Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2014 13:26:57 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Quietness is a very broad trait and the reason to each individual is unique. Also, I will not delve into personality theories and types because it’s complicated. I will therefore only be using personal experience and Internet research to compile this guide. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Quiet people are quiet for different reasons. Society always choose to slap on negative labels on quiet people, calling them rude, stuck up, annoying, or even shy and awkward (which are genuine cognitive problems). In the world of roleplaying, playing a quiet character may be interpreted as bad roleplaying or unwillingness to interact. On the surface, a quiet character may also seem like a setback to IC interaction: how do you interact when your character clearly won’t? In order to let yourself and other players understand, sympathize, and grow to like your character, you must first ask yourself the causes behind the behavior.
Understanding a Quiet Character:
Causes
Everyone has individual reasons to choose to stay quiet. Quietness is also not a consistent state and unless your character is suffering from mutism, there are obviously times where they would choose to speak. Here are some situations in which your character may stay quiet in:
-They are normally awkward in a new situation
-They are having severe PMS and are suffering from mood swings
-Everyone else knows each other and are ignoring them
-Their minds are preoccupied with other pressing issues such as finances or relationship problems
-They cannot find anything to converse with the person they are looking at
-They dislike the person they are talking to
-They have something to hide, which limits their interaction with people
-As all humans does, your character can also appear as quiet to one person or in one situation, but completely talkative the next. When people are generally more comfortable with one another, they would tend to start opening up. Enrolling in a new school or meeting new people are some common situations where one might stay quiet.
If it’s not a situational cause, here are some cognitive and psychological causes for the quiet behavior:
Introversion:
Introversion is defined as the state toward being wholly/predominantly concerned with and interested in one’s own mental life. People who are introverted tend to be quieter in groups or around people they don’t know, due to the fact that they are easily overwhelmed by social gatherings. Introverts may also prefer a quiet environment, but they aren’t necessary afraid of talking. They may choose not to do small talk, but talk only when they have something to say.
Introversion is defined as the state toward being wholly/predominantly concerned with and interested in one’s own mental life. People who are introverted tend to be quieter in groups or around people they don’t know, due to the fact that they are easily overwhelmed by social gatherings. Introverts may also prefer a quiet environment, but they aren’t necessary afraid of talking. They may choose not to do small talk, but talk only when they have something to say.
Shyness:
People who are shy feel uncomfortable and awkward around people, especially in new and unfamiliar social situations. They fear negative reactions to what they do and say, and hence, may prefer to not talk or meet anyone at all to be safer.
Social Anxiety Disorder:
This is an anxiety disorder defined as intense fear of social situations. Being in social settings may prompt self-conscious thoughts, dread, and excessive reviewing of their actions prior and after the event because the sufferers think that they may do something wrong. Also among the symptoms are physical and behavioural ones such as stammering, blushing, panic attacks, nervousness, and avoiding eye contact. Being quiet is therefore one of the ways to avoid social interaction.
There are cases of mutism, which is either the failure of the refusal to speak in certain/all situations for a period of time over 1 month (selective and elective mutism, respectively). However, this is more common and documented in children. There are adults who claim to still suffer some symptoms for their childhood selective mutism.
Consistency & Realism
It’s important to be consistent when playing a quiet character. It can be frustrating when you want to interact but have to keep IC, which leaves many things unsaid. However, if your character is shy, they wouldn’t stay quiet the first encounter and start jabbering away the next.
One has to be realistic when it comes to writing a quiet character. For example, a character cannot suddenly just be soaking in contemplative, calm quietness after a trauma. A trauma (eg. PTSD, brain trauma, etc) would not only render the person quiet, but distracted, fearful, and jumpy. There isn’t research to suggest that a certain traumatic event from a long time ago would change only the talkative aspect of a person. Trauma (even physical trauma, like brain trauma) usually results in a series of psychological and cognitive symptoms that may include/lead to quietness.
