What Should I Avoid While Creating a Character?

Take the definition of Mary Sue (Google can help you with it), read it throughly and avoid hitting more than 30% points in this definition. It should be enough for a character for roleplay :p

Also, try to think of your character more as a human being, than concept on paper. I struggle to do so, but the best ideas for character arcs come to me, when I ask myself: 'How would a human of flesh and blood react to this and that?'

Does it sound like a very original advice? No, because it isn't. But understanding it and putting into use is really hard. Or I lack basic human empathy skills. That is also an option :p
 
Try not to make your character OP. To combat this, give your character lots of flaws and execute those flaws in roleplay. Not every character is perfect, not every character is going to find a solution to everything, and not every character is going to have the whole world completely centered on them. Try not to make the roleplay all about them. Readers (and roleplayers alike, I would hope) enjoy characters because they can relate to them- not because they're perfect. :)
 
I'd just avoid making your character
  • An overused character trope
  • Perfect
  • And able to blow up a universe by snapping.
Don't got those? You're good!
 
I don't understand why orphans get a lot of hate. It's a common enough thing to happen in real life to make it plausible in rp. What would be bad in that situation is having a very young character (a toddler for example), raise themselves after losing their parents and having no care-giver, either from their surviving family or a non-related guardian because it would be too unrealistic. Characters don't always need to come from perfect family backgrounds (in fact, a 'perfect' background is just as likely to create Mary-Sues and Garry-Stus as having an unrealistic, 'dead parents' background would.)

I wouldn't tell people to avoid anything really, but to have patience and not rush character creation. Do research for things you're not sure of. Vary the background of your characters - you can have an orphan who is privileged, you can have a character from a poor background who had loving parents, you can have a character from a privileged background have abusive parents, etc.
 
A character with no Mary-Sue or Garry-Stus type as others mentioned. Pretty much the biggest deal is there.

Try writing a story by yourself with the character and their personality, is it believable? Is it interesting? It could help in some ways.
 
Avoid adding skills, traits, and other details that aren't justified in your character's history. It makes for a character that lacks coherence, in my opinion :)
 
I think something only a few people addressed on here is the fact that you shouldn't avoid tropes like they're a plague. Hell, even a self-insert is totally fine! The only problem is that most people who do make themselves appear perfect and know the solution to every problem they face, or just casually bat away at anyone that disagrees with them. The point is to try and make your character relatable and/or realistic to the settings and themes of the RP. If you put your real self into, say, Lord of the Rings, it would still work, but you would not have any experience with weapons, or magic. You'd be absolutely terrified at seeing an orc face-to-face, or enchanted by the beauty of an elf. The roleplay would become quite entertaining to read, because anyone else reading would be able to see where your character's reactions are coming from.
 
I'm sure you've already had quite the amount of information thrown at you, but my advice is to simply find a passion and run with it. Find yourself in that character. Don't worry so much about the cliches, because at the end of the day, everything we see has been done before. If you want to play an assassin, do so (I only mention assassin, as that was the one most mentioned). But make sure to justify every strength AND every weakness in the history. Perhaps not in the sheet, itself, but as an understanding in your mind (and possibly the mind of your GM).

Remember not to be a perfectionist about it. If this is your first character, you will run into some bumps. But as writers, we should all be here to willingly help you learn from your mistakes and grow as a writer. When I made my first character, her sheet fit on half of my computer screen. Her biography was two lines long. And she was this super sarcastic, angry, perfect woman who was a master at magic AND dual wielding. She also had a very fast dragon, whose mother had raised her after her parents were murdered in front of her. So...yeah...needless to say, I had made a lot of mistakes. But I grew from them. And with every modification to that char, with every new one made, I grew as a writer. Now, I show others how to get started. And I can't be more proud of how far I've come.

If writing a certain character is your passion, go with it. Learn about it. Make it you. Not just your own twist on things...make that character a part of you. I find that this is the greatest power a writer can possess. If you ever have questions, my inbox is open. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.
 
A rule of thumb I use: If a character doesn't remind you of anyone you've met or seen, they're probably over-the-top. It's fine to have a drama queen goth character who has feelings, motivations, and the like - but a drama queen goth character with 3 eyepatches and 17 Large Facial Scars :tm: is a bit out there.

