***Phunke's beginner bio guide!

[phunke]

HEY THERE BRO!
Welcome to the site!

At this particular thread, you will be able to read a guide which will take you, step-by-step, through the creation of your first character. I'll also give you some tips on writing in general along the way.
Warning: I do tend to get EXTREMELY a little bit ramble-y. I'll try to keep things simple though. :D
Let's begin, shall we?

First off, head on over to the Character Creation board, found here. As you can see, there are a bunch of district sub-boards full of accepted characters. Scroll down. Find the little button next to an icon that says 'New Thread.' Click it, and you shall find...
THE FORM
OF
GLORY!

Alright, now for the fun part that I can actually help you with!:

Name: Erm, I can't give you too much help on this one; personally, when I make characters I pick random names for them and make up the last names. However, it's often a good idea to make the name apply to the District: i.e. 'Sparkle' for someone in D1, et cetera.

Age: For your first charrie, I recommend an age near [or the same as] your own. This will make it easier to put yourself in their shoes. Don't forget that ages 12-18 may be Reaped and killed in the HG.

Gender: ...Do I really need to help you with this?

District/Area: A lot of people do District Twelve for their first charrie. However, consider the following: You, and by extension your character, will do best in a District that you're most interested. If you have a passionate love of coal, go for D12. But read over the different District industries first and see if one jumps out at you.

Appearance: Keep in mind when writing this that it should be two five-sentence paragraphs long. That can seem daunting at first, but fear not! You can do this. First and foremost, close your eyes and imagine your character. Keep imagining until they look like a real person, with facial features, various limbs, and flaws. Flaws are good. They make the difference between a character and a person; always keep that in mind.
First paragraph: I usually do face for the first paragraph. Talk about the shape of the head and face, the color and texture of the hair, the positioning of the nose, arch of the eyebrows, wideness of the eyes. Those are all just examples of features you can describe; faces have so much to talk about. So just talk. Do your best to transfer the image of your person from your mind to the text.
For the second paragraph, I usually describe the body - short/medium/tall, skinny/medium/overweight, etc etc. - and the clothing. Again, get a mental image and then transfer it to the computer as best as you can. If you find that you can't think of anything else to say and you still don't have a full paragraph, you can talk about the character's voice, or walk, or mannerisms.

Personality: Ah, now you're at the hard part. Personality! Oh the horror. But you can do it.
Paragraph One: External personality. What would this person be like if you ran into him/her on the street? Friendly? Rude? Outgoing? Abrasive? Flirty? Once you've established that, go into the why, and elaborate on what goes on in this character's head when they meet a new person.
Paragraph Two: Go into relationships. How easily does this character make friends? When they're friends with someone, do they act differently? Are they ever gossipy or mean to friends? Are they too nice, like a doormat? What about trustworthy? Keep in mind what I said before: Flaws make the difference between characters and people. If you want your character to be realistic, make some flaws. Not the endearing kind, either; the kind which are actually frustrating/annoying.
Paragraph Three: How does their personality cause problems? How does it solve them? This is a paragraph you can play around with. Wrap up your thoughts and add any new ones that come to mind.
Remember, the reader knows nothing about your character. By the end of the Personality section, they should feel like they do.

History: Woot! This is your turn; I can't guide you through it. All I can say is this: You know everything else about your character. So come up with a backstory, a reason why they are the way they are. Keep in mind that characters with dead parents are very abundant. Tragedy always spices up this section, but be careful not to go overboard.
So just plan it out in your head and then tell it like a story. :)
Talk about their parents, childhood, siblings, school years, anything. The whole shabang.

Codeword: If you haven't read the rules by now, GO READ THEM! Seriously. Like, right now. Yes, it takes a while to find the codeword. Yes, it might hurt your eyes looking for the underlined letters. Yes, we all had to do it at some point. And yes, if you ask for help in the c-box it will probably be given.

Other: This is all you, bro. You've just finished a character! Give yourself a high-five! [which is actually just clapping]. Congrats, you are now a legitimately awesome person.

If the staff* deny your app, take into serious consideration everything they say and apply it. The staff are always very thoughtful and polite, so be courteous. If you have any questions about a denied character, you may PM me and be like "GRR Phunke you evil person I used your guide and they didn't accept my charrie! I am so mad that I may well slap you over the internets!". If it gets accepted...YAY! Go jump into an open thread in your district or start one of your own. ^^ If you have any questions about RPing itself, PM me, post in the Tutoring board, or read the other Guides. They're quite helpful.

*Note: Don't get all up in the staff's grills about looking at your app right away. They're extremely busy and it won't help you to badger them about it in the c-box or by PM. So just be patient, it won't take more than a few days. :)


YAY! I hope that helped and wasn't too ramble-y. Have fun making characters! It gets easier the more you RP, I promise. Lemme know if I missed anything or if you have any suggestions for the guide.

Peacelove&donuts,
--P[hunk]e