Post by TIA Promotions on Apr 8, 2022 7:24:21 GMT -5
Intro
Hey!
So, I’m not too sure where to really begin with this. I’m pretty much typing this all out and hoping for the best!
So, for starters, my character name is “Serena Riot.” I don’t like to give out my personal stuff (Name, socials, etc…Had some bad experiences). Either way, I’ve been doing this for a few years now, on and off. It’s not something I’ve taken *extremely* serious. But at the same time, I enjoy having fun! And you should too, after all it is a game! I figured the best way to do this is to break it down in sections.
Now bear in mind there is no “right” way of doing things. These tips are just the things that have helped me out and hopefully they will help you too! Please don’t take what I say as gospel, or even as things to live by. In the end, do what makes you happy, and makes sense for you/your character. That’s the most important thing in this game!
Your Story, Your Character
Okay, so for the first real chapter, I figured this is a great place to start. And for this whole thing, I’m going to be using my character Serena Riot. Mostly because well, she’s my only character
When you look at television shows across the board, they all have one thing in common; A vision for their main star. And that’s exactly who you should feel like. The main star. After all, it is your story. But there’s so much more to it than that. It’s a story, yeah. But it’s also intricacies. And when coming up with a character (Or picbase, for that matter) you need to consider a ton of different things.
The first main thing to really consider is their attitude. Are they face or a heel? Do they wear a certain style of clothes? Do they even talk a certain way? It’s totally acceptable for you to have a character that is based on elements of your own life.
Serena Riot is based in Cleveland, Ohio. That’s also my own hometown. I simply picked it for a reason. My real life spouse at the time was from there, and so I knew it pretty well. It was easy for me to point out certain landmarks, or use Cleveland based sports teams in my writing style. Now, as we fast forward, even though he’s no longer an active writer, I continue to use Cleveland as a sort of backdrop to this day. Again, nothing wrong with that.
Another intricacy? Promo style. While it’s very, very easy for you to talk a certain way in your head, that doesn’t mean it can translate to the audience. I used to think that Serena had a “Deadpool” like sense of humor. That was before I re-evaluated her and made her less of a comedy act, and much more serious. And, also don’t ever, ever EVER feel like you have to change your own personal writing style to fit someone else's. That to me isn’t cool. Just be the best version of your character!
Backstories are 100% important, but don’t let it be everything. I honestly feel that we, as writers, spend far too much time on backstory and not enough on current story. All backstories (in my opinion) should have SOME reflection in storylines. But it shouldn’t be a driving force. Remember, not everyone is going to have the time/energy/whatever to sit down and read every angle of your character's life/career. As great as that would be, we all have IRL stuff to focus on and simply can’t. That being said, if you have time, hey. Be awesome and read as much efed stuff as possible!
To add to this, Serena’s backstory is a relatively simple one:
-Second Generation Wrestler (Her father was famous)
-Arrested at 15 for Attempted Arson, spent 6 years in juvie/jail.
-Vegan
-Has son named Jack through artificial insemination
-Used to do graffiti
-Spent a year in Honolulu
I’m a firm believer in the whole “less is more” philosophy when it comes to a backstory because if you spend too much time developing one, details might become lost in translation. And the best part is? If you come up with ideas for a backstory along the way, you can always plug them in wherever!
Now, we move to the moveset! The moveset can always be a challenging one, as I myself continuously change Serena Riot’s constantly. Whenever you change a moveset, just remind yourself that it shouldn’t be too crazy of a change. For example, a 400 pound wrestler likely isn’t going to be doing a 450 Splash. Things like that! The most useful piece of advice I can give to this is to find a style of wrestling you’re a fan of, and try to build off of that. I don’t watch wrestling anymore, and haven’t in maybe 3-4 years or so. For me, I go off of the ones I used to watch the most, which were Scott Hall, Steve Austin, Trish Stratus, and Eddie Guerrero.
With Serena’s promo style, she calls women “chica” quite often. That’s an obvious reference to Scott Hall, who would call people “chico”. Serena’s moveset is very “brawler” esque, which is how Steve Austin was. She has a lot of emotion and can convey it in a style similar to Trish’s. And lastly, she has that swagger that Eddie had. So to tie everything together, there’s no shame in taking real life references and adding your own real-life flavor to it.
