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Description
Writing Prompt 101

Character Creation –

Note: Many people have asked how I come up with my characters so I figured I would share what I do.  This is just an outline and know that you don’t have to fill out any and all.  It’s a guideline.  Also note, that though you answer these questions not everything should be included or expected in your writing.  This is so you can know your characters intimately and how they would react but not everyone else needs to know some things.

Basic Information is key to the first vital step

Name: (normal, foreign, alien…etc)

Age: (2 years, 1000, immortal…etc)

Gender: (female, male, transvestite…etc)

Race: (human, vampire, alien… etc)

Profession: (student, doctor, king, mage…etc)

Note:  These tell you what your character is but it just scratches the surface to character building…

Description - gives you the Picture

Weight: (5lbs, 125lbs, 300lbs, weightless, tons…etc)

Height: (0’2”, 6’1”, tiny, giant…etc)

Body Type: (skinny, fat, muscular, metal…etc)

Eye Color: (blue, brown, purple…etc)

Eye Type: (bug-eyed, squinty, pointy…etc)

Hair Color: (black, blonde, aqua…etc)

Hair Type: (bushy, thin, thick, silky, curly…etc)

Skin Color: (white, tan, black, chartreuse…etc)

Skin Type: (rough, smooth, flaky, taut…etc)

Strengths: (what is your character good at?)

Weakness/Flaw: (What is your character weak/bad at?)

Character Preferences – gossip and ‘getting to know you’s

Favorite Food: (what they like to eat the most)

Least Favorite Food: (what they hate)

Allergies: (medicine, grass, asteroids…etc)

Hobbies: (What does he/she do on his/her free time)

Goals: (lifetime goals that this character is striving for; might even be part of the plot)

Turn-Ons: (What does he/she like in people)

Turn Offs: (What does he/she hate in people)

Sexual Orientation: (gay, straight, bi, A-sexual…etc)

Relationship: (single, married, divorced, not interested… etc)

Character History – the nitty-gritty

Childhood: (lengthy/short description of childhood and if it influenced their future)

Teenage: (How was school?  Did he/she even go to school?  How was home life?)

Adulthood: (What does he/she do out of school? Profession?)

Old Age: (Retirement? Family? What is important?)

Note:  Not all characters have these… if you have a teenage character you aren’t going to talk about Adulthood or Old Age.  And these are in-depth including personally tragedies and happiness that affect your character’s growth and well-being.  These should be important when it comes to figuring out how/why they react in certain situations.  And makes up the person they presently are.

Mentality – Time to Shrink your Character

Personality: (deceitful, spiteful, merciless, happy, proud…etc)

Intelligence: (dumb, genius, normal…etc)

How does he/she handle situations: (thinks about it or charges in…etc)

How does he/she act around other characters: (this is critical in relationship building)

What drives this character to succeed/fail: (what pushes him/her throughout the story/plot)

Putting Character into Plot

Inciting Incident: (what starts the character down the novel path?)

Fuel on the Fire: (events that keep him/her going)

Character Interaction: (how do other characters affect him/her)

Change/Stagnant: (Ways that he/she changes throughout the novel and what stays the same?)

Success/Fail: (At the end, does he/she succeed or fail? Or both?  Could he succeed in saving the heroine but fail in saving his soul?)

Note:  These are supposed to help you figure out how your character would react and will eventually show in actions or words in your book.  There are so many more you could say but it’s just the basics here.

Here you go!  Pendragonvamp’s guide to effective character creation.  I hope this gives you easier insiders to creating thorough, realistic characters and… HAPPY CREATING!

Description
Writing Prompt 101

Character Creation –

Note: Many people have asked how I come up with my characters so I figured I would share what I do.  This is just an outline and know that you don’t have to fill out any and all.  It’s a guideline.  Also note, that though you answer these questions not everything should be included or expected in your writing.  This is so you can know your characters intimately and how they would react but not everyone else needs to know some things.

Basic Information is key to the first vital step

Name: (normal, foreign, alien…etc)

Age: (2 years, 1000, immortal…etc)

Gender: (female, male, transvestite…etc)

Race: (human, vampire, alien… etc)

Profession: (student, doctor, king, mage…etc)

Note:  These tell you what your character is but it just scratches the surface to character building…

Description - gives you the Picture

Weight: (5lbs, 125lbs, 300lbs, weightless, tons…etc)

Height: (0’2”, 6’1”, tiny, giant…etc)

Body Type: (skinny, fat, muscular, metal…etc)

Eye Color: (blue, brown, purple…etc)

Eye Type: (bug-eyed, squinty, pointy…etc)

Hair Color: (black, blonde, aqua…etc)

Hair Type: (bushy, thin, thick, silky, curly…etc)

Skin Color: (white, tan, black, chartreuse…etc)

Skin Type: (rough, smooth, flaky, taut…etc)

Strengths: (what is your character good at?)

Weakness/Flaw: (What is your character weak/bad at?)

Character Preferences – gossip and ‘getting to know you’s

Favorite Food: (what they like to eat the most)

Least Favorite Food: (what they hate)

Allergies: (medicine, grass, asteroids…etc)

Hobbies: (What does he/she do on his/her free time)

Goals: (lifetime goals that this character is striving for; might even be part of the plot)

Turn-Ons: (What does he/she like in people)

Turn Offs: (What does he/she hate in people)

Sexual Orientation: (gay, straight, bi, A-sexual…etc)

Relationship: (single, married, divorced, not interested… etc)

Character History – the nitty-gritty

Childhood: (lengthy/short description of childhood and if it influenced their future)

Teenage: (How was school?  Did he/she even go to school?  How was home life?)

Adulthood: (What does he/she do out of school? Profession?)

Old Age: (Retirement? Family? What is important?)

Note:  Not all characters have these… if you have a teenage character you aren’t going to talk about Adulthood or Old Age.  And these are in-depth including personally tragedies and happiness that affect your character’s growth and well-being.  These should be important when it comes to figuring out how/why they react in certain situations.  And makes up the person they presently are.

Mentality – Time to Shrink your Character

Personality: (deceitful, spiteful, merciless, happy, proud…etc)

Intelligence: (dumb, genius, normal…etc)

How does he/she handle situations: (thinks about it or charges in…etc)

How does he/she act around other characters: (this is critical in relationship building)

What drives this character to succeed/fail: (what pushes him/her throughout the story/plot)

Putting Character into Plot

Inciting Incident: (what starts the character down the novel path?)

Fuel on the Fire: (events that keep him/her going)

Character Interaction: (how do other characters affect him/her)

Change/Stagnant: (Ways that he/she changes throughout the novel and what stays the same?)

Success/Fail: (At the end, does he/she succeed or fail? Or both?  Could he succeed in saving the heroine but fail in saving his soul?)

Note:  These are supposed to help you figure out how your character would react and will eventually show in actions or words in your book.  There are so many more you could say but it’s just the basics here.

Here you go!  Pendragonvamp’s guide to effective character creation.  I hope this gives you easier insiders to creating thorough, realistic characters and… HAPPY CREATING!