Writerly Ways

[cornerofmadness]

I had something planned for this but my brain has flatlined so let me do this instead. Let me ask a question.

And this is more for the original fic authors out there, how do you (if you do) keep all the details straight for your characters and figure out their motivations? Me, I grew up with paper zine fandoms where you weren't allowed to have canon characters (Elfquest and Pern specifically and also there were various Starfleet Starships that were also ALL original characters) so we had character sheets so artists could take a stab at illustrating stories. I still use that form for keeping hair/eye color, height, tatts etc straight. I definitely need that.

When it comes to other sheets I have used SO many different ones. Some are incredibly time consuming. And I admit it characters will often go off course. Some times they aren't as helpful as you'd hope for but for me it's at least a starting place.

Like this one for my 1980s monster hunter characters. NAME: Alessia ‘Al’ Salucci
GENDER: female
ETHNICITY: Italian american
AGE: 20
HAIR: dark brown, curly long to her shoulders and since it’s the 80s the hair is big
EYES: light brown
HEIGHT: 5’9”
SKIN TONE: olive tone
BUILD: she has some muscle tone and a nice figure
FEATURES: she can spock-eyebrow and does it often has high cheek bones
FAMILY: John (Giovanni) –father, Maddie (mother) , Joe (kid brother)
1. Do they have any tattoos or piercings? Double pierced ears no tatts
2. What kind of clothes do they wear? She likes flashy stuff, bright colors, gold lame, hates jellie shoes, loves jeans (favors Gloria Vanderbuilt or Chic)
3. Any scars? How did they get them? Nothing outstanding
4. What family do they have? Her family has been monster hunters for generations. They are a bit of an overprotective family
5. What is their relationship with their family? She loves them but they drive her nuts
6. Place of birth? Pittsburgh PA
7. Where do they live? Pittsburgh PA
8. Where have they lived? Pittsburgh PA
9. What is their job? College student (biology), monster hunter.
10. Do they have any specialist training? Qualifications? She’s been training to fight the monsters all her life.
11. Do they have a natural talent for something? Stregheria, she is particularly good at fire magic and talking to the dead.
12. Do they like to travel? She hasn’t gotten to do much but wants to.
13. Where is their favourite place? She loves the coast of Maine (one of the few places she’s been)
14. Who is their best friend – or friends? Grace is her best friend and Danilo
15. Who was their best friend/s as a child? All of her childhood friends were within the organization
16. What happened to those friends? They’re still fighting monsters but many of them have been shifted to other postings.
17. Does this character like him/herself? Yes, she thinks she’s better than other saw her (being a comic book reading, DND playing, Star Trek geek as a woman in the 80s was not easy)
18. Are they in good health? She’s healthy
19. Any minor health issues? none
20. Favourite food? pizza
21. Food they don't like? Pork (outside of bacon)
22. Favourite book? Comic books and a host of fantasy books
23. Favourite soft drink? tea
24. Alcoholic drink of choice? She likes rum and cokes when she can sneak them in.
25. Favourite movie/film/play? Star Wars, Ghostbusters
26. Any hobbies or pastimes? She loves to write when she has time and play video games
27. Do they play any sports? Are they any good? Does video games count?
28. What might this person do in their spare time? Write and hit the video arcades
29. What would be a great gift for this person? Comic books, something for her atari
30. Do they have any pets? She’s had dogs and cats none currently
31. Favourite childhood pet? The Labrador Retriever she had growing up and a black cat.
32. Can they drive? Do they have a favourite vehicle? She drives but has no faves
33. Idiosyncrasies? She talks a lot
34. Most embarrassing thing that ever happened to him? She doesn’t want to talk about it
35. Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Pessimistic
36. Are they introverted or extroverted? She is in between. If you’re talking about things she’s interested in, she’s all over it.
37. How do they display affection? She’ll talk your ear off.
38. How do they react to praise? With surprise
39. How do they react to criticism? She withdraws and goes over it again and again in her head.
40. What is their greatest fear? Dying badly
41. When was the last time they cried? When Spock died
42. Would they prefer to be indoors or outdoors? A little of both
43. What is their best childhood memory? Going to a Star Trek con with her mom.
44. What is their worst childhood memory? Seeing people in the group dying
45. Are they in a relationship? no
46. How do they behave in a relationship? Like she’s afraid it won’t last
47. Has your character ever been in love? Not really.
48. Have they ever had their heart broken? Not yet.
49. How do they respond to a threat? She takes it seriously and tries to defuse the situation
50. What is their choice of weapon fire magic
51. What is their favourite animal? Cats and dogs
52. Which animal to they dislike the most? Spiders and isn’t overly fond of turkey buzzards
53. What is the most beautiful thing they have ever seen? She’s not sure how to answer that
54. What is on their bedside table? Comic books, a Spock figurine.
55. What is in their bag/purse/wallet/pocket? Everything is in that purse. It’s a weapon in and of itself.
56. What is their most treasured possession? That Spock figurine
57. Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? All the clutter
58. What do they do first thing on a weekday morning? Coffee and more coffee
59. Are they comfortable with technology? Yes she is
60. What is their most powerful memory? First time she spoke to a ghost.
61. What might they have for breakfast? Scrambled eggs
62. Can they – do they like to – cook? She’s Italian, cooking is one of the first things she learned.
63. What would you notice first about this character? She loves to talk.
64. Favourite childhood toy. A doctor’s bag
65. Have they killed anyone? Who was the first? Has only killed monsters.
66. What would be a good way for them to spend a day? With a sack of quarters at the arcade
67. What was their first experience of death? Who, or what, was it? Losing her dog.
68. Do they have a hero or role model? Her mom
69. Do they like music? What kind? new wave, pop, hair bands
70. Do they have any birth marks, moles or freckles? none
71. Favourite cafe/restaurant/pub/public place? I need to make up a place near campus for them.
72. Do they take any regular medication, or have any allergies or intolerance's? no she doesn’t
73. Is there something this person can't, or doesn't like, to do shut up? be normal?
74. Does this person have a dream or goal to achieve? To be on the bestseller’s list



