A Commitment

4. Roleplay is not a hobby. It is a commitment. One cannot enter into roleplay without a passion, a need, for writing. In the same way, they must be creative and original, must love their creations. Once created, the character is a part of the roleplayer that will never fully fade.

When first learning to play an instrument, you will grow tired of hearing how much work it will be. You think, 'oh, this will be easy!' until you begin to learn. Not many people continue to play their instrument of choice for many years because they can't handle the difficulty. You really have to love the music in order to stick with it.

The same applies to roleplaying, but with a new level. The characters.

Learning to play clarinet, I was half-hearted. I quit after three years and now, a year and a half later, remember almost nothing of how to play the notes. Roleplaying is not like that. I remember my very first character, made nearly six years ago. A cat, tortiseshell, female, named Pashmak (Pash, for short). Pash will be with me for eternity because she is my creation.

Roleplaying is like parenthood. Once you're in, you can quit - give your children up for adoption, refuse to give your characters the attention they deserve - but you can never go back to the days before you had them. You will remember your children. Your characters will ALWAYS be a part of you.

They're yours to work with. Make them into beings you will love and cherish for years to come - because, like it or not, once you have them you're stuck with them. Forever.

As an example, I bring up the first wolf characters I ever made. Their names? Kapu and Akka. Sound familiar? That's because I took the names from a book. And that's as far as I'm going. Suffice it to say, they were possibly the biggest mistakes of my roleplay career, and as much as I wish to forget them they are still stark in my mind. They will stay there no matter how much time passes, because they are - partially - my creations.

Make your characters what you love. And for their sakes, love them enough to stay with them.