fanfics about. Cinn and I talk about RPing them but nothing ever happens. Sometimes you just grow out of them. And it's really hard to lose them.

Gavin I had a backstory that he was able to work with and though he was really heartsick about it, he still kept going. I almost thought he was a goner for the longest time but he still managed to keep going. Okay I'm going to tell a story, about Becca/Gid here. Becky decided Becca got divorced because of inactivity in the ship. Becca was completely heartbroken and it turned out really needed someone to talk to. Gidyun ended up being that person. Becky and I never once planned that they would ship, we already have a ship and only wanted one, but somehow Becca and Gid really started getting close and now 3 years later IC they are married and have a baby together.

Sometimes your charrie may just need someone to listen and be there for them, even when a ship has fallen apart, maybe they just need a new RP person to play with! Perhaps it's not because they are heartbroken but really just don't know what to do with themselves and don't want to be alone and forgotten

I am new here, so I haven't had time to abandon my charrie, not that I plan on doing that. but I am loving reading this stories and tips on how to keep the charries alive. Thank you!

There's lots I want to respond to in here but it'll be a super long post and lol I don't trust SS right now okay? So. Just this one for now and I shall gather my thoughts and respond en masse when SS behaves.


This. Yes. This. I think in some cases its easier than others because some people you can take liberties with their inactive charries and they don't/won't mind it, encourage it even. I feel like those of us that RPd with Con are lucky in that sense, because even though he's not around at the moment, we can say stuff, and he'll roll with it cos he trusts certain peeps that we know his charries and all of that.

I have this with some of his charries too xD West's dad is probs the obvious one, but also since he plays siblings and whatnot of my main charries . But its okay, its manageable, and for the one ship that we do have, its sort of given me an opportunity to focus on other aspects of that character rather than just the shippyemoshunz.

I also have this with Thea since Dani isn't currently active with Dash, though at least I can grab her on msn and such for discussions.

I think if you have a ship that developed rather than one that was forced or one that a charrie was created for, chances are its easier to actually RP that charrie without the other player, because after all there is FAR more to them than their relationship. I think Bunz is a good example of this, she has such a strong identity (to me), that even though those two charries are a unit and all, its always been super easy to see them separately too.

A) Yes, I have had some characters that at times seem to fade in and out of existence on me. This either being because of a loss of muse or other such pertaining reasons. Most of the time for me the characters that I have seemed to loose touch with are ones that weren’t planned out enough, or at active at times that I have conflicts in real life that come into play such as work or school.

I have tried with many of my characters to try to bring them back by giving myself either a little bit of time off from the site. Be it by watching a movie or reading a book in some off time or focusing on schoolwork for a bit, however what usually does the trick is music and making graphics. I only really ever switched characters when it comes to the Ministry of Magic RP.

I think what I try to do with my next characters is to simplify things. As my future characters not many of them will be related. Currently most of my characters are either cousins or step-relatives of the same family line.

Yes I do feel guilty about abandoning characters because they in a sense had a life of their own. They are sentient for the most part for me that is, as I try to help them to come off of the page and feel very real. Almost as if the character wrote the words down themselves and have it not seem that I, the narrator, wrote them down.

Characters that have faded:

Chelsea Payne – her personality wasn’t strong enough, and she never seemed to develop her own voice. I tried to make her stick but she never really felt genuine to me.

Kyleigh Tanner (nee Manning) – although I have recently begun playing with her again she did for some time disappear for me. This is in part due to school work and the fact that during the tail end of her seventh year she kind of tapered out in my head about the same time that I got a job in the retail-hell of Walmart.

Amelia Johanson – never actually faded I kind of had to leave the RP for one IC term and built it into her history that she spent most of the time in the library. When in reality it was because I had far too much classwork in my Art History and Graphic Design courses last term at school. She is back now just so her stalkers can know that again she is happily stalkable.

India Johanson – I had her mainly planned but in all reality halfway through the summer before her seventh year her sister bounded into my head and wouldn’t keep quiet. It got so hard to RP her that I started RPing Amelia on the side in different RP sites so that I could keep the angsty-India going for a while. She was sort of drowned out by Amelia upon her graduation from Hogwarts.

Alicia Tanner (nee Devereaux) – honestly she’s still in my head most of the time but I find its harder to RP her know a days especially considering she’s kind of lost in the abyss of motherhood. And Tori – the person who RP’s her husband hardly ever goes online although they are still very much together in both of our hearts.

