Post by mistwolf on Dec 20, 2011 20:50:36 GMT -5
We all love Original Characters (OC's), right? OC's are a way to express our creativity and enthusiasm, and experiment with new and different personalities. And we all like to try and fit our own characters into movies/books/TV shows we love, right?
Well, here at Shadowlands, we love Original Characters, too (I have two of 'em). But there is one problem with OC's I'd like to address. And that is the whole "Where can I fit my character in?" issue.
I see this question in the Chat Box a LOT. I'm here to tell you a little bit about how you can remedy this situation, and help your character find their niche and be productive in Shadowlands.
1. Characters With a Pride Always Do Better Than Loners.
It's a shocker, I know. And everyone wants to have a loner character (I know, I have to weed through all the inactive ones). Everyone wants that tragic hero character who's not part of any pride and just hangs out on the outskirts. But this doesn't work well. More often than not, you'll find yourself with a lack of rping partners (since loner characters aren't openly welcome anywhere) and no place to fit your charie in. And usually people are too busy with their own characters to go out of their way to rp with your character. I've done it, but it's hard. So start in a pride (Pridelands or Outlands) and work from there. Chances are, you'll find more rp partners than having a loner.
2. There Is A Main Plot
This is a hard one to grab, I know. Because coming into an rp, we all have this fantasy of having our character get tangled into this web with an amazing plot that doesn't touch the main plot at all and ends up with your character falling madly in love with some other loner and you both rping your little hearts out all while the main plot is going on around you. Think The Lion King 1 1/2 (Or 3, if you're in Europe). You know, where the main plot with Simba and company is going on, and meanwhile Timon and Pumbaa are doing their own thing? Let me tell you that outside of a book (or movie) that doesn't usually happen, and especially in an rp, you'll soon find yourself alone and bored. So plan to get involved in the rp's main plot. Don't just hang on the outskirts, and wait for your wild and epic romance.
3.Just Jump In
I can give you this one from experience. It's always better to, if you have an OC, or even a canon, to just jump in. What do you have to lose? No, I don't mean post in the CBox "Will anyone rp with me?" Or post a random thread in one of the lesser used areas where no one will see it. I'm talking about that you see a BIG MAIN THREAD where everyone's posting, and just jump in! Post your charie jumping into the action feet first! Fighting going on? Have your charie leap in and try to save someone! Big romantic scene? Have your charie stumble in acting dazed! The rper's will notice you if the intro is big enough, and they'll start rping! And chances are, you'll get some good friends, and add to the plot! What more could you want?
4.READ
We all like recaps. Recaps are NICE. They're easy and don't take much brain power. But they're awkward and not useful when dealing with a newbie who's just popped in. So instead of bugging the Admin (Like me or Kovu) for a recap which through half of you have no idea what's going on, just read some of the threads. You don't have to read all of them. Just skim an get the gist. The Plot in the Rules section is very helpful, too. Make sure you read before doing #3, so you won't be popping in having no clue what's going on.
5. Make It Up
The heroic or epic entrance of the newbie to the pride is tempting, and ideally it will draw attention to your character, and everyone will flock to them and ask them about their tragic back story, but often it only creates short, uneventful threads that then leave a charrie (and player) alone, bored, and unsure of where to go next. Instead, try step number 3, mixed with a little creativity. Say you were Simba's babysitter when he was a cub. Maybe you once rescued cub Nala from hyenas. Maybe you've known Sarabi from cubhood. Things like this make your charie more realistic, and add depth. Sure, maybe you won't have that extremely gut-wrenching history where your charie held off an entire herd of butterflies from trampling the charrie's family, almost dying in the process, and then wandered the rest of its days alone before coming to the Pridelands, but this way you're charie will have depth.
