Tag: resources

The 5 Absolute Dimensions of Character Personality

Tips de escritura

5 Dimensions of Personality

This is an overarching framework, and encompasses every aspect of personality. Each category houses immense opportunities for color and texture, stemming from a wide variety of personality paradigms (nearly a dozen!) to give a full and nuanced view of your character.

I use this system in my Forensic Character Sketch sessions to pull characters from fuzzy beginnings into vibrant, distinct being.

Presence is how your character comes across to other characters, how he presents himself, holds himself, comports himself. It is the attitude he carries and the energy he exudes. Think stage presence turned page presence.

Does your character have his own mien?

Motivation is everything that moves him. It’s the “why” behind actions, reactions, and emotions.

What prompts your character to act? To react?

Method is the pattern of of choices made in acting on a motivation. It indirectly reveals how he thinks, and can be a clear path to understanding the deeper workings of the mind.

What approach does your character take?

Interaction is how he handles different relationships, how he communicates, what he needs, what he gives, and how close he gets.

How does your character relate to others?

Underpinning is how the character’s mind works at the deepest levels. It is the seat of personality. As such, it houses mental systems that, whether determined by nature or nurture, are the unconscious core of who he is.

Who is your character if you strip away agenda and persona? What is his basic personality?

 

Pro Tip: Make sure you define a bit in each dimension to round out the character.

You can create hundreds of unique characters, voice and all, using this system of understanding. You are not limited to casting and recasting a few personalities. You are more insightful and inventive than that.

 

Original article:
Writing geekery

A Writer’s List of Superstitions

Tips de escritura

1.     Breaking a mirror = seven years of bad luck.

2.     On the first day of a month, saying “rabbit rabbit” before you say anything else brings you good luck for that month. (I do this! You can read here about this superstition.)

3.     Friday the 13th is extremely unlucky… but in Italy, Friday the 17th may be unlucky. (Side note: false. Fridays are the best days, and it is impossible for them to be unlucky.)

4.     In China, the number 4 is unlucky.

5.     Picking up a stray penny brings you good luck.

6.     Picking up a comb on the ground, though? Terrible luck. (Really, why do you want someone else’s gross used comb, anyway? This might be an Irish superstition.)

7.     A four-leaf clover is very good luck.

8.     So is a horseshoe. (Some people say not to hang it upside-down, or the good luck will run out. Other people think this is nonsense.)

9.     Burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard will help a house sell quickly.

10.  Put a stray eyelash in the palm of your hand, make a wish, and blow it away to make your wish come true.

11.  If the clasp of your necklace winds up in front, you can make a wish as you move the clasp back to the nape of your neck.

12.  A St. Christopher medal brings good luck to sailors and other travelers.

13.  From The Moonlit Road’s page about Cajun superstitions: “To protect against the Cajun loup garou (werewolf), lay 13 small objects such as pennies, beans, or broom straws by your doors. The werewolf is not too bright. She cannot count higher than 12. When she comes to the 13th object, she gets sooo confused and has to start over. The poor thing will be there counting all night until the dawn when she must flee the sun.” (Sounds like the loup garou is about as good at math as I am. There are more Cajun superstitions on that site, if you want to check out the link!)

14.  Beginner’s luck.

15.  In several cultures, a bird defecating on you is good luck. (Obviously false; gross.)

16.  A rabbit’s foot brings good luck to anyone (except, of course, the rabbit.)

17.  Knocking on wood keeps good luck going.

18.  For single women (and maybe single gay men, I’m guessing?): if you see a bluebird on Valentine’s Day, you’ll marry a happy man.

19.  Twist the stem of an apple while reciting the alphabet. The letter during which the stem comes off is the first letter of the person you will marry.

20.  Unexpected deaths and other bad things come in threes.

21.  In Greece, it’s bad luck to make a toast with coffee.

22.  Babies with birthmarks had past lives. (I saw this on a site about Thai superstitions.)

23.  Never give knives as gifts. It may ruin (cut) your relationship with the person. If you give knives to a married couple, it may sever their relationship.