This is even more important when playing fantasy characters. Sure, I doubt you live in a neighborhood full of elves, but human character traits are necessary for people to sympathize with your character. ^^
 
Conman2163 said:
I feel one of the most misplayed tropes must be the "Multiple Personality Disorder" type character. They show up so often as characters who have two "night and day" type personalities living inside of them that change at random. This character type can grow to get quite old and annoying rather quickly, particularly if you aren't good at rping two different characters.
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I might in the future try such a character to be honest, the only difference is I actually have a friend with DID so I understand better how transitions work and how it effects the person over all. I don't claim to know everything, but better research into how DID actually works would produce a better, more interesting character in the end, I think.
 
Tiko said:
I remember playing a character with disassociative personality disorder for months in a roleplay. One of the other players finally realized it and their response? ".... she has multiple personalities? That explains so much."

Was a point of pride for me that they didn't figure it out right away, and it explained what people thought where holes and inconsistencies when they did figure it out. I never once wrote IC that they had the disorder :)

I would lead that on back to the OP's original question and offer my advise in the form of 'any idea can work, if done right and in the appropriate time/place'. Everything that's considered overdone/cliche can work if given a new spin. If you take a cliche idea and run with it 'just because I can' and it makes no sense to the story or context that the character is being played in, then you run into problems (IE the aforementioned assassin characters that tend to not make any sense, or sit around in bars asking people to hire them to kill someone). Another failing is to take cliche ideas because they're easy. IE, dead parents so you don't need to worry about writing for them, but they have no actual impact, depth, or bearing on the story. This tends to feel like a cop out and doesn't illicit any sort of emotion from readers other than maybe exasperation.

However if you take an overly abused idea (IE multiple personalities, vampires, dead parents, etc) and make it your own. Give it depth and meaning, and make it make sense for the overarching story? Then there's nothing wrong with a cliche.

I have a character with a dead mother. Mother passed away due to natural causes. The death of the mother is in there specifically to facilitate and explain the strong the bond between the character and her father. The mother isn't just some name on a sheet to forget about. The father is known to reminisce about the mother during periods of nostalgia and the mother is as much a character as the living ones. To me this is a fine way to implement a sometimes overdone concept (dead parents) for a story purpose. It's not just a 'what can you tell me a bout your characters parents' being met with 'oh, they're dead so I don't need to think anything up'.
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I completely agree. Styling a character a certain and common way only seems overused if you play it that way, or put so little effort in actually playing the character that it defaults to seeming overused.
 
There's no fixed guide. It's OK to use cliches if you actually know what you're doing and can execute them well.

So basically, the only true rule is to make them fit in the setting, which in itself is a multitude of rules depending on setting. The answer is never fixed.
 
While I agree there are no real fixed rules for making a character, as even static and flat characters have their spot in media just the same as dynamic and round characters do, I feel one should make characters who are unique, but relatable. Sure, Harry Potter is a fucking WIZARD who can pick stuff up with his mind, but he's still shown going through the same struggles and experiencing the same strife we ordinary Muggles do. Sure, Anduin Wrynn is the fucking king of a magical kingdom full of elves and dwarves and spacegoats, but this is shown as a burden, as he has to grapple with his father's death, his own coming of age, and his new responsibilities.
 
Miss Claire Elizabeth said:
I know a lot of personality types, looks, attitudes, etc. are overused and quite obnoxious. So, before I create my first character, I would like to know what are some major (or minor?) mistakes/clichés I can try to avoid? Anything helps!
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To me, as long as your character is not a like...pperfect sally.... that is all you really need. with a character that has no problems, the rp tends to loose its vibe pretty fast in my opinion. So, as long as your cahracter has....depth...and secrets..and..mysteries..and issues... you are good to go!
 
While there can always be exceptions, having a unique name can help a character. If a character's name is memorable, it can make them more noteworthy. Now, a name won't "make or break" a character, but having someone whose name is more memorable than "Shadow" or "Lucifer" can really help a character's development in my opinion.
 
