Writer's Exercise #1

Creating a Character:

This exercise is to get the creative juices flowing in helping to think about character development.

1.Is your character to be:
a)male
b)female
c)both
d)neither

2.What is your character:
a)human
b)alien
c)animal
d)thing

3.What stage of development is your character:
a)child
b)adult
c)young or old or in between

4.What are your characters physical traits:
a)hair
b)eyes
c)color
d)body
e)height
f)weight

5.What are their personality traits:
a)moods
b)faults
c)strengths

6.What is their history:
a)any baggage to carry/family skeletons
b)any past heroes
c)known heritage

7.How does your character interact overall with other characters:
a)aggressive
b)friendly
c)rude
d)quiet, unnoticed

8.Does your character carry any special traits
a)birthmarks
b)talents
c)supernatural gifts
d)magic
e)other worldly

9.What "security blanket" items do they have(if any):
a)staff
b)magic item
c)lovers letters
d)family heirloom

10.What is this characters role in this story:
a)hero
b)loser
c)main character
d)enemy
e)side kick
f)background character


This is just to stimulate the creativity. Much more could be added. Expand these ideas into an character that works for you. Add your input as well. Have fun and think outside of the box. If everyone did the same things, it would be a dull world.

Learning about writing

I've really been encouraged by taking an free online writing course (see the link in Treasures). I have picked up a lot of what I need to be a writer by merely being a reader. Not a "mere" reader, really, but an avid consumer of mostly great stuff and some not so great.

One major pet-peeve of mine is when the writer assumes the reader is a slow of mind. Most readers can see where the plot is heading. A good writer foresees this and keeps the reader guessing.

Two things that I need to work on in my writing is to steer away from "said-book isms" and "view-point wobbles".

Major problem this week: my main character is dull compared to the secondary characters and thus attention is being drawn away from my heroine. How to liven up a main character? I think she needs her personality defined a bit more clearly and with more contrasts.

Me

Week Two

Monday:

Wrote in my new notebook about my story

Tuesday:

created new characters for convent scene

Wednesday:

mental and written ideas, online course on how to write

Thursday:

Hope to write more at the library, night out to read and write

Friday:

?

Week One

Monday:

typed about 200-300 words

Tuesday:

started an outline

Wednesday:

mental brainstorm, new ideas

Thursday:

Hope to write more, night out to read and write

Friday:

research writing, brainstorm ideas

BEGINNING

I am thrilled to finally get this to work. I enjoy the variety of options in this blog site. I guess each blog site has pros and cons.

I'm working on a fantasy fiction series.Currently on book one, untitled.

Must go to make supper.

ME