Proust Questionnaire for your characters

Marcel Proust was a French writer from the late 1800's. He made these questions up for personal evaluation, but they work splendidly to get to know your character better:

Here is Proust’s Questionnaire:

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
2. What is your greatest fear?
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
5. Which living person do you most admire?
6. What is your greatest extravagance?
7. What is your current state of mind?
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
9. On what occasion do you lie?
10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
11. Which living person do you most despise?
12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
16. When and where were you happiest?
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
21. Where would you most like to live?
22. What is your most treasured possession?
23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
24. What is your favorite occupation?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
26. What do you most value in your friends?
27. Who are your favorite writers?
28. Who is your hero of fiction?
29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
30. Who are your heroes in real life?
31. What are your favorite names?
32. What is it that you most dislike?
33. What is your greatest regret?
34. How would you like to die?
35. What is your motto?

Wednesday Writing with 2 Felines

My sister-in-law gave us two kitties. She told us she thought they were females but they were so
young no one really knew. My twins, boy and girl, each got and named a cat.
My daughter named her cat Bella, after Twilight (we are not bashing that series or author here. My reluctant reader read all the books and I was proud of her). My son named his Crisco. Yes, after the shortening.
I took the cats to the vet to be "fixed" and found out they were indeed male cats. haha. The names were already stuck so we didn't change them. Until I accidentally ran over Bella. She walked with a limp for a few weeks but otherwise was fine. My husband renamed the cat Squish, for obvious reasons, and that name has stuck too.
Lately, we've started calling Bella Squish, Fat Cat, because he is! So many names, such a little creature.

Do you sometimes have problems coming up with a characters name? Nicknames? Or where they were born or work? Or how about their birthday, email address and password?
I found this fun site to help you fill out more of your character's backstory. You can choose gender, country, etc. It's random and intriguing and easy. It's pretty detailed too! Address, phone number, mother's maiden name, even blood type!
Just be warned! It's easy to get sucked in play for a long time. Not that I did or anything...


Here is a random one when I went and tried it just now:

Anabel A. Berger

3362 Saint Francis Way
Philadelphia, PA 19108

Curious what Anabel means? Click here to find out!

• Phone:
• 267-235-6867


• Email Address:
• AnabelABerger@rhyta.com
  This is a real email address. Click here to activate it!


• Username:
  
• Asted1960


• Password:
  
• Shai4wahk


• Mother's Maiden name:
  
• Hall


• Birthday:
• March 26, 1960 (54 years old)


• Visa:
• 4485 9387 8134 1018


• Expires:
• 1/2016


• CVV2
  
• 771


• SSN:
 
• 206-34-XXXX
  You should click here to find out if your SSN is online.


• Favorite color:
  
• Blue


• Occupation:
  
• Tilesetter


• Company:
  
• Herman's World of Sporting Goods


• Website:
• SoyStores.com


• Vehicle:
• 2006 Kia Sedona


• UPS Tracking Number:
• 1Z 691 7E5 12 4500 492 8


• Blood type:
• A+


• Weight:
• 230.1 pounds (104.6 kilograms)


• Height:
• 5' 3" (161 centimeters)


• GUID:
• 544cea15-f3a3-4393-a491-8253459b82da


• Geo coordinates:
• 40.05195, -75.057889


• QR Code:
• Click to view the QR code for this identity

Foto Friday ~ Turn up your sleeves

Foto Friday ~ Experience

Building better characters with Mr. Potato Head

Lisa Mangum gave a great, hands on, presentation at Book Academy using a childhood toy.

How do you build a better character?

What does your character see?

• How does he perceive the world? With paranoia or rose-colored glasses?
• What does he need to survive?
• Look outside the character to how the setting affects him.
• Is it an urban setting? Rural? Alone? 
• Think how the boy who lived under the stairs saw Hogwarts. When a character moves to a different environment, he will naturally compare it to what he has seen before.
• Look inside.
• Use introspection. Does the character have to plan everything? 
• Are they confidant in themselves?
• What are their flaws? Exploit them!

What do they hear?

• Do they only hear complaints? Compliments?
• What does the character say when they talk to themselves when they are alone?
• What do they think about? Process?
• Do they believe they are good? Bad?

