James Justice
Charting new Paths
Ok, so lately have been a number of "Analysis me" things coming up. I think this is awesome and totally wonderful. Kudos to all the good writers who have been ever questing for more improvement. I have posted in like all of them and lately been thinking about writing a new blog/guide. A big and really great thing about role play is we get to explore a lot of characters, possibilities and there are a lot of wonderful ways to write. And always room for improvement. In these analysis threads you will hear me say a few things/what I look for followed by what I'd like to see. So, in this guy's humble opinion, this is what you need to write a good character. Not story per se, because there are many great stories and many great ways to write stories, but here is what I suggest for developing a well-rounded character:
1) Quest.
Your character is going to want a quest, or several. The more you give them, the more they have. This is not like a Zelda quest where you crawl through a dungeon to get a sword, this is more like your life's goal. Its your teleology. For me, I like to give each of my characters the following quests:
Social quest: <How do I see society? What do I want to do to make society meaningful?>
Emotional quest: <What emotional challenge(s) do I face?What am I trying to overcome?>
Moral quest: <What journey do I take to reach Keigard's seventh layer of morality? How am I getting there? What moral conflicts do I face?>
Flesh it out, the more you want to go for it, go for it. Its a struggle for your character to overcome and can last as long as you want!
2) GOTE.
Goal. Obstical. Tactics. Expectation. So your a Sith Lord who mastered Force Drain? Cool--why? Why are you still around? That's your goal. Pretty much everyone has something we are living for, a driving factor in our real life. Is it to have pleasure? Is it to be successful? Is it so that cute girl in class will notice you? This is what you want. Your obstical is... just that. This doesn't have to be a person it could be a social rule, yourself, or your financial situation. E.g: James wants to be happy, but what stands in the way is his own illogical thinking. Vader wants to make the galaxy a place of order--the Rebellion stood in his way. Tactics is how you go about getting that. Do you turn to the dark side like Vader to make the galaxy better? Or do you stand as a beacon of light like Luke? You you scheme or do you use force? Expectation. What do you expect when you get your goal? World order? Peace? Internal control or maybe just a family? Note expectation is different from reality.
3) Internal consistency.
All beings need internal consistency. "But psychopaths, sociopaths, schizophrenics--they have no internal consistency." Actually--they do! A psychopath and sociopath both step on people to get their way and a schizophrenic does their best to cope with the reality that is their insanity. The point is your character cannot be shooting children in one post then in the next claiming to be a Silver Jedi. Well you could but do you really think anyone will believe you or respect your character? Of course not! Its not internally consistent with the schema of the Jedi. By all means, break the mold, but there are some norms you just cannot break.
4) Respect your station.
Are you the Godawan? Are you the powergamer? Can you use every Force power, dodge every bullet, use every gun, a light saber, and still be home in time for dinner without a scratch on you? If so... you may wanna rethink your character's portrayal. If your a Padawan who can cast Wall of Light.... you may wanna rethink your padawanhood.
And with that struggle. We wanna see struggle because it makes people believable. Its like when I watch a movie and I see a woman stand in front of an explosion and her hair isn't even out of place or I watch a guy wield a 50 calibur machine gun from the hip without any kick, I don't feel awed, I feel like laughing. If this somewhat describes your character's life, you may wanna rethink a few things.
How do you know if your a godawan? Well, ask those who are going to be candid with you. If you argue with their result... your probably a godawan. If you never take damage, if you always block perfectly, if you always hit, if you have a crazy amount of force powers and your only a padawan? Your probably a godawan. Don't fret about being "only a padawan" or "weak" we all have to start somewhere! Enjoy the journey.
5) How's your Noncombat?
My favorite scenes of Star Wars, the Matrix, and all superhero movies isn't the fighting, its the non-combat where they are willing to discuss what is at stake. Does your character live on the front lines? What do they do when they aren't hacking down bad guys? Explore this dynamic, see how it is. Go for it! There is coolness in the mundane, in philosophical musings, meetings in cafe's or talking just to talk. We see more about your character with this than we ever do in your combat.
6) Familial ties.
I LOVE to see that soft underbelly of real family grit. Nothing earns my writer's respect faster. Brothers, sisters, children, parents. (Note: Everyone is batman. Everyone's parents are dead. Please don't do this as your character's start). Its so gorgeous and it shows a whole second side of your character to see their soft emotional side of loving a family and having that. That doesn't mean you have to be a pansy, you can be a hardarse but still have family. Show that to us! When it happens naturally, gosh its gorgeous.
