Welcome to meet Janina!

In my last post "Doing a questionnaire about a character" I described how I felt about the questionnaire about a character. The questionnaire was based on the facts about the character I had listed on this post. Now as an assignment as part of the Start writing fiction -course, I have summarized what the character is like and what her appearance is like. I decided to make it a simple brief description without much froufrou.

 

A summary of what the character is like

Janina likes to live in the moment, at least when the moment is nice. When not, she dreams and plans adventures. She is a big dreamer and gets easily excited about things. 

She is open-minded, spontaneous and unpredictable, but she also has a habit of procrastinating things she should do. With her unpredictability also comes a fickleness in temper, one moment she can be on top of the moon and a minute later she is solemn.

Janina is seven years old and feels unloved by her parents, and because of that lonely. She has become rather independent, and spends her time being adventurous, curious and photographing. She has already decided that she is going to be a professional photographer and that better sooner than later.

Showing the character through appearance

The small girl has light blond hair, which even though it is long and straight always looks unkempt. She is tall for her age of seven, but very thin. Her face is diamond-shaped, wide at the cheekbones and narrow at the forehead and jaw. She has a tiny chin and a button nose, and her cheeks flush easily. Her face looks innocent, open and curious, mainly because of her large blue green eyes.

She is dressed in plain jeans, a long dark red sweater and simple black jogging shoes. She doesn’t wear any jewelry, the only thing that adorns her hands and face are a couple scratches. Her scars aren’t visible, because those few she has are hidden under her jeans. She has a couple of twigs stiking from her hair and her jeans and shoes are covered in mud.  

In future posts I will show her through a habitual or repeated action and through a speech in a scene.

I started my "free writing courses online" -project with the course "Start writing fiction" from the Open University. You can see all my posts regarding this course here. This is Part 1.9 of the project based on an assignment of a Part called "Portraying a Character", where one was supposed to portray the character in four different ways, here I have described hat the character is like and the appearane of her.

Doing a questionnaire about a character

In the Post "Creating a Character" I listed traits and descriptions that I thought would be interesting to know about a Character, this was based on the thought (for example) from Josip Novakovich that a questionnaire could be a good way to create a character. Based on these facts I portrayed a character answering every point I thought essential.

I thought for a long time wheatear I should share the answers of the questionnaire with you and before I had done it I thought I would, even though that basically is not the goal to show it to your readers. I invested a lot of time and energy into it and was for a long time sure that I would share it with you before I would to the next assignment regarding the character in question.

But later I figured, what if I really share my expanded notes of the character with you and you read them and then later you cannot tell wheatear you have read some tidbit in the answers of the questionnaire, in the background information, or whether it came across in the stories.

Also I consider that in the end the background information contains so many spoilers that the stories would lose some of their values and for you it would be even more difficult to evaluate my writing. I am still going to share the summary about the character though.

But I decided to share some of my thoughts about the questionnaire.

In my opinion the questionnaire took a rather long time to finish because I really had to think about so many little things... I didn't necessarily have to invest so much time in it... on the other hand it just made me think so much that I had to invest more time in it than I had thought.

What I really appreciated about the questionnaire though was the fact that I really started thinking about the other persons in my characters life. There weren't any more just mean or stupid people, I also thought about other people’s desires and background. (In this case the parents.) I think this alone will make the story of my character in question much better.

I also enjoyed thinking about "childhood smells" it made me really consider her environment more. Other things that really piqued my attention and made me think and see the character in (a bit of) a new light: desires, character timeline, mannerism and often used phrases/words.

Comments or thoughts are welcomed,
Kim A. Dreamreich

I started my "free writing courses online" -project with the course "Start writing fiction" from the Open University. You can see all my posts regarding this course here. This is Part 1.8 of the project based on an assignment of a Part called "Portraying a Character", where one was supposed to fill a questionnaire about a character.

Creating a Character

How does one create the character when writing fiction?

How to create a good character? How to know the person you are writing about and portray them accordingly?

According to Novakovich one will work better with the characters the more one knows them.