B) Tips to avoid losing steam, that is a great thing to think of. I would say to try to have them develop their own voice. Another thing that I tend to do that I find helpful for developing characters that 1) stick 2) are stalkable (maybe?) is to give the characters traits that I have in life. With this I do try and enhance them. For example my character India was somewhat angst-filled and rebellious and I have a tendency to say things like it is and be opinionated – as well as being a bit quirky at times. I gave her the angst-rebellious trait as a starting block and let her character mold from there. With my characters Kyleigh and Alicia they both are clumsy, kind, and a bit quirky which are all traits I have – again, I emphasized it and made it even far more exaggerated than it is or ever would be in my life.

This might sound strange but really the characters sometimes just appear one day without hardly any thought, its just a voice loud (sometimes obnoxiously so) and a feeling of a personality. Like they are breathing life into themselves sometimes it happens when I’m watching a show and I realize that that itching feeling in the back of my mind was the character building, a character that didn’t really have a strong hold at first begins to form like a block of clay.

Most of my characters are easily fun to play. Whats the point of making them “fun” if there isn’t a fun bone in their flimsy thought-filled body? I mainly let them grow and form for me and try to see how they would react in situations. Most of the characters are generally nice – others are really not nice at all but are good at acting nice when needed.

As Roro said, I myself try to make each of my characters very different. Although as most have been related there are certain characteristics that I pull from one to another but each time it’s a different characteristic (except for with Alicia and Kyle as both were and still are detrimentally clumsy).

Have I ever lost a muse for a charrie? Short answer: No.

I have had a muse overpower another muse, as in the case for Aquila and Huxley. But in terms of personality they were both pretty darn solid; it was just a logistics thing where I can only bring in one school charrie at a given time. And I guess the one who was more pushy won the train trip back to Hogwarts.

I never really felt bad about it because Aquila is still very much alive in my head going about her thing, so its not like she was abandoned. The same goes with my other charries who have graduated (Salander, Vickers, Regina, Corin etc etc), because they are all still around going about their business. It helps a great deal to write those down-- drabbles or fics or twitter or something, it helps keeping them alive and they continue to develop. Not necessarily the same as if they are being RPd with charries of other people, but in terms of character development they aren’t stagnant. Its not boring development (at least not when I’m writing lol) and depending on the charrie, some might even say its better to not RP them with other charries and/or on SS.

So basically your charries live in your head (like it or not) so you do have full control whether they continue living or just fade away. Stagnant ships (romantic, family, friends, work) are extremely unfortunate, but ultimately if you want to keep your charrie viable you can. For as long as you got something to write with, so long as you give that charrie the opportunity to talk and to BE, they will stay alive (unless of course its their time to go know what I mean?)

Another thing— I find it best to not have too many charries running about my head (so yeah the real estate in there is at a premium ). Not only is it easier to keep track of them, but I find that with fewer charries their personalities develop to be more solid and distinctive across a wider spectrum of scenarios, and not necessarily diluted or underdeveloped because one charrie resembles the other too much and you end up having a hard time sorting them out (or in relation to what I said above—keeping them viable). Of course I understand that this can only be true for me and that the opposite is what works best for other people, the more the merrier so to speak. But that’s how I’m able to keep all my charries still stuck to me like glue, whether I like it or not

It is a fantastic topic and I've started and abandoned a number of characters. Some I was more attached to than others.

I think the key is not focusing on one or other aspect of the character and really explore and round out the character. Allow the character to respond not just to other characters, but also situations. Like others said, planning is the key there. Knowing what you would like the character to be, but also being flexible enough to allow for growth. How would you expect the character to act. Additionally, if you want to commit to the character, some research is important as well. For my current character, I wanted him to be from the Northern Coast of Scotland. That required deciding where he was from and now I've got to do some work to find out how he might act based upon that environment. That takes some work and finally, I think every character should have flaws. They make the characters more realistic, but also more enjoyable. Perfect people are no fun to play.

Hope that helps.

I read Laila's post differently. Just a little, though. What I thought she meant by that was you can interweave your character's lives with one another, just be careful not to do so in a way that's going to cut yourself off should that other person stop RPing.

Cause I think that it might look and feel a bit unnatural if every character strayed from romantically inclined relationships with one another. Cause, like you said, It's what humans do. If I've understood where both of you ladies are coming from with this then I feel like I agree with you both. But that said I do find it really frustrating when the arc of a character is dependent upon the activity of another. Am I wrong if I state that I really think we're too creative as a community for this to be the result each and everytime this situation occurs? At least for that much longer. Cause I think we're learning stuff as time passes and we keep up with our writing.