I’m not the most experienced guy when it comes to roleplay, but this is applicable to writing in general. When creating a character try not to skim past the details. I understand wanting to create a character as fast as possible to start rping, but your character should be fleshed out. That’s not to say that you need to go and write a 10 page essay on your character’s disposition, but be sure to include some thought in your character’s creation. Even if you don’t actually write it all outright, have some form of an outline in your head regarding their personality, history, and details such as strengths, weaknesses, and even quirks and habits that would add a human factor to make the character more relatable. Hope that helps.
 
Make sure you describe everything that's important, don't leave your characters bio to be vague and confusing. For example, some bio's can lack proper grammar and leave out answers
Take a look:

"Styloso Mitosis was abandoned as a kid and her was verry violent when he grew up. He is now chosen to save the world"

Why was he chosen? Why was he abandoned as a kid? Why was he so violent when growing up?
That's all I got to say, seeing that you've already got loads of advice. I'm not exactly the best at Character creation myself, but I've learned that you can't leave out important details.
 
Funk said:
Make sure you describe everything that's important, don't leave your characters bio to be vague and confusing. For example, some bio's can lack proper grammar and leave out answers
Take a look:

"Styloso Mitosis was abandoned as a kid and her was verry violent when he grew up. He is now chosen to save the world"

Why was he chosen? Why was he abandoned as a kid? Why was he so violent when growing up?
That's all I got to say, seeing that you've already got loads of advice. I'm not exactly the best at Character creation myself, but I've learned that you can't leave out important details.
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I wish my name was Mr. Mitosis
 
Tiko said:
I remember playing a character with disassociative personality disorder for months in a roleplay. One of the other players finally realized it and their response? ".... she has multiple personalities? That explains so much."

Was a point of pride for me that they didn't figure it out right away, and it explained what people thought where holes and inconsistencies when they did figure it out. I never once wrote IC that they had the disorder :)

I would lead that on back to the OP's original question and offer my advise in the form of 'any idea can work, if done right and in the appropriate time/place'. Everything that's considered overdone/cliche can work if given a new spin. If you take a cliche idea and run with it 'just because I can' and it makes no sense to the story or context that the character is being played in, then you run into problems (IE the aforementioned assassin characters that tend to not make any sense, or sit around in bars asking people to hire them to kill someone). Another failing is to take cliche ideas because they're easy. IE, dead parents so you don't need to worry about writing for them, but they have no actual impact, depth, or bearing on the story. This tends to feel like a cop out and doesn't illicit any sort of emotion from readers other than maybe exasperation.

However if you take an overly abused idea (IE multiple personalities, vampires, dead parents, etc) and make it your own. Give it depth and meaning, and make it make sense for the overarching story? Then there's nothing wrong with a cliche.

I have a character with a dead mother. Mother passed away due to natural causes. The death of the mother is in there specifically to facilitate and explain the strong the bond between the character and her father. The mother isn't just some name on a sheet to forget about. The father is known to reminisce about the mother during periods of nostalgia and the mother is as much a character as the living ones. To me this is a fine way to implement a sometimes overdone concept (dead parents) for a story purpose. It's not just a 'what can you tell me a bout your characters parents' being met with 'oh, they're dead so I don't need to think anything up'.
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Couldn't have been said any better! The (Writers involved) their skill, experience, creativity, imagination, and oftentimes, maturity: will make (All the difference) with any given character type or story idea. This is why there are (So many books published), but very few (Great writers) in comparison.

TV shows and movies as well....their success and or failures, hinge upon the team of writers that are assembled for the project.

Batman and Blade....and other such characters, female one's as well; still have rather large followings. And why is that? They are written well.
 
It's kinda hard to pinpoint, as even the most annoying characteristic can be worked out perfectly if you know how to weave you way with it! Say, having characters with negative traits doesn't mean they're bad; it might even make them more engaging, if that is done well! After all, no one is perfect.

One bit of advice I always keep in mind when creating characters is to always explain the details. You can make an orphaned character, just explain why exactly their parents died. I've seen plenty of characters on other sites whose descriptions simply had "Their parents died" or "Their parents were assassinated". Explaining how or why they died is important, as it makes the situation a whole lot more believable. It even opens up for more possibilities if they were assassinated for something they did, be it for meddling in certain affairs, or even doing things considered despicable.
 
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