And here's a different long one for a character I DO NOT REMEMBER. (I named one of my Flight Rising dragons after her though) Did I even write anything for her?!?
Basic
Name: Marzia Segreti
Nickname: Zia
Age: 25
Gender: female
Ethnicity: Italian American
Appearance
Hair: curly shoulder length
Hair colour: dark brown
Eye colour: hazel
Face: high cheeks, has a bit of a nose
Body: athletic, 5’9”
Skin colour: olive
Piercings/tattoos: probably, uncertain
Scars/birthmarks: scars from fighting
Clothing: casual, gets a wild hair and dresses in floofy renn style stuff
Fragrance/scent: has a passion for scented oils but worn only rarely (monsters can scent you, don’t you know)
Background
Describe the character's childhood. Zia grew up within the organization. She has always known about the monsters and the dangers. Her childhood was good but tainted with this knowledge. She is the oldest (has a younger brother). Her parents were close and were monster hunters as well in Pittsburgh PA
Describe the character's adolescent. In adolescence Zia’s abilities with magic surfaced. She spent it with other skilled teens being tutored by the organizations teachers. By fifteen-sixteen she was fighting small monsters by eighteen she had graduated to the bigger ones. Her adolescence was otherwise much as any other, filled with crushes and flirtations, friends and rivalries. She wished she would have had a prom and the other usual high school like football, band and school plays.
Describe the character's adulthood. She has moved to Boston with one of her cousins to fight in the organization there. She’s been too busy for much else and for the most part doesn’t regret it.
How was the character's relationship with their family?
Describe the character's love and sex life.
Personality
How does the character behave with people they know?
How does the character behave with people the don't know?
How does the character wish they behaved?
What makes the character happy/etc?
What makes the character angry/sad/etc?
What does the character like?
What does the character dislike?
What is the character's goal in life?
What is the character's goal right now?
What is your character afraid of?
Life
What is your character's occupation?
How does you character live?
With who do they live?
Does the character have parents?
Siblings?
Is the character religious?
What does the character do on their free time?
Does the character have any allergies?
Does the character have any health issues?
What is the character happy with in their life?
What is they not happy with?
Relationships and sex
Who are the character's friends?
Do the character like their friends? Do they like the character?
Does the character have any partner? In that case, who? What kind of relationship is it? Is the character happy with the relationship? What make the character happy/not happy with their partner/-s?
What's the character's sexuality?
What attracts the character?
What really doesn't attract the character?
Does the character have any special kinks or preferences?
What's something that's an instant turn-on for the character?
What's something that's an instant turn-off for the character?


What do you do? What makes your book bible? Feel free to share.


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Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> And this is more for the original fic authors out there, how do you (if you do) keep all the details straight for your characters and figure out their motivations? <<

Many thousands of pages of notes. Characters typically have a character sheet, of which mine is loosely inspired by the PDQ format (name, description and background, Origin (if any), Uniform (if any), Qualities and Weakness, Powers (if any), Motivation (if any). I also keep notes on things like locations, clothes, etc. that can be used with various characters.

The best writing reference I have for things like motivations and traits is Writers Helping Writers. The Emotional Wound Thesaurus lists various traumas and how they could impact a character. I use it a lot. Sure I can come up with things on my own, but when I need hundreds of characters, tools like this help to create diversity.

