How to Write Bios By the Roleplay Rater (repost from tumblr)

I saw this and very much enjoyed it so I think I'll just leave it right here for everyone to skim over. It written with words I couldn't quite find myself. I didn't really want a character template for the forum, we have a few but its simply to give people a guideline - none of it is mandatory.

Character biographies are one of the most important foundations for a roleplay, and having crappy ones or ‘leave up to player’ bios will get you no where. In this guide, I will be showing you the process on how I personally write my bios, which have gotten praise for by other RPCs.



Having trouble with writing bios? Got writers block? Not sure where to start? Well in this guide, I will be taking you through the steps of writing decent bios for your roleplay.

1. Bio Format

Depending on your plot, this part will vary between every RP. Since I am using a hypothetical RP, I would set up the bio like this:

Name | Age | Grade/Profession | Face Claim | Open/Taken

Biography:

Personality:

Relationships:

Again, this part varies for every RP. If you aren’t sure what to include in your bio, shoot me an ask and I can help you out there. This is probably the most basic way to set up a bio, and it looks neat. It’s my personal favorite way to do it, and lots of RPs use it as well.

Most Roleplays also include a section if they’re single/in a relationship, but personally I don’t like set ships so I won’t be doing that. You’d also have to go back on your main and change it every time the character gets in/out of a relationship, so I personally wouldn’t bother with it.

Another popular addition to bios that people have is their sexuality. I like to leave it up to the roleplayer, but if I have a specific sexuality that I want them to have I just include it in the main bio…mainly because other RPs leave it up to the roleplayer too, and they just have 'up to roleplayer’ under that section.

2. Creating an Outline For Your Character

The first step in writing bios, is to have a good set list of characters/fcs. Sure, it’s not all about what the FC is, but you want to make sure that the FC has good gifs to fit the personality. (I’ll probably rant about this later on) Anyway, for this demonstration, I will write a general Bio for a NPH FC.

Since I’m using NPH as the FC, I need to pick a name. For me, I always have loads of trouble picking names. Things you do not want to name your character is what their name is on the show/movie they act in, and something original. I do admit I have gone on imdb and searched for names that he acted as. But I usually turn to my best friend for help with naming characters, and that usually solves it. However, if you are having trouble, here’s a good guide on picking a name: http://www.babynames.com/character-names.php

As I pick a name, I want to make sure it also fits with his face. I usually go ahead and list a couple names and then pick from that, since NPH if the FC, here’s a list of names I would use:
•Jack
•Ryan
•Oliver
•Ashton
•Bryan
•Arthur
•Lucas
•Jake

For this example, I’m going to go ahead and name him Lucas. Only because I’ve used most of those names in actual RPs…heh. Anyway, now that we have the first name, we need a surname. When I pick them, I usually just do a random one that sounds nice. If you are having trouble, I recommend just googing 'surnames for Lucas’ and usually a yahoo answer thing pops up that always help me. In this demonstration, I’m going to go ahead and name him Lucas Walker. Another good thing to think about is what you would call him as a nickname, in this case, Luke. Ha. Luke Walker-Skywalker…sorry I had to.

Another thing you need to think about is the character’s age. Since NPH is 39, you don’t need to make him 39. Personally, I think his age could be as low as 27, and high as 45. I personally like to keep him on the low side depending on the RP so my character would have romance options, and not have it be too creepy for the other roleplayers. In this case, I’m going to go ahead and make Luke 32.

Anyway, now that we have our name and age, we need to think of personalities. When you do this, you also want to be sure you don’t pick one that is just like the character they play in a movie/on a show. You also want to be sure they aren’t perfect, or that they really only have one personality. To avoid this, I like to list three positive traits, then three negative. Keep in mind to keep the traits making sense, you don’t want a positive to say super friendly, then a negative to say loner…and so on. For my example, I will be saying that Lucas Walker is (+) Friendly, energetic, funny…then (-) Gets personal a bit too fast, Doesn’t know when to stop talking, Persistent/Doesn’t take no for an answer.

Now that you have a name, age, and some traits, you need to think up a miniature summary of him. Depending on your RP, you need to explain the backstory. So if it was a superhero RP, how did he acquire his powers? If it was a town rp, how long has he lived there? It really varies depending on your type of RP.

3. Writing the Bio

Now that you have your format, a mini idea of what your character is going to be like, it’s time to start writing them and put them in your format!

So, if we’re using my character as stated above, this is what we would have so far:

Lucas 'Luke’ Walker | Age: 32 | Magician | FC: Neil Patrick Harris | Open

Biography:

Personality:

Relationships:

Since the first part is the bio, let’s go ahead and start with that. When you being your bio section, you usually have to remind yourself not to include their personality, because you have that in the next section. A few things to include in the main part of the bio are these:
•How they grew up/siblings/childhood
•Why they became whatever their profession is
•Sexuality (Optional in my book)
•Why they came to town/whatever the plot is on

Since this is just an example, I’m not going to go all out and actually write a bio. If you want some of my work go ahead and message me and perhaps I’ll give you a little sample.

Anyway, when you write the main part of the bio I would aim for at least two solid paragraphs explaining why they go to that place, why, and a big backstory.


For the personality part, obviously mention the personality. How they act like, how they treat other people, how they react to blahblahblah, etc… That part is pretty self explanatory. I also like to put the (+) and (-) traits above, just for short reference. Remember, you don’t want their personality being exactly how their character that they play is. In my example, I would not make 'Lucas’ exactly like Barney Stinson since NPH plays Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother.


Another thing to take into account while writing the personality is the FC. Sure FCs, shouldn’t matter too much. But you don’t want to have to be playing a character that only has gifs of them singing/acting fun, when they’re supposed to be a loner. It makes it complicated for roleplayers, and it probably doesn’t fit the FC at all anyway. NPH is pretty versatile with his gifs, and I truly believe he could play most any type. Unfortunately, not all FCs can be as perfect as Neil Patrick Harris.


For the relationship part of the bio, it’s pretty basic. A few ways I would do this is just by listing characters and putting like 'Brother to Liam’ or 'Friends with Robin’…another way is actually writing out their relationship and how the pair acts around one another.



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That’s basically how I write my bios. But there’s always a bunch of variations you need depending on your plot. The final step is pretty much checking over your work/re-reading to be sure it makes sense, then ta-da! You’re done. A few other tips I have are:

•Making a set date on how many you do a day, maybe 3-5 per day…depending on opening date
•Having good music playlist. I just do Harry Potter themes or something so I won’t be tempted to dance and sing and get distracted

Well that’s mainly it. Enjoy sexy NPH.

**admin note - you must go to the link to see the sexy NPH.**
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