Do "YOU" need help developing a character?

[Reginald27]

hay everyone,

i have decided its time to churn my creativity to good use while i am unable to update my story blog. if you have had questions and wonders about developing a character (appearance, ability, personality, or history) here would be a good place to ask!

all you have to do is post as much info as you can that would wish for critique, comment, or suggestions on your character in the makings. now i know some may be thinking "Well that's the Original characters form is all about...we don't need a topic like this" and i say yes you do, because their is a difference in this specific topic and the massive form filled with all kinds of topics.

that is reliability, because instead of posting your own topic you can make a post about your character here, and who do you know for sure will read and comment about your character? that would be ME, i will fully help you out pulling as much resource (heck ill even draw the ideas up as needed) as i can to help you develop a character that you will be happy with for your RP, drawing, and writing needs (and because its just cool to have an awesome OC)

i know it may seam strange why im doing this but its because i have already developed my characters over the past couple of years and the ones i have i am more than happy with so dont think ill be stealing anyone's ideas i am very content with what i have. but if you are still afraid of your oc being stolen by some one ells (tho i assure you the mods of LOE have very good supervision and ensure fairness to everyone) you can message me personally and we can work things out from there.

and of course im not the only one that can put their input in on this form, it can be anyone who would like to share an idea to help the development because 3 heads are better than 2... or 1... or whatever so there ya go. i can go on but i wont want to be getting texts like "didn't read LOL"

make a post leave your info and let me help you develop your characters

[-ReiMar-]

Well, ya already looked through my character, but still I'd like to hear any thoughts on what I might improve) ^^

[Reginald27]

Well, ya already looked through my character, but still I'd like to hear any thoughts on what I might improve) ^^

With everything about your character,

you made a well developed character, it has its own original style, abilities, and history that you get into great detail about. I can grasp your character very well with who she is; however the only thing i find "dry" about your character is her personality, reading along i could not quite grasp her personality except that she is the quiet type (why is she a quiet type to strangers? is their a reason she isn't more outgoing?) and that she can easily get exited or quick to anger. the 2 traits seam to conflict with me without deeper detail of why her personality is that way.

[-ReiMar-]

Well, ya already looked through my character, but still I'd like to hear any thoughts on what I might improve) ^^

With everything about your character,

you made a well developed character, it has its own original style, abilities, and history that you get into great detail about. I can grasp your character very well with who she is; however the only thing i find "dry" about your character is her personality, reading along i could not quite grasp her personality except that she is the quiet type (why is she a quiet type to strangers? is their a reason she isn't more outgoing?) and that she can easily get exited or quick to anger. the 2 traits seam to conflict with me without deeper detail of why her personality is that way.

I am very bad with personalities. Mostly because my own personality is a mess. ^^''

Well, as you can imagine, she looked quite unusual. There are no likes of her in Equestria and she was often picked on by bullies. And whenever she visited Canterlot with her brother, she was looked down upon by nobles. She developed a very fiery character at a time, often getting into fights with bullies. Her scales defended her from rocks and her fire struck fear into kids of nearby settlements. It was getting worse until one incident where she ran away from home and was attacked by a pack of timber wolves in the Everfree. With no restraint she used her magic, accidently setting this part of forest aflame. Larger pack of timber wolves was scared and ran in direction of the farm. Luckly, her brother was there and had defended the farm. And Scale who arrived after that helped chase off the rest of the wolves. From that day onward she tried her best to show more restraint. She still more of a hothead, but applies a lot of effort to restrain herself. She also avoids cities unless there is a need to visit them. Like making a delivery if her parents can't do it. She also visits Canterlot from time to time. Thanks to her brother, Royal Guards act kindly towards her. Nobles still give her glares, but she ignores them.
Hm...kinda like that.