24.  However, I’ve read that there’s an Indian superstition that says if you sleep with a knife or a pair of scissors under your pillow, it will cut out the bad dreams.

25.  When your palm itches, that means you’re going to get some extra money soon.

26.  Wear new clothes on Easter for good luck.

27.  But don’t wear new clothes to a funeral. That’s bad luck.

28.  If your nose itches, you’re going to get in a fight. You can prevent it if your buddy smacks your hand and you smack their hand in return. (Ireland.)

29.  It’s bad luck to refuse to kiss someone under the mistletoe. (This is obviously untrue. Only kiss people if you want to.)

30. Eating one grape for every stroke of midnight on New Year’s will bring you a happy year. (Spain.)

31. It’s good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. (Southern United States.) (I wish I did not find them so disgusting.)

32.  If your ears are burning, someone is talking about you.

33.  If you shiver or shudder, someone just walked over your (future) grave.

34.  Smelling a skunk while you’re traveling is good luck (unless, of course, the skunk actually sprays you or something.)

35.  A black cat crossing your path is bad luck. Several cultures share this belief. (False. Black cats are lovely, so it’s always good luck to see one.)

36.  Don’t compliment a baby’s appearance, or it attracts evil spirits. (I’ve seen this listed as an Egyptian, a Jewish, and a Thai superstition.)

37.  Opening an umbrella in the house is bad luck.

38.  If you hit someone with a broom, you’ll have bad luck. (This is supposedly a Chinese superstition, and I have to say it seems only fair.)

39.  This is another Chinese superstition: don’t sweep on New Year’s Day, or you’ll sweep all the good luck away. (Plus, you’re probably too hung over to do housework.)

40.  A dog howling at night means someone is going to die. Several cultures hold this superstition.

41.  When a bell rings, an angel gets their wings. (I know this one from It’s a Wonderful Life, obviously.)

42.  A hat on the bed is bad luck. (I know this one from the movie Drugstore Cowboy.)

43.  Putting shoes on a table is likewise a bad idea.

44.  Evil spirits can’t cross a line of salt. (This one, I know from the TV show Supernatural.)

45.  If you accidentally spill salt at the table, though, throw some over your shoulder or else you’ll have bad luck.

46.  Three 666s in a row is the “number of the Beast,” or Satan.

47.  Elephants with raised trunks are a good-luck symbol.

48.  Walking under a ladder brings you bad luck.

49.  Counting Crows – not just a 90s rock band. The number of crows you see foretells the future:

One’s bad,

Two’s luck,

Three’s health,

Four’s wealth,

Five’s sickness,

Six is death

50.  There’s a variation with magpies, which appeared in The Girl On the Train:

One for sorrow,

Two for joy,

Three for a girl,

Four for a boy,

Five for silver,

Six for gold,

Seven for a secret

Never to be told.

51.  And if you see a lone magpie, you need to salute it or say hi or something, or else you might die. (I think this is an Irish idea.)

52.   It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the wedding day before the actual wedding. (Honestly, I don’t think many people subscribe to this any more.)

53.  It’s bad luck to light three cigarettes from the same match.

54.  If you light a cigarette from a candle, you kill a sailor.

55.  Redheads are dangerous to sailors. (Look out boys, here I come! Haha.)

56.  Step on a crack, break your mother’s back.

57.  The more you eat on Christmas Eve, the more fun you’ll have in the New Year. (HAHAHAHA. I saw this on a forum of Polish superstitions, and I don’t know if it’s really Polish in origin.)

58.  An owl is a portent of bad news or death. (This is the case in several cultures.)

59.  Having 13 guests at a dinner party is bad luck. It makes your dinner too much like the Last Supper.

60.  If you blow out all your birthday candles in the first breath, you’ll get your wish.

61.   Wishes on the first star of the evening and on shooting stars come true.

62.  If you cross your fingers, that means good luck. It also means it’s okay to tell a lie.

63.  If you sneeze, someone needs to bless you or there could be trouble. Although many of us say “God bless you,” it didn’t start with Christianity – ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians did this too.

