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Pokemon OC Trainer tips?

I've been at a standstill with my stories. I can't establish a good personality or backstory without leaving a bunch of holes in them.

So I have a young trainer from Hoenn named Nicole. She's smart, friendly, and all that fun stuff. Instead of intentions of being a stereotypical trainer, wanting to catch em all, she's into studying and observing Pokemon, thinking of being a marine biologist when she grows up and I've been told that this is a nice touch. But as far as everything else goes, I don't know.

What do you think? What else could I add?
 

Linkachu

Hero of Pizza
Staff member
Administrator
Someone once suggested that the best way to get to know a character is to treat them as if they were real and you're just observing them. While that may not be realistic when you're struggling to picture them in general, try pondering how your character might behave in different situations.

Would they hop out of bed each morning or drag themselves out like a zombie?
What would they typically eat for breakfast, if anything?
Do they care much for their appearance hair-wise? Clothing-wise?
Are they organized or a bit more freestyle?
On a regular day, how would they interact with their family? Friends? Strangers?
How do they handle conflicts with other people?
Do they cope well with stress?
Beyond Pokemon, what are their likes and hobbies?
Would they more likely be called a follower or a leader?
Are they talkative or more of an observer?
Are Pokemon partners, friends/family, tools, a means to an ends, etc.?
Etc. etc.

The more you poke away at random questions like these the clearer Nicole will likely become in your mind. I wouldn't feel right telling you specifically what you should do with her because she's your character, but I'd be curious to see how you'd answer some of the above questions. :)
 
Would they hop out of bed each morning or drag themselves out like a zombie?
What would they typically eat for breakfast, if anything?
Do they care much for their appearance hair-wise? Clothing-wise?
Are they organized or a bit more freestyle?
On a regular day, how would they interact with their family? Friends? Strangers?
How do they handle conflicts with other people?
Do they cope well with stress?
Beyond Pokemon, what are their likes and hobbies?
Would they more likely be called a follower or a leader?
Are they talkative or more of an observer?
Are Pokemon partners, friends/family, tools, a means to an ends, etc.?

1. Zombie
2. Depends on craving
3. Clothing: doesn't matter on looking good, just looking ready. Hair: Meh
4. Freestyle
5. With Family and friends
6. She isn't too familiar w/ social situations but we'll see during her journey...
7. We'll see...
8. She loves to watch and observe wild Pokemon, go swimming, explore nearby routes, be outdoors in general
9. follower
10. observer, duh!
11. partners as of right now anyways.
 

Shiny Motley

2016 Singles Football
There are several sites and pages out there devoted to character development and the like; googling "character development questions" gives many, many of results to use!

I actually found a pretty good article on common mistakes on character descriptions- actually, springhole.net has several interesting articles to look at. I might not agree with some of their things, but they're a good starting point to think about your character and building them up to be more interesting.

Also, I personally like taking personal experience or experience I know from my friends/acquaintances/etc. and wondering how that might've molded the character to be who they are now. Also, keep in mind that while backstory is important, it shouldn't be the 100% defining factor of your character: a few holes here and there that aren't completely explained is usually fine and normal.
 
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