What do they say?

• Pet phrases
• Slang
• Do they lie?
• Prefer silence?
• Dialogue reveals something about the character like education level, beliefs, prejudice.
• Words can hurt AND heal. For some, words are weapons.
• Voice is one of the best ways to showcase a character

  
What dreams or goals do they have?

•  
• What are they reaching for?
• What is their hearts' desire?
• Evaluate 'nice to haves' and 'have to haves'.
• Dreams drive us! Withholding the fulfillment of dreams will force the character into action, into growth
• Be specific about dreams!

Where is the character going?

• What actions will they take? 
• Motivation is a powerful tool for revealing character

Where does your character stand?

• What does he believe in? Fight for? Die for?
• Where is their boundary? Push them over that line over and over again

Characters with well-defined values--even if you don't agree with them--make compelling, interesting and memorable characters.
Characters with conviction are characters who move the plot.

What's in a name?

"We should be aware of the MAGIC contained in a name and realize that this single item is wholly and completely owned by the person with whom we are dealing...and nobody else. The name sets the individual apart; it makes him or her unique among all others." (I think this was from Dale Carnegie).

The most beautiful sound in the world? A persons name.
If someone says your name you respond, even if it's not you they're talking to. If you have to find your name on a page of 500 other names, you usually can spot it right away. Am I right or am I right?

Have you read a book where the names mean something to you? Honestly, I didn't pay attention much before Harry Potter. Then I only thought it was obvious that the characters got certain names like Draco (dragon), Goyle (gargoyle), Filch (steal things), Minerva (Goddess of wisdom & war), Skeeter (mosquito), Severus (severe), Narcissa (narcissistic), and Voldemort (flight of death).

This leads me to ask about character names. Do they name themselves? Most of my characters name themselves as I write the story. After I realized many authors purposely find meanings for their characters, I tried it too on my latest WIP:

The dad, Hank = ruler of the home.
The boyfriend, Aiden Shields = Fiery Protector.
The BFF, Monica Stillman = Quiet advisor
Angelica Savage = (any guesses??) (my critique group helped me name my MC)

While names are intriguing and thought provoking, there have been times a name has been distracting. For instance, the spelling throws me or it's a forgien name I can't figure out or ridiculous names. How about Harry Pitts? I have a friend named Rob Roe. No big deal, right? How about his brother named Rocky? Or sister, Sandy? Or dad, Skid?

What does it amount to? The name has the potential to take the reader out of the story. No writer wants that to happen. Choose carefully my young padawan writers.


How do names affect you? 
How do you name your characters?

The Power of Hands

Submissive dogs reveal their throats. Humans show their palms.

When people want to be open or honest, they will often hold one or both palms out. When someone is concealing something, they often hide their palms behind their back, shove hands in pockets or arms-crossed.

There are 3 main palm command gestures:

1. Palm up
Submissive, nonthreatening, or pleading.


2. Palm Down
Authority. Think of the Nazi salute.


3. Palm Closed
Also, palm closed with pointed finger. Wants listeners to submit.




Rubbing palms together shows positive expectancy.

Hands clenched together might seem a sign of confidence. It actually shows restrained, anxious, frustrated or negative attitude. The higher the position of the clenched hands the higher the person's frustration.

The Steeple is used when superiors give instruction or advice to subordinates. The steeple should be avoided when you want yo be persuasive.

The Face Platter is a positive form of flirting. A woman will place one hand on top of the other and lay her chin on top.

Hands Behind Back is a gesture of superiority, confidence and power.

Hand Gripping Wrist communicates frustration and attempt at self-control.

Do any of your characters do these gestures? Should they?

5 Common Types of Smiles

1. The Tight-Lipped Smile
Lips stretched tight across the face, forms a straight line and teeth are concealed. Does the smiler have a secret? Or maybe withholding an opinion? Women takes this as a clear rejection signal.






 2. The Twisted Smile
Known in the Western world as sarcasm.

3. The Drop-Jaw Smile
The jaw is dropped down to give the impression of laughing or being playful.

4. Sideways-Looking-Up Smile
The head is turned down and away while looking up with a tight-lipped smile. The smiler looks juvenile, playful and secretive. The Coy Smile!
This smile makes med want to protect the woman.






