hello! I'm here again with one of those projects where I basically just lay out my thought process for a whole bunch of things about rping and writing-- but today, I'm going to focus a lot on the rping portion. this is oriented towards tfcrp because that's the main rp I use and stuff, though it could probably be applied to most rps. I don't necessarily think that the following tips are 100% necessary for writing a short story or novel. also, I am no authority-- this is just an opinion by someone who's tried a lot and seen a lot done with rp characters! please don't take this as 100% fact and know that my advice reflects my own experience and opinions. ok, with all the disclaimers out of the way I'll start talking about the actual thing I wanted to talk about. when creating a personality for an rp character, there's a lot that you can do, but the first thing I suggest is that you pin down three or four main traits that-- and this is the important part-- would be made very clear even in an everyday conversation with your character! rp characters work best when they're exaggerated, seeing as they get a lot less monologue time and honestly, you're probably one of the only people who's actually going to see the nuances and little interesting things about your character's development. while there's nothing wrong with subtle nuances-- they're great, actually-- it's very important to also have a few traits that just shine through immediately. characters become flat and boring to rp and rp with when they answer questions like everyone else. for example, here's a sample of a character with less prominent personality traits, and a character with more prominent personality traits. I kidnapped legend's signature lines for this because his character was created with the intention that he would be interesting to rp with on the surface. "what's your name?" "[insert name]. how about you?" vs. "what's your name?" "[insert name], but my friends call me handsome. I more than encourage you to do so as well." while there's nothing at all wrong with the first response-- it asks a question, which is great in moving the plot along and making it easier for the other person to answer-- the second response is more memorable. it's more fun. it gives you a clear sense of a few surface personality traits that this cat has. you could do this with any strong personality! your cat could be soft-spoken and mumble his name, hesitating before asking the other cat a question. your cat could go on a high-spirited rant about his name and if he likes it or not. your cat could raise an eyebrow and ask to hear the other cat's name first. these are all great and interesting options and give your cat so much more life! the aim of an rp personality is to exaggerate it slightly simply because it's difficult to get personalities across when engaging in a mundane conversation. it's awesome if you can name a couple traits off the bat that define your cat and who they are. I recommend listing a few of these traits and then trying to write a rp starter that-- even though there's been no interaction yet-- gets at least two of these traits across clearly. pff this went on for way too long. there are other tips I have but I just plain don't feel like typing them out right now, so maybe [if people want it lmao, I'm not trying to scream into the void here] I'll do those later. anyways, remember that I have no authority on any of this and that not having a strong personality doesn't mean anything negative about your cat whatsoever! I'm simply saying that in my opinion, the best way to create a fun personality to rp with [this strategy would get tiring and annoying for readers in a novel, though] make them slightly exaggerated if needed. you'd rather err on the side of interesting than boring. even in a mundane, everyday roleplay chain, the other player should be able to figure something out about your character with just their responses to everyday questions. I'm rambling at this point and don't know how to end this project, so bye. have a nice day.
