All right, we have done the world development. Next we touch on characters. All writing revolves around the characters and how they interact with their world.
Most writers end up focusing some on each of their characters. This is to give you ideas and maybe help you get the details to further your story.
Today I will ask questions that you want to know first about all of the main characters, including the villains. Though during this discussion will include a specific post later on villains. Today is the basics.
Let’s get to it then.
1. What is the character’s name?
That seems like a duh question… But it is a detail where you can enjoy the secret knowledge… Why that name? Does it have meaning? Is there more to their name? Do they like or hate their name?
2. Description?
This is the physical details. Eye and hair color. Height and weight. Hair style, facial hair? Fat or skinny, tall or short? If it applies, what race is the character? Here’s where you can do all of the description you want to do. Whether it makes it into the story or not. Sometimes you need to see the character better, this helps with that.
3. Where is the character from? This includes family… And place? Here is where you work on history. Was the character rich or poor? Was their childhood good or bad? What about their environment, did it affect your story?
4. What do they do for a living? Are they employed? A student? Do they have a side hustle? This also can be affected by something that I think needs answered here… What is their age? Now that may make a difference on their activities. And their race may make a difference in how the age is read, as races that are long lived would see a character who is in the twenties as less than an adult.
5. Sexuality. Now don’t sneer… This is not just do they prefer same or opposite genders. It is are they male or female or even a hermaphodite? How does this affect them? Yes it helps to know who, if anyone, that they are attracted to.
6. What are their strengths? Are they skilled at something?
7. What are their weaknesses? Their fears?
8. What is their pet peeves? What really gets under their skin? Why?
9. What do they love? What brings them joy?
10. Who are the people who mater the most to them? Who is a thorn in their side?
Ok. These are the most basic details that every writer needs about every character they write. There is so much more, but I will touch on them next time. What do you think, are you seeing interesting questions here to help you?
Ok. I was too lazy yesterday to do a review. So I think that I will discuss my art studio… The store is Here. I plan today to put some of my paintings in there for sale.
A friend and fellow writer was showcasing my studio for her newsletter. She asked me to please update my logo as it was not what she felt fit me. There is so much history in my logo. The first was designed by someone who I loved dearly. She was not a good thing for me. So I needed to cut the ties. My friend Kelly, editor at Xterraweb, helped me design a new one. I always thought logos were supposed to be sorta bland, professional symbols. So that was what we made. She gave me exactly what I asked for.
Well we come back to today… My friend who is doing the newsletter Jess Reece comes to me and says… You deserve a logo that expresses the colorful creativity of your soul!
Do you have any idea how that felt? Incredibly freeing. I found myself wondering why I had not designed it already? I love designing graphics.
So I did it. And I love it. Maybe I had to be prodded into it…But I really do love the new logo.
Have you ever been in that position? Tell me about your truth.
Ever wonder where snowflakes come from? The faeries have a history for all of the first events, even the first snowflake. History has a mischevious little frost faery making much of what is now winter standard.
She was created from the ice that ran down the mountainside. No other was like her, as winter was quite the desolate time. Dreary cold and ice had everyone else just hiding inside. She was named Snow after the mountain ice she came from. Oh the mountain snow was beautiful, just didn’t have the individuality we know today. The faery was gorgeous, tiny with skin like porcelin, eyes of the clearest blue. She was stunning to behold.
Snow was unlike any of her kind who had been made before. Most frost faerys were cold in nature, purposeful and driven to do what frost does…Snow was not. She was whimsical, and enjoyed fun things. She was creative, with a mischevious streak. This led her to get in a lot of trouble with the other fae.
Snow would lay traps, build statues from ice, and generally do things to have fun. Nothing harmful, just all in fun. She found the snow too hard to use in her jokes, so she looked for a way to soften it. She wanted to throw it at people, in balls to see the look on their faces. At first she tried to heat it, hoping it would soften. To her dismay, the ice melted, creating a slush that only got in the way. She decided that the heat was not what she needed, but was not sure what she did need.
Next, in her search, Snow thought perhaps a hammer! Let us shatter the ice to make it softer! The snow shattered, but it was sharper and made it more difficult to use for her pranks. She didn’t want to hurt anyone after all. She needed to find a way to soften it so she could throw it easily. She searched feverishly for a way to work out this problem.
Snow tried using magic, and found that the snow went white, and opaque. Though she found it to be more lovely, it was still too hard. She tried to use an axe, to find it did the same as a hammer. Frustrated, Snow sought out the wise owl of the forest for advice. She wanted to see if he could solve the dilemma that she faced. She was determined that she must find a way to soften the snow. She felt desperation, and it confused her. Faeries were rarely desperate. Nature kept faeries doing what they were born to do. Snow was an aberration. She was a frost faerie with a warm personality and a Whimsical sense of humor.