[Maplewood]

I wondr if my oc is in need of improving 

[Naura]

Anything that can be improved with Naura? (My main oc)

[Reginald27]

I am very bad with personalities. Mostly because my own personality is a mess. ^^''

Well, as you can imagine, she looked quite unusual. There are no likes of her in Equestria and she was often picked on by bullies. And whenever she visited Canterlot with her brother, she was looked down upon by nobles. She developed a very fiery character at a time, often getting into fights with bullies. Her scales defended her from rocks and her fire struck fear into kids of nearby settlements. It was getting worse until one incident where she ran away from home and was attacked by a pack of timber wolves in the Everfree. With no restraint she used her magic, accidently setting this part of forest aflame. Larger pack of timber wolves was scared and ran in direction of the farm. Luckly, her brother was there and had defended the farm. And Scale who arrived after that helped chase off the rest of the wolves. From that day onward she tried her best to show more restraint. She still more of a hothead, but applies a lot of effort to restrain herself. She also avoids cities unless there is a need to visit them. Like making a delivery if her parents can't do it. She also visits Canterlot from time to time. Thanks to her brother, Royal Guards act kindly towards her. Nobles still give her glares, but she ignores them.
Hm...kinda like that.

Now with that explanation makes it better to understand how her emotions developed to how they are now.

Here is a tip
A great way for your character to grab the interests of others is "relate-ability." some times you'll find characters that are either really positive, something they just love doing, they have something stressful in their life, or they are legitimately going through a trauma of some sort.

Now im not saying make every character have a grim dark back story no no no, some people find characters "inspiring" when you present a challenge (good or bad) to the character, and he/she handles it in their own way because of their reasoning. if you make a character that people can understand on a personal level they will want to know more.

Your on the right track for that as long as your not presenting a problem that your character simply just "gets over" get in depth, what is her thought process before, AND after when she still walks through canterlot and she still gets looks.

1.dose she not care but deep deep down their is still something making her sad? (that would explain why she is shy around strangers)

2. or dose she truly not care (because the opinions of your self is more important than the opinion from others)

3. could she have meet some one there, in spite of all the rejection and hate, that befriends her.

4. or could her shyness keep her away from everyone, and we see both sides of when she is around everyone she dose know, and when she is on her own

their is a boundless number of possibilities the only challenge is how you word the situations, you cant say "she ignores them" or "she likes them" get in depth and give us her reason why so we may understand her side\


(DANG THATS A LOT OF TYPING HOPE IT HELPS)

[-ReiMar-]

I am very bad with personalities. Mostly because my own personality is a mess. ^^''

Well, as you can imagine, she looked quite unusual. There are no likes of her in Equestria and she was often picked on by bullies. And whenever she visited Canterlot with her brother, she was looked down upon by nobles. She developed a very fiery character at a time, often getting into fights with bullies. Her scales defended her from rocks and her fire struck fear into kids of nearby settlements. It was getting worse until one incident where she ran away from home and was attacked by a pack of timber wolves in the Everfree. With no restraint she used her magic, accidently setting this part of forest aflame. Larger pack of timber wolves was scared and ran in direction of the farm. Luckly, her brother was there and had defended the farm. And Scale who arrived after that helped chase off the rest of the wolves. From that day onward she tried her best to show more restraint. She still more of a hothead, but applies a lot of effort to restrain herself. She also avoids cities unless there is a need to visit them. Like making a delivery if her parents can't do it. She also visits Canterlot from time to time. Thanks to her brother, Royal Guards act kindly towards her. Nobles still give her glares, but she ignores them.
Hm...kinda like that.

Now with that explanation makes it better to understand how her emotions developed to how they are now.

Here is a tip
A great way for your character to grab the interests of others is "relate-ability." some times you'll find characters that are either really positive, something they just love doing, they have something stressful in their life, or they are legitimately going through a trauma of some sort.

Now im not saying make every character have a grim dark back story no no no, some people find characters "inspiring" when you present a challenge (good or bad) to the character, and he/she handles it in their own way because of their reasoning. if you make a character that people can understand on a personal level they will want to know more.

Your on the right track for that as long as your not presenting a problem that your character simply just "gets over" get in depth, what is her thought process before, AND after when she still walks through canterlot and she still gets looks.

1.dose she not care but deep deep down their is still something making her sad? (that would explain why she is shy around strangers)

2. or dose she truly not care (because the opinions of your self is more important than the opinion from others)

3. could she have meet some one there, in spite of all the rejection and hate, that befriends her.

