Saturday, May 26, 2012

Beautiful People - Villain Edition

Annnnd, we're back, with Beautiful People. I know, I'm failing at getting posts on this blog. I apologize, but life gets in the way I suppose. Newish job, crazy schedule. I guess the whole blog thing has just taken a backseat for me.

Beautiful People shall not die however. At least for awhile yet. It might be continually late, but once again, Sam and I have scrambled about for 10 questions. 

If you're new to Beautiful People, it's pretty easy to jump right in. Each month Sky and I post 10 questions on our blogs. Pick one, or many of the characters in anything you happen to be writing, (novel, script, short story, comic book...) and answer the questions about that character. Post it on your blog, sign the linky. Fun stuff all around. Not to mention it really helps in getting to know your characters. Always a good thing. 

This month is Villain Edition. Thanks to Alexandra for suggesting the idea, and thanks to Fin for suggesting some of the questions. 

So, choose a villain, and... "here... we... go..." *said in the voice of one of my favorite villains ever, The Joker*

1. What is their motive?
2. What are they prepared to do to get what they want?
3. Are they evil to the core, or simply misunderstood?
4. What was their past like? What about their childhood? Was there one defining moment that made them embrace their evil ways?
5. Now that they're evil, have they turned their back on everyone, or is there still someone in their life that they care for? (Brother? Daughter? Love interest? Mother? Someone who is just as evil as they are?)
6. Do they like hugs?
7. Are they plagued by something? (Nightmares? Terrible thoughts?)
8. Who are they more similar to: Gollum or Maleficent?
9. If your villain could have their choice of transportation what would it be?
10. If you met your villain in the street, how afraid would you be? Are they evil enough to kill their creator? 

I encourage you let loose an evil cackle while answering these questions. Just because. 


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Beautiful People - Karis

Yes, I'm finally getting around to answering this months questions for Beautiful People. Part of the reason it's taken me so long is because for the longest time I just didn't even feel like writing. It was bad, I was pretty much getting nothing done. Then yesterday morning happened.

Every week I get together with some writing friends of mine at a local coffee shop and we work on whatever writing projects we've got going on. While drinking coffee. Talking... observing all the strange people. I've been outlining for the novel I'll be using for Camp NaNo in June. It's great, only it had a ton of plot holes I couldn't bring myself to fill. Until yesterday morning. Talk about inspiration migraines. Anyway, since then I've been outlining a ton, which includes character analysis. Thus, this Beautiful People post is finally going to get done.

Now that I've explained that in full detail, I'll move on to the questions.

Karis is my hero's best friend, and later becomes his wife. She used to work for Prince Trinn, but she disobeyed him one day. He had all her beautiful hair chopped off and she was stoned out of town. Lovell, the hero, found her in the woods and he's the one that got her to leave the trees again. He showed her that anyone can be forgiven, no matter what they've done. She showed him that love is a real thing.

1. What is their favorite type of shoe? 
She doesn't wear shoes. She hates them. She had to wear them all the time while she was working for Prince Trinn and now that she's free of his command she avoids them as much as possible. She probably hasn't worn a shoe for several years.

2. Do they journal?
Nope.

3. What's their favorite animal? 
A dog. She loves dogs, and always manages to find time to scratch a strays belly.

4. What does their average day look like? 
When she's living in the woods it's pretty simple. She pretty much just goes with whatever happens to come her way. Living at home though, she spends a lot of time with her family, and doing chores for her Mother, or just playing games with her sisters.

5. Night owl, or morning person? (Optional: What time do they normally wake up, and go to bed?)
Night owl, she always seems to be more alive once the stars have come out, and she loves the moon. She'll generally stay up as late as she possibly can, even though she also gets up early. In other words, she doesn't sleep much.

6. Do they have a sweet tooth? 
She doesn't really have sweets. So, not really.

7. What colors are their bedroom? 
When she lives in the woods she sleeps in a cave. When she lives at home she sleeps in the same room as the rest of her family. No beds, they sleep on the floor. The walls are brown.

8. Can they cook? 
Yes, when she's actually got food to cook with.

9. What is their favorite household chore? 
Getting water. It means a walk, often times by herself. It gives her time to think.

10. Favorite kind of tea? 
She doesn't really drink tea. If she did she'd probably like something fruity, or maybe peppermint.


Monday, April 30, 2012

Beautiful People - April

Well, here it is. Finally. Beautiful People. Some of you may have already seen it over at Sam's blog. That's fine, but I figured it's about time I actually posted it here as well. Yes, it's late. Very late. I apologize. I could give you several reasons why, but you've heard it all before so I'll spare you the details. (Just so you don't feel completely left out, my script for Script Frenzy hasn't been finished either. My blog isn't the only thing that's been neglected) 

So, here's 10 questions for the month. If you're new to Beautiful People, it's not hard and you're welcome to jump in whenever you like. Simply choose a character to answer the following questions for. Post them on your blog, and come back here to join the linky. Fun stuff. Easy to do. Great for character analysis (which I've said before, and I'll say again, helps more then one can imagine when it comes to plot holes).