Not that being an aberration was really bad. It meant that she was unique, and special. Though each faerie was unique, so many were so similar that being this different was enough to create a feeling in her of being alone. The trip to the great owl was a scary one. Snow was small, and everything around the forest was so overpoweringly big. His home was in the great oak in the center of the forest, where even the sun had trouble being seen. All of the faeries knew that the old owl was great and wise. He was ancient like the trees he lived in. His feathers were all gray with the years he had lived. Faeries lived short little lives, so many did not understand age, nor the wisdom that went with. Snow understood that the owl knew things she could not. He would, she hoped, be able to tell her how to make the snow soft. She wanted to throw it. She thought it might be fun to play in.Snow felt like the faeries were too serious. None of the other frost faeries seemed to want to play. She felt like she could bring joy by teaching them how to play. For such a young faery Snow had a definite ideals about what was good and bad in the world around her. She saw it as a reason to be silly. The owl was walking onto the outside branch of his home as Snow flew up. He ruffled his feathers as he settled onto the branch. Seeing the excitement in the young faery, he knew his hunt for the night would be postponed for a while. “Who are you? And why are you here?” He hooted at her. Snow did an overbalanced curtsy that nearly had her falling from the tree. After she caught herself and got situated on the branch, she answered the severe old owl. “I seek your wisdom, Old master owl. I am the frost faery named Snow. I want to use the snow for fun and for play. I have tried to soften it in multiple ways. Heat only made a slush, which wasn’t fun with which to play. Hammers sharpened it, cutting anything that touches it. All then becoming too uncomfortable with which to play. I tried my magic, without hesitation or delay. It colored white, and appeared quite opaque. Still, too hard with which to form and play. Please, master owl, what advice have you?”
Stunned, she mummered to herself. “Magic the inside, indeed. I should have thought of that all by myself. The old owl’s wisdom that was rumored has been proven true.” With that thought, Snow flew off herself. To the mountain she flew, high into the clouds. She settled herself where the snow she was named for lay about the ground.
Snow cast her magic, to poke little holes. The white ice shattered into flakes of soft and white. Making it perfect to have a snowball fight. She taught the faeries winter play, and is the reason for the snowflakes that we see today.
So I am helping organize an anthology with some amazing writers. Serena is writing for it. I don’t want to give too many details yet. We are approaching the deadline for the first drafts. I will be telling you more about this project as we get closer to release day. For now, I will tell you it is titled Under the Mists. It is an anthology of dark faery stories.
Also the sign up for the first issue of the Creative Rising E-zine is supposed to be released anytime now. Keep your fingers crossed as I plan to apply to be included.
Keep your eyes here and I will let you know when I have more information.
I normally do either teaser Tuesday or tech Tuesday… And I still might. But as I am fighting back a terrible migraine…. It will be later in tomorrow before I am able. Thank you for your patience.
Hey there beautiful #CosmicCreators!
It’s a BRAND NEW YEAR, and if you are anything like me, you were MORE than ready to say #ByeFelicia to 2018!!! Fracking 2018, man. It BLEW.
And ya know why? Because it was an awakening year. That’s right y’all…that 11 was STRONG AS FUCK.
11 is a master number in numerology, and it’s the number of waking the fuck up through major fucking healing. And Bro…it was NOT kidding.
It was a year to build MAJOR foundations, and that meant ripping the original ones apart from the inside out. OUCH. But it was all in the name of building something STRONGER and more in alignment with your soul’s purpose.
So….that being said, it’s now 2019.
What does that mean for us? GOOD SHIT, that’s what. 2019 will see the RISE of the Creatives and a return to Creation Energy! You see, in numerology: 2+0+1+9 =…
I think that this challenge is so interesting. I am by no means pro at taking pictures. I think that I can have fun with the prompts in this challenge. Check back every Saturday for my weekly response.
Week one: Storytelling – Self-portrait – Take a picture that tells us who you are without actually showing your face.
Language — Does your world have different languages? How did they evolve? Does each race have a different language or is it regional? Is there laws that are broken by speaking the wrong language?
Origin Tales — How did the world came to be? Is there a myths about the world’s origin that is disputed between societies? Is it seen as a religion?
Jobs/professions — What kind do people have? Do men and women divide work, share it? What kind of training do your characters receive, if any? How are they trained and by whom?
Gender roles – What are people’s attitudes about gender roles? And does it differ between species? How?
Clothing/Costumes — How do people dress? What do your characters wear and why? Where does fabric come from? Who makes it?
Weather — Does your place have four seasons? How is this expressed and does it affect your story?
Food — How it’s planted/harvested/hunted/gathered? What do people eat and when? How it’s cooked? Who cooks? What’s poisonous? And does it differ from species to species?
Animals – Are there any special or magical animals in your world? Are there any who are unique to your world? Any race hold an animal sacred? Is there animal sacrifice in your world?
Politics/Power – Who is in power and why? How is power transferred to the next generation? What people do or don’t do to get close to powerful people?
I really hope that this series has been helpful. Please feel free to comment your answers and discuss your world with me.
Pattimouse 