4. or could her shyness keep her away from everyone, and we see both sides of when she is around everyone she dose know, and when she is on her own

their is a boundless number of possibilities the only challenge is how you word the situations, you cant say "she ignores them" or "she likes them" get in depth and give us her reason why so we may understand her side\


(DANG THATS A LOT OF TYPING HOPE IT HELPS)

Well, her parents and brother helped her a lot. They are all very caring and her brother even helped her learn some fire magic. She is not shy or resentful to others anymore, thanks to her family, but I guess she feels a bit uncomfortable around those she not know. So, she just "leaves them in the background". She mostly enjoys travelling the land, exploring ancient ruins and all. I'd say she's like Twilight before Ponyville. Just not caring for anything other than her own stuff. But Scale never found any friends like Twilight did. Her only friends are her family. She lives on a faraway farm with no villages around, visits Canterlot only for shopping and spends a lot of times in dungeons, ruins and caves, exploring.
I'd say her character development ended while she was younger. Now she is what she is)

[hazardtime]

The biggest challenge for me when writing characters is when I do female characters.  As a guy who who has never gone out on a date but still has a lot of female friends, it is my biggest paranoia when writing them that I accidentally pull from cliches and tropes and end up with a stereotype.  I try and edge away from the overly-sensitive "damsel-in-distress" trope, but at the same time I'm afraid of going too far and writing a female character whose actions and motivations make her less a tomboy and more a man trapped in a woman's body. 

Also, when coming up with their back stories, I try to start out with something general and then add events that would make sense for a member of her sex to pass through.  Once again, though, my biggest fear is misinterpreting motivations and ending up creating a character that is stereotypical and/or even exploitative and offensive.

Do you have any advice, or am I misinterpreting the purpose of this thread?   

[-ReiMar-]

The biggest challenge for me when writing characters is when I do female characters.  As a guy who who has never gone out on a date but still has a lot of female friends, it is my biggest paranoia when writing them that I accidentally pull from cliches and tropes and end up with a stereotype.  I try and edge away from the overly-sensitive "damsel-in-distress" trope, but at the same time I'm afraid of going too far and writing a female character whose actions and motivations make her less a tomboy and more a man trapped in a woman's body. 

Also, when coming up with their back stories, I try to start out with something general and then add events that would make sense for a member of her sex to pass through.  Once again, though, my biggest fear is misinterpreting motivations and ending up creating a character that is stereotypical and/or even exploitative and offensive.

Do you have any advice, or am I misinterpreting the purpose of this thread?   

No, ya got it right) Just wait for Reg to answer))


I just make tomboy ladies, like Scale is) X)

[Reginald27]

I wondr if my oc is in need of improving 

personally i think you have a great concept of your character thus far with his history and design it is original and has a few good paths he could take with what events have happened to him. tho if your wanting to think logicly with what happened to his past i feel he might be traumatized a little from what happened in the blast if he was a reason to cause it, and may or may not obsess with making what went wrong right again, but if your not into that you can always find a more positive role in his life, but if that is his history you need to utilize it and apply the events that happened to him back then to how it is now

like for instance

he was in the military, he could be strict or disciplined, he could hate things out of place or people who are rude and disrespectful

he is an engineer, he could always be making designs, like ALWAYS, every moment of his life he always makes all kinds of things that most often don't work.

he had an accident, he could have often over it but he is still sad inside, he could have lost some one he really cared for in the accident, he could have gone crazy trying to fix things that already happened

and im sure their is so much more you just need to explore your interests and how you can apply your ideas through your character, your character is only as good as your desire to get into it

[Maplewood]

Thanks for the tips (btw if you haved guessed that cutie mark is for him)  well now that you think about i was going to write that a mare on which he had a crush and was planning on asking out on a date did die but i was afraid people would think that was to clicha (hope i spelt that right)  so i didnt write it in.

[hazardtime]

well now that you think about i was going to write that a mare on which he had a crush and was planning on asking out on a date did die but i was afraid people would think that was to clicha (hope i spelt that right)  so i didnt write it in.

That also brings up a good question I wanted to ask - What is yours/everyone's opinions on bringing a character into an RP who is single and shipping them later with another one of your OCs?