64.  It’s bad luck to wear opals, unless it’s your birthstone. (I think opals are beautiful so I do not accept this.)

65.  Carrying a buckeye in your pocket or purse is good luck.

66. If you ring a bell, it scares evil spirits away.

67. Wearing a shirt with the logo of your team on game day is good luck. I should note, though, that some fans decide that wearing their team’s shirt on game day is bad luck.

 

Original article:
Bryndonovan dot com

30 SCENE IDEAS FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Tips de escritura

WHAT DEVELOPS CHARACTER?

  1. CONFLICT, TESTS & TRIALS – any time the character faces resistance in their world, there is an opportunity to reveal something new about them, or to reinforce an existing trait. The more pressure the character is under, the more you will need to develop them to meet their difficulties.
  2. REACTION – meaningful and consistent reactions to the events around them are what create characters. This might take the form of ACTION, reflection, interaction, DECISION-MAKING, or even inaction.
  3. REFLECTION, SELF-ASSESSMENT – character doesn’t always have to be developed through action. Sometimes solitary reflection and assessment can be a great way to slow down and delve deeper.
  4. INTERACTION, RELATIONSHIPS – in many ways, the character is defined through contrast and correlation to the other characters in the story. Relationships apply push and pull forces on the character that cause them to react, make decisions, and re-assess their own identity.
  5. CHANGE, PROGRESS – one of the main differences between a flat character and a round one is that a round character changes, whereas a flat character stays static. A character’s reaction to change is one of their most defining traits and will often influence their other characteristics.
  6. DECISIONS, CHOICES – decisions are where the PLOT intersects the character’s mind most clearly. The sorts of decisions characters are faced with can be as telling as their later reactions to the path they chose.

SCENE IDEAS

  1. The character has a heart-to-heart with a Helper.
  2. The character trains with a Mentor.
  3. The character completes a MINI QUEST to get past a Threshold Guardian.
  4. The character questions their relationship to the Antagonist.
  5. The character receives bad news from a Herald.
  6. The character realises that they were deceived by a Shapeshifter.
  7. The character recognises an aspect of themselves in another character.
  8. The character is forced to wait for someone or something.
  9. The character is forced to ask for help from a character they dislike.
  10. The character confesses their deepest fear or secret to another character.
  11. The character must negotiate with a character or group of characters.
  12. The character LOSES OR SACRIFICES something they value greatly.
  13. The character sees or hears something they weren’t supposed to.
  14. The character tries to understand the MOTIVATION behind another character’s actions.
  15. The character tries to evade or ESCAPE another character.
  16. The character is forced to MAKE A DIFFICULT DECISION that will affect others.
  17. The character is abandoned by someone they love or value.
  18. The character tries to convince another character to act.
  19. The character reacts to mental or physical pain.
  20. The character needs to work together with another character.
  21. The character is rejected by another character or group of characters.
  22. The character looks back at how far they’ve come.
  23. The character undergoes a RITE OF PASSAGE.
  24. The character becomes responsible for other characters.
  25. The character learns their true name and origin.
  26. The character tries to master or conceal their THOUGHTS or EMOTIONS.
  27. The character faces their own, or another character’s DEATH.
  28. The character questions a belief that has shaped their personality.
  29. The character loses all hope that they will succeed.
  30. The character contemplates their future.