Thanks to Mime for suggesting the first question. The rest of them... well, let's just say it's been a long couple of weeks for Sam and I.

1. What is their favorite type of shoe?
2. Do they journal?
3. What's their favorite animal?
4. What does their average day look like?
5. Night owl, or morning person? (Optional: What time do they normally wake up, and go to bed?)
6. Do they have a sweet tooth?
7. What colors are their bedroom?
8. Can they cook?
9. What is their favorite household chore?
10. Favorite kind of tea?






Sunday, April 15, 2012

"Where was I when the rockets came to life..."

Just when you feel like something inside of you has died...






A fuzzy puppy, and a breath of spring air comes your direction. Despite the distractions of life, you realize you are alive. Very much alive. 

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

A Post that is Really Just Me Rambling About my Trouble Child

As I just told a friend of mine, 99% of the time, when I've got writer's block, character analysis will help me figure it all out. Even if I didn't think it had anything to do with the characters ( < That isn't possible by the way, it always has to do with the characters). If I go back and do more character sketches, write short stories about the character, dig deeper into who they are, I discover something new that helps me figure out the road block in the plot.

I say 99% of the time because I know for sure it doesn't work all the time. Example.

You guys remember Heskith? You met him here, and here.

I can tell you a lot of about Heskith. He was born to a wealthy family and was raised to be the best body guard he could be. He has an older brother who turned evil and just to spite his father, he planted the seed to box in Heskith's mind. Why? Because the perfect body guard should keep himself in top condition, and staying up all night to beat people with his firsts acts as a distraction.
He loves Miany, the princess of the kingdom and the daughter of the man he spent years protecting, but doesn't really know how to tell her.
He's pretty wicked with a sword, can hold his own with knives, and generally tries to avoid bows.
He eventually becomes King, has two children, and tries everything in his power to avoid a major war that would bring his kingdom to ruin.

I could probably tell you even more about Dugan, Heskith's brother. Don't worry, I won't, if only because I don't really have the time, but I recently used him in a Beautiful People post.

The point is. I know these guys. I know their story. I know how they feel, how they move, what they like, what they eat, who they get along with, and even how they sleep at night. I've analyzed them into the ground, and yet I still can't seem to bring their story together. It's in my head, but putting that into words just hasn't worked out.

No, I'm not giving up. While having so much trouble writing this blasted novel is killing me, dropping the characters in the dirt would probably be the last twist of the knife. I don't think I could do it.

Maybe I just need to go back further. Maybe I'm not starting at the right point in the story. Maybe I need to start with the story that leads up to this story. Yes... maybe that's it...

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Beautiful People - Wes & Lyric

As you could probably tell by how quickly this was posted, I'm pretty exited for this months Beautiful People. In honor of the one year annivsary we're doing something a little different. Instead of focusing on just one character, we're throwing another one in there and discovering more about a relationship.

I may end up doing Beautiful People twice this month. I had trouble deciding which two characters I wanted to focus on, and I may just end up doing all four.

So, for this post, I'll be focusing on Weston and Lyric. Two characters from The Way We Are series. Lyric is in the first book, but she actually doesn't become a big part of the story until book two.


Do they believe in anything that most people think is impossible?
Wes - Well, yeah. Most people don't really believe that superpowers are real, but considering he has one he's inclined to disagree. Other then that, not really. He's a pretty straight forward kind of guy. No nonsense, just the facts.

Lyric - She believes Sheleg, the snow dragon on Third World, is real. Probably because it's her job to take care of him.

Are they strong, or the "damsel/knight in distress" sort? 
Wes - He can take care of himself when he needs to, but whenever there's someone to lend a hand he isn't the kind that would turn it down.

Lyric - She was the only human on Third World for 15 years. She learned to be strong. She had to be. Once the gang comes along she begins to understand that you don't always have to do everything on your own. Those who love you will always be there to help you.

Do they have a special place? 
Wes - Not really. He's moved around so much that one place is about as good as the other.

Lyric - Her cave on Third World. She lived in it for near to 16 years, and it was the only place on the entire world where warmth could be found.

What occupation do they have, or plan on having?
Wes - He's a teacher/owner at The Academy for superhero's on Fifth World. Not really what he'd planned on, but things have a way of changing when you least expect it.

Lyric - She planned on being a writer. Then she was taken to a world where there was no paper, no pens, and no people to read the novels you might have had published had you written them. Instead she became keeper and companion to Sheleg the snow dragon.

