Coaching Tips Please?

As a growing roleplayer, I have found that i have a very weak spot. I cannot become my characters because I lack the ability to create personality with my writing. Its kind of saddening and I would love some coaching tips on how I could improve. If anyone cares to take the time to ask, I would very much appreciate it.

Maybe a mentor system would help in this as well, being around a more experienced person could contribute a bit. Though its really all up to debate, of which I have no argumentative backing to fight for. Anyways, again, tips are appreciated.

In my experience, a mentor system hasn't really worked well. The best thing to do is to find somebody and just chat with them. Maybe add them on Skype or some other form of IMing, as it allows for more private and instant communication.

Other than that, maybe you can sweet talk Terra into adding a character development section onto her in depth guide on writing. https://miragehearts.rpg-board.net/t1457-the-basics-of-writing

Alternatively, I can also write something up quick.

I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but as someone who's been role playing for a while, I can say for certain that studying other people's writing style will help you to improve.

As for 'becoming your character', it helps to get an idea of his personality. Is s/he the type to notice minor details, or is s/he the type to get directly to the point? Determining this could set your mind to whether you (or rather, your character) should point out that blemish on Miss Mary being obvious despite the ton of make up she put on, or simply how dashing Mister Gary is looking with his suit and tie. See there? The part of Miss Mary is a bit more detailed than the part about Gary. It's a small difference, but it helps set the mood.

Think of the surroundings as well. Is it loud, smelly, bright, dark, full of annoying headless chickens or flying pigs? I'm being vague by saying this, but try to see the world through your character's eyes. Envision yourself being there as them, and describe what they would see. But you shouldn't be describing every crack or curve. Just find the right amount and somewhat limit it to points of interest. This is a general guideline, and you're free to deviate from it. Deviation is how you come up with your own style that feels natural to you.

That's all I'll say for now, if you need me to babble further, feel free to ask.

(Forgot to mention that I'd write up something now but I'm at work and on mobile.)

For me, the way I do my characters, is that rather than "becoming them", I think of them as individual people and I'm responsible for their supposed reactions to certain situations. So, if in an RP, Zyv encounter a new person, I think, "So in this situation, Zyv, who is unsociable, would avoid this person or be aloof while talking to them."

Create a set of rules for your character for how they're supposed to act. Are they naive? Then when posed with a question, think of the naive response. Are they aggressive? Think of what an aggressive person would do if they got pushed. These rules could be created in your head or you could actually write them down and go through them whenever you encounter a situation in an RP.

Of course, I'm not sure if this works for anybody, so take as you will.

I'll try and apply that from now on. Thank you : )