If you're taking this chapter seriously, congratulations, dearie. You have already completed the hardest part of your coaching- admitting that you have serious RPing and writing issues. Either that, or you're already a good RPer that is reading this to laugh at the advice we're giving Despies everywhere (and maybe, just maybe, to get some character-improving ideas).
Anyway, this part of The Despie Files should be useful to EVERYONE that reads it. Alright, now we're going to tell you the BIGGEST secret about character creation. Ready to hear it? Pay very close attention. If you take anything away from this guide, it should be this next sentence. THE BEST, MOST REALISTIC CHARACTERS HAVE FLAWS.
That's right. You can't have a perfect, sweet, kind, smart, straight A, blonde haired, blue eyed, tall, buxom, beautiful, sporty, popular, successful, famous, goddesslike character. Life just doesn't work that way. Perfect characters are boring, and are no fun to RP with. Please remember what we've just said, I BEG of you!
Now, maybe you're saying to myself, "my character is flawed. I guess I'm home free." Not necessarily true, lovey. Close your eyes, and think. Does your character have a really sucky life? Is she misunderstood? Does she have abusive parents? A medical problem? A deformity? If you answered yes to these questions, be careful. If your character meets a few of the requirements above, you might be a 'pity seeker'.
'Pity seekers' are loner characters, usually punk or gothic, that have abusive parents and are misunderstood. It takes a very talented and/or imaginative character designer to pull off an abuse case. I (Chrissy) actually have a character that was abused. However, she is not a rebel. She is not a sweetheart that remained strong and good throughout the abuse.
You have to be very careful with abuse stories in fiction writing, and you also have to be careful if you're creating a past for your RPing charrie. Abused characters hardly EVER work out. You have to know exactly what you're doing to play them.
My character, for example, isn't sure whether she loves her father or hates him for abusing her. It also took her quite a while to realize that she was abused. She thought that it was perfectly natural for parents to hit their children until she talked to her guidance counselor about it. She considered abuse 'normal'.
Take a moment to think about that description. Isn't that more interesting than 'my Dad beats me, so I'm going to wear all black and be depressed?' Kat (short for Katherine), my character, is timid and shy. She wasn't "strong through her hardships". She won't let anyone touch her (well, except for her half-sister, Meg).
Note: Please do not think that I am insulting Goths, or that I don't know about abuse. I have several close friends (in real life, and over the internet) that have been physically and emotionally abused. I know what they're going through. And I also know lots of Gothic people. They rock! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not think that I am insulting them, or that I don't understand their situation.
