09-26-2016, 10:05 AM
There will ALWAYS be a newer, more exciting character who is cooler, funnier, with better powers, and so much easier to write as.
The more you switch, the worse it gets. Because the only thing that will ever make a character feel yours is when you invest a lot of time into them. When the history is there. Like a relationship, it changes. Maybe you're not posting every single day. But the posts you do make matter more. They have the context of all those stories that came before.
And of course writing becomes a challenge. You have to keep that history in mind at all times. The relationships they've made - both player and non. With a new character, you get to be free of that history - everything is open and nothing is off limits. I get it.
But if you continually switch you will never push past that plateau of the veteran character, and you will never grow as a writer.
Like a relationship, sometimes a character is just wrong for you. But unlike a relationship,YOU picked the character and crafted them for yourself. And if you took the time to do that, then you must have been in love with them at some point. You must have imagined the potential and history, what it would be like when they hit Tier 3. So when people say "I've run out of ideas, I can't write as this character anymore", what I hear is:
"I've hit a wall. It's become harder to write as this character."
A lot of people genuinely think that they're doing the right thing when they switch. That's why I'm writing this. On a site like this where you can be literally any character, the temptation to switch is huge. Every time a new show comes out, or you see a new movie or a new game where the character is badass, it's natural to think "they'd be cool as a character". But switching is harmful to the site as well. The more you switch, the less history and intrigue there is among the player characters. When you join a site and you see that #1 power-player, that's fascinating. How did they get there? How was the character changed over time? They are part of the story now. That is one of the coolest facets to a PbP RPG, IMO.
And there's one thing all the very top players have in common: they didn't switch.
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: Make it work. You'll be fine.
... Unless the character you picked was a gimmick novelty choice to begin with, like the character of a webcomic. Then you should fucking switch and put more thought into your new character this time. :pac:
Amaterasu's Guide to Keeping your Character
The more you switch, the worse it gets. Because the only thing that will ever make a character feel yours is when you invest a lot of time into them. When the history is there. Like a relationship, it changes. Maybe you're not posting every single day. But the posts you do make matter more. They have the context of all those stories that came before.
And of course writing becomes a challenge. You have to keep that history in mind at all times. The relationships they've made - both player and non. With a new character, you get to be free of that history - everything is open and nothing is off limits. I get it.
But if you continually switch you will never push past that plateau of the veteran character, and you will never grow as a writer.
Like a relationship, sometimes a character is just wrong for you. But unlike a relationship,YOU picked the character and crafted them for yourself. And if you took the time to do that, then you must have been in love with them at some point. You must have imagined the potential and history, what it would be like when they hit Tier 3. So when people say "I've run out of ideas, I can't write as this character anymore", what I hear is:
"I've hit a wall. It's become harder to write as this character."
A lot of people genuinely think that they're doing the right thing when they switch. That's why I'm writing this. On a site like this where you can be literally any character, the temptation to switch is huge. Every time a new show comes out, or you see a new movie or a new game where the character is badass, it's natural to think "they'd be cool as a character". But switching is harmful to the site as well. The more you switch, the less history and intrigue there is among the player characters. When you join a site and you see that #1 power-player, that's fascinating. How did they get there? How was the character changed over time? They are part of the story now. That is one of the coolest facets to a PbP RPG, IMO.
And there's one thing all the very top players have in common: they didn't switch.
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: Make it work. You'll be fine.
... Unless the character you picked was a gimmick novelty choice to begin with, like the character of a webcomic. Then you should fucking switch and put more thought into your new character this time. :pac:
Amaterasu's Guide to Keeping your Character
Curious about me and the characters I play? See the 'Staff' page! See also the rosters for my characters Samus Aran or Enel if you'd like to see examples of well-formatted rosters. Hope you enjoy the Omniverse!