Character Creation Do's and Don'ts
The following rules are culled mainly from an excellent article on the E-Casa website written by Bryant Berggren. To go to the actual article, click here. Additions from me are in brackets <>.
1) Plagiarism is an ugly word, and it's best to keep it as far away from anything you're doing as possible. "Because I thought it was cool when {insert wrestler} did it" is exactly the wrong reason to take any action.
2) Originality 3:16 says, don't tack your name onto a chapter/verse number.
3) It's not enough to know why you do something. You must know why "he", your character, is doing something. If this reason can not be made abundantly clear and obvious to anyone who asks in two sentences or less, maybe it's not a well-developed reason.
4) <"Because I Thought it was cool when {insert wrestler} did it" is not a well-developed reason>
5) Be nice to your local e-fed Promoter. Except in rare circumstances, they aren't getting paid for this -- their paycheck is your enjoyment. Keep in the communication lines open -- mail them when you get a card, tell them what is and is not working for you. Reply to polls and surveys. <Above all else, realize that although your promoter does everything in his power to get things out expediently and make sure you're having fun, this is a *HOBBY* and as such must sometimes take the backburner in his life.>
6) Kayfabe is king. The purpose of e-wrestling, in the end, is to create a shared illusion; there is no point in shattering that illusion. Avoid using out of character jargon on the actual cards. Avoid smirking comments aimed more at players than characters. <Remember when you play that in actual wrestling, not *everyone* is on the net, only some read wrestling websites and a *SMALL* fraction understand carny talk and even less tend to enjoy kayfabe breaking on actual broadcasts. In other words, Don't Be Vince Russo.>
7) Originality 3:16 says, don't have your characters label themselves "the franchise".
8) It is a more important skill in e-wrestling to be able to lose gracefully than win consistently. Unless your league is booked (and no one I know will admit to this being the case), the odds are against a perfect record, moreso with multiple characters.
9) <Do not assume just because you label your character a face or a heel that the fans will react as such. VERY rarely will a crowd go wild...with either cheers or heat...when a character debuts. At least in EWC, the GM will determine crowd reaction, and it is based largely on what you say and do and how the other players react to that>
10) There's nothing inherently wrong with a catchphrase -- but it has to be catchy.
11) The most satisfying wrestling stables are the ones where every member is a different player. Creativity is like genetics: hybrids of multiple partners are stronger and healthier than division of a single entity.
12) Most of us probably consider ourselves smarter than Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo. . With this in mind, if something on TV makes you want to scream obscenities at the fed and/or turn the channel, make a silent promise to yourself to never to do that something to your e-fed(s). You, unlike WCW, would actually have to hear the people saying "F*** YOU {YOUR NAME HERE} F*** YOU!".
13) Originality 3:16 says, if the Rock won't let his own tag team partner steal his catchphrases, what do you think he's going to do to you? Hint: it probably involves a nearby object, a lateral rotation, and one of your internal organs.
14) Knock-off names aren't cute or amusing, they're distracting and damage the credibility of your league. You Know Who You Are.
15) Spelling and grammar are usually sensitive topics, but here's just a few suggestions for card and flash writers alike:
-An ellipse (...) means something has been omitted. It can represent the idea of a voice trailing off, but most sentences should end with a period (.), not an ellipse. A sudden break of thought (either interrupted by an outside event, or a swerve in verbal direction) should be indicated by a dash (--).
-There are three dots in an ellipse (...). The number of the dots shall be three, and three shall be the number of the dots. Thou shalt not type four dots, nor shalt thou type 2 dots except as thou proceeds immediately to type a third. Five is right out.
-Actually, three is generally a good number for any kind of multiplied punctuation ("???", "!!!", "?!?"). Don't go overboard.
-It doesn't really matter exactly what sort of punctuation you use to indicate names of speakers, action separated from speech, et al. -- but it does need to be consistent within a product. This means that promoters need to be ready to edit an incoming flash to the "official" style of the card being written. <That having been said, take the time to know how promoters generally like their written promos set up within a card>
-<Most e-mail programs have a spellchecker. It takes 30 seconds usually to check a promo out. It won't get *EVERYTHING*, but it will help. Try it, judge for yourself.>
16) The word is "savate", as in boxe Francais savate. There's an "e" there at the end.
17) <See Rule #9 again. One of the two big reasons submissions get turned down is because their character cuts a heel promo that they expect the fans to pop for. I cannot stress this enough. It is the easiest thing in the world to be an asshole, and that's not enough to get a character in. We have assholes in the fed, but they have a story to them. If you can't be original, don't be obviously derivative>
18) Stay informed. Even if you don't think you have the time to play in other promotions, try lurking on their mailing lists.
19) Remember how people complain when older stars hog the spotlight rather than putting over the new talent? Are you doing anything to help out the new blood in your league?
20) <If your character isn't accepted, if you send me another e-mail asking why, I will tell you, in no uncertain terms. If you wish, after redesigning the character, you can resubmit. I'm not out to exclude anyone. I want good players, whether they're good coming in, or even if I can help them to become good.>