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I mean, I feel like Vania is noticeably upbeat compared to Doc, Yoof and Séverine have pretty unique speech patterns . . . I do worry some of my Nursery kids are going to wind up sounding similar, as I don't have a good handle on writing kid dialogue, but I'll need to write more with them to find out for sure.

—doctorlit, not very in control of his writing by any means

I've remembered I actually drew a picture of Brandy (in 2006, that's over 10 years ago, my god). It's awful, but here. Pretty sure this is her in high school. I reckon she's not much different now. All the LotR swag, definitely. Maybe an "I <3 PPC" shirt instead of that one. I dunno.

Ah, poor Nume. I got to thinking about what course he would teach, and came to the conclusion that he would spend an entire lesson making the students write "I will not ship Supernumerary, at all, ever" as many times as they can until time runs out. Of course, someone inevitably starts writing fanfic instead, and then they'll have to be killed. Or at least punished somehow, OFU style. *g*

And naturally GrammarBootCamps will be run by the DTE, yes? ^_^

~Neshomeh might want to help with ideas, but not actually do the writing.

Maybe not QUITE that horrifying. There's also definite humor value in mini-consoles randomly appearing and [BEEEP!]ing, scaring the living daylights out of the students. *g*

... I bet no actual agent will want to adopt one, though.

~Neshomeh

For me, characterization is build in large part upon what they sound like in my head—what kinds of words they use, are they prone to rambling or not, subtle or blunt, evasive or direct, and other dichotomies like that.

This is tied directly into their background. Agent Derik, for example, talks a certain way because he's Pernese and Harper-trained, and also based on the Phantom of the Opera. (In his case, your canon character model is useful.) But mostly he's Pernese, which tells me what kind of slang he uses and doesn't use, terms he's likely to think in, etc. He's also intelligent and educated, which matters.

Gall, on the other hand, is intelligent but uneducated. She's less likely to use big Latin-derived words, and her direct, no-nonsense personality means she's going to be blunt and cut straight to the point of whatever she's trying to say, whether anyone likes it or not. She's unlikely to ramble. She doesn't mind being crude and even offensive. But she does have a soft spot for her dragon, and doesn't mind cooing over him, either. Her home continuum has sort of a loose voice itself, with plenty of anachronisms used for humor, which means I'm not too restricted in the kinds of references she can use—one reason I wanted to write her.

Closely related to voice are the things a character cares about enough to talk (or snark) about. What do they especially like? Dislike? Fear? Hate? Want? For PPC characters, I think about this in terms of what bugs them about badfic. Everybody has their own pet peeve(s) that will always drive them up the wall. For Nume, it's medical BS and messing up the lore he knows so well. For Ilraen, it's screwing with the characters' loving relationships and cruelty, intentional or not, especially to children and animals. For Derik, it's messing with dragons and music. For Gall, she really hates fluff and also tends to notice when the story contradicts itself.

They also all have their particular favorite or well-known fandoms, which make them more invested and motivated.

Related to voice is mannerisms. Everyone has little physical tics they do subconsciously, especially when they're nervous or upset. Derik touches his hair; Nume, his neck or face; Gall paces or fidgets; Ilraen shuffles his feet or fusses with his hands. There's also how they show affection (if they show it). Nume is extremely reserved physically, but even he might give the occasional approving nod. Derik often is, too, but in his more ebullient moments he might clap someone on the shoulder or shake their hand. Gall will give a friendly slap or punch. Ilraen is tentative (comes of being around Nume all the time), but will pat someone, or hug them if the situation warrants.

I know all these little details because the characters tell me, but you could also assign them deliberately. I think the main bullet points are level of vocabulary, style of slang/cultural references (also includes whether and how they curse), key likes and dislikes, and physical mannerisms.

I hope that helps!

~Neshomeh

I view my characters as starting off like a ball of snow (dirt, wet sand, whatever) and as the story progresses, they roll around, becoming bigger. Do they roll over sticks? Do they pick them up, or do those break them? Are they getting dirtier over time? Are they getting large, and the same as they started? It's simple, but it works for me.

I mean, I get that, but in my case it tends to result in a lot of snark-happy protagonists and an alarming number of bouncy homicidal women. The reason I've been struggling to put together some method to change that up is to try and get something different out there.

hS

Since characters pop into my head fully formed, and all.

<>
>>

—doctorlit can't help the way ideas show up

Because if this is intended to be poorly written, I am unironically enjoying this *way* too much.

I have always struggled with this. It's gotten better, and I've read a lot of advice on it (much of it similar to what you wrote), but it's still helpful.

I do a lot of the Keywords model. The Aviator is "cranky drunk", Zeb is "fluffy cutie".

From there I just kind of... you know. Um.

*scrambles to hide lack of notes*

I guess I just write around the character's core personality. They still grow, but that central part to them (usually) doesn't change. I know Ave and Zeb especially have been growing closer together in terms of personality—she's starting to harden him, he's starting to soften her up.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that they're starting to get more similar, because they still have very distinct voices (I think? I hope?) and different approaches to missions. It just shows they're influencing each other, which I think does make sense considering how much time they spend together.

One of the things I've always struggled with in writing is figuring out how to craft characters who are actually different from each other, and keep them that way. All of my characters have a tendency to drift towards the same snarky baseline, which is fairly undesirable.

Recently, I've tried out a number of different ways of fixing this problem, and I thought it might be interesting to throw them out here. Perhaps they'll help anyone else who's having the same issue. Perhaps there are Boarders who've come up with their own ways of solving the problem, and would like to share them (hint, hint). Perhaps they'll just spark a bit of discussion. Let's find out!