So how does one know his/her characters? 

Well, according to him you need to sketch them in several ways. He suggest using for example a questionnaire. The answers to certain questions, for example about the background, or major struggles, might give you ideas. He is also of the opinion that with a questionnaire one can either support and develop an existing plot or develop a new plot based on the character.

So I decided to list characteristics and facts about a Character that would be interesting to know when creating a character.

In that way by thinking about them one can figure out character traits or personality traits or a list of character traits that the character has.

I am not saying in any way that you should decide each and every one of the things I have listed, not at all, I am merely trying to give you, and myself, ideas about what to think about.

I thought about multiple things I would like to know and other things I have heard that other people consider being important in a character.

After I had listed some of the things I want to know about a character in order to portray them better, I realized that a mind map would probably work better.

At the end of this post there is a list about possible facts about the character one is portraying or describing.

You can also see this list as a mind map below.

This mind map (or list) is not, and is not trying to be the all compassing truth. It is just my way of displaying my thoughts about a written character, that is also the reason why you won't necessarily agree to the way the topics are ordered, but it worked for me.

Below I have embedded the mind map about a characters characteristics and backgrounds in two different ways. Once from wisemapping and once as a pdf from Google Drive. You can also download the pdf.



Or open mindmap in new tab here.





Or download the pdf


1 The Character
  

 1.1 PHYSICAL

        1.1.1 NAME
            1.1.1.1 NICKNAME
        1.1.2 AGE
        1.1.3 APPEARANCE
            1.1.3.1 DRESS
            1.1.3.2 SIZE
                1.1.3.2.1 HEIGHT
                1.1.3.2.2 BUILD
                1.1.3.2.3 DIET
            1.1.3.3 POSTURE
            1.1.3.4 DISTINGUISHING MARKS
                1.1.3.4.1 SCARS
                1.1.3.4.2 TATTOOS
                1.1.3.4.3 PIERCINGS
                1.1.3.4.4 BIRTHMARKS
            1.1.3.5 STATE OF HEALTH
                1.1.3.5.1 ILLNESS
                1.1.3.5.2 ALLERGIES
            1.1.3.6 RACE
            1.1.3.7 CHARACTERISTICS
            1.1.3.8 HEAD
                1.1.3.8.1 HAIR
                    1.1.3.8.1.1 HAIR STYLE
                    1.1.3.8.1.2 HAIR COLOR
                1.1.3.8.2 EYES
                    1.1.3.8.2.1 EYE COLOR
                1.1.3.8.3 NOSE
                1.1.3.8.4 MOUTH
                1.1.3.8.5 SHAPE
            1.1.3.9 FLAWS
                1.1.3.9.1 HANDICAP
            1.1.3.10 ASSETS
            1.1.3.11 SKIN
            1.1.3.12 VOICE
            1.1.3.13 GAIT
            1.1.3.14 CLOTHING
        1.1.4 SEXUALITY
        1.1.5 RIGHT- OR LEFT HANDED
    1.2 PERSONAL HISTORY
        1.2.1 CHILDHOOD
            1.2.1.1 EARLIEST MEMORY
            1.2.1.2 AMOUNT OF MOVING
            1.2.1.3 TRAVEL
            1.2.1.4 CHILDHOOD DREAMS
            1.2.1.5 SCHOOL
            1.2.1.6 FEELINGS
                1.2.1.6.1 FAVOURITE THINGS
                1.2.1.6.2 SMELLS
            1.2.1.7 FRIENDS
                1.2.1.7.1 POPULARITY
            1.2.1.8 ENEMIES
            1.2.1.9 PERSONALITY TRAITS
        1.2.2 MOST TREASURED POSSESSION
        1.2.3 EDUCATION
        1.2.4 MAJOR EVENTS
            1.2.4.1 MAJOR STRUGGLES
            1.2.4.2 THE BEST
            1.2.4.3 MOST EMBARRASING
            1.2.4.4 THE MOST TRAUMATIC
            1.2.4.5 CHARACTER TIMELINE
            1.2.4.6 WORST THING HE/SHE HAS DONE
            1.2.4.7 THE GREATEST SUCCESS
            1.2.4.8 EROTIC HISTORY
                1.2.4.8.1 LOVE OF LIFE
                1.2.4.8.2 FIRST KISS
                1.2.4.8.3 FIRST MEMORY
                1.2.4.8.4 MOST TREASURED MEMORY
                1.2.4.8.5 FEELINGS
                    1.2.4.8.5.1 WHEN
                    1.2.4.8.5.2 WITH WHOM
  

