Biographies: How to write a good one?

[Russelrules44]

Ok, so this isn't exactly me saying that I'm making a mod and I want you to join me; (at least, not yet) but I am currently in the process of planning out a mod. (Not spoiling anything else...okay maybe you'd PM about the details, i'd tell you)

 

And I do however have some questions as to how to write a good compelling biography for wrestlers.

 

How long does it have to be exactly?

 

How much information does there need to be?

 

What should I say about the wrestler themselves/Their career up to this point?

 

Any other things I should know?

 

If anyone wishes to respond, i'd like to say thanks in the process, and who knows? Maybe i'll share some updates on how the mod is coming along down the road.

[BHK1978]

<p>This might be thought of as a non-answer but it really comes down to what details you personally want to put. When I was working on the unreleased Board Effort Mod (and probably never will be released) my bios tended to use up all of the space Adam allowed the characters to have. My bios tended to be a mini-history of the characters. Looking back on it I probably put too much information in the bios.</p><p> </p><p>

I personally liked doing it that way. However, perhaps a short, straight to the point bio might be more to your liking.</p><p> </p><p>

I am assuming you want to do a fictional mod and if that is the case I would say to more of a backstory you can give the character the better. Mainly because the people playing the mod do not know the character.</p>

[Russelrules44]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42801" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>This might be thought of as a non-answer but it really comes down to what details you personally want to put. When I was working on the unreleased Board Effort Mod (and probably never will be released) my bios tended to use up all of the space Adam allowed the characters to have. My bios tended to be a mini-history of the characters. Looking back on it I probably put too much information in the bios.<p> </p><p> I personally liked doing it that way. However, perhaps a short, straight to the point bio might be more to your liking.</p><p> </p><p> I am assuming you want to do a fictional mod and if that is the case I would say to more of a backstory you can give the character the better. Mainly because the people playing the mod do not know the character.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> That's pretty much what i'm planning. A fictional mod. (Like, very fictional)</p><p> </p><p> That's also what I've been trying to do myself. However, my problem is I have too much information to spread and it maxes out all the space. In short: I'm not really great at this whole straight forward thing.</p>

[BHK1978]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Russelrules44" data-cite="Russelrules44" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42801" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>That's pretty much what i'm planning. A fictional mod. (Like, very fictional)<p> </p><p> That's also what I've been trying to do myself. However, my problem is I have too much information to spread and it maxes out all the space. In short: I'm not really great at this whole straight forward thing.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> The best thing I could say is try to edit yourself. Leave only the stuff that is absolutely germane to the topic at hand. Also there are some tricks that I used to do.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>1.</strong> Even if the bio should be two paragraphs long, try to put it in one paragraph. Sure the bio will look like a wall of text but you will not waste the space you would have if you made it two paragraphs. There are some examples of this with workers in the C-Verse. I cannot think of any off hand but I know I saw bios that were one large wall of text.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>2.</strong> Do not double space after a period. Now normally I would do that but when you think about it, those spaces add up and they could be filled with words instead of two spaces after the period.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>3.</strong> Use numbers instead of words. Instead of writing out a number just put it into words. Yes it will look informal but you are not writing a term paper so people will understand and you end up saving a ton of space.</p>

[d12345]

<p>I know this is rarely done in the C-Verse but for fictional mods (as a user) I like to see finishers described. Like if someone's finisher is called 'The Flyin' Flipping Worm,' it's nice to just have it in the bio explained. Example.</p><p> </p><p>

"Jo Schmo is known for his Flyin' Flipping Worm finisher, which is a variation of a Shooting Star Press."</p>

[Peria]

<p>I'm no professional writer but one thing I always do is try and match the personalities, the lifestyles, the stats, even the picture with the biography. If I have a girl that looks exceptionally pretty maybe I can throw in that she is a former fitness model, thus making her stats reflect that. You know what I mean?</p><p> </p><p>

Some Basic Things:</p><p> </p><p>

1) Height/Weight</p><p>

2) Finisher Name/What It Does</p><p>

3) Nickname (Zen does this with all their guys)</p><p>

4) Dojo Graduate</p><p>

5) Place of Birth</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

Some Complex Things To Add:</p><p> </p><p>

1) Background Before Wrestling (Fitness Model, Gymnast, Baseball Player, MMA, etc.)</p><p>

2) National Acclaim (Olympics, MMA high level, champion boxer, etc, give them pop bonus to reflect this)</p><p>

3) Reformed Lifestyles (Former Convict, Former Drug Addict, Abusive Parents, why they're wrestling, think of Rich Swann)</p><p>

4) Current Lifestyles (Crippling drinking problem that's ruining his career, etc.)</p><p>

5) Location (Are they Egyptian? Who wanted to Wrestle so bad but couldn't due to the lack of exposure in Egypt? So they moved to say... Mexico to take up Lucha Libre?)</p><p>

6) Former Championships (For another company, previous champions, Jack Bruce is a former 5 time world champion, etc.)</p><p>

7) Their personality / Gimmick (This could be kayfabe or for real. You could have the nicest guy in the world be perfect at the Arrogant Heel gimmick. Or you can even make it a big deal like "Despite being one of the most difficult men to work with, you can't deny [insert Name Here] talent, and is looking to make a huge impact in the future.")</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

Hopefully this helps, I love writing bios but I am prone to mistakes and am far from perfect at it.</p>

[Big Roguey]

By no means am I am expert on this field but I've dabbled in it with the Thunderverse.

 

There is no exact science to a good bio. I'll start off with that then lead into the waffling on.

 

It varies from character to character. If you've got a guy who is influential then his bio would ideally get that across. However the bio isn't the only tool available. Title histories are a big boon to this as well.

 

Same goes for journeymen. You can say a worker is a journeyman then let the employment history do the talking rather than having the bio be 70% promotion initials and dates.

 

Some workers won't need a long bio and that's cool. These generally tend to be workers who haven't done much in their career or young guys starting out. Those are the guys where you can throw in little facts about them - Worker X is actually a trained orchestra leader etc. This helps younger guys because it can lead to a gimmick for tbem down the line. I find it handy to always write a bio for an 18 - 21 year old with little hints for what they could become or what gimmicks they could find themselves under.

 

Following a set guide for bios can lead to stagnation. If everyone has the same parameters, it feels less like an organic gameworld and more like a machine spitting out facts.

 

Have to disagree with BHK on the two paragraphs/wall of text point but it is a personal thing. I just prefer reading a bio that has a space in it and I feel if a bio has two different ideas in it (backstory/personal quirk for example) then splitting them helps distinguish that.

 

The main thing to remember when bio writing is to have fun with it. Come uo with a style you like yourself and run with it. Like most things with modding, once you get out of that early "OH GOD SO.MUCH TO DO WHERE DO I START" phase (please someone tell me I'm not the only one who has/had that phase! ) it gets easier. The more bios you write, the more confident you'll become.

 

My inbox is always open if you want to bounce some bios and get some feedback.

[BHK1978]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="MHero" data-cite="MHero" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42801" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Have to disagree with BHK on the two paragraphs/wall of text point but it is a personal thing. I just prefer reading a bio that has a space in it and I feel if a bio has two different ideas in it (backstory/personal quirk for example) then splitting them helps distinguish that.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Oh I agree with what you are saying. The only reason why I would do a wall of text bio would be if I absolutely felt there was stuff I could not take out. Like you, I would rather have the space between the paragraphs simply because I loathe trying to read a wall of text.</p>