>>When it comes to other sheets I have used SO many different ones. Some are incredibly time consuming. And I admit it characters will often go off course. Some times they aren't as helpful as you'd hope for but for me it's at least a starting place.<<

I've used different ones too. For my needs, PDQ is fast, fits most of my settings well, and can be expanded if necessary. I feel that the long forms are best if you're doing something big like drafting a novel from scratch, then you're justified spending all day each on the progtagonist and antagonist development -- but probably the other characters should have shorter forms. Another good place would be main characters in a shared world. Torn World had a long form for main characters and a shorter one for supporting characters.

Re: Thoughts

[cornerofmadness]

thanks for the input. I'll have to look up the PDQ. The time it takes for the long ones is one of the more off putting things to me (even though I do usually do up novels from scratch). It's not so bad for the main character but like you said there are other minor characters we need to keep straight.

I love the emotional wound thesaurus (and their other ones too)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> thanks for the input. I'll have to look up the PDQ. <<

Whoops, sorry, I forgot the link! There are a few sample characters included.

http://www.atomicsockmonkey.com/freebies/di/pdq-core.pdf

If you read any of my writing, you'll notice that it often has character notes. Here are a few examples:

https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/15022536.html

https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/14766012.html

This is a shorter, simpler version that I use in some series:
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/13786232.html


>>The time it takes for the long ones is one of the more off putting things to me (even though I do usually do up novels from scratch). It's not so bad for the main character but like you said there are other minor characters we need to keep straight.<<

I generally recommend matching the level of time invested in character development to the importance of the character. Main character(s) in considerable detail, supporting characters with at least a paragraph or two, bit characters may just have a list of details you specified so you don't forget those. It is important, for all characters, to add details that you specify such as left-handed, morning person, etc.

>> I love the emotional wound thesaurus (and their other ones too) <<

:D

Re: Thoughts

[cornerofmadness]

thanks for the link and yes I have noticed those character notes with your stuff

agreed. That's how I approach it. The main characters get the most time.

Re: Thoughts

[cornerofmadness]

thanks and yes I like your metric for how to do this

[kitarella_imagines]

Thanks for that interesting list!

It's years since I wrote original fiction but what I've been looking into recently is the spectrum of virtues and vices, to give characters depth and realistic characteristics.

e.g. if a character is normally generous (virtue= the middle ground), in extreme circumstances she may become stingy (vice= a deficiency of), or go to the other extreme and be extravagant (vice= an excess of).

If a character is normally truthful (virtue= the middle ground), in extreme circumstances, he may become self deprecating (vice= a deficiency of), or go to the other extreme and be boastful (vice= an excess of).

This also works on a scale of Self Centred/ Grounded/ Self Sacrificing.

e.g. Self Absorbed/ Connected/ Selfless.
Callous/ Empathic/ Overwhelmed.
I'm Important/ I'm Good Enough/ I'm Unimportant.

I thought if I wrote a character who usually behaved in a certain way, it would be realistic to show how they would go to extremes if stressed, but still within the same characteristic or trait.

I hope that makes sense?

[cornerofmadness]

oh the virtue thing is really interesting. I've not seen that one before. I'll have to noodle with it myself

[kitarella_imagines]

I've no idea what made me think of it either. I must have seen it somewhere, there's a whole list of traits like that which can go to extremes. I think the easiest one to understand is actually:

Cowardly/Brave/Reckless

I can see how a normally brave person could go over the top into recklessness but sometimes get so mistreated they become cowardly.

[cornerofmadness]

actually the coward/brave/reckless thing is probably quite core to my 1980s monster hunter books

[kitarella_imagines]

Maybe you'll look at them in another light now 😉

[cornerofmadness]

I could use it. Book two is slow going

[kitarella_imagines]

😩 good luck.

[cornerofmadness]

thanks

[shanachie_quill]

I have a set of character sheets that I've started using. Also post-it notes with traits some times so I can remember (for instance) if someone has blue or gray or brown eyes. I'm horrible with remembering details so those are very helpful.

I started a spreadsheet at one point, but I've never kept up with it.

[cornerofmadness]

Yeah I'm good at starting stuff and then not keeping up with it.

I do find the character sheets helpful because I'm awful at remembering things. Case in point when the publisher's assigned cover artist asked me which arm a character was missing I was like....uh

[shanachie_quill]

Oh so good at starting stuff and not keeping up with it. I've started a new one so hopefully I'll keep up with that one.

Yes! Character sheets are the best! LOL, I would hope I'd remember that... but no promises.

[cornerofmadness]

Good luck and seriously we could still use more in the critique group. If you're interested let me know. I think support does help us going.

[shanachie_quill]

Sure. Send me the info. Not sure if I'll join, but I'd like to know more.

[cornerofmadness]

p.m. me your email again and I'll do that

[shanachie_quill]

Sending after I send this.