Be sure to research on how your character will act as a whole. For example, people who are shy may not smile a lot (or smile naturally and generously, so to speak). It’s strange to write a shy character who is painfully quiet but grins to everything their acquaintances say. Their smiles may be forced or slightly curved downwards (indicating awkwardness); they may even grimace. But of course, this may vary. Personally, I am someone who is mildly shy and also introverted. After years of practice, I can sometimes produce a genuine smile, and I can hold a conversation full of small talk fairly okay, though I would not offer to speak first.
Tips on How to Play a Quiet Character:
001: How do I play a quiet character?
After you determined the cognition, disorders, or personality traits behind your character, do some research. Like mentioned above, quietness is a broad trait and there is no one way to play a quiet character unless in pertaining to underlying causes. If you are playing a shy character, consider some stereotypical behaviours that they partake in. Avoiding eye contact, staying at home, or being awkward are some examples. If you play an introverted character, they may be confidently quiet, always listening, and they may choose to avoid long periods of times with crowds. It’s the same with other disorders and reasons.
There are other ways of getting ideas across without having your character talking. During para-ing, I prefer writing out my character’s thoughts, especially in reaction to the situation. Is your character freaking out inside? Are they frantically thinking of ways to get away from the person? Writing out thoughts is also a way to tell your roleplaying partner what your character is thinking. Describing small details about your character also brings the reader’s attention to their silence or discomfort. Is your character furiously avoiding eye contact, looking at their watch, or picking at their nails?
003: How do I develop my character?
Like everyone else, when your character gets comfortable in familiar settings and around friends, they will tend to open up. You can play around with this and determine the stimuli (situations, people, etc) that would eventually make your character open up. From personal experience, there are turning points that I would react to that makes me grow a little less socially awkward, like the smile from a colleague, or a joke that I made that was well-received. For my character, it was just the growing familiarity of the new town that she just moved into, along with the friendliness of her neighbours.
You can do this by slowing changing the way your character talks, the way they smile, or the way they greet strangers. The way to do it is to be subtle. You don’t have to outright tell everyone hey, my character is now friendly and talkative, come and talk! It’s frankly, quite unrealistic, unless that’s how your character reacts to a new situation. A quiet person may start off unwilling to interact with anyone; for example, he eats alone every day for lunch at school. The turning point would be when someone makes small talk with him and ask him where he usually goes for lunch. After replying, your character might be willing to suggest having lunch together with his new acquaintance. As he opens up more, his smiles may be more genuine. He may find it easier to greet people every day.
004: How do I not come off as rude both IC and OOC?
IC: By writing and playing your character consistently and accurately, your character should not appear to be rude. As mentioned above, in order to convey the fact that your character is shy/introverted/etc, it’s important to describe various physical cues and para their thoughts. Once other roleplayers pick up the shy and introverted vibes your character is sending theirs, there should be no misunderstandings.
OOC: First off, every roleplayer should be mature enough to know that IC =/= OOC. A quiet, or even rude character, does not mean the roleplayer is quiet or rude. One can interact OOC through tags and asks to keep friendships going (it depends on your RPG rules). Getting feedback from the admins and other roleplayers also show that you are friendly and willing to learn and integrate better into the group.
005: Lastly, how do I ensure a good flow of IC interaction?
Playing quiet characters can be a little frustrating, especially when it comes to gif chatting because then they tend to answer in one-liners. We have already covered that for para-ing - that is to write out thoughts and describe behavioural cues. One way to fix this during gif chats is to find someone to plot with. Arrange it such that the other roleplayer would always prompt your character to talk. Find a best friend, a boyfriend, or a sibling for your character to open up to when they are talking. Your character don’t have to interact with everyone - in fact, interacting with everyone might even be unrealistic for a quiet character like them - but by being affectionate and talkative with people they are close to show other characters around them exactly who they are - someone who is quiet and shy/reserved/introverted, as opposed to rude/stuck-up/weird.
Please note that the contents of this guide are from NORTH HELPS, as she can summarize this much better than I can. Feel free to add to this dicsussion by posting comments or questions below!
Please note that the contents of this guide are from NORTH HELPS, as she can summarize this much better than I can. Feel free to add to this dicsussion by posting comments or questions below!