In my opinion, I really don't like doing this unless it is absolutely necessary, such as with my noble OC, Pure Duty.  He obviously couldn't marry just anypony, and considering how no one I know really has another noble character, I had no choice but to write in a love interest.

However, as for OCs who do not have such limitations, I feel that it is negating a good amount of character development.  This is because it either goes several ways - In one case, you have the "doll house" scenario as I call it, where both characters were literally made for each other, the romance goes without a hitch, and they all live happily ever after.  The other case can only occur when the RPer actually thinks over the OCs and gives them realistic flaws and interests that clash with each other. 

As I said in my last post, I have never gone out on a date before.  As such, I'm really paranoid about portraying romantic relationships incorrectly, either making them unrealistically sappy or unintentionally loveless.

[Reginald27]

Anything that can be improved with Naura? (My main oc)

with what i can gather their isn't much that is in need of improving but the question is, dose your character need developing?
you have a interesting original character along with a good back story that leaves you the opportunity of developing your characters personality when other interact with her, i can see she must have been greatly bothered by her parents leaving her that when she comes buy these homeless lost filly's she takes them in and it just expands her family,

their is a moral there that she follows get deeper into it and apply it to your characters living style along with developed habits she might have learned in the Forrest when she was raised

(oh by the way, their may have been a small conflict in your background, the very first thing you say "Her family didn't care about her." and then a few paragraphs later "She already knew their language since her family wanted her to be smart so the started giving her lessons in languages early" is that a mistake that is conflicting with one another or in her reality she feels like they "didn't care" spite what they may have done for her before she was "abandoned" that can leave and opening of bossibility about the real reason why her parents left her there.)
Post Merge

Thanks for the tips (btw if you haved guessed that cutie mark is for him)  well now that you think about i was going to write that a mare on which he had a crush and was planning on asking out on a date did die but i was afraid people would think that was to clicha (hope i spelt that right)  so i didnt write it in.

i do believe you mean "cliche" and yes you should if you so desire to its only cliche if you leave the relationship dry, all love is diffrent and has a special touch to it, you just have to find that touch of your own that may be such a new way to see the light of love and the tragedy that followed sadly.

That also brings up a good question I wanted to ask - What is yours/everyone's opinions on bringing a character into an RP who is single and shipping them later with another one of your OCs?

In my opinion, I really don't like doing this unless it is absolutely necessary, such as with my noble OC, Pure Duty.  He obviously couldn't marry just anypony, and considering how no one I know really has another noble character, I had no choice but to write in a love interest.

However, as for OCs who do not have such limitations, I feel that it is negating a good amount of character development.  This is because it either goes several ways - In one case, you have the "doll house" scenario as I call it, where both characters were literally made for each other, the romance goes without a hitch, and they all live happily ever after.  The other case can only occur when the RPer actually thinks over the OCs and gives them realistic flaws and interests that clash with each other. 

As I said in my last post, I have never gone out on a date before.  As such, I'm really paranoid about portraying romantic relationships incorrectly, either making them unrealistically sappy or unintentionally loveless.

their isnt sappy unless you are doing it, like the mlp episode of "hearts and hooves day" now THAT is sappy, but no as i said in the last paragraph you would need to just do exactly as you said, develop like traits and flaws that develop a love and conflicted relationship that brings and interest. how? ill have to think on that answer but im tired so i sleep now

[GlassMirror]

what do you say of my OC Relic?

link in my signature

[krono Angelo whooves]

ok well I know mine seems well a bit bland and more of a oc intro I need more background into it here it is the link that is http://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=13168.0

[Naura]

Anything that can be improved with Naura? (My main oc)

with what i can gather their isn't much that is in need of improving but the question is, dose your character need developing?
you have a interesting original character along with a good back story that leaves you the opportunity of developing your characters personality when other interact with her, i can see she must have been greatly bothered by her parents leaving her that when she comes buy these homeless lost filly's she takes them in and it just expands her family,

their is a moral there that she follows get deeper into it and apply it to your characters living style along with developed habits she might have learned in the Forrest when she was raised

(oh by the way, their may have been a small conflict in your background, the very first thing you say "Her family didn't care about her." and then a few paragraphs later "She already knew their language since her family wanted her to be smart so the started giving her lessons in languages early" is that a mistake that is conflicting with one another or in her reality she feels like they "didn't care" spite what they may have done for her before she was "abandoned" that can leave and opening of bossibility about the real reason why her parents left her there.)

