Advice/Help Characters, Confusion and Originality

[Wingazemot]

I have been RPing for sometime (abt 2 years) but still consider myself quite a novice roleplayer with a lot to learn and to improve on. I’ve only have a history of 7+ chars and Ive noticed that I have a problem with coming out with original and unique characters of my own. Either the character turns out to be too similar to one in books/movies etc or the traits they possess or the way I portrayed/written/roleplayed them would seem too identical to a previous character I’ve created. It isn’t really much of an issue, but I really do wanna create something unique.

Does anyone else face this problem or have any wisdom and advice to put in?

Another problem, I sometimes get ‘confused’ with my own characters when roleplaying. Let’s say for example, Ive got char A which you use on RP1 and charB which you use on RP2. However, while writing a post for RP1, you realise that you’re writing charA with charB’s personality. (I hope I make sense) I don’t know, but I think this is due to my chars, again being to similar in characteristics.

Any advice on this?

 

[kevintheradioguy]

I guess like many other things, this comes with time. I'd argue that you don't have to come up with unique ideas to make good characters, and if you're pursuing uniqueness, this might just come with a price of sacrificing quality and empathy towards your character. After all, what matters in not who they are, but what/how they do. You can write a story of a Plain Jane (and most books, films, games, etc. are those of absolutely blank character as their main), and still make it interesting by just how said character deals with their problems, or even - in what specific problem they got in despite being quite ordinary and "normal".

That said, for me it never started from a unique idea. I guess, when it comes to character creation, things grow on them like barnacles on a ship. I need to get them out there, taste and try them in a game or at least my imagination to develop and understand what makes them special and even if I like them at all. That is why it's hard for me to create new characters, and I stick to a slowly-growing roster. The start can be just a specific idea or even something as bland as a visual reference.

Other characters grow from side characters I've created for other games. In fact, I think a good third of mine are just sides that stuck for some reason. Mostly, for a funny, cute, or ridiculously epic way they were introduced. I kept looking back at them, thinking they make for a good char, until they became overdeveloped for a side, and ended up in a roster.

 

[Crayons]

You could try basing your characters on tropes of some kind (but obviously flesh them out too) like zodiac signs, colours, MB personality types etc and make sure you choose a different one each time. Character generators can be a fun way of getting ideas for character traits that you wouldn't come up with on your own. Alternatively, you might just need to read more widely and be around a different mix of people RL.

Something I like to do is give my characters a theme, like Responsibility, Wisdom, or Leadership that represents a value that is important to them that they are working towards or exploring during the story. At the very least give your character a goal or motivation that is unique to each one.

I would highly recommend making all of your characters with completely different names, different ages, genders etc. You could also try changing up your writing style to reflect the character's personality - it might help you stay in character.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Yea, I also often have problem writing different type of character. I usually play character with emphasize on their mundanity so whenever I intend to play one with extreme attitude they usually end up flat.

That aside, I agree with Kevin above that you shouldn't think too much on making you character unique. It's too stressful if trying to invent a new trope combination. If you feel like keep making your character similar to a particular character, try this: make a parody version of that character. It might be just me but this method really help me to be aware on what I actually like about that character, plus it's fun XD

 

[rae2nerdy]

I usually deliberately base my characters on people I know in real life or characters from other media. To me this helps me keep each character straight in my mind and make them distinct from one another.

Because I know character A is based on my sister and character b is based on my aunt and character c is based on the protagonist of a book I read.

Now obviously the backstories will vary depending on the roleplay but it gives me a solid base for writing character traits and personalities. Because I can imagine what the real person or canon character would do in any given situation.

To pile on others comments I think making your character unique is less important than making them distinct. As long as your characters have specific voices I wouldn’t worry about making them stand out from others. Some of the best written characters in media are essentially tropes that have been fleshed out to fit their canon.

 

[Idea]

Any creator creates based on their inspirations.
Tropes are not avoidable. All story ideas, except those that could not be conceived at our current technological level, have at some point been done. If you go by major themes then they've been done in pretty much every generation.

Originality and uniqueness do still exist though- but they exist not on a broad idea, but rather in details and in the particular individual perspective with which those details are approached. If I can convey my perspective on guilt through my writing, that is a unique perspective and a unique writing, probably the most unique thing I could make. How does this apply to characters? Well, it means even if the characters share a whole lot of similarities, they can all be quite unique in their own right just by going in depth, and approaching even their similarities from their own angles.

