Picked a name from peices of paper
Funtoosh - Character
Obvious physical thing about character to other people
Dark skin, long hair.
Obvious to the char to themselves
Exotic. Lively.
Unique and special that others don't have
Master swordperson
Situation they would normally be in
Horse farm
Situation they would never be in
Killing innocents
Environment you would normally find them in
The plains of Mongolia
Environment you would never find them in
Cold icy climates, with snow and frost
Put them in a situation they would not normally be in. Write for 10 mins
Environment you would never find them in; Cold icy climates, with snow and frost
Situation they would never be in; Killing innocents
Her horse was running weary now, they had been on the trot for 5 days straight without stopping. Mongolia was not know for its hospitable terrain. They had not come across any food, but she knew it would not be long before one of them would perish... but she had to get to the city before the children died. She had to think clearly, the cold made her alert, but the hunger left her delerious. It would not be long before she had to kill again. She touched the hilt of her sword.
Enough. She headed towards the valley. She would find food there.
There was light coming from beyond the trees. She slipped off the
Notes
Learn things from the char they didn't know first. Looking forwd to meeting the char. Think about how the char devlps over time but don't worry about planning it out to much.
Think about 2nd life character. http://art.tafe.vu.edu.au/sschutt/wmm/character.html
Character Kit
Think about this same person and apply the following set of criteria to them:
- Super-objective
- I see myself as (five keywords)
- if I were a car/food item/alcoholic drink/sport/action hero/animal I would be a.....
- I dress to accentuate my.....
- I dress to hide my.....
- I lead with my....(body part)
- My idea of a good night is......
- My idea of a bad night is.....
- I value my best friend because they.....
- Favourite book/film/TV show/music/web site
- Relaxing means.....
The Givens
Of course, most characters will have these attributes too:
- social position
- age
- sex
- health
- physique
Note: interesting characters often "go against" - that is, they will have interesting kinks, anomalies and even clashes between their various physical, social and emotional characteristics.
Dialogue
Dialogue isn't natural, even it seems that way. You have to choose the words to reinforce the sense of the person, and also the action - but the action is more important!Exercise: Write a short scenario for two characters (not dialogue, just an outline). It should have this basic dramatic shape:
a situation that establishes two characters
a revelation uncovering conflicting goals
an escalation of conflict
a turning point
a resolution Then add the dialogue and directions - one page worth at the most.Now work on it with a partner:
clarify the situation
read it aloud playing the parts
refine the dialogueExercise Two: many interactive projects with dialogue involve the construction of dialogue trees (also known as "consequence pathing"). We'll have a go constructing one of these.
