A good trick was handed to me recently to get past writer'S block when it comes to my toons. I had difficulties writing my own character in my story, but didn,t lack any inspiration when it came to others.
Imagine your toon being interviewed on 60 Minutes, write the questions you want to ask, then asnwer them, as your character.
Might help, it worked for me.
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Imagine your toon being interviewed on 60 Minutes, write the questions you want to ask, then asnwer them, as your character.
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A great idea that I have used myself. Make a list of questions (many PnP RPGs have these in character creation steps) and then answer them as if you are being interviewed. Usually you have basic ideas in mind, and then as you write your answers you fill in the blanks.
Focus on motivations - why would this guy be a hero? Sure he has powers, but why risk your life?
"Shut up Mr. Burton, you are not brought upon this world to get it!" - Lo Pan
@MadGremlin
We do have outstanding writers in our forum. The advice about interview style is good.
I normally work my characters backward selecting powers last.
Here is an example of how I do character mock up I created simple format to put it on the forum.
Here is my web site address that I have for two of my characters. Check it out and good luck. 
Character web page for American Valor
Quote:
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by Star Ranger 4 WIN LOSE OR DRAW, WE WILL FIGHT. WE ARE HEROES This is what we DO! |
Decide that this will be another day in which you Walk The Talk.
MA #14724 Operation: Discredit @American Valor
Sentinel Of Liberty SG
Well, here's a tip for mutants, mutagens make mutants, too. My controller was mutated by the Lost's wierd mutagen, so he's mutant. Yes, I copyrighted that idea, so don't even think about it. 
But some sort of mutation that doesn't happen at birth may be the way to go for you.
[B]The Once and Future Official Minister of Awesome[/B]
[I]And don't you forget it.[/I]
[URL="http://paragonunleashed.proboards.com/index.cgi"][IMG]http://gamefacelive.com/bre/joker.png[/IMG][/URL]
[ QUOTE ]
"Buttkicking for goodness!"
-Minsc, Baldur's Gate I and II
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Minsc was way too cool!
"Evil meet my sword, Sword meet my EVIL!!!"
I was thinking ozoo, not green or you could wind up shouting "Cowabunga!"
Quote:
|
by Star Ranger 4 WIN LOSE OR DRAW, WE WILL FIGHT. WE ARE HEROES This is what we DO! |
Decide that this will be another day in which you Walk The Talk.
MA #14724 Operation: Discredit @American Valor
Sentinel Of Liberty SG
I prefer to think of my characters as being interrogated, as if in prison. It's the sense of my character in conflict that works for me.
Alternatively, imagine him completely drunk telling his life story to a bartender.
Hm, you could always go the comic-book writer's route:
[since he's an atomic energy kinda hero] brainstorm many possible reasons he was exposed to mutagens/atomic power, then run with the theme you like best:
- Exposed to an atomic blast, somehow survives.
He was an atomic scientist, he was a WW2 spy in Hiroshima, underground nuke test technician left behind, worked at a nuke power plant...
- astronaut returns from space after exposure to atomic storm/close pass to the sun
- secretly an ALIEN!!!!
That's about all I could come up with in about 5 minutes.
Another route to take... if you have his personality in mind, think about who his role models would be.
Who does he respect? Despise? Long to meet and spend time with?
If he could spend an hour any one person... living or dead, who would it be? A lost relative, a figure of history, a religious icon. What makes him tick?
What would truly make him angry? Sad?
Does he need people to be happy, or is he content in his own company? What likes/dislikes/character quirks/fears?
Is he a boxers or briefs man?
I'm weird... this is the kind of thing that works for me.
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/517513781597443/
Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
Hey, I have an idea!
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...amp;bodyprev=1
Send her a PM.
Great Ideas all round. I will attempt the interview / interigation / Very drunk idea first and see what I come up with. If that still fails I will PM Mercedes Lackey.
Thanks again for all the help and I will let you know what I come up with 
Swifty
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Helping you to have a more drool filled day since 08:43 25/01/2005
I devised an entire spreadsheet to chronicle my heroes down to how big there left toe is. Hehehehe. Feel free to use it, everyone, for consolidating your own character for Bio or RP purposes if you like.
Examples:
http://www.the-packrat.com/yoiko.html
http://www.the-packrat.com/packrat.html
What I do is write a basic bio. Then whenever I get an idea, I add it in. When I first create my characters they are pretty transparent, but as I work with them they gain more depth and personality. I guess I am saying dont get discouraged if you find your bio lacking. Eventually you will find inspiration and create something truly unique.
I generally don't aim to do really elaborate bios for my characters. I come up with a basic concept, then condense it down to an elevator pitch-- basically, all the relevant information people need to know about the character that could be explained to someone within the duration of an elevator ride. Just enough to give people a rough idea of who they are and how they got there.
For example, let's brainstorm Jack Atomic for a sec. Maybe his real name actually IS Jack Atomic, and maybe he's the grandson of Dr. Aarron Atomic, the famous science hero from the 30's and 40's. Because of his work, Aarron was exposed to radiation on a regular basis, and ended up having mutant kids with radioactive powers, including Jack's dad. Come up with something clever for his name... Maybe Jack's dad's name is Raymond, so he was The Atomic Ray. Together, they were known as the Nuclear Family and fought crime for several decades (think silver age Fantastic Four)... Well, now we've established a linage: Jack's a third generation hero, with mutant powers similar to his father's. He doesn't bother with a secret ID because his family is famous.
