How To: Create A good Character

NOTE: THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES, NOT COOKIE CUTTER SHAPES. MAKE YOUR OWN, INSTEAD OF BASING THEM OFF OF THE EXAMPLES.

And now that we have the warning out of the way.

I've noticed that a few characters on here...well, to be blunt, they need a serious re-work. My intention here is to help you all improve with your characters and make them more bearable for the rest of us. For the sake of this website, this will be specific towards fan characters of the Warriors Series by the Hunters.

So far, there are three planned parts to this guide. The first, "How to Make a Good Character." The second will be "How to Make a Good Evil Character", and the final one is "How to Make a Good Insane Character."

I make this guide in the hopes that you all will learn something and become better at creating characters. I look forward to seeing what effect my guides will have on you all.


HOW TO MAKE A GOOD CHARACTER, AS PRESENTED BY ME.

_{(Oh, boy, am I gunna touch some nerves.)}



Sections

~Dictionary
~The Archetype
~Name
~Personality
~Looks, and How to Describe Them Well
~History and How it Effects Your Character
~Mary Sues
~Final Notes



Dictionary

There are a few terms I will use here that perhaps you don't know.

OC: Stands for "Original Character." Basically, a character that you created, that's original. Not to be confused with an FC.

FC: Stands for "Fan Character." A character that is in an established universe, but is not in the actual canon, such as a Warrior OC. That's a fan character.

Archetype: An original model of a character or idea that is copied, patterned, or emulated repeatedly.

Canon: The official guidelines, happenings, and relationships in any fictional universe. (for example, the clans moving to the lakes or Sandstorm and Firestar)

Fanon: Unofficial canon as set by the fans in any given case where information is not clear on some point in the canon.

Mary Sue: A self insertion, or an overly perfect character. I will be more specific in the Mary Sue section.



The Archetype


How many characters do we see on here that are almost the exact same?

I'll take a common OC I see on here. (If it's similar to your character, I apologize and advise you to rework your OC)

"This is my character, Sinsoul. She is insane and evil, but beautiful, and when she was a kit, she killed her entire family/found out her family was killed. Depressed, she ran away and joined BloodClan/became a rogue/started a Clan and became leader/became evil. She is raven black with piercing emerald eyes and soft, silky fur. She is very strong and has never lost a fight. She is also only 7 moons old-"

Alright, stop while you're there, and kill it with fire.

This is the worst archetype in the world. Not only is it overused, it's obnoxious and totally cliché. You know who that worked for in the real world?

No one. That's who.

Stop using this type of character. Using it means that you didn't care enough to put some effort into your OC and gave it the bare minimum. I mean, come on, the name, the history, the design, it's all wrong.

So your first lesson: Stop using this archetype.

(For future reference, this character will be used repeatedly. I will rebuttal with my own character, who will be introduced in the next section.)



Name

Oh, my, my, my. This is something you cannot afford to mess up, and yet so many do. I mean, really. It's a NAME. It shouldn't be that hard.

Let's start with the 5 Commandments of Warrior Names.

1) Thou shalt not name thy character after a mythological creature or animal the character has not met.
2) Thou shalt make the name sensible.
3) Thou shalt not have a commonly used name.
4) Thou shalt pick a name that is suitable to your character.
5) Thou shalt not name thy character after some object or term that only a human would know of.

I'm going to take you through these steps and argue my case over why you should follow these rules.


Number 1) Thou shalt not name thy character after a mythological creature or animal the character has not met.

This should be rather simple. No warrior cat in the entirety of the books has met a wolf, a panther, a bear, a flamingo, or a dragon. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen "Wolf", "Phoenix"(that one aggravates me in the extremes), or "Bear".

Now, now, I know. "They met a panther in the second series!" you say. That's true. But they never called the panther a cougar, or a puma, or a panther. They called it Sharptooth. They only met it once, and never again.

I know that they also heard wolves in the distance in the third series. But that was in the tribal areas. Wolves do not exist around where the Clans are.

The same rule goes for all animals. If they haven't met it, and called it by name, and actually interacted with it, the name of the animal should not be used. It's very simple.

Remember, cats don't know what a dragon/unicorn/phoenix/minotaur/etc is. Those are mythological, and HUMANS created them. But we'll get to that later.


Number 2) Thou shalt make the name sensible.

"Spottedshadow"? "Stonewing"? "Dawnflower"? "STARGAZE"?! Please, people, I know that the books have their equal portion of stupid names (Willowshine? Really? And FERNCLOUD?), but that doesn't excuse you.

You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't pretend you don't. How many of us are guilty of that, in all honesty? I'm willing to freely admit that I am totally guilty of creating nonsensical names. I think the worst one I ever created was "Eclipsestorm." Ridiculous, I know.

