The first step to take in creating a Blogging Character is choosing what kind of Character we want to make blog. Options are boundless, but let’s list a few of them:
- alien or robot
- magical being or elf
- human being (with or without special powers)
- animated objects (sentient cups, fridges, etc.)
- talking animals or plants
Once you have your idea of a character, you may try to make him/her more ‘real’ by sketching him/her down on paper, and/or by writing a short paragraph about him/her, that you may edit as much as you like until you come to a stable idea of WHO your character is. You may also recycle this paragraph later on for the About Me section of his/her blog.
What is really important at this stage of the craft is to get to know your Character better. Just like you would do to a new friend or classmate, you will start with asking questions, share your point of view, etc. You can do this with your new Character as well: just write down a letter to him/her, filled with questions, and then answer to each of them as if you were your Character. That way, you’ll get to know your creation better, and at the same time you’ll begin familiarizing with the blogging style of “pretending to be someone else”.
Another factor to take in consideration is what rating you wish to assign to your Blogging Character. My suggestion is to go no upper than PG-17, since most blog readers are usually in the range of 10-18 years of age. Although I’ll discuss this matter in the next article, just make sure you get an idea of how ‘adult’ you want your Character to be, at this stage, because his/her blogging topics will mostly depend on it.
Last but not least, start thinking of ways of interaction with other people and/or Characters. You want your Character to be interactive and all-round, learning from others and evolving with time. Think up of a speaking style (would your Character use more a youth slang, or be more formal and use correct grammar?) and take notes as you develop your Character. All of this information will make things easier for you as you read through the guide and setup your Blogging Character site.