Ok... Now throw in a couple curve balls: what makes this character different? Maybe Jack's not completely sold on going into the family business, and is only a hero because it's the only life he knows? Maybe Jack has a love interest who's the daughter of his father's arch nemesis? Maybe Jack's family was wiped out by some cosmic entity that's now hunting him?
Ok, the elevator pitch bio would be something like "James 'Jack' Atomic is the troubled teenage grandson of Dr. Aarron Atomic, founder of the legendary Nuclear Family. Struggling to understand his newly awakenened powers, as well as his place in the world, Jack has reluctantly taken up his family's tradition and donned the mantle of hero!"
Ok, it's corny, but corny sells comic books... More importantly, it doesn't tie you down to anything beyond broad details... the finer points will draw themselves in over time.
Then, go out in character and interact with people. If someone asks a question about your character that you don't know from the bio, make up an answer on the spot. e.g. Where does Jack live? Hmm... well, his family is a bunch of famous superheroes, so maybe they have a penthouse HQ in Steel Canyon, or maybe Jack's going to college, and has a small apartment off campus in Atlas Park. I keep small notebook by the computer so the next time someone asks me a similar question, I'll have a consitant answer, and eventually over the course of playing, I'll have a ton of data about my character. After a while, this sorta begins to gel into the character. Believe me, every time I log off, I know just a little more about my characters than I did before I logged on. Give it a shot!
Ascendant
Now, more than ever, Paragon City needs heroes. Do your part to save it.
*note that these are all questions asked "before" I roll up a character*
Things I like to ask myself about my character.
1) Is his costume functional or just show?
Arden Deepforge wears armor that helps proctect him from damage. Elisa S'thani has power armor that holds some of her abilities, and helps resist damage. Mini Taxi's costume has no function other than defining him in combat. Kisanna Madieve's costume serves to make male villians follow her around like little puppydogs... (ha take that pet cap!)
The reason this is important, is this is the first thing the villian is going to see. The question is, does the costume hide your identity? As a general rule functional costumes don't. That is because they are more concerned with providing defense/holding powers, than they are hiding who you are. This doesn't mean they cant, but more likely than not, the way you end up hiding your identity is with a full helmet.
2) Is your character human? If not, how well can they blend in?
None of my Superheros can blend in well with normal Society. Arden is a stout short man with a flowing beard (he really sticks out in that way), Elisa has friggen cat ears and a tail, Kisanna has horns and a tail, and MiniTaxi is just plain short (he fits in the most out of the four)
So how does this affect them? Some heroes of this type bite the bullet and just use their normal names opposed to assuming a secret identity. If you wanted to put a hit on Elisa, all you would have to do is walk around killing Catgirls.
(then again, on Guardian server Catgirls make up a large portion of the population...)
If your character doesnt have any outstanding traits (tails, horns, green skin) then they can generally pass themselves off as human. This means that a secret identity would be more feasable for them.
3) How does your character feel about being a Hero.
Some characters may not exactly want to be known as a Hero. This may be because it puts those around them at risk, or just the fact that they dont want to be in the spotlight all the time. This further goes to support the secret identity question. A person who doesn't want to be known as a superhero is going to have a secret identity, whereas the person who either doesn't care, or wants to be known as a superhero will probably not have one.
4) How has your characters past influenced them.
Were they raised in an all superhero home? Were they told that their powers were bad, and that they should never admit to using them? This plays a role in their choice as it is how they have grown up with their powers. Either as a tool, or as a curse.
That helps with determining your hero's name. The next part is the biography.
Each biography is going to include about 3 things.
1) How your hero got his powers.
2) Why your hero is a hero. (his drive)
3) Who he is, and how he got here.
after that you can include quirks about your hero and so forth.
(I know this post is kinda rushed, I lost intrest in it about 3/4ths of the way through it.)
Using all your advice I have started to come up with the bio for Jack. The ideas have started to flow so a small bio is fast becoming a short story. If you all promise to be nice I will post it.
Thanks again. Hopefully the advice in this thread will help others as much as me.
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Helping you to have a more drool filled day since 08:43 25/01/2005
I am currently trying to write the Bio for my Rad/Elec Defender Jack Atomic but I have got completely stuck.
He is a mutant but I want a bio that stands out as special, something more than, "blah blah blah, born with powers / got powers as teenager blah blah blah was bullied a lot blah blah blah became hero.
Don't get me wrong, I have seen some of these style of bio written very well but I just can't seem to think of anything that fits. Can you help me past this writer's block and give me some ideas for the story. Any and all ideas are welcome.
Name: Jack Atomic
Origin: Mutant
Primary: Radiation
Secondary: Electric
Pools: flight, leadership
Other: Leader of Forlorn Fallout on Victory, Very headstrong, tends to be one of (if not the) first into each fight. Always willing to help team mates and strangers alike.
From what I have read we have some of the best amateur writers (and prob hidden pros) in this forum. I figured you were the best to ask.
Swifty & Malcom the Mewtie kitty
This post was brought to you by Swifty and Malcom the Mewtie Kitty
Joint MD's of SwiftyCarez Corp
Helping you to have a more drool filled day since 08:43 25/01/2005