07-03-2010, 10:33 PM
On Personalities:
With the server restart coming up soon, a lot of us are going to start looking over our profiles once more for clarity and maybe edit a few things. Even after it all, we're still going to make new characters and, with them, new profiles. When we write profiles, there are always two very important parts: History and Personality. While history is a story of your character, the personality of a character is a much more complex thing. It consists of the past experiences from the history section again and how those events shaped the very complex beings they are now.
Ever been asked to describe a person in one word? There is no way to do that and still shed a good light on who the person in question is. Even a paragraph may be too little to fully describe a person. There is no way to perfectly describe someone's psyche, but there are always some small improvements to make. A good method to use is the traits method. I've begun to use this method more often recently in writing, and the kinds of characters in stories are often the same ones people shoot for on CotH when they make new ones.
Traits:
The first step in this method is choosing out the traits that define your character well. There are so many traits to choose from and many many more combinations of traits to really make your character unique in their own way without tweaking their history to do so. Here are some that I took and defined myself:
-Adventurous-
We all have an adventurous side. But some people are very adventurous and look for anything new and out of the ordinary. This curiosity sometimes may lead to their downfall too though. Is your character adventurous?
-Ambitious-
Being ambitious often means working hard towards what you believe. Many of the heroes of Azeroth were ambitious and followed their desires (good or evil) as much as they could. Is your character ambitious?
-Arrogant-
There will always be arrogant people in the world. Thinking they're ‘above' most others, arrogant character could sometimes get into trouble but will most likely be remembered by a lot of people. Is your character arrogant?
-Brave-
Doing what they want without fear of the consequences can be a thrill sometimes. The line between bravery and stupidity is a very thin line though. Is your character brave?
-Cowardly-
While there are many brave people in the world, there will always be cowards too. Fearful of most things, they're the ones to back down to any odds not in their favour. This can be lifesaving sometimes as well. Is your character cowardly?
-Cruel-
All around rude people will exist as well. Good or evil, there is always a way to be cruel to anyone for this character. Is your character cruel?
-Dishonest-
Never keeping your word and lying more than frequently are practically professions in some areas, although there could always be the one person who loathes dishonesty and may be vengeful. Is your character dishonest?
-Easy to Anger-
Don't even try to mess with these characters. One little annoyance may set them off. Easy to anger characters tend to be more violent than the average bear. Is your character easy to anger?
-Eloquent-
The more ‘classy' type of character. Even without money, these characters always tend to talk and dress more ‘classy' than most others and actually enjoy it. Is your character eloquent?
-Flirty-
Whether it's for fun or for more fun, flirty characters go out of their way to be a little more lovable than most. Love may be a game or be serious to flirty character, but who knows? Is your character flirty?
-Greedy-
Only one thing matters to a greedy character, themselves. Doing anything and everything to put themselves in better positions in life and anything is a common task sometimes to these characters. Is your character greedy?
-Honest-
Sticking to your promise and being truthful is what this character may be known for. Is your character honest?
-Humble-
The exact opposite of arrogant characters are humble characters. They are the ones to not be overly-confident and maybe even tell self-targeted jokes too. Is your character humble?
-Immature-
Doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, these are the characters to not really understand emotions that mature characters would. They would not be considered ‘grown-up' by others and would maybe be called childish. Is your character immature?
-Impatient-
Patience may be a virtue, but there is no time to think about that for these characters. Getting straight to the point in a conversation or the end of a long travel is almost a goal for them at all times. Is your character impatient?
-Lazy-
Why do anything when you can sit around for a bit longer and bask in relaxation? There are characters that loathe doing much else besides some good ol' relaxing. Most often, these characters frequent taverns. Is your character lazy?
-Loyal-
Whether to their own kind or someone in particular, this character will always side with the said group. Swearing loyalty can also lead to close minded characters though. Is your character loyal?
-Sociable-
Azeroth has a sizeable amount of people who just like to talk a lot. These are the characters most likely to start talking to almost anyone. Is your character sociable?
-Vengeful-
Someone done something to you in the past 30 years and you've never forgot about it? These characters dream of bringing vengeance upon someone who may have crossed them no matter how long ago. This may lead to problems but brings the most satisfaction to these characters. Is your character vengeful?
These traits are only a few and you must always keep in mind that there are infinite ways to describe a person, as a sentient being is a very complex thing to describe psychologically.
A major thing to watch for when picking out traits for your character in question is to always be vigilant and watch for contradictions. Can a character that is described as cowardly also be described as brave?
The Knot (Bringing it all Together)
Now that we have our character described in simple words, we must tie in everything so that it all fits neatly together. I speak, of course, of the connection personality has to the history of a character. I may say: "One of my character's traits is: laziness.", but I did not back it up with evidence or even tell why my character is lazy in the first place.
This is where it all ties together. I can now add more to my character's history (Maybe just a sentence, or maybe even more) about how my character became lazy. And, if I wanted to add more to my character's personality, I can add in a sentence or two, giving examples about my character's laziness.
A paragraph for my character's personality will now focus on one trait and will most likely be relatively short. When added in with other traits though, the personality becomes an even more in-depth article on my character and how that thing inside his/her skull works and functions.
A template for one of my paragraphs on one of my characters traits may look like this:
1.) Intro (Ex: Jimmy is a very lazy person.)
2.) Example(s) (Ex: A lot of times, he may be found sitting around in a chair, drinking whiskey to excess.)
It's very simple and, when combined with more paragraphs on other traits, can add to a good account of your character's personality. Combined with the history to tell the story of how this character became the person he/she is today, it is just that much easier to make a character more than just a collection of pixels across your screen and maybe even one of them "3 Dimensional Characters" an' such.
