AssumptedJoin Date: 2010-12-18
Post Count: 145 |
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
Don't get too extravagant with this. Description of appearance is one of the most commonly overdone things with OCs. Keep it simple – no one will remember a word you say if you describe everything from the shape of his/her nose to the color of his/her toenails. Also, keep this within the realm of the fandom. In a fandom where characters all have naturally colored hair, it would be strange if your character had naturally pink hair.
Weapon:
Do note the weapon depends on the fandom, the age, the time, the place, etc. Your character may also not have weapons, it all depends. If your character does have a weapon, what type of weapon it is depends largely on the fandom. For example, it would be quite bizarre if your Rurouni Kenshin OC used a light saber as a weapon. And it would be a plot-hole…
Special Ability:
Similar to weapon, the ability of your character depends on the fandom. If the canon characters of the fandom don't have a special ability, don't give your character one either. If you give your OC an overly powerful ability, you might want to put some restrictions on it. For example, in Naruto, Itachi has a jutsu that can only be used once every ten years.
Personality:
-Good qualities:
-Flaws:
Your character, even if he/she is a great person, still needs flaws. Being unbalanced isn't awful, unless it's overly exaggerated, but you should always give flaws to your character. Also, you can have room for character improvement throughout the whole story, but it's not 100% necessary. Do note that character improvement needs a long time, it's not something that can be done in one hour…
Negative voice(s) in head:
Meaning the voices your character have moments when he/she will feel unconfident, unsure. It usually happens during tense moments. "Can I do it?" "Am I really not making a mistake?" "Will this work?" "Am I getting in the way?" "Will this really help? Or will it make it worse?" "Does he really like me?" "Am I annoying?" "Is he angry with me?" "Will this make him hate me?" and such, you can imagine a ton of them. If you give a lot to your character, it means he/she is probably unsure or his/herself. So if your character is pretty confident, you don't need a lot, only a few. A character with more negative voices will be less confident than another with a few.
Different selves:
This doesn't mean your character has to have Multiple Personality Disorder. It means the way your character will act depending on the people he/she is with. You won't act the same way with your teachers, your friends, your little sister, the president, your family, some annoying classmate, your love interest, your pet, etc.
Favorite foods/drinks:
Least favorite foods/drinks:
Habits (the good, the bad, and the neutral):
Some noticeable habits/quirks your OC has. Maybe your character bites his/her nails when he/she is nervous or maybe he/she eats when he/she is upset. Maybe he/she always babbles endlessly about things no one else cares about.
Hobbies, likes, and dislikes:
This helps you to get to know your character better, and your character may also talk about these things a lot. Particularly in the case of the hobbies and likes, your character will probably mention them from time to time in his/her narration or dialogue. Hobbies, likes, and dislikes also help to decide how your character spends his/her free time.
Quotes:
This part is actually quite important! The quotes your OC will say, they're special and correspond to your OC's personality. But don't use them too frequently, meaning, if your OC likes saying "Nyaaa!", don't make her say it after all the sentences she says, it gets annoying. Some of those quotes won't be used more than once, but it's good to have them in mind.
Common words/phrases used:
The words a character uses can show a lot about him/her. Just by his/her vocabulary, you can often figure out gender, age, social status, and even the education level of a character. For example, a really young child would use words such as "good", "bad", "mean", "happy", "sad", etc. On the other hand, a well-off older woman might use words/phrases such as, "insolent young ones", "penniless tramp", and "posh".
Giving your character common words/phrases also helps make your character more realistic. If you think about it, you probably have certain words or phrases you say a lot and so do your friends. Naruto, for example, always says, "Believe it!" and this helps make him unique.
Swear words:
If your character is very rude, there will be a lot. If he/she is polite, only some light ones, nothing too rude.
Fears:
Let's be honest: everyone is afraid of something or other. Your character's fears can tell a lot about your character; they may even tell something about your character's past or personality. A cowardly character will have a lot of fears, whereas a braver character will have less. Still, this doesn't mean that a brave character should have no fears at all. No matter how brave a person is, there are going to be things that he/she is afraid of.
On that note, giving a particularly brave character (who's not even afraid to get slashed by a flaming sword) a silly fear (such as being afraid of rabbits) can help ground them more in reality and make them more relatable, and thus more lovable, to the reader. This is realistic because even though people can easily squash insects, many people are still terrified of them.
Morals:
What does your character believe in? Morals are often instilled by parents or the manner in which your character was brought up, so they tell a lot about your character's background.
Clothing:
This probably seems like a very strange section to put on a character sheet, but the way your character dresses can say quite a bit. A character that is wealthier will wear fancier clothes, whereas a character who lives on the streets will wear dirty, ragged clothes. A character who always likes to play in the woods might also have dirty clothes. A slightly air-headed or slobby character might always forget to tuck his/her shirt in. A character that cares a lot about appearance might wear clothing that is the newest fashion at all times, even if it is impractical. However, if the character's clothing is impractical, it should get in the character's way at times.
Seen by other characters as:
Some people may not appear to others the way they see themselves. A character that sees him/herself as easygoing and helpful might be seen as a pushover. A character that looks intimidating might seem mean to other people, even if he/she is actually really gentle. In the case of Hinamori Amu from Shugo Chara, people see her as "cool and spicy", but she's actually a shy girl who is unsure of herself.
Background:
A character's background is largely what has made him/her into the person he/she is now, so it should coincide somewhat with his/her personality. Overly tragic pasts are cliché (such as being the only survivor of a slaughter), and it would probably be better if you came up with something more original for your character. Also, you don't want your character to be Kakashi's long lost daughter, Naruto's childhood friend, a second survivor of the Uchiha massacre, and the Hokage's student. While it is okay for your character to have a relationship with a few canon characters before the story begins, you don't want to overdo it. Besides, it doesn't make any sense for your character to be Kakashi's long lost daughter and also the survivor of the Uchiha massacre. Keep your character's past realistic.
~Nick <3 |