Now, back to the moveset. For Serena, I had her inverse a ton of what her dad Nick would do. He would be a brawler (Like Rena) but would take a lot of risks using high-flying moves. His finisher was a Houston Hangover. Serena inverted that and did what she called a “Demon Drop”, being a Shooting Star Press. However, as time went on, I slowly changed things up and had Rena do less high-flying moves, and focus more on brawling and hardcore wrestling. So now, her moveset includes:
-Psychosis (Piledriver) *Finisher
-Wicked Ways (Curb Stomp) *Signature
A far cry from doing a Shooting Star Press! Again, nothing wrong at all with changing it. Serena is currently 30 years old, and knows she’s wrestling on “borrowed time”. So because of tha reason, a simplified moveset can actually go a long, long way.
The very last part to this segment is finding a picbase!
Now, with picbases (or PB’s), it’s mostly fun to figure out. Obviously, you want someone to encapsulate the look and feel for what you just created. And while yes, I’ll admit I spent too much time trying to figure out if Rosemary (from TNA) was the best fit, it was all worth it in the end. Fun fact, other PB’s I considered:
-Lita
-Thunder Rosa
-Ashley Masarro
-Victoria
But in the end, I felt it was hard to match the excitement I got when I stumbled upon Rosemary. The facepaint personified what I wanted. I wanted something to give Serena that different look/feel. And when I saw Rosemary, it was absolutely perfect. Not to mention, you can have fun with a PB that has layers to them like she does. The only real drawback was content. Rosemary has a lot, but not enough as a big star, say Becky Lynch.
Last but not least, the theme song. This one is relatively simple. Something that just…Works. And honestly, you’ll know it when you hear it. Back in my high school days (I’m not a spring chicken anymore), I was an emo girl. I loved, LOVED AFI, My Chemical Romance, and Hollywood Undead. Fast forward to today, I don’t love any of them much any more. But, I did decide to listen to Hollywood Undead just one more time. And they put out an album with a song called “Coming Thru The Stereo”. The song is your average party-rock type song. But the main difference? The first verse.
“I am in my own lane, you and me are not the same
You're a pain in the ass, I'm a major pain to the brain
In my old age, I'll be pimping with my cane
Big gold rope chain, flossing in the hall of fame
Yeah, I wanna be the G.O.A.T., better be cautious, don't approach
Something like a magic show, all this fire in my throat, ha
No Barnum & Bailey, but I am crazy, I got two sides like Slim Shady
If you fuck around, then it's rock-a-bye baby, I'm amazing
Prepared for any occasion, ready for any situation
I comes out with guns blazing
I'm chilling, I ain't chasing, complex, never basic
That sound in the background is me in my spaceship”
This fits Serena to a tee. And here’s why.
-I am in my own lane, you and me are not the same
-Serena’s attitude is that she’s hard-headed.
-In my old age, I'll be pimping with my cane
-Serena is (As of writing this) 30
-Yeah, I wanna be the G.O.A.T., better be cautious, don't approach
-Serena’s nickname is The GOAT. Also, she’s a hardcore wrestler, which fits the whole “being cautious” thing. Yeah, I combined them.
-Something like a magic show, all this fire in my throat
-She’s a smoker
So in essence, try your best to find something that fits your character. Regardless of its lyrics, melody, etc. Nobody knows your character as well as you do. Plain and simple. And this is something that needs to be echoed constantly. Asking people for advice is cool. But you have to remember that you are your character's voice, and no one else.
Picking a Fed
I hope this won’t be as long-winded as the first section!
Picking a fed can be challenging sometimes. You don’t want to pick one that drains you. But you also dont’ want to pick one that doesn’t use you enough. The main lesson I can give is: Do your homework. Poke around. Ask some of the characters how they like it. Read some of the shows. Read the promos. There’s so much that can go into this, depending on your own Real-life schedule. I’m a single mom. My free time to actually write anything is usually limited. So because of that, I don’t want anything that is too in-depth. If you have the free time and would like to dedicate more time to it, then by all means. Again up to you. Now, what are the types of feds?
Angled runs more or less like an actual wrestling promotion. There are storylines, and the characters may also pitch ideas from time to time. The shows are usually mapped out in advance, giving it a real time feel. Wins and losses matter, however there might not be as much of an emphasis.
RP feds are different from angled. With an RP fed, It’s usually your best RP against your opponents, and whoever has the best one wins. Storylines usually aren’t as mapped out as far, but wins and losses tend to count more.
Twitter feds are somewhat of a new variation to the game. With Twitter feds, these are ones that operate almost exclusively on Twitter. Tweets may count as RP’s. Now, whether or not they’re Angled or an RP fed is at the discretion of the owner.
