Today it's pouring rain and soccer season is over (which means no longer zooming around for my kids three back-to-back soccer games - yay!) and I have a lazy Saturday planned of playing a few board games with the kids and doing some character profiles for my WIP. Oh - and I just realised I'd better go shopping and buy Pete something for Father's day tomorrow. The kids want to get him Dr Who boxed sets...b/c they want Dr Who box sets. They are so subtle :)
Anyway...
Mini Character Profiles
Author
Kara Mustafa sent me the mini profiles she uses - which are perfect - not too intense that it'll give me a headache and enough that I can feel out my characters and get a sense of their motivations, etc. Here it is:
Name:
Age:
Best friend:
Best memory:
Favorite food:
Favorite subject in school:
Post-school dream:
Hobbies:
What they'd do in an ethical dilemma:
Best qualities:
Worst qualities:
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Kara's Aussie character, Logan
aka Jesse Spencer
(from her novel Plan B)
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Also, earlier, YA Highway had a Road Trip with the prompt: What does your character hide in their underwear drawer - or other secret location? Which I'm going to add. Kara did hers and it completely rocks - so telling about her characters and really fun.
I have a few characters I'm going to do it for:
Cara - my MC
Ashleigh - MC's best friend
Seb - the boyfriend
Ben - good mate
Flint - Ashleigh's big bro
Anyone else use character profiles?
Any tips for me? :)
So - the contest isn't here @ inkcrush - it's over @ Kara's blog and includes gift vouchers and The DUFF and Break and Personal Demons and more... And it's also one of my favourite blogs for general awesomeness and inspiration.
I haven't used character profiles but I so am now! I am struggling with a WIP and its characters right now. I need to get them straightened out in my head!
ReplyDeleteJesse Spencer = <3 !
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found the character profile helpful! They're a must for me since I struggle with motivation the most when it comes to sketching characters. Thanks for the contest link too! Since you mentioned there's no Amazon in Australia, I think I'm going to change it to a Book Depository gift card :)
I love making character profiles, especially when I need some motivation. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't make character profiles, but I know a lot of writers swear by them. I'm more of a write-by-the-seat-of-my-pants girl!
ReplyDeleteoh donna - I'm a seat of my pants girl too - but I liked doing this. It felt like productive procrastination - and I discovered one character has a huge wad of money in his draw - which triggered a new plot twist...
ReplyDeletegood luck Rhiannon!
I once used a character profile for one of my WiPs but though they are fun, I think I'm better off without them, cos I like finding out about my characters as I'm writing their story. If I know everything about them, my productivity level goes down. Guess it works differently for everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're having fun though :)
*going over to check Kara's blog*
I don't usually use character profile, I spend most of the time focusing on character development. Those mini profile are awesome <3
ReplyDeleteI have a great lesson where my students do character profiles, including some funny cartoon drawings that they can piece together and actually draw a character. They really enjoy this activity. Although I doubt that would helps writers, it does help them get a picture in their heads. Hope the character profile helps you flesh your characters out.
ReplyDeleteI don't write, but if I did I would most certainly use character profiles. It's kind of like making a list and I have an obsession with lists. I make one for everything :P.
ReplyDeleteooo... Kara's aussie character is hot. I've heard of doing character profiles, but haven't tried it myself. Janice Hardy had a really good post about character profiles and questions she asks herself. They were more specific about how your character would react in particular situations and such. I think the questions above are fun, but Janice's seemed to get more at the bottom of who your character is deep inside.
ReplyDeleteLook here if you haven't read it:
http://storyflip.blogspot.com/search/label/characters
Love Kara! She's actually my crit buddy, and I'm so excited she got an agent :)
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I've learned for my new WIP, Race, is to do character collages. I look through magazines and find the things they like, what they dislike, how they see life, and so on. That way, I always have a visual representation of who they are.
ooh - i like the idea of character collages!
ReplyDeleteand Angie - that link is awesome and overwhelming all at once :)