Character Bios: Prefer Full Bio or Blank Slate?

[Jsc]

Let's say you just pulled up a brand new character's profile and scanned down to their biography section . Which do you prefer to read, and, which do you prefer to craft yourself:

1. A deep, full bio that can easily map out a whole theatre of drama, supporting cast members, victories, defeats, galactic events, and even spiritual improvements. Or,
2. A short sweet encapsulation of growing up nominally to become a perfectly usable blank slate, obviously to be molded later via RP.

This is just personal preference. I was just wondering because I'm always tempted to go back to my new characters and write them up like 3 pages worth of backstory. But... Not sure if anybody actually cares to read bio's past one paragraph. Lulz.

Thanks!

 

[Amea Virou]

Mostly whatever fits my aesthetics tbh

Sometimes a full bio, other times no bio at all. Depends on the mood.

 

[Taru Cadera]

What i want is not what i am able to produce.

I want to have the full bio, but i can't get there currently, especially seeing as to how i am stuck on the idea of constant small updates to said bio (Im behind on this too lol).

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

I love a good mystery!

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​Depends on the character.

​I never read bios anyway.

 

[Captain Jordan]

I much prefer well-crafted stories of characters, especially when it provides a good launching ground for their start in Chaos. Some characters stick to their original story really well, some of them diverge, but I feel like the author has at least been diligent in considering how their character has interacted with the galaxy thus far. It gives me confidence that they have a way to move forward in the RP on the site.

But I get it, not everyone enjoys this or works this way, some people need that blank slate. Do what works best for you, I just like reading well-developed backstories.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

Based on personal experience, heavily dependent on muse and motivation. I've plotted out specific events based on the timeline and matching dates before. Not so much recently. Fluid timelines etc.

Increasingly I find I have less interest in building a super in-depth backstory and more in putting some details of personality and individual motivations. The backstory will work out as it needs to, but it's nice to have a vague idea of what type of person I'm intending to write.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

As of late, my NPC submissions have become far more detailed than my PC bios. But then my NPC bios tend to be like +6000 words.

These days, my PC bios often have quick journal entries instead of a full backstory, unless it's a promoted NPC (like Darth Libertas and Vaena Askari). That's what I did with Elpsis since I didn't have her background plotted out beyond the very basics. She was 18 and pretty much a blank canvas beyond some details that were set in stone, and that was fine since I was starting with a young, inexperienced character who would be shaped by events. After character had been established, I added additional entries and overhauled other fields to provide more detail.

In general, I prefer some detail when it comes to older, more experienced characters. A Padawan will, in most cases, just be at the start of their story and thus be the most in flux.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

I do a bio once and then never update it.

Some of my characters still reference OP or the Republic, lol.

 

[WolfMortum]

I used to be far better at keeping up with my Biographies, linking threads and updating content...

For new Characters, I tend to start off light and build them up as the RP follows.

In other peoples Bio's, I don't have a preference though I am probably one of those people that would fall for fake diamonds (If it looks flashy, it looks appealing, regardless of the quality). When it comes to getting to know if I like the characters themselves, that's mostly reserved for threads and writing together with them.

 

[Ordo]

I read people's character biographies. Short and sweet is great but I like when as the character grows the bio grows too.

 

[Jsc]

But then my NPC bios tend to be like +6000 words.

I mean. Whoa. *thumbs up*

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

I mean. Whoa. *thumbs up*

I believe this is my longest. Has a bit over 10 thousand words.

Some of my characters still reference OP or the Republic, lol.

Tegs' bio still has an error that I told you about many years ago.

 

[Chiara Viren]

I tend to float around the second option the most. Bios are a tedious and grueling task when long and drawn out, both to write and read. I'd rather experience a character through RP and see where it takes me.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

What I need to see on a bio is some of the dry stats; height, aporx. size (really, who cares about precise weight), coloring, species, if there's a weird accent or some noteworthy things to mention... The stuff you would be able to tell at a glance.

Everything else is a sweet bonus. I absolutely love to see people get all into expanding and prettying their character sheets, but obviously that's not mandatory.

For myself, I tend to start with a paragraph at most beyond base stats. The rest develops with time.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

I enjoy making WIPs that I never finish.