A bit of a dilemma

[Darth Vader]

Okaaaay...

So, I think I've dropped this thought into the chat quite a few times now, but it's still playing heavily upon my mind and I wanted to hear what you guys think. For a little while now (in the wrap-up of Dante's Abyss, in a more approximate timing) I've been thinking about swapping out Jon for another character. It's took me a little while to figure out why I'm considering this, though. At first I just thought it was a post-DA effect of not being motivated to write as and with the character, but in these few days I have came to something of a sensible and reasonable conclusion.

It's not that I've fell out of love with the character - I still enjoy writing as him in the brief spurts I can write, though the seriousness and monotone nature of his character can wear me down a bit. I think the main problem I'm facing with him is the route I've taken with him, and not knowing where I want to take him next. I really think that's what's blocked me out from writing so much - just a lack of ideas and motivation with him.

If I did choose to change him in favour of someone else, I wouldn't want to leave his story off on a blank and aprupt note. I'd ideally want to push as him until I'm at a point where I could be satisfied with "concluding" his tale, and even then, NPCing him is still a possible option for the future onward. I've got a whole list compiled of characters I've considered replacing him with, so here ya go; they're sorta roughly ordered in ranking from the top (characters I really want to give a go) to the bottom (characters I'm still fairly interested in but not as much as the ones above).

Damian Wayne (DC Universe) - Just about my top choice right now. I've wanted to write from the perspective of a child/less mature character for a while now, and Damian would be perfect. Now that we have a Batman/Bruce Wayne here, there's some potential for an interesting father/son plot there, too.

Nightwing/Dick Grayson (DC Universe) - A really cool character that has that right balance of seriousness, humour and charm. He'd be pretty easy to write, and he could really work well when implemented into my analytical style of writing.

Red Hood/Jason Todd (DC Universe) - Beginning to notice a trend in source materials? Jokes aside, this ones another cool character who I have plenty of ideas for, though I fear he's a little too much on the serious side and I'd prefer something fresh and new right now.

Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Marvel Universe) - Daaaang... this guy could be so fun. It'd be like having two characters in one; sometimes a studious, genius-level intellect scientist, other times a big ass green guy with serious gains who's ready to fuck anyone's shit up xD but seriously, I could have a lot of fun with this guy. Only problem I foresee is the Hulk having to be nerfed down hard, as well as a lack of plot ideas.

Spider-Man (Marvel Universe) - Need I say more? He's the motherfuckin' Spider-Man. It wouldn't be your typical Peter Parker/Earth 616 Spidey, though. There's a LOT of Spidermen in the comics (go see the Spiderverse) but I'll leave that as a surprise for if I do end up picking him.

Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan) - I don't watch me a lot of anime, but god-damn do I love me some Shingeki no Kyojin. I have a fuckton of ideas for this guy, even an event I could do which could involve other PCs (as a hint, it'd involve Titans). I just think he'd be a little serious (though I do enjoy writing hot-headed characters).

Iron Man/Tony Stark (Marvel Universe) - Another one who has that right balance of witty charm and humour. The only problem I face is, again, a lack of plot ideas, but I'm not completely deft when it comes to thoughtful output.

Pit (Kid Icarus) - He'd be the polar opposite of Jon and lovely as a breath of fresh air and trying something new, it'd just be challenging to perfect his comedy/4th wall breaking tendancies.

So, yeahhh... what do y'all think? Would changing Snow out be the right choice, and if so, who do you think I should take in his place?

[Blackfire]

I feel you've been doing a fantastic job as Jon Snow, but the most important think as a writer here is to utalise your character the fullest, so if the seriousness of Jon isn't cutting it for you anymore, perhaps you may consider keeping Jon and just getting a DC character as an alt. If you wanna go down the comical / witty route then a 'punchline' delivering character like Spider-Man or Iron Man are good choices. Plus I'm biased towards DC characters! However, if you wanna get rid of Jon, it's up to you. Especially if you don't intend on having an alt. Nobody should question you for your decision, ultimately.

I sorta know where you're coming from. I originally never thought about getting an alt, but at times I'd just ponder to myself realising how 'serious' and 'uptight' Blackfire is. That's why I decided to take on Bowser Jr and go down the 'bratty / carefree' route, all the while, switching to Blackfire when I wanna construct an RP with a serious / mature tone.

[Thaal Sinestro]

I think the best thing I can suggest as far as inspiration goes is planning. Plan out your arc, plan out the big plot points and, most importantly, what aspects of the character you want to show through the telling of the story. Who is the Jon Snow that you want to show us? What kinds of moments show us that Jon Snow the best? And finally, what kind of story best supports those moments?

After that, it comes down to writing. However, knowing what awesome shit is to come can really help you get motivated to write, and it'll add more meaning to every scene and to every word to type.

[Deadpool]

Your problem is that its hard to keep motivation with "goody" characters sometimes. They always need some type of challenge, or something to keep their motivation.

Us baddies and neutrals just do whatever the hell we want and have fun.

[Yu Kanda]

I totally understand your reason for considering a different character. And even though i wont convince you to go or not go with it i just wanted to offer you my 2 cents on possible new characters.

Personally im not a big DC fan comic wise.. i love the movies etc but dont know much about the characters.

