Creating Characters--profile sheets and new discoveries
happy
I spent the day filling out character profile sheets. Actually, I only got three done, but that’s because I kept getting plot and scene ideas that I wanted to jot down. And because my list of profile questions is ever expanding.
My favorite question is: what is the character’s psychological maneuver—I got this question from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
bluestocking1
Here are a couple of surprising things I learned about Ella, the main character in my WIP :
1. Though her family isn’t religious she says prayers to a nonspecific higher power while looking out the window, morning and night. It makes her feel like someone is with her even when she is alone (I really didn’t see Ella having any religious feeling, but I was wrong). One of her main fears is abandonment.
2. She can’t sense when she’s being used because she is too eager to not be alone. She tends to stick to her friends-- almost suffocating them in order to get attention (I had a good idea Ella was like this, but not the extent).
3. She wishes her little brother wasn’t ever born. (I never saw that one coming)
4. She’s trying so hard to find new friends at Avery House that she goes against her gut feeling (this was a particular important discovery)
5. Oh--and while looking for pictures of her hairstyle I found Ella (that's who is at the top of this post).
For those of you who are as obsessed with character as I am, under the cut is the character profile sheet I use. It is a bit repetitive as I sometimes add to questions and forget cut similar ones I already had.
What are your favorite character questions?
Character Name:
One line characterization:
- Choose a gender.
- Choose a place of birth.
- Choose a hobby.
- Choose a past job.
- Choose a present job.
- Choose a past love interest.
- Choose an enemy.
- Choose a pet.
· 1. Their "occupation"
· 2. How well they preform that occupation, or how well they think they perform that occupation.
· 3. Their controlling belief or attitude.
· 4. Their goal.
· 5. What is at stake if the character fails.
- Why is your character not working at the old job?
- Why is your character not with the old love interest?
- Why does your character not make the hobby a profession?
- How did your character make the enemy?
- How did the pet once save the character's life?
- What is the one thing in the world your character would do anything to avoid? Why? What has he already done to avoid this? What do you see him doing in the future to avoid it?
- What is the one thing in the world your character would do anything in the world to have? Why? What has he already done to try to obtain it? What does he hope to try in the future?
Psychological maneuver:
Personality Trait
Skill:
Personality flaw:
How does the story change the character?
Significant event that illustrates the character’s personality
What do others notice about this character?
Motives
Physical Traits
Gender:
Age:
Ethnicity:
Height:
Body type:
Hair color:
Eye color:
Facial characteristics:
Athleticism:
Clothing:
Sociological Traits
Birthplace:
Parents:
Family:
Childhood:
Friends:
Income:
Religion:
Politics:
Personality Traits
Habits:
Best qualities:
Worst faults:
Favorite foods:
Favorite vacation destinations:
Favorite sports:
Favorite movies/TV shows:
Music
dance
What makes him happy?
What makes him sad?
What makes him angry?
Who does he love most?
Who does he hate most?
What is he most proud of?
What is he most ashamed of?
What is his secret ambition?
What is his darkest secret?
What does the character do when alone
Significant even that molded character
What is she afraid of:
.
I find the layers of my stories by doing profiles, but I don't sweat over my answers. If I can't answer one, I skip it. I answer fast and usually I end up with a few oddball answers--they are often the most fun. It doesn't feel boring to me--it is exciting like discovering emeralds in my backyard (that would be nice).
The most important thing for me is that once I finish all the profiles, then I do single paragraph versions. I rarely--if ever--look at the long profile sheets once I start to write.
For me, the pre-writing work is like a very sparce first draft. And my first drafts are slow, but pretty clean.
Those are all really good questions. In Donald Maas's workbook on "Writing the Breakout Novel," there are a series of questions. One of my favorite is: What is the one thing your character would never ever do?" And then have them do that.
I love the picture, btw :)