This is by no means extensive. There are TONS of great ways to make characters, this is just what I look for in a character analysis. Feel free to use it as a start point for your characters and who they are. Any arguments or contradictions can be posted in my PM box or bellow.
Cheers.
1) Quest.
Your character is going to want a quest, or several. The more you give them, the more they have. This is not like a Zelda quest where you crawl through a dungeon to get a sword, this is more like your life's goal. Its your teleology. For me, I like to give each of my characters the following quests:
Social quest: <How do I see society? What do I want to do to make society meaningful?>
Emotional quest: <What emotional challenge(s) do I face?What am I trying to overcome?>
Moral quest: <What journey do I take to reach Keigard's seventh layer of morality? How am I getting there? What moral conflicts do I face?>
Flesh it out, the more you want to go for it, go for it. Its a struggle for your character to overcome and can last as long as you want!
2) GOTE.
Goal. Obstical. Tactics. Expectation. So your a Sith Lord who mastered Force Drain? Cool--why? Why are you still around? That's your goal. Pretty much everyone has something we are living for, a driving factor in our real life. Is it to have pleasure? Is it to be successful? Is it so that cute girl in class will notice you? This is what you want. Your obstical is... just that. This doesn't have to be a person it could be a social rule, yourself, or your financial situation. E.g: James wants to be happy, but what stands in the way is his own illogical thinking. Vader wants to make the galaxy a place of order--the Rebellion stood in his way. Tactics is how you go about getting that. Do you turn to the dark side like Vader to make the galaxy better? Or do you stand as a beacon of light like Luke? You you scheme or do you use force? Expectation. What do you expect when you get your goal? World order? Peace? Internal control or maybe just a family? Note expectation is different from reality.
3) Internal consistency.
All beings need internal consistency. "But psychopaths, sociopaths, schizophrenics--they have no internal consistency." Actually--they do! A psychopath and sociopath both step on people to get their way and a schizophrenic does their best to cope with the reality that is their insanity. The point is your character cannot be shooting children in one post then in the next claiming to be a Silver Jedi. Well you could but do you really think anyone will believe you or respect your character? Of course not! Its not internally consistent with the schema of the Jedi. By all means, break the mold, but there are some norms you just cannot break.
4) Respect your station.
Are you the Godawan? Are you the powergamer? Can you use every Force power, dodge every bullet, use every gun, a light saber, and still be home in time for dinner without a scratch on you? If so... you may wanna rethink your character's portrayal. If your a Padawan who can cast Wall of Light.... you may wanna rethink your padawanhood.
And with that struggle. We wanna see struggle because it makes people believable. Its like when I watch a movie and I see a woman stand in front of an explosion and her hair isn't even out of place or I watch a guy wield a 50 calibur machine gun from the hip without any kick, I don't feel awed, I feel like laughing. If this somewhat describes your character's life, you may wanna rethink a few things.
How do you know if your a godawan? Well, ask those who are going to be candid with you. If you argue with their result... your probably a godawan. If you never take damage, if you always block perfectly, if you always hit, if you have a crazy amount of force powers and your only a padawan? Your probably a godawan. Don't fret about being "only a padawan" or "weak" we all have to start somewhere! Enjoy the journey.
5) How's your Noncombat?
My favorite scenes of Star Wars, the Matrix, and all superhero movies isn't the fighting, its the non-combat where they are willing to discuss what is at stake. Does your character live on the front lines? What do they do when they aren't hacking down bad guys? Explore this dynamic, see how it is. Go for it! There is coolness in the mundane, in philosophical musings, meetings in cafe's or talking just to talk. We see more about your character with this than we ever do in your combat.
6) Familial ties.
I LOVE to see that soft underbelly of real family grit. Nothing earns my writer's respect faster. Brothers, sisters, children, parents. (Note: Everyone is batman. Everyone's parents are dead. Please don't do this as your character's start). Its so gorgeous and it shows a whole second side of your character to see their soft emotional side of loving a family and having that. That doesn't mean you have to be a pansy, you can be a hardarse but still have family. Show that to us! When it happens naturally, gosh its gorgeous.
This is by no means extensive. There are TONS of great ways to make characters, this is just what I look for in a character analysis. Feel free to use it as a start point for your characters and who they are. Any arguments or contradictions can be posted in my PM box or bellow.
Cheers.
