playing shy characters?

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    Okay so for this character I'm starting up, I have plans for her to be shy, but there is a slight problem. I'm not exactly sure how to play a shy character. So does anyone have any advice or anything. I want her to be believable/realist.

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    as a shy person (w social anxiety), these are things i do myself that i tend to use when i write shy chars:

    • for the most part, this character'll probably avoid social interaction altogether, unless there's some other motivating factor: peer pressure, fear of punishment, etc. when they are forced to participate socially, they'll probably feel very awkward / nervous / embarrassed, and try to leave as soon as they're able.
    • i tend to blush a lot, fidget, stammer, and play w my hair. shy characters will probably have similar tics; my char bottleblonde used to groom her chest fur a lot, and shuffle her paws.
    • shy people tend to talk in a very quiet, soft manner, but this isn't always true - a shy character probably won't spend a lot of time talking, though, regardless of volume.
    • shy people usually have a small circle of friends, and might pick 1 - 2 people to follow around or hide behind, especially when they're uncomfortable.
    • shy people differ!! not every shy person does every thing on this list - there's no real way to be shy or socially anxious, the only thing that's really mandatory is that they feel uncomfortable around people and in social situations

    Since your shy character may not speak as much as others while roleplaying I would suggest leaving helpful body language descriptions.


    As an example, shy or timid people typically try to take up less space, if you look at drawing tutorials you'll notice its exaggerated in cartoons but loud confident characters will have a wider stance and will take up more space to tell the room "YO LOOK AT ME" but a shy character would have soft steps and would try to take up the least amount of room as possible.

    [center][fancypost= border-width: 0px; width: 280pt;][align=justify][size=9]as someone who is shy,,, I must tell you that being shy doesn't mean you're scared of all social interaction. Try to have your shy character make some close friends, or even feel comfortable in small groups, but as soon as the group grows larger you can have your character begin to grow a little nervous. It also is nice to see when people make their shy characters want to make friends and socialize but when they try they end up acting really awkward and it's cute XD

    [center][fancypost=width:50%;text-align:justify;]I'm shy, but not with everyone. I'm terribly shy when I'm around people around my age, but I'm completely comfortable conversing with adults. I usually try to steer clear of the cute, shy girl stereotype because it can really be offensive to people who actually suffer from social anxiety. Social anxiety isn't attractive; it's a condition that many people suffer with and it rips them apart.


    Like mentioned above, most shy people have at least a handful of people they're comfortable around, and the way they act around said people can differ wildly. If I'm put into a situation where I'm with a group of teenagers I don't know and none of my friends are there, I'll keep my head now, mutter if someone asks me a question, and awkwardly shake my head if someone offers me something. My heart beats fast and I instinctively want to run away — even when there's no where to go. When I'm with my friends, I'm loud, brash, and completely ridiculous. I'm super bubbly and am always cracking jokes.


    Social anxiety usually manifests itself around certain groups or in certain situations, but I don't know many shy people who are shy around everyone. If I were playing a shy character, I'd make them mumble; ramble if they're forced to talk; skip over their words; keep their head down and avoid eye contact; make small movements in order to focus their attention away from the social mess they're in; frequently look around for the best place to go to avoid the crowd; have shallow breathing and fasts heartbeats; position their bodies away from others when speaking to them; and have certain topics that could make them open up to strangers.