There's a wealth of wisdom here. I want to reiterate Flickering Ember in saying we all self-insert and fulfill wishes in some fashion with RP. The first step in making creative RP versus self-insert RP is feeling that in yourself. Be honest with yourself, and suddenly you will find yourself seeing your character as more and more a separate entity.Â
First off, I am a firm believer in "write what you know". In my experience, you are going to be /more/ at risk of getting stuck in the cycle of "what would I do in this situation?" RP if you don't know where your inspiration is coming from. For me, personally, it usually takes a couple read-throughs of my character's biography/wiki to pick out where I am deriving from.Â
Your character is never going to be 100% original. Nothing creative is. Your first task as a creator is acknowledging those influences for yourself. Those influences might come from media, your own life, or people you know. My character Kamome, for example, I figured out after a few read-throughs, is heavily based on my maternal grandmother who immigrated to the U.S. from Korea in the 50s. My character Yvane somehow ended up vaguely similar to a friend of mine from the 9th grade who left a really strong impression on me. The first step in making a living, breathing character is identifying where your subconscious is drawing them from. You can work to further define them from there.
Secondly, /do/ make a self-insert character. When I decide to RP in an MMO, this is the first thing I do. I ask myself: "what would I be if I were living in ______?" I think almost everyone thinks about this on some level, and if you're going to get it out of your subconscious, take a good long look at it! Then, simply don't play that character. I have a Dunesfolk in my character roster who is my Eorzean self, and I keep her there to remind me of that. :D
Third, do lots of writing! Nothing makes RP more of a creative process versus self-insertion than serious writing. Lore research also does it for me. It gives me perspective of how the world actually works and exists in its own space, and suddenly everything seems more like a different world and other characters become chatacters, not actual people. The people behind the characters become more distinct.
RP--learning how to RP--is continuous. We can always improve. We can always tell better stories! Always strive to better your RP--in the process I think you will learn a lot about yourself and about how you creatively express yourself. Over the past ten years, I have grown a lot as an RPer and a person, by thinking about my RP. :)
And just be awesome to your friends. And even more awesome and patient with people who make you mad. A lot of the time they are dealing with some pretty dark stuff IRL. OOC hug breaks can change a lot. :D
Edit: added a sort-of conclusion? xD
First off, I am a firm believer in "write what you know". In my experience, you are going to be /more/ at risk of getting stuck in the cycle of "what would I do in this situation?" RP if you don't know where your inspiration is coming from. For me, personally, it usually takes a couple read-throughs of my character's biography/wiki to pick out where I am deriving from.Â
Your character is never going to be 100% original. Nothing creative is. Your first task as a creator is acknowledging those influences for yourself. Those influences might come from media, your own life, or people you know. My character Kamome, for example, I figured out after a few read-throughs, is heavily based on my maternal grandmother who immigrated to the U.S. from Korea in the 50s. My character Yvane somehow ended up vaguely similar to a friend of mine from the 9th grade who left a really strong impression on me. The first step in making a living, breathing character is identifying where your subconscious is drawing them from. You can work to further define them from there.
Secondly, /do/ make a self-insert character. When I decide to RP in an MMO, this is the first thing I do. I ask myself: "what would I be if I were living in ______?" I think almost everyone thinks about this on some level, and if you're going to get it out of your subconscious, take a good long look at it! Then, simply don't play that character. I have a Dunesfolk in my character roster who is my Eorzean self, and I keep her there to remind me of that. :D
Third, do lots of writing! Nothing makes RP more of a creative process versus self-insertion than serious writing. Lore research also does it for me. It gives me perspective of how the world actually works and exists in its own space, and suddenly everything seems more like a different world and other characters become chatacters, not actual people. The people behind the characters become more distinct.
RP--learning how to RP--is continuous. We can always improve. We can always tell better stories! Always strive to better your RP--in the process I think you will learn a lot about yourself and about how you creatively express yourself. Over the past ten years, I have grown a lot as an RPer and a person, by thinking about my RP. :)
And just be awesome to your friends. And even more awesome and patient with people who make you mad. A lot of the time they are dealing with some pretty dark stuff IRL. OOC hug breaks can change a lot. :D
Edit: added a sort-of conclusion? xD
