Post by veronicaaaahhhh on Oct 16, 2008 23:33:50 GMT -5
Thought I'd write this to help out newer RP'ers.
Mike's RP School: Characters and Dialog
One of the most important things I've discovered during my time here are characters. It doesn't really matter who or what your character is really, given the right direction, every character has potential.
Take Wayne McGurk for instance, to many Wayne was this chain-smoking bad a** biker who liked to kick peoples butts. However, when you'd read the RP's, you'd find that Wayne wasn't really that guy. He was really the farthest thing from that immage. I brought myself to the top of WFWF with a character who was a loving husband and father, who fought, soley, to protect and provide for his family- that was it. Wayne was totally different from most of the characters who were in the WFWF at the time. He was probably the most normal and I think one of the reasons why people could connect was because Wayne was real.
Now, when it comes to wrestlers as characters, there are usually two different forces at work there; there's the wrestler as the gimmick and the wrestler how he is as a person. And these two forces are at constant conflict with each other and in most cases, it ends with that person completely ingrained in that gimmick's personality. One of the best ways to study wrestlers is by reading their autobiographies and getting inspiration from them. Read their stories, expirience them. Whatever your character's been through, they've lived through it too.
As I've said, it doesn't matter who and what your character is, your character can be champion. The first step to do that is to let us know, as readers, exactly who your character is. We want to know what his needs are and what he wants out of life. We want to feel everything your character feels; we want to laugh with him, cry with him. If he wins a match, we want to be right there with him. We want to be there for everything.
Just remember, and this goes especially for newer players, no matter what your characters gimmick is, there has to be a high level of realism there. Things can't be perfect and extraordinary. He can't always get what he wants. He can't be powerful and overconfident. Be those things when you, as players, become that. And let me tell you, you don't have to show it to make it clear.
How do you flesh out your characters? Easy, think about them. Figure them out:
-Who is your character?
-Why is doing what he does?
-What does your character thinking about what he does?
-What is your characters philosophy in life?
-What is your characters goal?
-Whats your characters situation in life?
-What does your character believe in?
You don't have to write these things down and figure them out now. Most of these things will come to you as you write your RP's more and more. As time goes on, the more and more you figure out and learn your character.
Characters come through in dialog. Dialog is often so underlooked among new writers. Dialog is the best way for characters to interact with other characters. The personality of your character comes through in the way he talks and interacts with others. Relationships can be well established in dialog. It isn't just your character you get to know, its the people around them. Just a couple things to remember:
-Does your character have an accent or dialect?
-And if so, does your character use slang or any form of jargon? How does he put his words together?
Again, you don't have to worry about these things now. More often than not, these things come through when you're sitting down and writing your RP's.
Treat your characters like real people. Think about them, study them, learn from them. Are they the kind of people you would want to be? Would you look up to that character? Would you hang out with that character?
Storytelling is a strength, a strength you can develop when you start writing... So go, start writing.
Mike's RP School: Characters and Dialog
One of the most important things I've discovered during my time here are characters. It doesn't really matter who or what your character is really, given the right direction, every character has potential.
Take Wayne McGurk for instance, to many Wayne was this chain-smoking bad a** biker who liked to kick peoples butts. However, when you'd read the RP's, you'd find that Wayne wasn't really that guy. He was really the farthest thing from that immage. I brought myself to the top of WFWF with a character who was a loving husband and father, who fought, soley, to protect and provide for his family- that was it. Wayne was totally different from most of the characters who were in the WFWF at the time. He was probably the most normal and I think one of the reasons why people could connect was because Wayne was real.
Now, when it comes to wrestlers as characters, there are usually two different forces at work there; there's the wrestler as the gimmick and the wrestler how he is as a person. And these two forces are at constant conflict with each other and in most cases, it ends with that person completely ingrained in that gimmick's personality. One of the best ways to study wrestlers is by reading their autobiographies and getting inspiration from them. Read their stories, expirience them. Whatever your character's been through, they've lived through it too.
As I've said, it doesn't matter who and what your character is, your character can be champion. The first step to do that is to let us know, as readers, exactly who your character is. We want to know what his needs are and what he wants out of life. We want to feel everything your character feels; we want to laugh with him, cry with him. If he wins a match, we want to be right there with him. We want to be there for everything.
Just remember, and this goes especially for newer players, no matter what your characters gimmick is, there has to be a high level of realism there. Things can't be perfect and extraordinary. He can't always get what he wants. He can't be powerful and overconfident. Be those things when you, as players, become that. And let me tell you, you don't have to show it to make it clear.
How do you flesh out your characters? Easy, think about them. Figure them out:
-Who is your character?
-Why is doing what he does?
-What does your character thinking about what he does?
-What is your characters philosophy in life?
-What is your characters goal?
-Whats your characters situation in life?
-What does your character believe in?
You don't have to write these things down and figure them out now. Most of these things will come to you as you write your RP's more and more. As time goes on, the more and more you figure out and learn your character.
Characters come through in dialog. Dialog is often so underlooked among new writers. Dialog is the best way for characters to interact with other characters. The personality of your character comes through in the way he talks and interacts with others. Relationships can be well established in dialog. It isn't just your character you get to know, its the people around them. Just a couple things to remember:
-Does your character have an accent or dialect?
-And if so, does your character use slang or any form of jargon? How does he put his words together?
Again, you don't have to worry about these things now. More often than not, these things come through when you're sitting down and writing your RP's.
Treat your characters like real people. Think about them, study them, learn from them. Are they the kind of people you would want to be? Would you look up to that character? Would you hang out with that character?
Storytelling is a strength, a strength you can develop when you start writing... So go, start writing.