User blog:Silver-Haired Seireitou/Sei-san's Classroom: So You Wanna Make a Character

Hello hello everybody, to a special addition of Sei-san's classroom.

Today, I plan on designing a rather simple way for people to start evaluating if they have written the bare minimum of what one should write in the individual sections of their character articles. Now, understand that this is simply my own opinion of what should go into the sections and as such, do not take my word as being law; this is merely a sort of guide to slightly nudge you in the right direction from my point of view. As with everything, take it with a grain of salt, but I do ask that you take it in serious consideration when reading.

Now, this guide will be a bit different than most guides you read on this site. Rather than bore you with a long narrative about the... philosophy of proper character design and writing 101 and more about that wart growing on Ben's lower ba- I'm getting sidetracked; rather than that, I am going to make this straight to the point.

When making your character's multiple sections, much like when reading the outline for an essay your professor wants you to write, you should make sure that you've answered the following questions in each section. Take a look at your character article and ask yourself, "Have I answered all of these questions in the current entry, to the minimum length? Or am I missing something?" If you manage to answer each question, in each section, in at least two to three sentences a piece, then you'll quickly see how easy it is to make your character a very nice and proper length.

This guide will only include the persona-related elements of your character. After finishing through this, when you are ready to start working on your character's abilities section, make sure to give Ash's guide on the appropriateness of technique: located right here

Appearance

 * What type of body shape do they have? (tall, short, thin, fat, pudgy, Serktastic, et cetera)


 * What is their basic facial features? (include eye color, hair color, everything significant from the neck and up)


 * What type of clothing do they wear on their torso? (include all articles of clothing between their waist and neck)


 * What type of lower clothing do they wear? (include all articles of clothing from the waist and down)


 * Does their appearance result in any kind of general response from others? (do people often get frightened by their intense look, are they repulsive and people run in fear from them, et cetera)


 * Did they look significantly different in their past? (besides the fact that they probably looked childish when they were kids, did their appearance drastically change from some events that happened, like, did they receive a scar recently or lose a limb, change their fashion sense, et cetera)

Personality

 * How would you describe this character if you could only use one word? (one way to model your character personality is to choose a single word and revolve your character around it, expanding upon that "one word" and defining it multiple ways so as to create a thorough character)


 * After choosing that one word, think of at least three words or phrases (or even more if you can but try not to exceed six), even sentences or stories if you must, how would you describe a specific trait of theirs using that one word? (ie. if my main word was "Swift" and one of my three phrases I chose was "fast talking", then I'd explain how my character is very smooth with words and easily able to manipulate others based on how he speaks, in a very prompt manner)


 * What causes them to be afraid or have certain negative emotions that cause them to lose their composure? (in my example of "Swift" dude, dealing with a person that doesn't like to talk or makes it very hard to get them to reveal their tell can actually make him a bit nervous, as he loses confidence in his ability at that moment; it reminds him of his past experiences)


 * How do others perceive them? (generally speaking, how are these people typically viewed by others in the character's life but also by the everyday passerby? with "Swift" dude, his fast and smooth talking makes him appear charming to most people, but after they realize that he bamboozled them and ripped them off, their view of him quickly turns sour)


 * What events in their lives have led to them acquiring these kind of traits? (for every phrase you come up with for the first main word, include a short expansion as to how they developed that trait over the span of their entire life; "Swift" dude is a fast talker, and he developed this because his childhood was centered around watching crime lords taking advantage of weaker people that couldn't do anything because they lost confidence and relied on those smooth talkers, which showed "Swift" dude that he needs to be smooth and confident to survive; his father also introduced him to the joys of gambling)


 * What are some hobbies they have? (include some hobbies or activities your character enjoys, they can even relate to your choice words, like in my example of the "Swift" character, he could enjoy gambling since can actually trick others into revealing their tells and this allows him to make quite a killing)


 * How were they in their youth? (include a couple details from when they were younger, whether when they were a kid or a teenager or even a young adult, and compare those traits as to how they are now)

Background

 * When and where were they born? (include not only location and general vicinity, but also time in history, like was it during an era of peace or a time of war, like the warring states period)


 * Who took care of them? (include parents, or caretakers, mentoring caretakers, or yes, even themselves if they lived on their own from the start, which can include what measures they took to survive)


 * What was their view of the world around them in their youth? (how did they view the world, in that, if they were born in the era of warring states, were they disgusted by the war around them or did this cause them to become very fearful, or rather, did this result in some wisdom, such as in the case of Itachi)


 * What kind of people were around them in their youth? (list important characters in that person's youth


 * When they were old enough to have a perspective of the world around them and decided to take action, what did they do, or rather, what did they want to do? (in the example of a character born in the warring states, did they seek refuge elsewhere, did they decide they wanted to fight on the side of their homeland or clan, did they want to bring about peace, et cetera)


 * When did they finally decide to pack up and move on from their homeland? (assuming they did leave, of course, but also, if they didn't, what compelled them to stay?)


 * During their transition from youth to adulthood, what events occurred that contributed to their current personality? (answer this question separately for each major event, meaning at least two to three (MINIMUM) sentences for each event; these can tie back to stuff you wrote in the personality section)


 * What people did they meet during this transition from youth to adulthood and how did they contribute to their lives and/or personality? (answer this question separately for each individual person they came across, meaning, yes, at least two to three (MINIMUM) sentences for each individual person)


 * Did they lose any significant people during this transition from youth to adulthood? (answer this question separately for each individual person they lost, at least two to three (MINIMUM) sentences for each individual person which included how they were lost; whether they abandoned your character, died, were killed by your character, and/or otherwise)


 * In comparison to their youth, how is their perspective of the world around them different and what events have caused this to happen? (do I really need to repeat myself? answer this question separately for each event, meaning at least two to three (MINIMUM) sentences for every event; take this time to revisit those three or more terms or phrases used to describe certain personality traits, and explain how those traits came about)


 * When examining the gap, what has changed in them in the transition from that initial adulthood to how they are now and what events have led to this? (just read the parentheses for the question right above this one, ain't repeating myself again)


 * Finish your history section by answering: What are they doing now and what are their current plans in life? (include stuff such as their current perspective on the world, their current goals, and what their current happenings may include, such as occupation or missing-nin status, et cetera)

Conclusion
If you can fill up those three main sections by answering those questions, combined with the help that Ash's guide will provide you for your abilities section, I promise you that you will see vast improvements in the quality and consistency of your character; or nobody's money back, because fuck you, I spent it already on booze. Thank you for reading! --Silver-Haired Seireitou (Dosvidaniya, tovarisch.) 16:11, January 19, 2015 (UTC)