With the server restart coming up soon, a lot of us are going to start looking over our profiles once more for clarity and maybe edit a few things. Even after it all, we're still going to make new characters and, with them, new profiles. When we write profiles, there are always two very important parts: History and Personality. While history is a story of your character, the personality of a character is a much more complex thing. It consists of the past experiences from the history section again and how those events shaped the very complex beings they are now.
Ever been asked to describe a person in one word? There is no way to do that and still shed a good light on who the person in question is. Even a paragraph may be too little to fully describe a person. There is no way to perfectly describe someone's psyche, but there are always some small improvements to make. A good method to use is the traits method. I've begun to use this method more often recently in writing, and the kinds of characters in stories are often the same ones people shoot for on CotH when they make new ones.
Traits:
The first step in this method is choosing out the traits that define your character well. There are so many traits to choose from and many many more combinations of traits to really make your character unique in their own way without tweaking their history to do so. Here are some that I took and defined myself:
-Adventurous-
We all have an adventurous side. But some people are very adventurous and look for anything new and out of the ordinary. This curiosity sometimes may lead to their downfall too though. Is your character adventurous?
-Ambitious-
Being ambitious often means working hard towards what you believe. Many of the heroes of Azeroth were ambitious and followed their desires (good or evil) as much as they could. Is your character ambitious?
-Arrogant-
There will always be arrogant people in the world. Thinking they're ‘above' most others, arrogant character could sometimes get into trouble but will most likely be remembered by a lot of people. Is your character arrogant?
-Brave-
Doing what they want without fear of the consequences can be a thrill sometimes. The line between bravery and stupidity is a very thin line though. Is your character brave?
-Cowardly-
While there are many brave people in the world, there will always be cowards too. Fearful of most things, they're the ones to back down to any odds not in their favour. This can be lifesaving sometimes as well. Is your character cowardly?
-Cruel-
All around rude people will exist as well. Good or evil, there is always a way to be cruel to anyone for this character. Is your character cruel?
-Dishonest-
Never keeping your word and lying more than frequently are practically professions in some areas, although there could always be the one person who loathes dishonesty and may be vengeful. Is your character dishonest?
-Easy to Anger-
Don't even try to mess with these characters. One little annoyance may set them off. Easy to anger characters tend to be more violent than the average bear. Is your character easy to anger?
-Eloquent-
The more ‘classy' type of character. Even without money, these characters always tend to talk and dress more ‘classy' than most others and actually enjoy it. Is your character eloquent?
-Flirty-
Whether it's for fun or for more fun, flirty characters go out of their way to be a little more lovable than most. Love may be a game or be serious to flirty character, but who knows? Is your character flirty?
-Greedy-
Only one thing matters to a greedy character, themselves. Doing anything and everything to put themselves in better positions in life and anything is a common task sometimes to these characters. Is your character greedy?
-Honest-
Sticking to your promise and being truthful is what this character may be known for. Is your character honest?
-Humble-
The exact opposite of arrogant characters are humble characters. They are the ones to not be overly-confident and maybe even tell self-targeted jokes too. Is your character humble?
-Immature-
Doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, these are the characters to not really understand emotions that mature characters would. They would not be considered ‘grown-up' by others and would maybe be called childish. Is your character immature?
-Impatient-
Patience may be a virtue, but there is no time to think about that for these characters. Getting straight to the point in a conversation or the end of a long travel is almost a goal for them at all times. Is your character impatient?
-Lazy-
Why do anything when you can sit around for a bit longer and bask in relaxation? There are characters that loathe doing much else besides some good ol' relaxing. Most often, these characters frequent taverns. Is your character lazy?
-Loyal-
Whether to their own kind or someone in particular, this character will always side with the said group. Swearing loyalty can also lead to close minded characters though. Is your character loyal?
-Sociable-
Azeroth has a sizeable amount of people who just like to talk a lot. These are the characters most likely to start talking to almost anyone. Is your character sociable?
-Vengeful-
Someone done something to you in the past 30 years and you've never forgot about it? These characters dream of bringing vengeance upon someone who may have crossed them no matter how long ago. This may lead to problems but brings the most satisfaction to these characters. Is your character vengeful?
These traits are only a few and you must always keep in mind that there are infinite ways to describe a person, as a sentient being is a very complex thing to describe psychologically.
A major thing to watch for when picking out traits for your character in question is to always be vigilant and watch for contradictions. Can a character that is described as cowardly also be described as brave?
The Knot (Bringing it all Together)
Now that we have our character described in simple words, we must tie in everything so that it all fits neatly together. I speak, of course, of the connection personality has to the history of a character. I may say: "One of my character's traits is: laziness.", but I did not back it up with evidence or even tell why my character is lazy in the first place.
This is where it all ties together. I can now add more to my character's history (Maybe just a sentence, or maybe even more) about how my character became lazy. And, if I wanted to add more to my character's personality, I can add in a sentence or two, giving examples about my character's laziness.
A paragraph for my character's personality will now focus on one trait and will most likely be relatively short. When added in with other traits though, the personality becomes an even more in-depth article on my character and how that thing inside his/her skull works and functions.
A template for one of my paragraphs on one of my characters traits may look like this:
1.) Intro (Ex: Jimmy is a very lazy person.)
2.) Example(s) (Ex: A lot of times, he may be found sitting around in a chair, drinking whiskey to excess.)
It's very simple and, when combined with more paragraphs on other traits, can add to a good account of your character's personality. Combined with the history to tell the story of how this character became the person he/she is today, it is just that much easier to make a character more than just a collection of pixels across your screen and maybe even one of them "3 Dimensional Characters" an' such.