Welcome to Pottersworld! For a lot of you (and I know this is certainly the case for the majority of the staff) this will be your first time roleplaying. A lot of us had to go through a learning curve on how to actually do it and plenty of mistakes were made along the way.... some easily fixed, others not so much.

So before you sign up, here are some handy hints from a not-quite veteran but someone who has seen enough people come and go to get a pretty clear picture of what does and doesn't work on PW and how to create a character both you and other people enjoy.

Naming your Character
Your character's name is the first impression anyone gets and yes, people do judge you on that. Of course, even those with odd or plain bad names can still be wonderful roleplayers but you have to fight against your name to be taken seriously.

In the HPverse odd names are not necessarily bad but there are still some things that just don't fit inside the universe JKR has set out for us.

There are several well defined categories for names:

• Floral (Lily, Myrtle, Pansy, Lavender)
• Traditional English (Millicent, James, Harry, Ron)
• Culturally flavoured (Padma, Cho, Fleur)
• Hidden meaning (mythic, Latin or puns) (Remus, Sirius, Minerva, Albus, Argus, Severus)

A lot of people name characters what they wish to be named themselves, something more exotic or unique. While this can work, think about what you're doing. I've known a lot of kids with 'unique' names who wanted to strangle their parents and just want to be called Sally or John, and a lot of kids who have dull names and want to be called T'Shondra. The point is, don't name them what you yourself would like to be called, think about your character's heritage, their parents, the plot you want them in, their personality, and ask yourself – does their name reflect that?

Some of the best named characters on this site don't have names that call attention to themselves but they sound so authentic and lend genuineness to the character – you already believe in them.

Last names are also just as important because last names give an idea about what kind of social class your character is from, or where their ancestors came from. If they have an unusual first name, perhaps stick with a less unusual last name to balance them out. Or if you're trying for a name that gives a hint as to their character (for example: Draco Malfoy) then try to make a theme of it and not just randomly select words because they sound cool.

Last names are also interesting for the fact that they bring history to the character without even trying! Long ago in Great Britain, people were named for their occupations (Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker, Smith, Taylor, Barker, Mason), their township, parish, county or estate or even just a description of where they lived/were born (Carlisle, Kent, Matlock, Abberton, Atwood, Marsh, Blacktree), or they had surnames that described physical or personality traits like Armstrong, Goodson etc.

Also, the suffix of 'son' or 'kin' could be added a name to show so and so was the son or daughter of whomever, Thompson and Thompkins – both meaning 'son or kin of Thom'.

Don't even get me started on Irish, Welsh and Scottish names.

Or foreign ones, for that matter.

Of course, you don't have use names such as this, but they do show a bit of lineage and background without you even trying. Other names obviously exist but just as a bit of help when you're trying to decide, it's interesting, isn't it? (Or it is to me)

Handy hints:

- American names very rarely work in the context of this game unless you have a character whose background is American somewhere. Think British – it comes off better and there's definitely a well of names. Do google searches for "British surnames".

- Look towards the books for the types of names available. Names don't have to be 'pretty', 'unique' or anything extraordinary – if you want to make your character have an unusual name, check up sites about the different kinds of gods or goddesses in mythology. JKR favoured Roman and Greek mythology, but Celtic, Norse and German also have some pretty interesting names.

- Other languages are fine, but figure this into their background if possible.

- When deciding on a name, 'play around' alittle with different first and last name combinations to see what sounds best.

- 'Unusual' to us is not the same in the HPverse to what we would consider unusual. Everyone and their uncle could be called Calpurnia for all we know, it could be the Wizarding world's Sarah.

- Old fashioned names are awesome. They add a wonderful cultural flavour to characters and I find them to be more memorable for it. Names that have long gone out of fashion but have that whimsical, old worldy feel to them, like Florence, Bernard, Alfred, Gertrude, Edward, Cedric, Beatrice, Constance etc

- Keep a little running list of interesting names as you see them – you can find them anywhere: from history books, to English texts to phonebooks to searching on the internet for tradtional Irish or Welsh surnames to the credits of movies (I especially recommend going and checking out those backstagers on movies, people like the Lighting Crew and art director, you may find an unusual but actual and wonderful sounding name in there).

- For heaven's sake! Try to pick a name that is semi-pronouncable! You may have trouble with other characters continually asking "How do you pronounce your name again?"

Picking a Character Face

Just as names are important, the second impression one has of your character is that of how they look. While generally people are a lot less pretty in real life, we do have to rely on celebrities and models for character faces, so this makes diversity a bit of a problem (though a lot of actors and actresses have interesting faces over what might be considered 'traditionally attractive').

