InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Ralph, can I ask you something"

Mandy Jean (tongxing) wrote in rp_tutorials,
@ 2010-05-31 16:53:00

Rewriting Old Characters
Okay, so a couple days ago I ran into a dilemma when I decided I wanted to start playing a character I'd been putting on the back-burner for the last few years. Her history is absolutely horrendous. I mean, it would read pretty well as a short story... if it weren't rushed so much. Because she was my first crack at playing a supernatural character, a lot of the events in her life are a little overly dramatic, and at the time, I imagined that it would be a pretty interesting genre to play, given the right kind of limitations and setting.

For me, I chose to exclude creatures other than humans (vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, etc.) I gave this character limited psychic ability and almost no control over it. There were three main abilities I focused on: psychokinesis/telekinesis, premonitions, and the ability to sense the aura or inner being of others.

When it comes to psychokinetic/telekinetic powers, she isn't able to use it at whim. It's something that happens only during high periods of emotion. For example, when she's really pissed off and decides to take her anger out on some object, it might fly a good distance away from where it was sitting at the time or it might just suddenly break. I haven't exactly figured out what might happen when she's extremely depressed or overjoyed.

The premonitions, I figured, would be something to help move the story along and give her some special insight during a particularly tight situation for her. This is cheesy, but think of That's So Raven... except that it would be used in a much more tasteful, non-Disney format.

As for the ability to sense the aura of others, I sometimes feel like that was just thrown in there because I was having fun writing the character at the time, but the more I think about it, if I were planning to play this character in a Charmed like way in which baddies show up in each new event, it could definitely have its purposes. In the end though, it could always just be a gut feeling she gets from being connected to this psychic or spiritual energy (whatever you wanna call it) rather than an outright ability.

It seems like I have quite a bit of this thought out, but every time I stare at the profile, I think, "Wtf did I write three years ago?" I feel like when I attempt to rewrite this character that I keep moving further and further away from my original intention. The very first story I ever wrote about her was actually much different than what I have in her journal now and touched on some very taboo subjects like rape, and when I look at the two stories I have now, I feel like the first one is so much more plausible than the second.

I asked for advice from

chaperoned and what

chaperoned does is use a very basic profile skeleton and fill that in. My approach has always been just to open up an MS Word document and free write until I can't think of anything else, so here's my question for you guys and gals:

What do you do when attempting to rewrite a character?

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tetris
2010-06-01 09:11 am UTC (link)

This isn't everyone's method, but what I tend to do is I have two wordpad folders open - one with the original application and one with a blank version. I then basically start the application over again, copying it from the first file and rewriting it, and as I go I mentally edit out the bits that I believe don't fit with the character. This really helps me, but I understand that not everyone can do that. I do suggest going through a blank application and basically writing out what you want in each section.

For example, personality you could go "PERSONALITY - prone to fits of anger, kind-hearted, doesn't like to be pushed around but is a sucker for her friends, has her fair share of bad habits (such as)..." and with history, you can write out the events that you definitely want to include. Like "HISTORY - born to ______ and ______. Grew up in _______. At age of 3, ______ happens. She goes to school at _______. In her _____ year, _____ happened. She gained her powers at the age of _________, and struggled with her ability to control them. Example here of something going wrong or how she discovered it. Difficulties she faced. Family problems. Friends." When you do this, you should be able to start seperating them and building them into paragraphs. Writing an application, even a rewrite, is basically just a lot of characteristics and facts thrown together in a coherent format.

Also, one thing I would suggest is getting someone you know that will be honest with you - if you feel that something in your rewrite sounds off, or unrealistic, then it probably is. It's always good to have someone who will be blunt with you because that makes for better applications in the end. For example,

chaperoned is who I go to with those sorts of things as she'll tell me if something sounds ridiculous. Also, don't be afraid to let the character go in a different direction if you suddenly start coming up with one. I can't tell you how many characters I pictured as one way and they turned out completely different.

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tongxing
2010-06-01 11:49 am UTC (link)

Ah, this is a very good method indeed. I think I can incorporate both

chaperoned's method and your method as well.