6. Pair It With A Canon
A lot of people just want to join as their OC. But often, again, they will feel unwelcome and out of the loop. Instead, try picking up a Canon character with your OC. Check out the canon character list, and see if there's anyone you'd like to rp. There are handy little guides at the top that could help, if you don't know the characters. More often than not, if you pick up a needed canon character, and get them into the plot, it's easy to add your OC.
7. Impress Us
Personally, I can tell you 100% that I will pay much more attention to a person who obviously put time, effort, and thought into their first post (their "intro"). This is a great way to get attention. Think like you're trying to sell a product. TV Salesmen get things sold because they put a lot of description into their ads. You'd never buy something if some guy, dressed like a slob, walked onto the screen and in a slurred voice said, "Buy this thing 'cause it's good," then walked off. You wouldn't buy it. The person obviously put no time or effort into their presentation. And that's not what we want to see here. If you post one sentence that barely meets the word count requirement, no one's going to want to answer you. So impress us! Description, modifiers, sounds, feelings, sights! Add it all in and sell your product! I can guarantee someone will pay more attention to you, and you'll sell you're product every time! Also, good punctuation and spelling pay off.
8. Don't Give Up
Does Life happen? Yes. Sometimes we get distracted, and we all need a little break from the World Wide Web. Do we all feel lonely sometimes? Yes. Will and Does the site's activity level drop sometimes? Yes. And is being a newbie that no one knows hard? Yes. But don't give up. If you're a newbie, we don't know you. We don't know how you rp, or what you're character is like. But so often times, people with OC's will join, stick around for a day, and if no one leaps up to rp with them, they'll disappear without really trying. Don't let this happen to you. So maybe no one posted THE SECOND you put that new thread up. Wait a little while. Persevere. We may be busy too. Try the above advice, maybe rethink your strategy. But don't give up. Stay active, and someone will notice you, and before you know it, you'll be part of a great plot, having a lot of fun. I'm a testament to that, because, at one time, I too was a newbie on this site. But being part of the plot, having fun AND having an original character can be done. It just takes a little patience. After all, rping is writing, and writers are very special people (no, not in that way). No one ever wrote a book in a day. If they did, everyone and his mother would be writing books. Life takes effort, and so does rping.
Well, here at Shadowlands, we love Original Characters, too (I have two of 'em). But there is one problem with OC's I'd like to address. And that is the whole "Where can I fit my character in?" issue.
I see this question in the Chat Box a LOT. I'm here to tell you a little bit about how you can remedy this situation, and help your character find their niche and be productive in Shadowlands.
1. Characters With a Pride Always Do Better Than Loners.
It's a shocker, I know. And everyone wants to have a loner character (I know, I have to weed through all the inactive ones). Everyone wants that tragic hero character who's not part of any pride and just hangs out on the outskirts. But this doesn't work well. More often than not, you'll find yourself with a lack of rping partners (since loner characters aren't openly welcome anywhere) and no place to fit your charie in. And usually people are too busy with their own characters to go out of their way to rp with your character. I've done it, but it's hard. So start in a pride (Pridelands or Outlands) and work from there. Chances are, you'll find more rp partners than having a loner.
2. There Is A Main Plot
This is a hard one to grab, I know. Because coming into an rp, we all have this fantasy of having our character get tangled into this web with an amazing plot that doesn't touch the main plot at all and ends up with your character falling madly in love with some other loner and you both rping your little hearts out all while the main plot is going on around you. Think The Lion King 1 1/2 (Or 3, if you're in Europe). You know, where the main plot with Simba and company is going on, and meanwhile Timon and Pumbaa are doing their own thing? Let me tell you that outside of a book (or movie) that doesn't usually happen, and especially in an rp, you'll soon find yourself alone and bored. So plan to get involved in the rp's main plot. Don't just hang on the outskirts, and wait for your wild and epic romance.