Consider that your character does have to age and you may want to pick a celebrity with a long career in acting, or at least a diverse amount of looks to pull this off.

Go for celebrities with 'character', not perfection. Even if it's just an overbite, or crooked teeth, or a too big forehead, gangly arms – it's far better than a flat, dull 'Oh, aren't they so pretty?' face/model with a vapid smile, bouncy gold hair and too-perfect teeth with whom no one can relate to.

An interesting character face gives you better descriptions too. Consider 'She smiled, her perfect teeth and pink full lips curving up into an expression of delight' to 'when she smiled, the charming thing about it was the way her two front teeth overlapped and the way her tongue flicked out against them for just that moment before she laughed'. You have more to do with a character with physical flaws, they are more three-dimensional – people who write perfect characters are generally considered to be unimaginative and dull.

Also, the age thing – while not always possible to find celebrities who are around eleven or twelve, pick ones that at least don't look too old in the photographs you choose to use. Yes, they do give off visual hints as to how your character is supposed to look and I doubt anyone will ever be spot on the money, but choosing an old and haggard actor to play an eleven year old boy or a buxom, surgery enhanced, fake tanned beanpole for your innocent little girl kind of ruins the illusion, don't you think?

Personality, Background and Character

So, now we've stopped judging a book by its cover, here are some bits and pieces that ought to help guide you in figuring out who this little brainchild of yours is.

- Flaws -
Flaws are VERY important in the building of a well rounded character. No one on this entire earth is perfect and even in mythology none of the gods were perfect, so trying to flounce around convincing everyone your character is the epitome of awesome isn't going to work. Other characters will call you out on it and generally it becomes quite humorous to see a character who is going on and on about how wonderful they are, how hot, how smart, how talented, how adored – I'm afraid you're going to get laughed at.

Unless you're doing it some ironic fashion, coming into this game with the idea that everyone is going to love you is actually godmoding, which is against our rules. Playing a vain character is entirely a personal choice so long as you don't start saying that everyone thinks of them this way. That's a reputation you have to earn through RP.

It would be lovely if we didn't have to deal with honking great personality flaws but ultimately we do. It's no crime to make a character selfish or arrogant.... in fact it's interesting to read. Some people may want everyone to always agree with and love their characters but reading about them gets pretty boring even if they're 'hilarious'. They become one trick ponies if they don't have any other sides to them.

- Evil-ness -
Very few eleven year olds are evil! I mean, we've all considered this notion while sitting on public transport but they're not actually evil, just poorly behaved, selfish, arrogant and quite often unbathed. Some kids of that age are pretty cool and reserved – it doesn't mean they'll go evil and alternately the happiest kid in the bunch isn't necessarily going to be completely good. No one stays the same from eleven to whenever, so try for a character arc in which they develop, grow, learn, and mature.

If you want them to be evil, do it in small degrees. They can come from a snobby, pureblood family who hates Muggles and agree with the Cadena (our version of Death Eaters) but that's not enough to rest on. Seven years at school can change a person's mind so ask yourself....why do they stay on that path?

- Character Development -
It can be difficult to pack in a proper development of a character within the four weeks we call a 'year' but small things do make a difference, even if it's just they get more confident, more withdrawn, calm down, get serious, something bad happens at home, they struggle through a hard class, or any of a variety of scenarios. Things happen to people that make them change a little, even if it's just gaining greater understanding of the world.

Glory Hound
There is also a character whom I would call 'The Anti-Mary Sue' but is really just as bad. She is often a whacky, zany, 'hilarious' rockin' out rebel who just makes…no sense. Being a bit suspicious of authority is one thing, but you have to expect consequences for this kind of behaviour in a strict British boarding school. These characters are often clones of one another, trying so hard to be 'way out there' and different, they all end up the same. All attention seeking characters generally end up boring the tears out of people.

- Special Touches -
And it is the little things that make people really attach to characters – their soft Welsh accent, or the way they can't keep their leg still when they're excited, chewing their fingernails, smoothing their clothes, using slang or always using proper, polite language, being a bit ditzy or babbling a lot when they're nervous – those little things make a character memorable. You don't have to do big, impressive things to be a good RPer, the homely kids get love too!

And finally, the most important bit of advice I can offer you: allow yourself to be open to change. You can't and don't know what will happen and won't find out how your character will react. There is no point in sticking to a plan when everything about it has changed - just try to go with the flow. The joy of Role-playing is interacting with others, and allowing them to subtly change your character in ways you could have never pre-planned. It's perfectly alright to bring a character in, saying to yourself 'I have no idea where this kiddo is going, but it'll be a fun ride along the way!'