Hi, my name is NadiLee. I'm a vampire witch with five children. Ok… so that isn't exactly true, because NadiLee is a character in the novels I'm writing and one I role play with.

Where it all began for me:

I've lived inside made up characters since I was about nine years old. I would shut myself in my room for hours acting out scenes, using Barbie dolls to be the different characters. When my brother was about three, I found my partner for most of the "Ken" roles. Then I started writing down these plays, making it much easier to remember who my characters were and what they did.

Now I look back and see my Barbie days as the early stages of a lifetime of enjoyment with role playing and the beginning of my life as a writer. Back then I was simply playing and the Internet wasn't part of our lives. Now, role playing has turned into a character development resource for writers.

Role playing, in its simplest form, is acting. You choose what your characters do and make them do it. The actor is also the creator. You don't merely act out the characters, you become them. In many ways, this is also what we do as writers.

Kinds of Role Play:

Internet role playing is a popular form of entertainment. A Google search of "role playing" gives 10,300,000 pages. With so many sites out there you are sure to find a site which fits your unique characters. There are sites with message boards where role playing is done one post at a time, like on Abyss City, a vampire based site which also, lets your characters battle each other and become more powerful within the game. Many sites with distinct worlds like Abyss have special groups that only certain members can join.

Brittany Lardie, a long time role player and writer, suggests, "[In] a forum setting, read other role plays to get a feel for the level and style of role playing on the board. Lurk a bit to get a feel for things."

Dae Matejka, writer and former editor of purplepjs.com (and whose early characters and their stories were also based on her childhood times with Barbie) said, "You can find a group you're compatible with, but still, you have to be open to letting things proceed like they want to (or like the majority of the players want it to go)."

There are many different kinds of role playing and the key is finding one that works for you. Bethany Hamilton, a writer, who has been role playing for about seven years, offered these tips, "Don't settle. It might take a long time, but if [you] find a partner [you] really mesh with, it's worth every idiot [you] dealt with before that. Also, keep it light. Role play shouldn't be about writing the great American novel. It should be about relaxing, letting loose, and letting your characters out for some fun before you write the great American novel. Think about it as a recess."

Try a character chat if you want your characters to meet new people. Some of these can be as simple as characters standing around talking to each other like; they do every Friday night on Authors by Design, a site for writers. And for those of us who don't want a lot of people to role play with at once, try an instant messenger role play or email role play.

Michael Vaughn, writer and long time role player suggests, "[starting] with friends. Then you aren't self conscious about people reading your role plays that you don't think are up to par. ...Just give it time and write what your character would do...you will get the hang of it and get to know your character as if he was your brother or best friend."

What you need to know about your character:

It's true that role play can be a good tool for character development, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do your homework first. It may sound silly to know your character before you start but it is a critical step. You can but shouldn't role play just knowing your character's name.

There are as many different places to start as there are different characters to create. I tend to start with a plot idea. For example, Christian started out as a way to surprise NadiLee. She had no idea her sister had a child. Sometimes, I create a character to play out problems in my fiction worlds I can't deal with on my own. That was the idea behind Rose, who died of cancer shortly after both of my grandfathers died. She was a side character but the effect of her death still has an impact on her family.

Brittany Lardie suggested this about developing characters, "Usually it's getting a concept of what kind of person I want it to be; personality, a vague background, a bit on appearance. From there I find a name. Most of the time my characters are parts of my own personality with some traits more predominant than others."

"Some come from dreams, like the one that inspired the novel I'm presently working on," says Robin Layne. "…Remember that your writing does not have to match the role play, but you might get some good ideas from it that wouldn't have come to you otherwise." Robin is a writer and monitor of Fanged Muse a role play and critique group on Authors by Design.

Get to know your characters. It doesn't matter where you start as long as you can get into character. For example, before I even started to role play NadiLee, years ago, I knew she was 22 years old, about 6'3 with long dark brown hair. I also knew she was deaf and lived in foster care until she was 18. For me that was enough, because through the interaction with other characters I was able to bring her to the point she is at today.

Scott Eason, writer and role player, offers these tips, "Respect the other people doing the role playing. And don't let your characters be so rigid that they can't adapt to different things. [You might] be uncomfortable …but have them try to at least adapt to it."

At the very least, I would suggest you be able to answer these questions about your character:

1. What is the character's name? Your character has to go by something. It's doesn't have to be a full name. You could simply start with Sara.
2. How old is the character? A character is always going to have an age even if they don't know how old they are.
3. What event in their life brought them to where they are? You don't have to know their whole background but you do need to know why they are in the situation they are in.
4. What does the character look like? It maybe true that looks aren't everything but by all means don't forget about it for your character. You may be able to get away with it for a while but people will want to know. Remember, looks tend to show a lot about personality.
5. What is the character? It may sound silly but you have to know who they are in the most general of terms. Are they human with a job? If that's the case are they over bearing or weak or a combination of both? What is their job? Are they the most evil of all werewolves in your book? You have to be able to portray that when you role play them out.

Role-playing will also help iron out problems when all your characters sound and act just like you. Paula W. a writer who has been role playing for about 12 years, offered this "…it's a very good idea to… think about what [your] character would do as opposed to [your] own actions, because it's always a little strange when someone goes out of character."

When you pick a site, remember, there is no real point in role playing there if you don't fit in both in character and out. These people and their characters will mostly like become your friends; so, if you don't fit it will just be harder on you.

Put it all together:

Let's put it all together and I'll show you what I mean, in a scene between NadiLee and Rena. The basic format is the one I use for instant messenger role plays. I normally don't use quotation marks when there are actions as well. I use quotes when I am talking with no actions.

From what you see of Rena, you can tell that she is new to something NadiLee understands. Rena is a new vampire and seems shy maybe lonely. Rena is probably no more developed then a character than a character in your own newly started work in progress. So, if you find yourself struggling with a character who simply won't take on a life of his/her own, try role playing and watch your characters come alive.