Usually feds have some sort of word cap, or how many times you can RP. Rules will vary from fed to fed, so just be mindful of that when you’re starting out. Whatever you want clearly will depend on your schedule, how much work you wanna’ put in it, etc. There’s no right or wrong answer with any. But above all else (And like most on this list) just do your research before getting started!
General Tips
So, lastly I figured I would write a section about different tips that I think could be helpful. I just didn’t have a place to put them!
Always be kind. I mean, it’s pretty simple, right? Fact is, not everything you do will make people happy, in this game, and in life for that matter as well. Respect can go a long, long way in this game. And the more friendly you are with someone, the more this game can be enjoyed!
Don’t be afraid to DM people IC. Long story short, It’s pretty cool to have convos with people in their DM’s. In my opinion, it’s even cooler when it’s IC (Or in character). It adds a little more flair to things, I suppose. Granted what you say likely shouldn’t be used publicly in most cases, but it’s still fun. I have a ton like this, and honestly would prefer this over OOC, unless if it’s needed.
Please, Please PLEASE don’t quit without telling anyone. It’s not cool. Bottom line. You have to understand that fedheads have to constantly re-evaluate things all the time. As a former fedhead myself, it’s always much appreciated if you send them some form of a message simply saying you’re quitting. There’s no harm/shame in quitting, just don’t screw over someone/people who make this hobby what it is!
It’s okay to change things about your character. Over time in actual pro wrestling, what happens? Characters change. Movesets change, appearances change. So why not in efeds? Its makes all the more sense. Buttttt and not to sound *nit picky* (It is YOUR character, at the end of the day), keep them realistic. For example, having a picbase as Chris Jericho, and then changing to Yokozuna would be confusing to a lot of people. But hey, you do you.
Have Fun! Above all else? It’s a hobby. This hobby, to me, is a good escape from reality. It’s a game we all play to have fun. It’s easy to get attached to it, but shouldn’t be taken too seriously, either. Just relax and again, have fun!
I hope this helps in some way. I know a lot of it is obvious. But if you got even 1 tiny thing out of it, I’m all for it! If you have any questions, or even want to bounce ideas off me, feel free! My Twitter is @riotserena.
Hey!
So, I’m not too sure where to really begin with this. I’m pretty much typing this all out and hoping for the best!
So, for starters, my character name is “Serena Riot.” I don’t like to give out my personal stuff (Name, socials, etc…Had some bad experiences). Either way, I’ve been doing this for a few years now, on and off. It’s not something I’ve taken *extremely* serious. But at the same time, I enjoy having fun! And you should too, after all it is a game! I figured the best way to do this is to break it down in sections.
Now bear in mind there is no “right” way of doing things. These tips are just the things that have helped me out and hopefully they will help you too! Please don’t take what I say as gospel, or even as things to live by. In the end, do what makes you happy, and makes sense for you/your character. That’s the most important thing in this game!
Your Story, Your Character
Okay, so for the first real chapter, I figured this is a great place to start. And for this whole thing, I’m going to be using my character Serena Riot. Mostly because well, she’s my only character
When you look at television shows across the board, they all have one thing in common; A vision for their main star. And that’s exactly who you should feel like. The main star. After all, it is your story. But there’s so much more to it than that. It’s a story, yeah. But it’s also intricacies. And when coming up with a character (Or picbase, for that matter) you need to consider a ton of different things.
The first main thing to really consider is their attitude. Are they face or a heel? Do they wear a certain style of clothes? Do they even talk a certain way? It’s totally acceptable for you to have a character that is based on elements of your own life.
Serena Riot is based in Cleveland, Ohio. That’s also my own hometown. I simply picked it for a reason. My real life spouse at the time was from there, and so I knew it pretty well. It was easy for me to point out certain landmarks, or use Cleveland based sports teams in my writing style. Now, as we fast forward, even though he’s no longer an active writer, I continue to use Cleveland as a sort of backdrop to this day. Again, nothing wrong with that.
Another intricacy? Promo style. While it’s very, very easy for you to talk a certain way in your head, that doesn’t mean it can translate to the audience. I used to think that Serena had a “Deadpool” like sense of humor. That was before I re-evaluated her and made her less of a comedy act, and much more serious. And, also don’t ever, ever EVER feel like you have to change your own personal writing style to fit someone else's. That to me isn’t cool. Just be the best version of your character!