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#1: Modelling on People/Characters

This method grows directly out of being a fanfic writer. If you can write Legolas in-character as Legolas, then why not use the same technique to keep your own creation 'in-character' as a canon? Write what the canon would do, if they were in your character's situation.

This approach has the advantage that, if you watch/read enough of the source canon, it's pretty easy to form a good idea of what they would do. This is a fundamental skill for a fanfic writer, so it can be extended easily across to OCs. The downside is that it might end up being obvious (if your character keeps getting angry and smashing things with a lightsaber, people are going to look at Kylo Ren), and that the further you get from the character's baseline, the harder it can be to reliably predict their reactions.

The ultimate extension of this is self-inserts: you try and write them doing what you would do in the same situation. But we all know how badly self-inserts can go wrong…

#2: Keywords

Agent Kaitlyn is 'bouncy wannabe hobbit'. Agent Huinesoron is (or was, originally) 'racist snob'. If you can describe your character in two or three words, they can be pretty easy to keep to that characterisation.

This works very well for secondary and background characters; if they're only showing up occasionally, having a quick handle to latch your writing onto is ideal. It's less useful for protagonist types: it locks them out of progressing as characters, and can render them kind of flat. Agent Huinesoron has been breaking out of this (deliberately); Agent Kaitlyn has mostly stayed there (again, deliberately), because she's fun the way she is.

#3: Key Phrase

"I like guns, and I don't do scared… and apparently I'm a maudlin drunk." That's Agent Morgan, and that sentence let Lily Winterwood characterise her perfectly in the Blackout epic 'Generic Surface'. If your character can be tied to a phrase like this - not necessarily a catchphrase, though it can be - it can be a good way to share them with other people.

It gives more than the plain keywords, too. Morgan's 'don't do scared' shows off how she talks, and hints that she's not so much without fear as unwilling to admit to it. I think this method comes out of my fondness for acting - you can slip into an accent or a performance much easier if you have a key phrase to get started.

The downsides are much the same as for keywords, but in spades: they end up sticking as the character who would say the phrase, regardless of what it is. Luckily for me, that works pretty well for Time Lords.

#4: Twin Elements

There are 118 four elements - Earth, Air, Fire, and Water - and each of them can be used to describe a character. If I tell you someone is fiery, you imagine them as feisty, hotheaded, maybe angry; you can immediately tell they're not going to be calm and water-like.

So far, so shallow. The trick with this technique is to layer the elements. I phrase this as 'X, with hidden Y'. One character I've used this for is described as 'Water with hidden Air'. He's mysterious, magical, 'deep' - but underneath it all, kind of flighty (and actually a huge geek).

This is a great way to construct characters with multiple layers, and since it's about basic characterisation rather than specific traits, it can carry through character development. It does run into the problem that two Earth characters are likely to look much the same, even if one has hidden Water and the other Fire. Use it in small groups to set up differences; don't try and spread it too far.

#5: Animals

Almost a callback to #1 - rather than starting with another character, begin with an animal. If I tell you a character is owlish, or hedgehog-like, you conjure up an immediate idea of how they'll act, and maybe even how they'll look. That idea may be completely different from what I imagine - but that doesn't really matter so long as I, as the writer, can keep it consistent.

This is also another 'layered' characterisation tool. The ideas we have about animals tend to be multifaceted. A cat is prideful, but also lazy, and can be prone to fits of rage. A hedgehog is both adorable and prickly, and can be extremely defensive. Of course, this can be prone to drift… I'm pretty sure the character I pinned 'owl' to isn't a silent hunter type, but the animal might end up pointing her in that direction…

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In our messy reality, most of the time you're going to use a mix of different ways to keep your characters IC, and probably even change it up over time. But I feel like having something to latch onto makes it easier - not only to get them started (and to stop them all consisting entirely of snarky one-liners), but to keep them going once they're made.

But what do you think?

hS

No-one ever sees them move. They're just there - in the corner of the room, on the shelf, under the table (right where you need to put your legs), any random place.

And most of the time, they are silent. Only the occasional flickering of lights tells you they're still active. Still watching you. And then, randomly, without any warni[BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!]

... yeah, that.

(Well, Zing didn't like 'cute', so instead I give you 'psychological horror'.)

hS

AAAAAAAAA Dafydd AAAAAAAA JayBird, it's awesome.

I should point out that Dafydd remembers when the badfics broke through into HQ, before FFL's creativity shield went up.

And JayBird probably insists she's Jay and Acacia's daughter, despite that being sheer gibberish.

Anyway, you've got them both down perfectly, and AAAAAAAAA.

hS

Here is a waterproof paperboat, just for you. I'm glad you returned!

((Well, he didn’t write any badfic recently (i. e. this year), but if you want to drag him in anyway, go ahead.

HG))

... I went through the archives to see if there were any patterns in the use of -bie words. Here's what I found:



['2008' runs from 18th June; '2017' ends on 19th July; '(Posts)' has been divided by 500,000, with actual values running from 6093 (2017) to 22873 (2015).]

I think those spikes this year all come from one particular thread, so they can probably be ignored. What can't be ignored is the rise in the use of 'Returnbie'. It's been wandering steadily upwards since first appearing in '13, and I have no idea why. I guess that's when someone coined it, and it's just been picked up by more and more people ever since?

('Middlebie' also includes 'Midbie', by the way; the two terms enjoy roughly similar currency, except for in this year.)

For the record, the highest actual count of 'Newbie' uses is 578, in 2013; it only showed up 130 times in the whole of 2009, by comparison. 'Oldbie' is much lower, ranging from 16 (2009) to 76 (2012).

Anyway... graphs!

hS