I was honestly thinking about writing her biography in bullet points and going from there once I've written out a skeleton.

For everyone else reading these comments, the journal I'm rewriting is

jingna if you'd like to track my progress. Feel free to make comments as I'm writing too. I'll be editing this character for the next couple of days until I feel like she's complete.

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hammertech
2010-06-01 12:04 pm UTC (link)

I use bullets with a skeleton in a very disorganized way, actually. I'll fill in information here and there throughout my profile (sometimes phrases, sometimes paragraphs I want to include) and make quick notes in sections of things I want to talk about. Then, at the bottom of the page I have bullets for when I get stuck or points I want to hit on that are more generalized. But I always make things too complicated.

Free writing is definitely a good suggestion and way to get all your ideas out.

Either way, good luck with your profile! I'm sure it'll be great - you're obviously spending a lot of time on it. <3

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hammertech
2010-06-01 11:56 am UTC (link)

Randomly and at the risk of sounding like a huge fangirl? I've always admired how much you update your character applications. I feel like most people (read: me) just get something they're comfortable with and leave that at that. And also (not even going to lie), I try to model mine around how you write yours.

And I've already got your permission to do this (as I am apparently a huge stalker), but to use your apps (which I won't lie: I think are always brilliant) as an example...

I've noticed you start out with one or a few really defining characteristics and seem to work your way from there. You go "my character is x ( ex. shy). He is x because/you can tell he's x because... x affects y because..." and that really helps to keep the application flowing well rather than sounding like a grocery list. Plus, you always find interesting way to illustrate your points. For example you describe Rabastan like so:

Rabastan is an exceptionally awkward man and it tends to show in his appearance. Shoulders permanently slumped forward, you probably wouldn't be a ble to tell that he's almost 6'1" because of the way he tends to carry himself.

I've also always found writing personalities to be a bit overwhelming. But I think the way you do it makes it simplier and ties it all together well. You tend to (whether you realize it or not) start out with a clever line. Then, you elaborate on that statement and let it lead to big ideas that you maybe outlined earlier (ex. "her biggest flaw is..."). With Holly you have:

Don't let the name fool you. Holly is not, and has never been, the sort of girl who inspires Christmassey cheer and happy thoughts. Opinionated and outspoken, she is also not the sort of person who lets others hold things over her head. She's exceptionally pushy when the mood strikes her and she doesn't make any efforts to keep her comments to herself. Indeed, one of Holly's biggest flaws is that she's often very blunt without intending any real harm.

You also put a lot of personality (read: quirks) into your characters and how you write them. A lot of people (and I know I'm guilty of it) go "this is their basic personality. That's all people really need to know. DONE~"

For example with Dorcas and Evan:

Dorcas:

"Dorcas admittedly looks rather boring and unkempt on first glance. She is a great deal shorter than most girls her age tend to be and, due to a diet that consists mostly of sporadic exercise and eating whatever she damned well wants, will most likely always fall on the pudgier side of 'thin'."

"With sleepy eyes and an upturned nose that evens out the rest of her features, Dorcas is pretty pleased with the way she looks and dares you to say otherwise to her face."

Evan:

"Blood Status: Pureblood, thank you very much."

Things like those really give a lot of insight into the characters' personalities. With Dorcas, you get a good idea of her as average and not someone you want to mess with. With Evan you very much get that snobbiness.

I know I'm everywhere (it's 8AM, give me a break), but my basic points are that when when re-writing you want to:
1) give as much insight into the character's personality as possible.
2) make sure you're connecting ideas.
3) the above methods are great ways to do it.

Because otherwise when re-writing it seems easy to just pick ideas from before, add a couple more details, and throw it all together into a mess.

I guess these were more style tips than anything. But if you're asking how to pick and choose what stays and goes? There's really no way to know. Basically, like

tetris said, if it sounds off, it probably is off. By reworking it and reworking it you'll probably eventually end up with something very different but much better than you originally anticipated.

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	tetris 2010-06-01 07:39 pm UTC (link)
	NO words, you huge dork. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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