Backstories are 100% important, but don’t let it be everything. I honestly feel that we, as writers, spend far too much time on backstory and not enough on current story. All backstories (in my opinion) should have SOME reflection in storylines. But it shouldn’t be a driving force. Remember, not everyone is going to have the time/energy/whatever to sit down and read every angle of your character's life/career. As great as that would be, we all have IRL stuff to focus on and simply can’t. That being said, if you have time, hey. Be awesome and read as much efed stuff as possible!
To add to this, Serena’s backstory is a relatively simple one:
-Second Generation Wrestler (Her father was famous)
-Arrested at 15 for Attempted Arson, spent 6 years in juvie/jail.
-Vegan
-Has son named Jack through artificial insemination
-Used to do graffiti
-Spent a year in Honolulu
I’m a firm believer in the whole “less is more” philosophy when it comes to a backstory because if you spend too much time developing one, details might become lost in translation. And the best part is? If you come up with ideas for a backstory along the way, you can always plug them in wherever!
Now, we move to the moveset! The moveset can always be a challenging one, as I myself continuously change Serena Riot’s constantly. Whenever you change a moveset, just remind yourself that it shouldn’t be too crazy of a change. For example, a 400 pound wrestler likely isn’t going to be doing a 450 Splash. Things like that! The most useful piece of advice I can give to this is to find a style of wrestling you’re a fan of, and try to build off of that. I don’t watch wrestling anymore, and haven’t in maybe 3-4 years or so. For me, I go off of the ones I used to watch the most, which were Scott Hall, Steve Austin, Trish Stratus, and Eddie Guerrero.
With Serena’s promo style, she calls women “chica” quite often. That’s an obvious reference to Scott Hall, who would call people “chico”. Serena’s moveset is very “brawler” esque, which is how Steve Austin was. She has a lot of emotion and can convey it in a style similar to Trish’s. And lastly, she has that swagger that Eddie had. So to tie everything together, there’s no shame in taking real life references and adding your own real-life flavor to it.
Now, back to the moveset. For Serena, I had her inverse a ton of what her dad Nick would do. He would be a brawler (Like Rena) but would take a lot of risks using high-flying moves. His finisher was a Houston Hangover. Serena inverted that and did what she called a “Demon Drop”, being a Shooting Star Press. However, as time went on, I slowly changed things up and had Rena do less high-flying moves, and focus more on brawling and hardcore wrestling. So now, her moveset includes:
-Psychosis (Piledriver) *Finisher
-Wicked Ways (Curb Stomp) *Signature
A far cry from doing a Shooting Star Press! Again, nothing wrong at all with changing it. Serena is currently 30 years old, and knows she’s wrestling on “borrowed time”. So because of tha reason, a simplified moveset can actually go a long, long way.
The very last part to this segment is finding a picbase!
Now, with picbases (or PB’s), it’s mostly fun to figure out. Obviously, you want someone to encapsulate the look and feel for what you just created. And while yes, I’ll admit I spent too much time trying to figure out if Rosemary (from TNA) was the best fit, it was all worth it in the end. Fun fact, other PB’s I considered:
-Lita
-Thunder Rosa
-Ashley Masarro
-Victoria
But in the end, I felt it was hard to match the excitement I got when I stumbled upon Rosemary. The facepaint personified what I wanted. I wanted something to give Serena that different look/feel. And when I saw Rosemary, it was absolutely perfect. Not to mention, you can have fun with a PB that has layers to them like she does. The only real drawback was content. Rosemary has a lot, but not enough as a big star, say Becky Lynch.
Last but not least, the theme song. This one is relatively simple. Something that just…Works. And honestly, you’ll know it when you hear it. Back in my high school days (I’m not a spring chicken anymore), I was an emo girl. I loved, LOVED AFI, My Chemical Romance, and Hollywood Undead. Fast forward to today, I don’t love any of them much any more. But, I did decide to listen to Hollywood Undead just one more time. And they put out an album with a song called “Coming Thru The Stereo”. The song is your average party-rock type song. But the main difference? The first verse.
“I am in my own lane, you and me are not the same
You're a pain in the ass, I'm a major pain to the brain
In my old age, I'll be pimping with my cane
Big gold rope chain, flossing in the hall of fame
Yeah, I wanna be the G.O.A.T., better be cautious, don't approach
Something like a magic show, all this fire in my throat, ha
No Barnum & Bailey, but I am crazy, I got two sides like Slim Shady
If you fuck around, then it's rock-a-bye baby, I'm amazing
Prepared for any occasion, ready for any situation
I comes out with guns blazing
I'm chilling, I ain't chasing, complex, never basic
That sound in the background is me in my spaceship”
This fits Serena to a tee. And here’s why.