Advice? I like Laila's tip for diversifying with your relationships. But I also think continuous character development helps. Getting to know your character outside of his or her relationship can help us envision what their lives might be like without his or her significant other. I feel like you must've done this or something like this (possibly in your sleep? O_O) with Anastasia because she feels like such a strong character on her own, ya know? Both she and her husband would be just as interesting with as without their others. I'm glad you and Con collaborated, though.

I feel like I'm mostly in the same boat with you, though. Because Xana doesn't have time to RP his wife or the children, Claudian isn't really as present. It can be a bit tricky to RP for that character or characters who have personalities that make them particularly family or relationship-oriented. Because there's the chance that there would be events that the character would tell other people or think about, or change their perspective on something. Relationships, especially very close ones do have potential to change us and I would imagine that could also be true for a character as well. That said, though, I don't stop developing Claudian. I don't stop letting him get things off his chest, or work on his career, or interact with others. There's just a slight limitation on it, because he is very family oriented.




On a sort of related, but kinda more on the discussy side...I don't know if it's because I somehow always end up with dudes, but I find that even when they are involved with someone their thoughts aren't always on the ship. Sometimes directly over dinner, she'll be talking and then he'll just drift off into thoughts about work or the last debate he lost with a mildly-familiar associate and how he's gonna best him the next time they cross paths.




Jasper used to worry me with this fade-away thing, but after considering all he's been through I'm not worried anymore. As one of my friends here put it, "That cat has nine lives." I feel reasonably sure that he'd survive anything. I'm not too worried about Cutty either. His personality is so clearly defined and etched in my mind that I don't think I could find a reasonable IC reason for him to quit.





This makes me so sad, T. For all the reasons you mentioned. But, I'm glad you brought it up.

I want to say that I have probably lost a muse for some character or another at some point, but my memory is ugh, and I can't recall any specifically at the moment. I usually try and flesh out everyone I've played, even my special ops 1x charries. For me having a strong grasp on the character works well, though I've had it happen where the character was kinda loosely defined and grew more rooted the longer I played him. Also, I think the only thing I might add to the prevention suggestions that hasn't already been said is: Treat that thing like it's your child. If you want to see it grow up and be successful, nurture it, feed it and generally never really leave it alone for too long.

Maybe, I'd also add that when I'm establishing a character I generally nudge my SS friends and say something to the effects of: "Look...Look what's happened."

Oh, oh, and also, revisit the world in which your character lives whenever possible. Whether she intended it to or not, Rowlings world stands so strong as a thing onto itself that it can quite feasibly support stories outside of Potter's. I also personally find it very inspiring, especially since I still consider my Wiz World knowledge to be minimal. So it literally feels like a discovery to me and I start thinking about character 'what-if's'.

I've had my fair share of charries. *eyes Nola who just came into existence in the last two hours*

I think the number one reason why I've lost my muse has been the lack of stability when it comes relationships forming ICC. In the past as soon as my charrie has become friends with someone by "friends" I mean the charries have been played together a few times and probably haven't attempted to injure the other, particularly so in the school rpg, the other person playing disappears. This is frustrating because it feels like I'm always trying to grovel to others to have their charries become friends with my charrie so we can make fun and interesting sub plots happen, because come on, who doesn't like to stir things up?

Another point, I have gone through so many charries most of which I can't remember the names of, most of which didn't last a fair majority of a term, that having a good solid background helps. I used to not plan charries out and then I kind of just lost my urge and drive to play that charrie because I didn't what made my charrie tick. Thinking back on it, Preston was my favorite, but don't tell Ziva charrie that stuck the longest and was the charrie that I nearly always had the drive to play part of that could have also been because of Ringo the raccoon, but regardless, it's true because he had a solid background that allowed for growth of his character.

On the flip side, I have also over thought the back story and details to my charries and in turn I lose my muse because THERE WAS NO ROOM TO GROW IN THE PROCESS OF PLAYING. If my charrie isn't able to grow as a person when I get to play him/her, I lose my muse.