 

Original post can be found here:
Eadeverell dot com

100 STORY IDEAS

Tips de escritura

STORY IDEAS

WRITE A STORY ABOUT…

  1. A character with an addiction who discovers that they’re someone else’s addiction.
  2. A historical character who travels to the present day and causes chaos when they steal back something that originally belonged to them.
  3. An alien species that lands on earth but is only detectable through literature.
  4. A world where every other person is born with wings and the history of how this came about.
  5. A magical object that teleports into the hand of anyone who thinks about it, and the difficulties this causes for its owner.
  6. A character who’s seeking justice for a murder they committed but can’t prove.
  7. A faustian musician who’s trying to resurrect a dead musician so they can jam together.
  8. A character who’s trying to win back their partner who ran away with their best friend.
  9. A spirit animal’s quest to choose their human.
  10. A mythical drug that’s at the root of someone’s family tree.
  11. A fountain pen collector who’s found murdered, and the murder weapon is a fountain pen that was rumoured to have belonged to a famous historical figure.
  12. A teenage boy who dreams of marrying a(n alien) princess.
  13. A wedding planner who bears a secret grudge against happily married (or engaged) couples.
  14. The history of a family who are committed to resurrecting an ancient art.
  15. A character whose obsession with entomology threatens to unleash a plague of biblical proportions.
  16. A group of archeologists who discover the ruins of Atlantis on a newly-formed volcanic island.
  17. A knight who spends five years trying to break a spell cast on him by a witch, only to slowly fall in love with her.
  18. A character whose family and friends believe that they are a mythological figure resurrected, even though they don’t believe it themselves.
  19. A sailor who is shipwrecked on an artificial island-kingdom owned by an eccentric billionaire who has been presumed dead for ten years.
  20. A character making friends while waiting for a hurricane to hit the hotel where they’re staying.
  21. A graveyard that’s besieged by the souls of those who were buried outside its walls.
  22. A bookshop that’s the last refuge of a group of fans of an unusual (and very specific) genre.
  23. An occultist who develops a sudden interest in science.
  24. A vintner who mans an interplanetary expedition to solve the mystery of a grape blight.
  25. A dragon who’s in love with a rain deity and wants to find them the perfect gift.
  26. A guest who begins to suspect that they’re not the only guest.
  27. The founders of a town where the average IQ of the residents is abnormally high.
  28. A warrior who discovers that their clan has been at war for centuries because of a typographical error that may have ben deliberate.
  29. A magical world where all of the magic turns out to be an elaborate illusion.
  30. A teacher who takes attendance and finds that there’s an extra student in their class.
  31. An innkeeper who hires a magus, a troll, and an elf to guard their secret recipe, but finds they’ve put their trust in the wrong people.
  32. A blind date that’s interrupted by a guardian angel.
  33. A psychic tour guide who organises tours that help people turn their lives around.
  34. A painter who travels to another planet in search of a rare pigment.
  35. A character who discovers a strange calendar which appears to prophecy important events in their life.
  36. A teenager who has to choose between two very different schools.
  37. A builder who specialises in magical doors, extensions, and passages.
  38. A character who gets trapped in their memory palace and has to find a way out in order to save someone else.
  39. A character who accidentally discovers the world’s best pencil and spends the rest of their life trying to keep it secret at all cost.
  40. A goddess who wakes up and finds that her religion has been abandoned, and sets out to seek the cause, and convert people back.
  41. A miner who hits a vein of a strange new rock and becomes a target for a government agency that wants to keep the discovery a secret.
  42. A florist who sends flowers to a wrong address and initiates a chain of events that leads to two people meeting and falling in love.
  43. A country where citizens vote AI into leadership, rather than people.
  44. A character who is obsessed with perfecting their life story by travelling back in time to correct mistakes or flaws.
  45. A character who has to fall in love with someone from an enemy clan in order to lift a curse.
  46. A book critic who is writing their first book but becomes paralysed by the fear of receiving vengeful reviews.
  47. A character whose job is to create treasure hunts, but who finds themselves on someone else’s treasure hunt, and ends up discovering an old coffin.
  48. A knitter who unravels a ball of yarn only to find it stained with blood, and helps the police investigate a possible murder.
  49. A character who is afraid to leave their house, but needs to travel to see a loved one who is critically ill in hospital.
