IMPORTANT - How to Write a Good Application

[Bane]

Also Known As: How to Make us Admin Happy =)

Before you can start roleplaying here on BotW, you must first create your character application, which will then be approved or denied by our team of moderators. This is a simple process, right? However recently, our team has been struggling to cope with this process. Most of the time, we simple don't have the time to worry about having to tell people how to write a good application, because we have lives and responsibilities outside of BotW. For this reason, I have written this fairly simple guide so that perhaps in the future this process will be stress-free.

I hope this will help you when applying for BotW.

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• First things first, run everything you type through a spellchecker. Microsoft Word has a spellchecker, and there are also free ones online. To be honest, if you only have a few words misspelt we won't chase you up on it. However, this is such a simple thing to do and it has stopped lots of people from being accepted. It is the last thing we want to have to tell you to do.
  
• Second, please, please please PLEASE use proper grammar and punctuation. This means capital letters, fullstops, commas, and use words like "and, but, then, however" if you find yourself rambling and you need to break up your sentnce. This is the sort of thing you learn in the very first years of school, and it is good practise now to use it properly, as it will no doubt help you later in life with writing essays and such.
  
• Please take notice of and adhere to the limit allowed on your descriptions. If we say that you must have a minimum of two sentences, write at least two sentences. If you are struggling to find things to say, read on.
  
• When I create a character, I like to know as much as I possibly can about their personality. To do this, I put them in certain situations and think about how they might react - for example, how would they react if attacked by a strange cat? If they were angry or frustrated, what would they do? Would they shout and make a fuss, or run away and hide from the problem? By asking myself these questions, and deciding how the character would react, I learn more about them and I am therefore able to write more about them. To better describe this, I shall split this into parts:
  
  Appearance: Your characters appearance can be absolutely anything you want within the realistic realms of what a domestic cat can look like. However, be imaginative a little bit. As an example, I shall write an example of how I might describe what my own cat looks like:
  
  "Ollie is a grey cat with green eyes and short legs.
  
  So, that tells us what he looks like all right, but it's not imaginative, is it? I have simply told you the basics of what Ollie looks like, and nothing more. I haven't used any describing words, I have just told you facts. Also, I haven't looked in on him in any sort of detail - realistically cats have personal quirks or abnormalities about their appearance that makes them unique and more interesting. A good way to make your descriptions imaginative is to use simile's or metaphors that better give the reader an idea of what the character looks like. Here's an example of a better description:
  
  "Ollie is a solid dark grey cat, with piercing green eyes that are almost always dilated. He is small for his age, with short but strong legs. His face is long and pointed like a siamese, and he bares scars all over his ears that tell stories of the many fights he has been in."
  
  This second description is worthwhile of being accepted. Even so, I had to stop myself from writing more! Always focus in on every little thing about your character - their tail, paws, eyes, ears, muzzle - and try to think of unique things that will make your character interesting.
  
  Personality: I must admit, personalities are difficult. As I mentioned before, it helps to imagine how your character would react to certain situations. Often, their history will affect how they are, so try to think of that too. This is a list of things I try to take into consideration when writing my personality:
  
  General Statement; basically, what is your character like. Some people make the mistake of stopping here.
  
  Good/Evil? a lot of characters in fiction fall into one or the other. This may affect other parts of their personality.
  
  Friendly/Unfriendly? Does your character like company, or do they loath others?
  
  Calm/Angry? Does your character have patience when in difficult situations, or do they get irritable and frustrated?
  
  Playful? Is your character still able to let go and enjoy old fashioned play, or did they grow out of childish play years ago?
  
  Love? Is your character capable of love?
  
  Their best traits? When people are thinking of good things about your character, what is it that springs to mind? Is it their ability to lead and control a situation, or their kind and loving nature? What also fits into this character is if they are best at fighting, hunting of healing. If so, how? Do they use their strength when fighting, or their speed and cunning?
  
  Their worst skills? Not every character can be perfect. How is your character most likely to slip up? Is it their temper, or clumsiness? Do they find it difficult being told what to do, or do they react badly when in difficult situations?
  
  History: Your characters history can be anything within the realms of possibility, so go crazy. Instead of just saying that they left their old clan to go wondering and found a new clan, think; why did they leave their old clan? Was their a feud, did the clan split up, or were there more personal reasons such as did your character get kicked out for doing something wrong? If, so, what? Obviously, younger cats won't have as large a history, and older cats will have more. Seriously, be imaginative and see what happens. Also, do bear in mind that a character's personal history will affect both their personality and appearance. If they were in lots of fights, they will have lots of scars. If they had a bad experience with a mate, they may feel bitter towards others who try to care for them.
  

I hope this has helped in some way or other. Remember, this is just a guideline; you don't have to stick to it, in fact I encourage you to be imaginative and add other things I may not have mentioned. The longer and more filled with juicy information your application is, the better! It also makes roleplaying far more interesting later, when you have a well-thought out character to roam the valley with! =D