So, how does one go around creating a good, sensible name? I know introduce my example of a good character – "Hawkeyes." (I apologize for flaunting my own character so very hypocritically, but this will be done in the name of science. And good Warrior FCs.)

Hawkeyes is a sensible name, if I may say. It refers to an animal the Warriors in canon know well, and it seems like it would be a common name. (Frankly, I'm surprised they haven't used it.) It also refers to eyesight, as a little bonus, so it makes sense.


Number 3) Thou shalt not have a commonly used name.

Come on, people, this shouldn't be hard! Unfortunately, it is. I'll make this section brief and tell you what not to use.

Prefixes to Not Use: Moon, Shadow (I know I'm being hypocritical), Night, Ice, Snow, Dawn.
Suffixes not to use: shadow, moon, fall, spirit, soul(?).

Number 4) Thou shalt pick a name that is suitable to thy character.
I mean, of course, a name based on color, talent, etc. I'll take Hawkeyes as an example.
Hawkeyes, referring to his rather sharp sight, and his talent for seeing things that other cats tend to position of as normal in a different light and with whole new meaning, as well as for the fact that his eyes are yellow. Hawks are associated with sharp sight and generally have yellow eyes, hence, Hawkeyes.
Sinsoul is a nono. It makes no sense and it's stupid. Moving on...
Number 5) Thou shalt not name thy character after some object or term that only a human would know of.
Now, I don't see this all too often, but when I see something like "Wintersomething" or "Cinnamonsomething" then I feel the need to correct it. The Clans already have terms for the seasons: new-leaf, greenleaf, leaf-fall, leafbare. For the time of day they have sunhigh, moonhigh, etc. Let's be honest, they don't know what an asylum/jail is and they certainly have no idea what a dragon is. This is where the mythological beings come in. Don't name them after that. Same goes with gems. They don't know what a ruby is, or an emerald.
I don't think there's too much more to cover on this. I doubt that someone is going to name their character "Chickenwing" or something like that.
Oh, God, I feel bad for the warrior with the name Chickenwing.

...

Next section.

Personality

How many characters do I see on here that are either insane, shy, sarcastic, or violent, but never any variation from there? A lot of characters don't even have a description beyond that. This is bad. Very, very bad.
Let's drag back out good old Sinsoul. Sinsoul is evil, and insane.
That's all.
That's not a character, that's a stupid cop out. That's two overused traits and nothing else.
How many people do you know that are just shy, or just brave? No living person has just one trait. Neither should your character. So just calling them "nice" or "sarcastic" doesn't cut it.
Now, for Hawkeyes. Hawkeyes is lazy, but has a good mind, however, he doesn't use it very often. He's very peaceful and calm, and hard to bother. If caught in an argument, he is known to simply leave the conversation. He also tends to blank out and stare off at something that's very clear to him, but more impatient cats will not notice it. He rarely raises his voice above a low tone.
That up there is specific, clear, and detailed. We know his vices and his virtues, and his personality in general.
Whenever I ask someone for their character's personality when they request a drawing of said character, it's so I can get a sense of that character, and what they would most likely be doing in that picture. It's frustrating to get a mumble like "shy, sweet, kind", and that's IT. Really, people, you can do so much better! I need more to go on!
Well, what if you haven't designed your character beyond that one trait? Become specific. WHY is your character shy? What does she do if she's confronted by someone who frightens her? What does she hate, and like? What are her faults, and what are her virtues? (Being insane does not count, because that's stupid and cliché.)
Remember, words like "nice", or "brave", are just the base to set up for your character. They could be brave, but not too smart, or they could be sarcastic yet caring. The possibilities are endless.

Looks, and How to Describe Them Well

Sinsoul, your cue.
"Sinsoul's looks? She's a gorgeous, sleek she cat with soft and silky ebony black fur, and her eyes are like two emeralds-"
Get the chloroform and rifles, security, this creature needs to be put down instantly. If you have ever described your character like this, then stop. Now.
Let's make it clear; overly poetic terms are a friend of no one. No one wants to hear about how Sinsoul is so gorgeous she needs an entire book to describe her.
"She has the appearance of a perfectly sculpted onyx figurine, with two finely cut emeralds set deep in her beautiful face. Her fur is soft and velvety, with a soft glow."
Let me guess, she sparkles in the sunlight too, right? Every time I hear that, I want to be sick in the corner. Fetch me a basin!
This is where Hawkeyes comes in. Simple descriptions take you far.
"He's a plump grey tabby with dull yellow eyes which are almost always half closed. His fur is a bit brownish-grey and he has a yellow-brown stomach, chin, and chest."
So simple, isn't it? As well as simple, you get a good feel of what he looks like.
And as for looks.
Not every character can be gorgeous and perfect. Take Hakweyes. He's plump and not very attractive. Add a scar, pale up an eye, make their face squashed and ragged, make them fat, etc. And no, scars are not supposed to be there to look cool, they're to show that the character has been in a fight and came off with a reminder of that fight.
Scars are usually messed up. Not perfect and sleek. They're meant to look ragged. Don't try to make scars look nice and tidy if it was a vicious scratch.
Quirky looks can be fun to design, and to draw. I know I enjoy it when someone asks me to draw a cat with a squashed up face or a lazy eye. It makes your character realistic, and people will appreciate that.