  50. A character who steals what they think are the questions to an exam, and finds that they’re actually an application form for a secret, mythical order of scholars.
  51. A protest that’s staged as cover for a huge heist.
  52. A character who regains their sanity through chess.
  53. The history of the most valuable dress in the world.
  54. A character who discovers a secret message on a bottle of shampoo while showering, and is driven by curiosity to investigate it.
  55. A peace treat that’s signed on board a dirigible over no-man’s-land, and the people who fought for it.
  56. A wealthy character who goes on a daytrip with a poor, homeless person, and switches places with them without realising.
  57. Two people who fall in love but come from planets where time runs very differently.
  58. A character who is the “chosen one” and discovers that they were the one who created the prophecy.
  59. A society that’s organised according to an ancient symbol that they’ve misinterpreted.
  60. A character who learns that the omens in their life are created by beings trying to guide them from another dimension.
  61. A character who finds a baby abandoned in a bus shelter and embarks on a roadtrip with a wet nurse to try to find its parents.
  62. A time-travelling antique dealer who steals their favourite author’s writing desk.
  63. A detective who has to overcome their fear of flying in order to investigate the murder of a flight attendant.
  64. A character who is biologically attracted to danger.
  65. A character who is preparing to go through a rite of passage that involves death but not resurrection.
  66. A character whose lover breaks up with them and then secretly follows them for a decade.
  67. A gamer who has to rescue a real princess.
  68. Two characters who leave to seek their fortunes in order to get married.
  69. A rock band that tours the world and investigates crimes.
  70. A psychologist who’s trying to hide their agoraphobia.
  71. The crew of a spaceship that have been trying to find their way back to their home planet for centuries.
  72. A vampire who gives blood rather than drinking it.
  73. A private letter that falls into the hands of an influential leader and changes their outlook on life.
  74. A character who learns that their parents were guilty of a terrible crime, and sets out to collect evidence against them.
  75. A character who has been living as a recluse for many years, and learns that the people of a nearby settlement regard them as a guru, and have written books and made films about them.
  76. What Romeo and Juliet get up to in the afterlife.
  77. A character who stumbles upon a strange machine that their science teacher has been building in the school basement, and decides to help.
  78. A character who reads their first book at the age of 81.
  79. A character who awakens an ancient mythical beast while scouting for a movie location at a remote monastery.
  80. Another planet’s space race.
  81. A tattoo artist who helps a detective solve murders that involve tattooed victims.
  82. Two lovers who are separated by a bridge that can’t be maintained much longer.
  83. A fortune teller who becomes a suspect in a murder when it’s discovered that they foretold the victim’s death.
  84. A retired hitman who resolves to atone for his work by saving people who are being targeted by their former employer.
  85. A world where the gods of several pantheons join forces to eradicate their worshippers.
  86. A character who is addicted to seeking out experiences of extreme solitude, and their eventual “healing”.
  87. A memoirist whose distinction between their life story and the life they’re living begins to dissolve until their friends stage an intervention for them.
  88. A diplomat to the fairy realm whose task is to negotiate a trade agreement.
  89. A decorator who becomes increasingly convinced that the owner of the house they’re working on is trying to cover up a murder, even as they fall in love with them.
  90. A character who works on a telephone helpline develops a relationship with one of the callers, and arranges to meet them only to be stood up.
  91. A doctor investigating a rare disease that they specialise in who discovers that it’s artificially engineered, just as they begin to show symptoms themselves.
  92. A character whose job is to clean up people’s imaginations.
  93. A world where the people develop space travel in order to communicate with their deities who live on another planet, but find that the gods have vanished mysteriously.
  94. A character living in a nursing home who wakes up one day to find themselves inundated with fan mail.
  95. A character whose commute lasts a lightyear.
  96. A character whose fear of missing out drives them to establish a surveillance network.
  97. A character who has a fascination with all kinds of forgery, and how this interest will eventually lead to their death.
  98. A film star who is actually two film stars.
  99. A society that encourages and rewards mistakes and failure over success.
  100. A writer who’s trying to give up their writing addiction.

 

Original post found here:
Eadeverell dot com