1.3 SOCIAL/CULTURAL

        1.3.1 FAMILY
            1.3.1.1 PARENTS
            1.3.1.2 CHILDREN
            1.3.1.3 PETS
            1.3.1.4 SIBLINGS
            1.3.1.5 KIDS
            1.3.1.6 HER/HIS/THEIR FEELINGS
                1.3.1.6.1 THEIR BACKGROUND
        1.3.2 FEELINGS ABOUT SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS
        1.3.3 FRIENDS
            1.3.3.1 HER/HIS/THEIR FEELINGS
                1.3.3.1.1 THEIR BACKGROUND
        1.3.4 ENEMIES
        1.3.5 DATING, MARRIAGE
        1.3.6 SOCIAL CLASS
            1.3.6.1 FREQUENTLY USED
                1.3.6.1.1 WORDS
                1.3.6.1.2 PHRASES
                1.3.6.1.3 MANNERISMS
            1.3.6.2 RELIGION
        1.3.7 COLLEAGUES
        1.3.8 HOW IS HE/SHE VIEWED BY OTHERS?
    1.4 PSYCHOLOGICAL
        1.4.1 (UN/)HAPPINESS
            1.4.1.1 IDEA OF HAPPINESS
            1.4.1.2 OUTLOOK ON LIFE
        1.4.2 (DIS/)LIKES
            1.4.2.1 IDEA OF GOOD/BAD ENTERTAINMENT
                1.4.2.1.1 CULTURAL
                    1.4.2.1.1.1 BOOKS
                    1.4.2.1.1.2 MOVIES
                    1.4.2.1.1.3 MUSIC
            1.4.2.2 FOOD
            1.4.2.3 DRINK
            1.4.2.4 LAUHGS/JEERS AT/ABOUT
            1.4.2.5 GETS ANNPYED BY...
            1.4.2.6 GETS CHEERED UP BY...
        1.4.3 DESIRES
            1.4.3.1 FUTURE
            1.4.3.2 OCCUPATION
            1.4.3.3 AMBITION
                1.4.3.3.1 MOTIVATION
                1.4.3.3.2 GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT
                1.4.3.3.3 ROLE MODELS
                1.4.3.3.4 GOALS
            1.4.3.4 SOCIAL LIFE
            1.4.3.5 HOPES
            1.4.3.6 DREAMS
        1.4.4 BELIEFS
            1.4.4.1 SELF-KNOWLEDGE/ SELF IMAGE
            1.4.4.2 RELIGION
            1.4.4.3 BIASES/PREJUDICES
            1.4.4.4 VALUES
            1.4.4.5 ATTITUDES
            1.4.4.6 POLITICS
        1.4.5 CONFLICTS AND CHANGE
            1.4.5.1 REACTION
                1.4.5.1.1 PASSIVE
                1.4.5.1.2 ACTIVE
        1.4.6 HABITS/MANNERISMS
            1.4.6.1 ANNOYING ONES
            1.4.6.2 TICS/QUIRKS
            1.4.6.3 TYPICAL EXPRESSION
                1.4.6.3.1 WHEN HAPPY/ANGRY/SAD
        1.4.7 WEAKNESSES /STRENGTHS
            1.4.7.1 FEARS
                1.4.7.1.1 TRAUMAS
            1.4.7.2 REGRETS
            1.4.7.3 WHAT DO PEOLPE LIKE BEST/LEAST ABOUT HIM/HER?
            1.4.7.4 INTERESTS
                1.4.7.4.1 OBSESSIONS
            1.4.7.5 TEMPERAMENT
            1.4.7.6 SECRETS
            1.4.7.7 AMOUNT OF SELF-CONTROL/SELF-DISCIPLINE
            1.4.7.8 INTELLIGENCE
                1.4.7.8.1 WHERE FROM
            1.4.7.9 GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE
            1.4.7.10 WEAKEST/STRONGEST CHARACTER TRAITS
        1.4.8 UNCONSCIOUS ASPECTS
            1.4.8.1 LIES?
  

