How to Create Better Characters for Roleplaying and Fiction

It didn't take long for me to realize just how well writing and roleplaying go together. The more I roleplay, the more interesting ideas, plots and stories come to me so I can keep writing. But every good story needs memorable and entertaining characters that make you want to think about them long after you have stopped reading.

Writers who tend to practice their skills almost daily, read a lot, take courses and tutorials or even socialize with other writers tend to pick up great ideas for character personality development. I have even used the TV to study the types of characters or protagonists in various television programs and movies. After all, those roles also came from very creative and imaginative writers.

One of the things I have noticed when roleplaying is the lack of imagination involved when developing a character. It seems that many roleplayers want to play it safe and simply blend in with everyone else. They create a character that is polite, friendly, mature, hard-working, and self-sufficient. Sometimes I do come across characters that have a great sense of humor or an air of great mystery. Aside from that, they are just cookie-cutter versions of everyone else.

Some of the experiments I have tried during roleplay is having my character get sick. Kloey, an adorable little gnome caught a cold. For several gaming sessions, I roleplayed her blowing her nose and sneezing around others. I followed such gestures by typing phonetically, making her "sound" sick..

Example: "Hello! Don't comb dear be. I hab a terrible code and I don't want you to catch...ah.. ahh.. ahh achooo... it."

My little character, Kloey, also happens to have a speech problem. Everyone knows her instantly for her lisp. Instead of talking just like anyone else, she sounds (or reads) like this:

"Hewo!! Hewo, my fwends! My name ith Kloey and I am a bwave dwuid. I wike to hunt and help poor wittle animals. I am also a gwate cook as you will see when I bake you some wunnerful cookeeth."

It takes a bit of practice, but it's worth the effort to do something that is truly different. You can read some of the stories I have written about Kloey at: http://dragonlingtales.blogspot.com/. Just about everything there was first done in roleplay. This brings me to another good point. Character development work should only be done with main characters. Minor characters in a story or in roleplay don't need so much attention to detail. Your character is more memorable and more realistic if he/she is jealous, short-tempered, silly, cowardly, simple-minded, poor, or otherwise handicapped in some way. Think about using two interesting traits. They can be miserly, romantic, clever, stubborn, unlucky, shy, or addicted to something.

Recently, I gave Kloey a new and not very well-liked trait of being prejudiced, even racist. She avoids contact with certain races who are thought to be evil. She has even had confrontations with them, warning them to change their ways. I have had my characters doing naughty things like stealing and vandalism which sometimes required a reprimand or punishment. This type of roleplaying has to be handled carefully so that the other roleplayers realize this is only roleplaying. Make sure they know in advance what you intend to do so that they are aware and no one gets offended. You must remember that people play and roleplay for entertainment and relaxation. Do not get carried away and become someone no one wants to roleplay with. Keep sad or disturbing roleplay scenes short and work with the others so that everyone has a good time, even if you are "the bad guy."

When you are done roleplaying, write about what happened and study what you have written about your character and see if you need to change any details or traits. Get some feed-back from the other roleplayers as well. They can be very helpful when they know you are working on a story that may include their characters. And if you do use their characters for a story, make sure it's okay with the roleplayer. The fact that you cared enough to ask them first shows them you are sensitive to their feelings and their creations. They can assist you in your writing so that you portray their characters correctly. Sometimes, I even send them a rough draft of the story so they can look it over and catch anything that doesn't seem right.

I hope I have given you enough tips to get started on a better, more enjoyable, roleplaying experience that will lead to better plots and stories. And never forget, if the character doesn't move you, he or she may not move your readers either. Don't give up! Keep writing and believe in yourself. There are many many resources to help you. Join a local writers group or take a workshop. Check the web or library for writers books or e-books that can give you more information.

Have fun and enjoy your creativity!