Create your own character

Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Something that aspiring writers might enjoy, have a look at the character sheets of your favorite show, game, manga, ect, then create your own. It can be based on the media of your choosing, made up to fit your favorite series, or completely original. I'll start us off to show you what I mean.

Sofia Shalatia

Sofia was a KGB officer and Honey Trap until the fall of the Soviet Union, before she took up a quiet life teaching martial arts and wrestling. But the new Russian government wanted her to train their communist Olympians. Instead she jumps the Iron Curtain and when wrestling becomes the next big thing opens her own federation.

• Aborted Arc: Sofia was one of candidates for a big push, before her wrestling league strongly shook up the rosters, and another choice for the role took a different gimmick. The promos for the angle aired again, this time with Sofia using her death maiden idea for the arc.
• All Russian Face: Her character when playing a face.
• Big Damn Heroes: Real Life example. Sofia learns while in the KGB of a plan to try and blackout America and warns them of the planned attack.
• Christmas Cake
• Deal with the Devil: Makes one with the Big Bad while working in another wrestling company. During the verbal and physical beatdown of the league's top face, Sofia pulls a Heel–Face Turn and levels the villain with a steel chair.
• Executive Meddling: As a wrestler Sofia wanted to be a face, however the promoters and writers loved her heel persona and pushed for her to turn. As a promoter herself Sofia is more likely to push struggling performers than her top stars.
• Expy Distaff Counterpart: Of Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker (both the real life Mark Callaway and taking on a similar gimmick as a heel) and Ric Flair.
• Fangirl: Unashamedly one towards popular, unpushed talent in other wrestling companies.
• Gentle Giant: Six foot one inches tall, Sofia is nonetheless very sweet in real life and as a face.
• Heel: Has gone through the Heel–Face Revolving Door several times before the writers who work in her wrestling federation thought of a storyline where she would turn, and when she did fans went wild, she adapted The Undertaker's heel gimmick for herself and the turn stuck. She also played with using her past as a KGB officer to play a wrestling heel but felt it was archaic.
• Heroic BSoD: Feel into one due to the fate of her targets as a...
• Honey Trap: Her role as a KGB officer,
• Lightning Bruiser: Sofia's not only fast but strong, however in universe and out she cannot take punishment at all.
• Martial Pacifist: After escaping he Soviets Sofia becomes this, teaching fighting for discipline and fitness. Being very good at wrestling, she takes it up so she can use her skills to help put other wrestlers over.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Sofia is so disgusted with herself upon learning that those she targeted as a Honey Trap had their lives destroyed that she turns to Christianity, in a time where it was banned in the Soviet Union.
• Nice Girl: A seriously big example of this trope.
• Older Than They Look
• Professional Wrestling: Sofia is very skilled, mixing power moves, submission, high flying, Lucha Libre, amateur, technical and martial arts to great effect in the ring.
• Religious Bruiser
• Statuesque Stunner
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: As a heel wrestler.

edited 21st Jan '13 6:23:25 AM by tsstevens

I'm not sure I see the point of this thread.

It seems to be "Write a Hypothetical Trope Listing for Your Characters In the Style of an Actual Character Page."

Certainly an interesting creative exercise.

Exactly so. I thought this would be a way for us aspiring writers to not only flex our creative muscles we can put up character concepts and ideas you like (maybe The Hero for that novel you're writing) and see if they are appealing to others. That way you can get an idea of whether or not people are going to groan at another Call Of Duty Black Ops knock off or find the twist you pull on your character refreshing and original.

By listing tropes?

Sure, Why Not? I feel that in reading the character sheets of a work I get a good idea of a character, and if I come across one, we'll take Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion and the former Ambiguously Autistic trope as an example, I know I thought "oh cool" and I think other tropers think the same if they're reading about a work and there's a trope about the Cold War, or they read about Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and are intrigued about how the character had developed into a Nice Guy, Even Evil Has Loved Ones, ect.

edited 21st Jan '13 3:49:56 PM by tsstevens

Honestly, the tropes-as-writing aspect isn't what puzzles me the most. It sounds like you're advocating just making up characters for the heck of it.

If there are people who want to do this, that's okay by me, but either I'm missing something or I just don't see the appeal.

The appeal would be twofold. For one, yes it is just making up characters for the heck of it, because I think it might help writers who are perhaps stuck on creating a character for their work. And two, for writers who have a character in mind they can post them here and from the feedback they get see if that character is going to work.

Sooo...basically a less specific version of the Hero/Villain Critique threads?

Since I missed the thread yeah, I suppose it would be.

Relating to the topic, does anyone know of a useful character creation tool or template? Something we can easily use and print or for easy reference?

Do you mean actually creating a character and designing their appearance or some type of ezy make character writer? For the former there are a number of graphics, computer and video game sources you could use and copy, try The Sims or Smackdown Vs Raw for easy, detailed examples. For the latter yes there are, I can't recall exactly what they were called but they came up in Google searches where you type in a few words or click a few options and it created a setting, story or character.

On a related note, the universal Mary Sue litmus test might be handy.

More the latter. Not really talking about a litmus test or other form of character assessment. Just a universal template for cranking out character profiles; especially if there are ones that differentiate between main/lead characters and minor/background characters.

I've come across some myself. Just wondering if there's any in particular that others use.

edited 22nd Jan '13 7:06:55 AM by peasant

I have a ton of characters and I barely thought about which tropes represent them. Only the really obvious ones.

I'll leave that thinking for my fans... If they ever come to exist.

edited 22nd Jan '13 8:23:38 AM by Teraus

I've tried coming up with trope lists for my characters. I can't. It used to bother me, but then I decided I didn't need to worry about it.