3.Just Jump In
I can give you this one from experience. It's always better to, if you have an OC, or even a canon, to just jump in. What do you have to lose? No, I don't mean post in the CBox "Will anyone rp with me?" Or post a random thread in one of the lesser used areas where no one will see it. I'm talking about that you see a BIG MAIN THREAD where everyone's posting, and just jump in! Post your charie jumping into the action feet first! Fighting going on? Have your charie leap in and try to save someone! Big romantic scene? Have your charie stumble in acting dazed! The rper's will notice you if the intro is big enough, and they'll start rping! And chances are, you'll get some good friends, and add to the plot! What more could you want?
4.READ
We all like recaps. Recaps are NICE. They're easy and don't take much brain power. But they're awkward and not useful when dealing with a newbie who's just popped in. So instead of bugging the Admin (Like me or Kovu) for a recap which through half of you have no idea what's going on, just read some of the threads. You don't have to read all of them. Just skim an get the gist. The Plot in the Rules section is very helpful, too. Make sure you read before doing #3, so you won't be popping in having no clue what's going on.
5. Make It Up
The heroic or epic entrance of the newbie to the pride is tempting, and ideally it will draw attention to your character, and everyone will flock to them and ask them about their tragic back story, but often it only creates short, uneventful threads that then leave a charrie (and player) alone, bored, and unsure of where to go next. Instead, try step number 3, mixed with a little creativity. Say you were Simba's babysitter when he was a cub. Maybe you once rescued cub Nala from hyenas. Maybe you've known Sarabi from cubhood. Things like this make your charie more realistic, and add depth. Sure, maybe you won't have that extremely gut-wrenching history where your charie held off an entire herd of butterflies from trampling the charrie's family, almost dying in the process, and then wandered the rest of its days alone before coming to the Pridelands, but this way you're charie will have depth.
6. Pair It With A Canon
A lot of people just want to join as their OC. But often, again, they will feel unwelcome and out of the loop. Instead, try picking up a Canon character with your OC. Check out the canon character list, and see if there's anyone you'd like to rp. There are handy little guides at the top that could help, if you don't know the characters. More often than not, if you pick up a needed canon character, and get them into the plot, it's easy to add your OC.
7. Impress Us
Personally, I can tell you 100% that I will pay much more attention to a person who obviously put time, effort, and thought into their first post (their "intro"). This is a great way to get attention. Think like you're trying to sell a product. TV Salesmen get things sold because they put a lot of description into their ads. You'd never buy something if some guy, dressed like a slob, walked onto the screen and in a slurred voice said, "Buy this thing 'cause it's good," then walked off. You wouldn't buy it. The person obviously put no time or effort into their presentation. And that's not what we want to see here. If you post one sentence that barely meets the word count requirement, no one's going to want to answer you. So impress us! Description, modifiers, sounds, feelings, sights! Add it all in and sell your product! I can guarantee someone will pay more attention to you, and you'll sell you're product every time! Also, good punctuation and spelling pay off.
8. Don't Give Up
Does Life happen? Yes. Sometimes we get distracted, and we all need a little break from the World Wide Web. Do we all feel lonely sometimes? Yes. Will and Does the site's activity level drop sometimes? Yes. And is being a newbie that no one knows hard? Yes. But don't give up. If you're a newbie, we don't know you. We don't know how you rp, or what you're character is like. But so often times, people with OC's will join, stick around for a day, and if no one leaps up to rp with them, they'll disappear without really trying. Don't let this happen to you. So maybe no one posted THE SECOND you put that new thread up. Wait a little while. Persevere. We may be busy too. Try the above advice, maybe rethink your strategy. But don't give up. Stay active, and someone will notice you, and before you know it, you'll be part of a great plot, having a lot of fun. I'm a testament to that, because, at one time, I too was a newbie on this site. But being part of the plot, having fun AND having an original character can be done. It just takes a little patience. After all, rping is writing, and writers are very special people (no, not in that way). No one ever wrote a book in a day. If they did, everyone and his mother would be writing books. Life takes effort, and so does rping.