Thanks, I'll think about that

[Reginald27]

what do you say of my OC Relic?

link in my signature

your oc seams to be a very reserved character (and not in a negative way) i imagine anyone meeting him for the first time they see him being big and scary, and he looks the part too including the fact he eats meat and so forth, and its one of those things where you have to get to actually know the character before saying he is a big mean scary monster that will eat you up the first chants he gets. because he is very sweet and very kind and gentle to a lot of things. i feel like this character could be developed into a really good story line personally and it would be interesting if their was ever a time where he gets lagitamently mad at someone for hurting a friend and all that power you last mention comes out.
Post Merge

ok well I know mine seems well a bit bland and more of a oc intro I need more background into it here it is the link that is http://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=13168.0

Ehhh you would think it is a balanced character, to start off their is one thing i see, off the bat when i read "character" section.

"At times he gets easily gets exited or angered, he never lets his emotions take over"

No... haha dont leave your character like that, for 2 good reasons,

1. It contradicts its self when you say that he gets "exited" or "angered" times, but then say right after, that he "dose not let his emotions take over." If you explain the reason like "well, he dose get exited or angered but not to an extent that he would be out of control or going over bored." dont think like that, the only reasons anything seams out of control or over bored is because of 2 reasons (1. the creator of the OC dosnt know what he is doing 2. you dont understand the character and why he/she acts the way they do) and if you can present you character in a "buildup" having an in-depth backstory or just a way to present your character in a way that lets those who get to know him, and i mean ACTUALLY "get to know him" your character can be as exited or angered as he wants depending on if we understand how much he cares about that item, topic, or subject. That's where you first need to understand your character yourself and if you do, take the time to get in depth with important topics like "what triggers his emotions and why?" when you state SPECIFICALLY that he can get exited or angered you are highlighting 2 emotions that will stand above the rest and you need to get a background that will tell why those emotions stand out. that will help you as a big factor in developing a backstory.  (if i needing to give more explanation let me know, i just dont want to go rambling on haha)

2. When you say he dosnt let his emotions take over, your taking away the chants to have your character be something new. Anyone and everyone can say, "they dont let their emotions take over" but that is a sign for a character that is "merry sue" (as they call it), and then will assume the character cant have anything wrong, thus making your character feel very vanilla and dry. dont let it be like that GIVE HIM A FLAVOR! (figuratively not literally ) a good character will always have

-Their positive and negative thoughts (ups and downs)

-Their strengths and weaknesses

-their achievements and failures

and so forth, that yin and yang ideal will make a good balanced character

keep in mind tho, once you get that down and get good at it work on making a GREAT character! a great character is able to be any where on the scale and still bring a great interest from those reading because they are able to develop more and more as you read about them (again ill get more in depth if asked)

sorry i wasn't talking specifically about your background but i feel if you do this you will have your backstory made at the same time, and of not just get back to me ^^

[Naura]

Anything that can be improved with Naura? (My main oc)

when she comes buy these homeless lost filly's she takes them in and it just expands her family,

I just want to know if its a typo or not, but when you say lost filly's, Bright Grace has a family, but when they are gone on long buisness trips, Naura is her foalsitter.

[Reginald27]

Anything that can be improved with Naura? (My main oc)

when she comes buy these homeless lost filly's she takes them in and it just expands her family,

I just want to know if its a typo or not, but when you say lost filly's, Bright Grace has a family, but when they are gone on long buisness trips, Naura is her foalsitter.

"Later, one day while playing with Grace, a young filly unicorn was found. It was under a syringa bush, so they named the little orphan Syringa Scent. They couldn't find her parents, so they decided to keep her with them. They bought her a little white bow and gave her a warm home."

that is what i was talking about, curious about nauras thought process when she found the young filly thats what i was taling about in that section