I really like the Tony Stark and Bruce Banner picks. Both of them have huge potential as characters and both of them have so many storyline possibilities.

Even though i like Spiderman and Eren im afraid their biggest feats ( webslinging and xgear movement) wont come to their right in the omniverse. But that might just be my vision on it. But any other spiderman that doesnt rely that much on the webslinging would be amazing....cracking jokes and being awesome.

Though my personal favorite would be Bruce Banner....so versatile and its the freakin hulk....i think he wont be as nerfed as you might think.

Goodluck with chosing !

Yu
(Send on my phone...dont mind the poor dutchies spelling)

[Omni]

I think it's really easy to get grass-is-greener syndrome with characters. I honestly feel like the more often you switch the worse it gets, because the only thing that's going to make a character feel like "yours" is when you invest a lot of history in. Up till that point, there will always be a character that is funnier, has cooler powers, is more perfect in some way. Hell even I consider making new characters often. There are so many cool ones!

My advice as a very long-term roleplayer who's switched away from Samus and decided she was too hard to write several times before the Omniverse: Stick with Jon. Make it work. You'll be fine.

[Mickey Mouse]

I'm going to give you my two cents here, but the short answer is I agree with Omni.

Post-DA, I had some similar feelings about Mickey. I struggled through a wrap-up thread, and then I essentially took a three week long break from RPing him, finding it difficult to enjoy him enough to post more than sparingly. I never considered switching him, because I loved him too much and felt like I had put too much work into him to give him up. I had a hell of a lot of fun playing him during DA, and knew that I had to find a way to reach that level of enjoyment again.

Now, I know you had as much fun roleplaying Jon in DA as I had playing Mickster. It showed in how incredible your posts were. I know you're suffering from the fact that you haven't been able to execute your plans with Sas, and that takes a lot out of a writer, I know. I had something similar happen on a smaller scale with Mickey. But the best advice I can give you is to do what I did, because it actually worked incredibly: push through. Put up posts that you feel aren't that great. Tackle the story even if you feel like you're not doing it near the justice it deserves. Think long and hard about how Jon fits into the Omniverse (because he does) and start to explore that.

You've got a great new roleplaying partner in Eighteen/Lightning. Continue thinking about that dynamic and how it can help you reach Jon's new, big goal. I decided I wanted Mickey to try and find Omni, so I tried to figure out what would justify him taking such a big step. I knew the only thing that could jump start that would be finding Minnie, so I rearranged that plot and made it happen way faster and way sloppily than I intended because the story needed it to change.

If you really feel like you need to switch, do it. All of those are great choices. But you're a great writer and your stuff as Jon isn't anything to shake a stick at. Figure out a new direction for him to take and I know you won't regret it. Expand on your Ramsay Bolton story; I write my NPCs when I can't find Mickey, which is great because I'm still adding to his canon.

It should be pretty obvious by now that I love your Jon; I'm sure I'd love your Spider-Man as well, but I think you'll find that spark again. It always comes back.

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

One suggestion I'd offer is if the character's personality is too boring/annoying to write, change it. I'm not talking make him into a clown overnight, but just as people change with their experiences so too can your character. Maybe shift him in a little more lighthearted nature over time with a story you have in mind. Or you could pick up a secondary that would allow you to make some of the situations less monotone. Kinda create something to crack the no-nonsense shell. And then of course there's the option of making a secondary to change things up.

As others have said, I've many times thought of changing characters but ultimately it's just a matter of pushing yourself out of a writing rut. Don't forget that you can post any one-offs that you might want to try out in the Creative Corner, we'd all definitely love to read it. I find that much of the time I find a character I really become interested in, but when it comes down to it I just can't write them long-term. This could also be a way to test out if you like a new guy before ditching Jon and realizing you made a mistake.

Just some ideas.

[Eighteen]

Aw thanks Micky.

Jon if you ever wanna hash out ideas you should PM me! I have been through quite a few characters over the last decade and a half. I have strongly debated switching Lightning myself, but want to give her an honest effort.

Omni has it right. I didn't really settle into a character until I gave it my all. I made a new girl anonymously once, wrote solo, and she became my most active and favoured character even more than 18.

If you really find Jon unappealing try to think of a storyline for a new character. Don't pick based on who they are alone. I would kill to write as Crono but without any direction he would probably not last long

[Darth Vader]

Daaaang, if there's one thing y'all are good at, it's giving out advice. Just reading through everyone's replies has reinvigorated that spark in me to write with Jon a little, and that's some amazing shit, yo

I think Jon could still stick for a little while - it may take a bit before I regain that complete attraction to him as a character once more, but I guess things like this are just processes that every writer goes through now and then, and I don't believe I'm an exception.

Hearing what you all have had to say has really helped out, so thank you all

[Jim Raynor]

Take it from the current (I think) record holder of most switches (six for my alt) - make absolutely sure you want to do it. It is really seductive to want to try another character because your main has grown stale, but it's usually a bad idea, especially if you've invested a lot of time into it. I'm not saying it's wrong, but there needs to be a good long time of reflection.

FYI - I started with Ditto and switched to him twice afterwards. I obviously knew what I wanted but kept getting distracted by other ideas.