Describe their current place of residence. 
Wes - He lives in one of the dorm rooms at The Academy. He was given the option of having his own house built, or at least having a bigger room, but he shrugged them off. It's a square room with a bed, a desk, and a dresser. The walls are bare and there are no decorations except for one picture leaning against his lamp on the dresser. It's a picture of Exie, the girl he loved.

Lyric - It's a large cave beneath a snow covered mountain. It was already there when she got there, so she didn't have to do much to make it livable. There's a pile of furs to sleep on, a fire pit in one of the hallows (smoke escapes through a hole drilled through the stone), and various other random items scattered neatly about the cave. It's almost always warm, and when she's got a fire going a friendly orange glow fills the entire cave, making it a welcome place to rest.

Explain their last crisis. How had they changed when they came out of it? 
Wes - The death of Exie. He'd loved her for awhile, but never worked up the courage to tell her about it. Then ECG killed her, and it was to late. It made him realize he's not in control of his life, and anything can change at any moment. He taught himself to go for it, rather then sit back and wait for a better day. What if that better day never comes? His face also became a bit thinner, and his eyes sadder.

Lyric - She doesn't really have a lot of crisis in her life. She's pretty good at taking things in stride, but I guess the last one was when she was suddenly taken from her home on First World and placed on Third World. Her life totally changed because of it, and for a few years she was angry, but then she learned to love where she was.

If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be? 
Wes - I doubt he'd really care. He's pretty satisfied with the army jeep he's got on Fifth World.

Lyric - A black, 1960 Cadillac convertible, with fins.

How do they deal with change? 
Wes - It doesn't really bother him. It's got to be something really significant before he even notices. Like, someone he's close to dying, or moving across five worlds.

Lyric - She hasn't gone through much, but the one change she did go through was huge. She battled with herself over it for awhile, but then she learned to be content, and she even came to love it.

If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose? 
Wes - A leg. Being wheelchair bound doesn't scare him as much as not being able to work with his hands.

Lyric - An arm. She needs to run, but she could bring herself to do things one handed if she had to.

What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop? 
Wes - Just a regular cup of joe. Black.

Lyric - Carmel Latte with whip. She likes sweet things.


Now for the extra five questions for both of them.

How did they meet? 
The gang (Grant, Luna, Exie, Ranen, and Weston), stumbled onto Third World and almost got themselves killed. Sheleg led Lyric to them and she brought them to shelter.

How do these two deal with conflict? 
They tend to turn and walk away, and then find each other later to work it out if they have to.

Do they have a special song, phrase, item, or place? 
Nope, not really. Not with each other.

What kind of things do they like to do together? 
Save other superheros. Read. Teach. Laugh. Talk. Almost anything.

Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words, or less. 
Unexpected.






Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Beautiful People - One Year Edition


This month marks the one year anniversary of Beautiful People! A year ago, my Sam and I started what we called a "blog thing" (mainly because we didn't like the word meme), to aid writers in the quest of character analysis. I'd like to say we've achieved that goal, but I can't really speak for all of you. I will say that it has been a huge help for Sam and I.

We decided to give everyone an extra challenge this month for the occasion. It's kind of put together in two parts. Don't worry, it's completely optional.

Part 1: Instead of one character, choose two that are somehow tied together in a relationship. It doesn't matter what kind. They can be siblings, sweethearts, enemies, friends. Just two people who know each other. A relationship that you, as the author, would like to discover more about.

Answer the first 10 questions as you normally would, but do it for both characters. This is where that optional part comes in, if you're not interested, feel free to use these questions as you would for just one character.

Also, if the question isn't suited for the world your character lives in, answer it as if they lived in a world that it would, or feel free to change the question to fit the situation.

(Thanks to Finvarra Penn and Alyianna for suggesting some of this months questions!)

1. Do they believe in anything that most people think is impossible? 
2. Are they strong, or the "damsel/knight in distress" sort? 
3. Do they have a special place? (e.g. a corner in his/her bedroom, under a tree...)
4. What occupation do they have, or plan on having? 
5. Describe their current place of residence. 
6. Explain their last crisis. How had they changed when they came out of it? 
7. If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be? 
8. How do they deal with change? 
9. If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose? 
10. What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop? 

Part 2: Here are 5 more questions. These ones are focused more on that relationship we mentioned above. The goal is to become more familiar with the way your two characters relate with one another. Think about your answers, don't be afraid to give us detail.

1. How did they meet? 
2. How do these two deal with conflict? 
3. Do they have a special song, phrase, item, or place? 
4. What kind of things do they like to do together? 
5. Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words, or less. 

Have fun, and don't forget to sign the linky!