Forums » RP Discussion » Getting in Character?

I sometimes have a hard time talking like the character I'm portraying.

When I can actually do it well, it's when I'm reading my post dialogue in the character's voice. However, it's sort of hard to make that happen, because when I read it in my voice, I have a hard time speaking like my character. I tend to speak more like... me.

Is that the same way with anybody else? If so, could you give me tips as to how to trigger the voice thingy?

Do you mean style of speaking, accents...?

Mostly style of speaking.

I guess what you can try is thinking in your head how your character would speak, and typing it like that. Or, maybe, find other rpers and look in books and watch different shows to see how different characters speak and act, and then figure out how your character would speak based on that.
I mean, those ideas work, right? Ouo

True, but I've been looking at this one character's quotes over and over and to no avail. I still keep talking like myself, or I'm not entirely pleased with how I worded it. It's aggravating. I had it earlier, but then I lost it. I don't know how to replicate it. >~<

For me, it helps to read up on things my character likes or does. Speaking like them depends on how vividly I can picture them. I can picture them better if I remember their personalities, likes, dislikes, past events, the way they dress etc.

Try not to beat yourself up too much about sounding like yourself! Remember we're always our own worst critics, chances are it's not nearly as bad as you think.

I tend to catch myself making them talk like me a lot. I'll reread it, consider their background and personality, and try to adjust it to fit. It's usually just a word swap here and there, and occasionally rewriting a phrase. Of course, I'm not really sure how well I really do at not sounding like myself.

One of the things I have is that a number of my characters have some form of accent; Kyra's language it very lazy, for example, and Willow speaks like a child who doesn't quite have all the sounds down yet. One of the trickier ones, who isn't here, is a woman with a vaguely African-ish accent, who additionally requires special phrasing to show that English (or whatever the "Common" language is) is very much not her first language. The three parts of pulling those off are

1. Remember who's supposed to talk like what to begin with, and maintaining consistency.
2. Saying the line out loud (or at least whispered) several times to get a feel for it - especially since certain words will affect how other words are pronounced, as will general structure and emphasis.
3. Remembering to still keep it readable. When I get going with Kyra, for example, the longer I play her at any given time, the more clearly her lazy language shows, to the point that I'm not reminding myself to do it, I'm reminding myself not to do it too much.

I can't talk like my characters at all. I usually "hear" their voices in my head--they all have their own personalities--so it's easy to tell them apart. And I think about them a lot. Mostly because they run amok in my headspace--even when I'm out and about doing errands.

From there, it's not so much what they say, but how they say it. I usually go with their attitude and how it affects what they say and how they talk. Do they use proper grammar? Colloquialisms? Do they want to be seen as educated or do they have any education? Are they proud of it? Do they care how others view them?

I dunno. I usually just write them as they are. But then I spend a lot of time thinking about them, so that it comes second-nature to me. Some characters I do have to think about, but then once I'm in that "zone", I'm good.

It just takes practice and consistency. Keep at it, and you'll find yourself falling into the character more easily every time.

Well, if you have noticed a stray Sheogorath in the forum games and other topics, that would be me.
When I have a lot of time to think my words, like RPing on here, it's much easier.
However, when I'm staying in-character on Furcadia, that's when it gets hard, since I'm mostly improvising and I don't have much time to think.
Sheogorath's accent and speech is a bit hard to put into words. His voice actor describes it as highly exaggerated Scottish and Irish blended. However, when it comes to the actual words... well, if you know the things Sheogorath tends to say, you understand my point.

that's funny because I'm pretty sure anyone who played the game would describe it as indistinguishable from any of the other voice acting in the game

which is to say the vocal equivalent of a stick figure painted on a sheet of cardboard

turns out alternating yelling with normal volume does not equal interesting vocal work