♡Lately I had gotten a question in my inbox asking if I could write a guide on how to play the "neat freak". This was requested by an anon, and since I have never seen a guide on it, I have decided to take it up. Please note: This is only what I have read and researched from off the internet. Everyone has a personal experience, so if this is anyway incorrect, please do not be offended.♡
♡T H E H I S T O R Y♡
First thing to think about is how your character came up with being a neat freak and why she/he is still one to this day. Often times it can come up with a tragic/striking event that came up earlier in your muse's life, or it can be plain and simple in that she/he was born that way with genetics. Personality can also morph a person into having that attitude, but I'll elaborate that more later. Usually an event is a way to go because it allows depth and a backstory for the character.
♡P E R S O N A L I T Y/P O R T R A Y A L♡
There are many ways you can go about playing a neat freak personality wise. The main basis to have for the character is the traits of being: organized, precise, and picky. In addition, often this person is a perfectionist because everything must be in the correct place at the correct time. Other than that, there are various portrayals a neat freak can have. Your muse can be a passive, quiet character who uses his/her organization as a distraction from life itself. On the other hand, he/she could also be a loud, bossy character who is somewhat of a control freak as well, making sure people are perfectly in place in her life. Some characters to look at behavior of a neat freak are: Emma Pillsbury, Adriana Monk, and James Nealy.
♡T H E D I S O R D E R♡
Most likely, you would want to portray your muse to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. If you have never heard of it before, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental illness in which one has the overpowering need to check things over and over again, and rehearse the same thing more than often. Extreme neat freaks are over obsessed with cleanliness, thus performing the same routines everyday: making sure things are in order, cleaning, etc.
Somethings to note is to play the signs symptoms which are:
having repeated thoughts or images about the obsession
doing the same rituals more than usual
the unability to control unwanted behaviors
the fact that the muse does not get pleasure from the activity, but gets a sense of relief since the anxiety is gone for a short time
spends at least one hour a day speaking or dwelling on it
