Originally written by: Mark Allen
On: Friday, February 27, 1998 6:01:40
Last Modified By: Sean Ware
On: Tue Dec 26 11:08:11 CST 2000
I have written this web page as a possible resource for the new player who is seeking additional guidance on how to write a good, solid application for role-play MUSHes. It covers form and content, and I wish to make it completely and unequivocally plain that I write these suggestions simply as the product of only my own personal opinion, and not as the consensus among the wizards of any given game. Following these suggestions should not, nor will it guarantee that your prospective application will be accepted by myself or any of the other wizards on any MUSH.
Mark's suggestions hold true for a larger audience than just those for whom he originally authored this document. I have attempted to retain the spirit of Mark's suggestions while expanding the scope and examples to include other games.
Always keep in mind what an application is designed to accomplish. An application should provide an engaging, accurate description of a character's personality. It should demonstrate that personality's perceived role within the whole of the game's world; and, if possible, it should delineate potential connections to past, present or future characters on the game. It need not be a list of statistics. It need not be the complete and unabridged biography of the character. It should be a carefully constructed glimpse at the best and most interesting aspects of the character, and it should compel the reader to want to engage the character in role-play on the game.
Even with that formidable disclaimer, we invite your comments or suggestions.
This short non-narrative summary should begin each application, just to let the reviewer know immediately what kind of character you are seeking to play. Oftentimes, from the narrative, it is difficult, or never clear what vital characteristics (such as breed, or tribe, or rank) the candidate character possesses.
The form of this header should look something like this:
Name: Bob MacKenzie, ~Pees-On-Trees~
Race: Garou
Breed: Homid
Auspice: Ragabash
Tribe: Bone Gnawers
Rank: Cliath (1)
Age: 19
The rest of Bob's application would follow this summary, but within the first ten seconds the reviewer sees your application, he can form an idea of what he can expect to see.
An application should be as long as it takes to get the job done. And no longer. Your application should be dependent on how many words you feel will effectively communicate your character concept to the reader who reviews your application.
As a sample guide, here are some vague rules of thumb. For a mundane character without really any special background or experiences (e.g.: a Garou cub, a mortal human being) 500-700 words should likely be sufficient. For a typical starting-level character, you could comfortably write 1,000-1,200 words. Anythinglonger than that is probably too long. If your applications for starting characters are running into the thousands of words category, take a look at what you've written and edit. Chances are you are spending too much time on a character's history, and not enough attention to his personality and motivations. Conversely, reviewers definitely get applications that are too short; sending 300 words for any serious character likely is not going to be enough.
Compelling writing is writing that uses just as many words as are needed, not too few, and not too many. Longer rarely means better.
There is a theory in architecture that says form follows function. That is, a building's shape will naturally derive itself from the function the building is to perform. Perhaps it is fair to say the same is true for character applications. The form of the application -- its length, voice and perspective -- will naturally develop from the function it is trying to accomplish: the engaging, accurate description of a personality, that personality's perceived role within the whole of the game's world, and the delineation of potential connections to past, present or future characters on the game.
This section of the document explains what methods an excellent application will employ to achieve those goals, and what necessary attributes it should contain.
There are, I believe, three methods to an excellent character application. All three methods should be employed simultaneously, in order to be successful. These are:
Many players on MUSHes believe that one of the critical ways to consistently achieve a very high level of quality role playing is to place exacting emphasis on proper English grammar, correct spelling and correct punctuation. These fundamental tasks form the building blocks of all that occurs and is perceived in a MUSH environment. Your application will reflect, in a prima facia manner, whether or not you can contribute to this atmosphere. Most of us do not care to read sloppy prose in a book; most of us do not care to read sloppy poses on a MUSH.
It is precisely for that reason then, that your application depends so much on spelling, grammar and punctuation. Just as we encourage you to bother with the details of proofreading your application, good role-play encourages its players to bother with proofreading poses before the Enter key is pressed.
Tip #1: Run your application through a spelling checker before you send it for consideration. No, it won't catch all of the errors, especially those tricky homophone substitutions (eg., their, there, they're) but it will help you spot obvious words you might have overlooked.
Tip #2: Run your application by a friend. Oftentimes they can spot those tricky homophone substitutions as well as give pointers on awkward construction or confusing passages.
A narrative is simply the story of your character. This can be in first, second or third person. Second person point of view is traditionally fairly difficult to accomplish effectively and is generally not recommended. The third person point of view allows for an objective stage from which to tell your character's story. Many players enjoy writing narratives in first person; they feel it helps them climb inside of the character's voice. If you can write an entire application like your character might actually write about his life, then you've gone along way toward fleshing out the persona. The important point to remember is to choose a writing style with which you are comfortable. Don't force the first person if it does not fit you or the character.
What is meant by compelling? Simply that the more interesting you can make your writing the better off your application will be received. Games covet good storytellers. Your application should, in essence, be one part biography, and one part interesting story. The narrative should not be a list of names and dates, but rather draw the reader in, exert its force upon the reviewer and show -- rather than tell -- what this character is like, what he has been, and what has shaped him.
Tip #3: Avoid Cliches. A cliche is a worn-out expression, so threadbare that is has become completely predictable. Offer the first half of such a phrase, and instantly in the minds of almost everybody flashes the second half. If, for example, someone says 'beck,' most English speakers will respond with the knee-jerk 'and call.' If another person says 'cut,' the fill-in will inevitably be 'and dried.' The very fact that the second halves of such expressions skip so easily into the mind is a danger signal. It means that everyone else would use the same turn of phrase, a perfect recipe for triteness.
Tip #4: If you find yourself using an adjective over again several times, use a thesaurus. There is a free online thesaurus located at: http://www.dictionary.com/. It is also suggested you bookmark this site. It's very handy for looking up correct spellings.
What does that mean? It means that you've given a bit of thought of how you'd like this character to fit into a given game. It means that you've looked at and talked to some of the people who play on the MUSH regularly and developed some kind of coherent concept that would compliment their setting. It means that your application is reasonable, within the accepted normal bounds of the society as laid out on the game and to some extent in the source books, if applicable. -- Usually a game will have its own particular interpretations on source material, if it is derived from some outside influence (an RPG or series of novels, for example). Ensure that your character fits within those parameters.
Tip #5: You want your narrative to end as the character arrives in the area of the game. The reason? Once your character gets to game's location, he's "on camera" so to speak -- and his history will be generated (hopefully) through interaction with the other characters on the MUSH. And the reason the character is where he is? Well, you should put some thought into that too. As mentioned above, the more outlandish you attempt to make your character the less likely the concept will be approved.
It is possible and sometimes desirable, especially for younger or more mundane characters, that the characters be natives of game's geographic area. In such cases it is necessary that the backgrounds are not significantly disruptive.
Tip #6: How can you find out what's happened before on a game? The answer is simple: read log files. Ask people. Read character web pages. Read log files. Log files are some of the best resources available for discovering what other players will expect from your character and what you can expect from them.
This component of your application should address your character's motivations and mental processes. If you can bring this out through the narrative, then all the better for you. However, often players will include a small (say two to three paragraph blurb) non-narrative section at the end of their application to detail important things that weren't mentioned elsewhere.
Perhaps it's easiest to focus on specific mental objectives for the character. These would include things like his fears, his mental hang ups, his quirks, his goals, his dreams and desires. What makes him do the things he does?
In this section it is important to avoid cliches of concept as much as it is to avoid cliches of expression. Tired, overworked concepts that bring little life to a game should be avoided. Each setting and each game will have its own list of these cliches of concept. It is best to discuss with the existing playerbase what comprises these cliches so you can best avoid contributing to them.