Character Development Questions For RPers

“Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.”

— Robert Heinlein (1907 - 1988)

submitted by | taltioidakseni [nikopetteri], Unpoetic Car [araibito], and E A H X O X O [eahxoxo] submit words | here

Forging Friendships

Creating believable relationships between two characters is not just important for romance. If you want people to believe that your characters are best friends, you have to work just as hard at it. There must be good reasons why they’re so close and why they’re working together toward a common goal. In real life, there’s usually some sort of event that bonds two people together and makes them closer than they were before. I met my best friend when we were forced to play kick ball during middle school gym and we were both TERRIBLE AT IT. It might seem like a simple event, but considering our ages, it was the most pressing issue during that time. The point is, there should be some sort of bonding event or a reason why two people are friends. Make a point to explain some of it and not just say, “they’ve been friends forever”

Here are some more general tips when describing friendships:

-If your characters have been thrust into some terrible situation together, be sure to explain why they’ve bonded more than other characters. Maybe they both fight well together or understand each other in a way no one else does. There has to be that moment when they both realize they can benefit or enjoy each other company more than any one else.

-The two best friends share some common ground. Is there an event from their pasts that allows them to bond easier than others? Maybe they both share a traumatic childhood OR it could be just as simple as them both sucking at Math. This is something you can play with.

-When the friendship has already been established, make sure you explain what they normally do with their time together. Do they have rituals that only they do together? What are their favorite activities? How do they interact with their other friends? These actions dictate why they’re still friends and how they’ve been friends for so long, so they’re just as important.

Obviously, there’s a lot of depth to friendship and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Building these relationships are important, not only for understanding the characters you’ve created, but exposing the personality and motivations of the protagonist. Make each character and relationship count.

-Kris Noel

My book: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15764908-lionhead

My page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6447379.Kris_Noel

Quirky

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite things about character development is figuring out the smallest tidbits of a character, something insignificant that shapes a person in a roundabout way. Characters should never be hindered by their quirks of course, but I like recognizing characters by one or two things they always seem to do. And I have a new favorite that I only just realized.

Feidhelm, one of the mc’s in my changeling story, falls asleep to the sound of conversation. Unless he is directly involved or benefits from said conversation, and he knows not to do this when a situation is dire, the sound of people talking and the rise and fall of their voices serves as a lullaby. He does it with people speaking around him, when a TV is going off, or even during a live human performance. His favorite voice to fall asleep to is Kyran’s, because when he’s not talking to his half elf brother directly, Kyran’s voice is a pleasant and comforting thing to hear. To some if comes off as incredibly rude, and I would too if someone was like that in real life, but I like the bit of inside info. 

Asthma for Writers

I often see asthma attacks depicted oddly in writing, and as someone who has asthma, I thought creating a guide might be helpful. Here’s a few things:

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