-I am in my own lane, you and me are not the same
-Serena’s attitude is that she’s hard-headed.
-In my old age, I'll be pimping with my cane
-Serena is (As of writing this) 30
-Yeah, I wanna be the G.O.A.T., better be cautious, don't approach
-Serena’s nickname is The GOAT. Also, she’s a hardcore wrestler, which fits the whole “being cautious” thing. Yeah, I combined them.
-Something like a magic show, all this fire in my throat
-She’s a smoker
So in essence, try your best to find something that fits your character. Regardless of its lyrics, melody, etc. Nobody knows your character as well as you do. Plain and simple. And this is something that needs to be echoed constantly. Asking people for advice is cool. But you have to remember that you are your character's voice, and no one else.
Picking a Fed
I hope this won’t be as long-winded as the first section!
Picking a fed can be challenging sometimes. You don’t want to pick one that drains you. But you also dont’ want to pick one that doesn’t use you enough. The main lesson I can give is: Do your homework. Poke around. Ask some of the characters how they like it. Read some of the shows. Read the promos. There’s so much that can go into this, depending on your own Real-life schedule. I’m a single mom. My free time to actually write anything is usually limited. So because of that, I don’t want anything that is too in-depth. If you have the free time and would like to dedicate more time to it, then by all means. Again up to you. Now, what are the types of feds?
Angled runs more or less like an actual wrestling promotion. There are storylines, and the characters may also pitch ideas from time to time. The shows are usually mapped out in advance, giving it a real time feel. Wins and losses matter, however there might not be as much of an emphasis.
RP feds are different from angled. With an RP fed, It’s usually your best RP against your opponents, and whoever has the best one wins. Storylines usually aren’t as mapped out as far, but wins and losses tend to count more.
Twitter feds are somewhat of a new variation to the game. With Twitter feds, these are ones that operate almost exclusively on Twitter. Tweets may count as RP’s. Now, whether or not they’re Angled or an RP fed is at the discretion of the owner.
Usually feds have some sort of word cap, or how many times you can RP. Rules will vary from fed to fed, so just be mindful of that when you’re starting out. Whatever you want clearly will depend on your schedule, how much work you wanna’ put in it, etc. There’s no right or wrong answer with any. But above all else (And like most on this list) just do your research before getting started!
General Tips
So, lastly I figured I would write a section about different tips that I think could be helpful. I just didn’t have a place to put them!
Always be kind. I mean, it’s pretty simple, right? Fact is, not everything you do will make people happy, in this game, and in life for that matter as well. Respect can go a long, long way in this game. And the more friendly you are with someone, the more this game can be enjoyed!
Don’t be afraid to DM people IC. Long story short, It’s pretty cool to have convos with people in their DM’s. In my opinion, it’s even cooler when it’s IC (Or in character). It adds a little more flair to things, I suppose. Granted what you say likely shouldn’t be used publicly in most cases, but it’s still fun. I have a ton like this, and honestly would prefer this over OOC, unless if it’s needed.
Please, Please PLEASE don’t quit without telling anyone. It’s not cool. Bottom line. You have to understand that fedheads have to constantly re-evaluate things all the time. As a former fedhead myself, it’s always much appreciated if you send them some form of a message simply saying you’re quitting. There’s no harm/shame in quitting, just don’t screw over someone/people who make this hobby what it is!
It’s okay to change things about your character. Over time in actual pro wrestling, what happens? Characters change. Movesets change, appearances change. So why not in efeds? Its makes all the more sense. Buttttt and not to sound *nit picky* (It is YOUR character, at the end of the day), keep them realistic. For example, having a picbase as Chris Jericho, and then changing to Yokozuna would be confusing to a lot of people. But hey, you do you.
Have Fun! Above all else? It’s a hobby. This hobby, to me, is a good escape from reality. It’s a game we all play to have fun. It’s easy to get attached to it, but shouldn’t be taken too seriously, either. Just relax and again, have fun!
I hope this helps in some way. I know a lot of it is obvious. But if you got even 1 tiny thing out of it, I’m all for it! If you have any questions, or even want to bounce ideas off me, feel free! My Twitter is @riotserena.