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The history of your character is just as important as his or her personality, especially considering the two directly influence each other. An in-depth history will give you something to write about when you're stuck. The more memories you can call up for your character, the better! It makes them interesting, both for you and the people you interact with. A character with a brutal, abusive past could end up brutal and abusive as well, or he could strive to be the exact opposite of his past oppressors. A character with a loving, sheltered past probably wouldn't be all that street smart and will likely be amazed and mystified with much of the world. An interesting and rich history will only help create an character that is fun to play.
Bad Example"Allyn was born to a pack. His parents were killed in a pack war and so were his brothers and sisters. He is sad because of this, the reasoning behind his run-away. He has lived a year on his own."
This is a pretty poor example of a proper history for a few reasons. First of all, "pack wars" of such a genocidal nature, if common, would virtually wipe out the wolf population. Not good, right? Second of all, it's pretty bland and not detailed much at all. Who were the brothers and sisters and mother and father? How important were they to him? What was his relationship like with each of them? What about the other pack members? How did he survive the year on his own? Who did he meet and see in that time? Where did he go? Detail is important when writing a character history!
Important!Here are three important things to remember when writing a character's history:
- Why did s/he leave their first pack, and why are they now seeking a new pack?
- Who were his or her parents and other close relatives, and what was the relationship between them?
- Where was their former pack? How far away was it? How long have they traveled?
The first one is very important, as the reason can sometimes come up in joining threads. A flimsy reason might end up getting your character turned away from a pack. The second may shape future relationships with others. With cold and distant parents, your character may be starved for attention. The third is important for traveling distance: if the wolf left a pack at the tender age of six months and wandered the wild world for hundreds of miles, you're going to have to have some filler material for those hundreds of miles.
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