History and How it Effects Your Character

Ah, history of a character. How amusing and frustrating to see that people go to the immediate basics, such as "oh, she went insane and killed her family, and then she joined BloodClan." (I'll let you know now that I hold contempt for any BloodClan FC, in case that wasn't immediately obvious.)
This is a generic, overused past. It's okay for nothing to happen to your character in their lifetime. Absolutely nothing happened to Hawkeyes. He was born, became an apprentice, trained hard, became a warrior. That's really all.
If you insist on having a morbid past, then that is a very slippery slope for anyone to take.
Don't have every single family member die. Only a few people can really pull this off, and it took them a lot of experience. You can have a few members die, such as the mother and father or brother or sister, but it really shouldn't extend beyond that. It shouldn't be because your character went insane and attacked them. It should be because of some freak accident, such as being hit by a car or a fire.
As I said before, insanity does not count.
Now, for how it effects your character.
Your OC can't be naive and happy if they were burned and scarred for life. The death of a family member or being rejected cruelly by a love interest will change your character, not always for the better. Harsh experiences will make your character resentful or bitter, but, as always, they can change their ways.

It might take you a few tries, but don't give up. Even I slip every once in a while.



Mary Sues

The enemy of all writers, animators, comic writers, and artists in general. She is hard to define, and hard to avoid if one is inexperienced. Her tempting ideals trap many in her grasp, so much that some characters are unsalvageable and must be put down. Yes, this, my friends, is the character known as Mary Sue.
So what is a Mary Sue?

Quote

"Mary Sue is a derogatory term for a fictional character whose traits, skills, and abilities are inadequately justified, thus failing to maintain believability. These characters are overly idealized and cliché, lacking in noteworthy flaws, and usually function as an author’s means of wish-fulfillment or self-insertion. A Mary Sue is often described in excessive detail when compared to other main characters, and is found most often in fan fiction and original fiction. The unbelievable nature of the character frequently causes the audience to immediately dislike her."

--taken from Wikipedia.
Quite a bit to take in, isn't it? The truth is, Mary Sue is unrealistic. She is perfect, and has no need for character development.
What is character development? That is the change in characterization of a dynamic character, which changes over the course of a narrative. In other words, how a character changes in state of mind and personality over the course of their lifetime and story.
So why is character development so important? It makes the character believable, and realistic. No one stays the exact same
over the course of their life. We all develop, as must your character. If they do not change, they are boring, and unrealistic.
"Why is realism so important, then?" you might be asking me. "Can't I just make an unrealistic character? That's easier."
Yes, it is easier. That does not mean it's a better option. Characters are more interesting if they are realistic.
What's a good example of a Mary Sue? Just take a look at Sinsoul.
"This is my character, Sinsoul. She is insane and evil, but beautiful, and when she was a kit, she killed her entire family/found out her family was killed. Depressed, she ran away and joined BloodClan/became a rogue/started a Clan and became leader/became evil. She is raven black with piercing emerald eyes and soft, silky fur. She is very strong and has never lost a fight. She is also only 7 moons old."
That is immensely unrealistic, and the very definition of a Mary Sue. Achieving so much, at only 7 moons? Impossible.
For further information, please visit this essay on Mary Sue. The author describes a Mary Sue much better than I can and I highly recommend a read if you wish to understand further.

cei-ellem.deviantart.com/art/Murdering-Mary-Sue-83556824
Bottom line, Mary Sues are a terrible thing, and you must be careful to not make one. It's a good thing to check up on your character every once in a while with a test to ensure that they aren't Mary Sues.

Final Notes

So, what was the point of this rambling guide? Well, to help you create characters that are realistic, with faults and virtues, that everyone can enjoy.
I have a few below that I think it would do you well to visit:
Each of them are ensured to help you progress from a boring, uninteresting, cliché archetype to an exciting and individual character.
Thank you for your time, and I hope this helped you.

QUIT MAKING OVERUSED CHARACTERS AND ACTUALLY READ THIS THREAD. DON'T BE LAZY, AND EMBRACE THE TRUTH.
I'll see you next time in "How to Make a Good Evil Character"!