1.5 ENVIRONMENTAL

        1.5.1 WHERE DOES HE/SHE LIVE?
            1.5.1.1 REGION
            1.5.1.2 COUNTRY
            1.5.1.3 ALONE/WITH FAMILY
            1.5.1.4 RICH/POOR
            1.5.1.5 FEELINGS
                1.5.1.5.1 WHEN DID HE/SHE MOVE THERE?
                1.5.1.5.2 HOME?
                1.5.1.5.3 HOW DID HE/SHE END UP THERE?
            1.5.1.6 RESIDENCE
                1.5.1.6.1 WHERE
                1.5.1.6.2 HOW LONG
                1.5.1.6.3 STYLE
                1.5.1.6.4 WITH WHOM
            1.5.1.7 BIRTHPLACE
                1.5.1.7.1 COMPARED WITH NOW
  

 1.6 LIFESTYLE

        1.6.1 EDUCATION
            1.6.1.1 AMOUNT
            1.6.1.2 SPECIAL TRAINING
            1.6.1.3 FEELINGS
                1.6.1.3.1 FAVORITES
                1.6.1.3.2 DISLIKES
        1.6.2 OCCUPATION
            1.6.2.1 WORK HABITS
            1.6.2.2 SALARY
        1.6.3 HABITS
            1.6.3.1 DRUGS
            1.6.3.2 HOBBIES
            1.6.3.3 COLLECTIONS
            1.6.3.4 SKILLS
            1.6.3.5 DIET
            1.6.3.6 SPORTS
        1.6.4 HEALTH
        1.6.5 THE CONTENTS OF
            1.6.5.1 HIS/HER BAG
            1.6.5.2 HIS/HER POCKET
            1.6.5.3 HIS/HER GARBAGE CAN
            1.6.5.4 HIS/HER BEDROOM FLOOR
        1.6.6 WEALTH
            1.6.6.1 SAVINGS
            1.6.6.2 RICH
            1.6.6.3 POOR
            1.6.6.4 CAR



Feel free to comment or share your thoughts,

Kim A. Dremreich

I started my "free writing courses online" -project with the course "Start writing fiction" from the Open University. You can see all my posts regarding this course here. This is Part 1.7 of the project.

Assignment: A character very like you

Just the way she is

She knew she was too skinny, too small. She had heard that often enough.

It was never really said in a mean way. But often, again and again.

She had tried to gain weight, gain muscle.

She wasn’t eating too little either… she ate lots of things with lots of sugar, protein and fat.

Sometimes she felt that she was not taken entirely seriously because of her size.

Other times she enjoyed goofing around in the safety of appearing younger than she was.

And she knew that she was liked, by that person that mattered.

So she didn’t care when the next person asked her whether she was eating enough.

She was who she was. And she felt rather comfortable in her skin.

Other people could think what they wanted, she would just be herself, and their opinions didn’t matter.

But when she made her next Nutella-bread she made sure to smear a little extra on it, just that little bit more than she liked. 

I wrote this short text as an exercise as part of the free online course "Start writing fiction" from the Open University. The Part in question was about sources of characters and autobiography.


The assignment was to "imagine a character very like you but give him or her a dramatic external alteration." After that one should describe the character's appearance, their feelings about it, and their current circumstances.

I decided to keep the description very narrow on one focus and leaving her age and her other appearance in the background.

I started my "free writing courses online" -project with the course "Start writing fiction" from the Open University. You can see all my posts regarding this course here. This is Part 1.6 of the project.