Forums » RP Discussion » What to do when a character loses its spark.

I'm not going to list which of my characters, as I don't want this to be a personal pity party, but I wanted to hear from the community about this. What happens when you realize you don't know what to do with a character? I don't just mean momentary writers block, I mean when you sit down and realize the core of your character is kind of... gone. You're not sure what to do for them, or what motivates them, and you don't know how to make them grow, and engaged in the story. What do you do to fix it, or at least get out of the funk that comes with it?

For the past few weeks, I've been running into this problem. I have a character that isn't bad but, frankly put, dull. I have no idea what to do with them, but I've had them so long, that I don't want to get rid of all that work. Should I revamp them, store their info away for another time, or just give up? I've no clue.

But I wanted to hear from you guys too. What stores can you tell about old characters growing stale? Any advice for me and the rest of the community?

No, but seriously, kill them. Death is a fantastic way for a character that, though the core concepts are sound and great and wonderful, has become mired in details. The possibilities of it are endless, be it brain damage from being dead slightly too long, to being a completely new person as a result. You can even pull of having two souls in one body if you do it right.

Death is fantastic.

It really depends on, well... lots of things. I've had characters that were best just abandoned. I've had characters that have been collecting dust for years because I like them, and just don't know what to do with them. I've had characters that were once everything, but kinda got meh - and sometimes, after time and some decent revamping (that is often pretty much a total recreation), start to glow again.

I make them go away for a while, icly. I don't kill them off, because even ten years later, I'll randomly sometimes want to play them again.

JayBird's got it right, in my opinion. However, I cannot let go of my babies. First thing I'll do is sit down and try to rework or revamp. If that isn't working, I scrap the character if they're standalone. Or I kill 'em off within the "story" (I use this loosely because by story I mean weakly connected events and characters in my head, lol). But BOY do I try hard to save them.

I'm actually at these crossroads with my oldest OC: I love him to pieces but I haven't had any new inspiration with him. I'm afraid I might have to kill him off.

Like Kidd and Jay, I think death is sort of the universal go-to when looking to reignite that flame. But it can't sometimes sit uneasy with you, you know? So much time and effort, and then... well. But it does often work.

I've one long keystone in my arsenal that has managed to avoid the chopping block thus far for a few years now, mostly because I created him with sparse details to begin with and he just grew on his own, with help from really fun rps.

If I can suggest anything it's to throw them into the hands of someone you trust and let them "adopt" the role and show you the results of a few rps. A fresh point of view can really get the blood flowing again.

First, a character's motivations are more important than what the character looks like! In most cases, motivation creates the appearance. Which is very, very good. But if a character isn't broadcasting itself to you, then it may be time to recycle them. Take their basics and transfer their ideals into a different character chassis. I've done this a few times and I feel as if it renews the character, keeping some of the old and ushering in some of the new. In time, you could stack experiences onto each other and create a very well designed character.

Though the others have suggested killing them, I agree, but not completely. Rather, I suggest thinking of how they would die. Do they sacrifice themselves for others, end up being slain by a disgruntled farmer's lad, or do they purposefully die to take their gathered knowledge with them to the grave? They could die of old age and it would still provide at least a little insight as to what motivates them, if you critically think of what led the character to that point. Kill them, in your head!

I one hundred percent agree that you kill them. Give them a beautiful or tragic ending. Then rebirth them. Take parts that you loved, and make them better. Toss out the parts that you feel made them dull. Tweek the backstory. Make them from an alternate timeline, or SURPRISE, this is a child of the previous character (100% easier to do with guys; that one night stand that you forgot about.) or something along those lines. Basically, end their life and give them a new one, without entirely sacrificing all the parts you loved.