I feel like I didn't answer any of the questions and that this post should be titled "how not to do things". Very good points from everyone. *goes back to taking notes on this discussion*

I think your response is really important so imma break it down and reply to different parts that struck me:


This, in a nutshell is why I made the thread. Because whenever someone else stopped playing a charrie that my charries were invested in... its sorta tough. Maybe not to continue (for me, I've never not continued because I'm stubborn) but when someone else's charrie becomes important to yours, and the charrie leaves, or worse you don't know what happened to them at all, its tough to work out how your character should react.

I think a solution to this, from my perspective, isn't to preplan too much or decide ooc that characters will be mates/lovers/enemies/whatever. Let the characters decide, as they say. And I've found (personally) that the ones that my charries gravitate to are the ones with backstory, and people that have been around long enough to stick around (mostly). Like minded RPers or something? I don't know how to explain it. Maybe, its about finding people to RP with that put in as much as you do, so its sorta symbiotic and everyone gets enough out of the RP dynamic to find it stimulating and want to stick around.

I agree with this, a background helps with motivations. I always thing about actors saying that 'what's my motivation?' For me its when someone says 'how will X react if this happens' or 'will X do this if Y says this?' and I might be able to wonder but really I don't know until its RP'd because I'm not deciding my character's actions or reactions, they happen in situ based on what is happening and based on what has happened in their life before they became part of mine. Background definitely gives us more substance, and we all love characters with substance.

This is why I don't do AU RPing or future!RPs because for me I can't RP in the present if I know outcomes already. For me its like getting spoilered for movies or books or things. What is the point of really getting into it if the decisions and choices I make don't change the pre-decided outcomes? I know some people like planning things but it automatically turns off my muse when I feel my characters hands have been tied up and they can't react as they might otherwise naturally do. I suppose for me that planning thing can feel a bit like I'm being godmoded and when that happens character growth can't happen, or alternately it is forced on your character when they aren't ready to 'grow' that way.

However, I don't feel like background detail causes a problem for me in this way, so much as future stuff. When I create a character I like to think about what they need to overcome in their lives, what their 'fatal flaws' are, and what lessons they need to learn. This gives motivation for sure, but it also provides character growth opportunities


I think you posed questions, and that is equally as important in a discussion! So thanks!

I know it's already been said a bit, but really background helps! I've got a couple of charries (some of them never actually made it onto the site and are still in nice neat folders on my computer) but the ones that have appeared come and go. Usually because of something RL related, but sometimes because they just up and walk out of the room in my head for them. Specifically my non school character.

Brenda Helio is such a character. She started before the school opened up and I was eager to start RPing but couldn't RP in DA yet with Tora. She literally had no background to start off. Of course, as I realized that she wasn't going anywhere, I wrote a background for her. This was not a good idea as there are still some serious pieces of information missing. For instance, Brenda's age changed at least three times before I finally recently settled on (currently) 31. The way she speaks changes, although because of the background I wrote, her general character doesn't. This is why building a character is really important so they can't go away. There have been RPs that I've dropped (sorrrrryyyy Izzy....) because she just up and walked out, yet to return. She just doesn't want to be RPed and then will suddenly spring back into my mind at the weirdest times.

For instance, now, because I'm talking about her she's poking her head back into the room I keep for her in my mind. Hello Brenda, care to come back to me?

Yeahhhh... So my other charrie is Tora Gallaway. She is always there. Always. I developed her super in depth before I ever started RPing her. I know her history, I know what she wants, I know her character flaws, I know her. Occasionally, she'll get tired and sluggish and go to sleep for a bit but usually this is because I'm stressed or have serious busy RL stuff going on. (Maybe she does this for my own sanity). That's another piece of advice. Don't spread yourself too thin. Too many RPs= tired player= tired character. Now if you have tons of time, please go ahead and role play. Actually while you're at it, give that time to me 'cause I need it! Be conscious of what time you have to RP and use it wisely so your characters won't go away because you don't have the true amount of time for them. If you find yourself annoyed that you have to post or you feel stressed about when you're going to post next, chances are you've got to many RPs running.

So overall, shortened version, my two cents are:

Define the basics of your character before you start playing (but leave room to grow!)

and

Be aware of the time you've got to RP (characters like quality over quantity... or at least Tora does)

I’ve actually been meaning to post in here for a while. A long while. *Deep exhale*

A)Yes. I have most certainly lost a muse at some point. I lost it with my first charrie, Nika. Don’t get me wrong I LOVED her at the time. But, I created her when I was about 15 and she sort of flopped. There was no development and although her personality was clear to me, I just didn’t know where else to take her. How to have her grow as a person. I didn’t have any sort of direction for her.