In short: It's not about what you do that is similar, it is about what new things you bring to the table, when it comes to uniqueness. So if you want to make something more unique, you need to explore the character more in-depth, who they are, what they want, and what made them be that person- and also, the outlook with which you portray it.

Speaking less generally and more personally for a bit, a lot of my characters tend to fall into distinct categories. My favorite character type is child characters for instance, and as a result I end up making a lot of those- even outside of it, I have phases like scavengers, dog people and currently genderbends, that are influenced by the kind of media I consume. Furthermore my characters tend to share many traits, such as almost all of them being curious people. It's simply a trait I find very useful to have and that I think fits a lot of my characters, so I give it to them. BUT I don't see this as a problem. I believe my characters are well-made, and I craft them keeping in mind also the needs of other players. I feel they are distinct enough from one another while keeping to the core of why I want to play that character in the first place.

As the saying goes, don't fix what isn't broken.

Another problem, I sometimes get ‘confused’ with my own characters when roleplaying. Let’s say for example, Ive got char A which you use on RP1 and charB which you use on RP2. However, while writing a post for RP1, you realise that you’re writing charA with charB’s personality. (I hope I make sense) I don’t know, but I think this is due to my chars, again being to similar in characteristics.

Oh yes. When I'm under a lot of pressure or I am really struggling because I got a pretty poor response from my partner (or other group members) in the previous post, I find that my character's personalities tend to become a bit more "malleable" so to speak, and that sometimes if two characters are similar enough I may start confusing how they speak and their overall personalities. Ain't proud of it, but I do think it really helps to avoid going out of character if you do two things:

1. Design the character in a way that is concrete right from the getgo. A lot of the times I see players who create personalities that are continually flimsy, that don't seem to settle on traits or try to have things halfway all the time. Beyond being easily poor character design, making the character this flimsy or vague can make them forgettable to the mind.

2. Look over your CS once in a while.



Beyond this, I pretty much agree with what the others have said: substance over style. More than the character being unique, the character being well-made and being a character that works with the RP and other players is the most important.

Hope this helps, best of luck and happy RPing!

 

[eldorado]

I have been RPing for sometime (abt 2 years) but still consider myself quite a novice roleplayer with a lot to learn and to improve on. I’ve only have a history of 7+ chars and Ive noticed that I have a problem with coming out with original and unique characters of my own. Either the character turns out to be too similar to one in books/movies etc or the traits they possess or the way I portrayed/written/roleplayed them would seem too identical to a previous character I’ve created. It isn’t really much of an issue, but I really do wanna create something unique.

Does anyone else face this problem or have any wisdom and advice to put in?

Another problem, I sometimes get ‘confused’ with my own characters when roleplaying. Let’s say for example, Ive got char A which you use on RP1 and charB which you use on RP2. However, while writing a post for RP1, you realise that you’re writing charA with charB’s personality. (I hope I make sense) I don’t know, but I think this is due to my chars, again being to similar in characteristics.

Any advice on this?

I'm probably not going to add anything new to the conversation, so I'll speak to the positive side of this issue.

You're demonstrating a skill if you note similarities between your character and that of the books you read. It's a good thing. It means you're synthesizing and understanding the information well enough to imitate it. Don't let this idea of originality tie you down.

I wrote an essay on this back in the day so I could get into specifics but I won't bore you with them. Suffice to say, our cultural idea of originality is tied to our legal system's response.

Copyright law teaches "this idea is mine." But no one owns an idea. People share ideas; they repeat them all the time. And in a sense yeah, that idea came from you, but in another sense you got that idea from something else. We are always drawing from sources. Our language is shared, our ideas are influenced, our knowledge is influenced. We are always interpreting our observations, influencing and being influenced.

A good writer like you'll be knows this and considers what source is purest and best to draw from. Those books you like -- where did the author get his idea? What makes it compelling? Look into that, imitate not only what he did but how he reached such a level of skill. It's not all technique; much of what is good in writing comes from how well the author expresses his understanding and that requires pure and uncorrupt information (aka truth lol).

Here's an example. Ozymandias by Percy B Shelley, beautiful poem, spawned from two guys observing an egyptian museum display and competing to make the best poem. The beauty and taste of sand derive from how the museum spurred Percy's expression. He understood how empty the reign and power of a king is, and made the thought manifest.

As for your accidentally writing one character with the personality of another, that makes total sense. You're finding your voice. You're improving. I think finding a driving emotion for a character and songs that match it really helps but it's not a perfect strategy.