Which brings me to my next point. When I first created Zander, I was 100% ABSOLUTELY, beyond a doubt planning to drop him after my first term with him (which was this past term, in fact). I hated him. I will even go so far as to say that I despised him. I made him on a whim. After returning from my two/three(??) year hiatus from this website, I came back to find out that the opening feast had just started! So instead of thinking things through and developing a good charrie, I just threw Zander into the mix and hoped for the best. After posting him around once or twice, I decided I wanted to get rid of him, start new, and essentially build up a character with more to go off of.

No matter how hard I tried to tweak Zander’s background, I still did not like him. In fact, it made me resent him even more because I felt as if I was getting tired of him, overly exposed to him maybe? I can’t place my exact feelings on it, but whatever it was the background was not what helped me change my mind. For me I’d say that there’s two things that really made him stick to me now.

1.PARTICIPATION: I don’t think I can stress this enough. This is what did it for me. Reason two helped, but participation is the one thing I would blame my newfound attachment towards my charrie on. I realize that with my first charrie, Nika, I did post her around in all the classes. So that was good. BUT one thing I didn’t do-that killed it- was not posting her around enough in the castle. If you only have time for one sort of RP I think those random little RPs you have around the school may be better than strictly only focusing on classes, because in the end that’s what’s going to help your charrie grow as a person. The interactions with all the other charries around and Professors. It’s just what helps make them who they are. Although I think that all around participation, including doing homework and attending classes, is important too, I just think that charrie on charrie interactions with others are better. And another important point here is, get them involved in the big school plot for the term. Even if they can’t be a direct part of it, get them involved in their own way. For example, this past term there was an instance when I Zander and Simon were trying to figure out what was going on, or during a research meeting Zander was getting super skeptical about a certain Professor Romanos. All these little things can help get you involved and participating.

2.PERSONALITY: I think having a charrie that’s unique in his or her own way is something else that helps make them stick. When the charrie has a clear voice, it also makes him/her easier to play. You don’t have to spend those extra minutes trying to figure out what they’d do in a certain situation because it’s natural and that’s how RPs become more interesting. AND OH! It’s also really important to make your RPs interesting, or else you’re going to end up with the same lame things over and over again to the point where you may get tired of RPing and that loss of interest could potentially lead to a lost charrie.

For me, While I haven't been on here long, I have noticed that there are times when I get discouraged already. Mainly because I log on every day, many times thinking that whomever I am rping with will have replied, but sometimes that's just not the case, and I don't know how many times it's acceptable to have your character carbon copied on the site so I get quiet sometimes. Maybe from the new person's perspective it can get kind of hard to feel like it's ok to participate when you have to practically tattoo your character's head with the words "I'm new here please talk to me."

Not that I'm thinking of giving up Rob or giving up, I'm not. What I am saying is that Active SS'ers could hep the staying power of new characters by making an effort to RP with them. I know it takes a little while for character relationships to develop, but whether it be friendship or something more or even an enemy situation, it takes participation from more than one RP'er to make it work. However, I plan on sticking around and maybe participation in the school RP will help.

As far as background goes, I can see where that will help as it provides a foundation for your character to be built on. Though for me, I am anxious to see how Rob's personality develops. As it stands right now, he is just a baby in my mind. But saying that I think what will give him staying power for me is actually with pen and paper writing down a character outline like I was taught to do in Drama class to help get into character for plays. It helps me to see him on paper and makes it easier for him to become real to me.

I do have a question. Where can we go to find out what the school term plot is? I'm new here so there is a lot I don't know. I want to get Rob involved, but Am not sure how to do that.

I'm the worst *runs off to reply to you*


BUT as for your question; school term plot is kept pretty much top secret by the staffy people until things start to develop / unfold as the term progresses. HOWEVER, on that note, we DO have a forum for School RP fans called the Hogwarts Haven, which you could only see once you've joined the School RP Fan Club, which you do via your User CP; on the left side you'll see the menu , about the sixth choice down is something called "Group Memberships" and from there you could put in a request to join the "Fan Club: School RPG Addicts" Group =)

Once you join that group, you'll be able to see that Hogwarts Haven, I mentioned and there's a chat thread in there for every term which can be used to discuss plot things (and also meet RPers and arrange for RPs).

ALSO, Character Cloning is very acceptable and basically the limit is as many as you can keep up with; just as long as you aren't cloning in the same place, as then it gets kinda weird :3