5. Natural Smile
A natural smile produces characteristic wrinkles around the eyes-insincere people smile only with their mouth.


How do your characters smile??

Foto Friday

What are they saying? 
This may be a good time to understand body language with the elections coming up...



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7 Common Lying Gestures

It's hard to be a good liar. The subconscious mind acts automatically and independently of the verbal lie. The moment someone begins to lie, the body sends out contradictory signals. Children are innocent and when lying may cover their mouth completely with their hand. Adults learn how to lie better.

Here are eight common lying gestures:

1. The Mouth Cover
Use of whole hand, fist, fake cough cover or shhh gesture.

2. The Nose Touch
Quick touch of several quick rubs (unless they have a cold or allergies).
Intentional lying causes an increase in blood pressure and the human nos actually expands during lying. This is referred to as "Pinocchio Effect." This results in a brisk rub to satisfy the "itch."


3. The Eye Rub
"See no evil" gesture.
When a child doesn't want to look at something, he'll cover his eyes with his hands. And adult will rub their eye. This helps them avoid looking at the person they are lying to.

4. The Ear Grab
"Hear no evil" gesture
This is the adult version of a child putting hands over ears to block out his parents punishments. The Ear Grab may also signal the person has heard enough.

5. The Neck Scratch
"I'm not sure I agree" gesture and is usually done with the index finger of the writing hand.

6. The Collar Pull
Lies cause a tingling sensation in the delicate facial and neck tissues. Increased blood pressure from the lies causes sweat to form on the next when the liar feels you suspect he's not telling the truth. "Hot under the collar" comes to mind.
It also occurs when a person is angry or frustrated.

7. Fingers-in-the-Mouth
This is an unconscious attempt to reverting back to a nursing baby or thumb sucker when under pressure.

Foto Friday~The Thinker

Did you ever wonder what The Thinker really is thinking?
Maybe his body language will help us out

He shows a thoughtful and thinking attitude but the the body posture, his hand supporting his head, reveals a dejected person.



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Help you and your characters

Need some help getting out of a writing slump? Try one (or all) of these exercises:

• Take a scene from your story and change the POV.
• Write an obituary for your main characters.
• Rewrite an action scene between two characters with NO dialogue.
• Write a journal entry from one of your characters to reveal their biggest secret.
• Write a paragraph of one of your characters from the viewpoint of another.
• Change the age of your main character by ten years, up or down, and rewrite a scene from her POV.

What ideas have you tried in your writing that's helped you?

What's inside your characters?

For the purpose of this post, you must have seen the Breakfast Club. Just kidding.
You just need basic knowledge of the characters. Do you remember them?

Criminal
Athlete
Basket Case
Princess
Brain

 What made them memorable?
One great scene we get to know the Breakfast Club was lunchtime. The Athlete had a humongous lunch; the Princess had sushi; the Basket Case had a Capn Crunch sandwich.
What else? The way they dressed. Language. Who they sat by. The way they walked and talked.

How can we make our characters stand out in our stories?
I found one worksheet that I LOVE. A big shout out to Josi Kilpack! I'm using her characterization worksheet today.  I've been able to flesh out my characters so much more internally and externally. If you can take a class from her on this, I advise doing it. I learned a ton from her.
I'm not going to give everything on her worksheet here but I will tell you the main things I do with my characterizations.

INTERNAL:

What is the primary goal of your character? Love, money, power, security, absolution, revenge or justice. Everything your character does is affected by one of those. If their goal is to have security, everything they do will be geared toward this goal. Every path taken will be aimed at having security.
If security is the primary goal, what is the secondary? The character might believe that money gives security.
NOW! How do these two goals clash or create conflict? Maybe the character has money but trusts no one and therefore, doesn't feel safe and secure (because he got the money by robbing a bank).
Does your character have a motivating fear? They might fear they aren't lovable. Or they are a serial killer. That would take away a little bit of security, wouldn't it?
What happens to your character to change them? What is the point of change? Do they learn that riches come with a price?
What do they discover about themselves? The might learn they are a good person and don't need money to be secure so they turn themselves in.

EXTERNAL:

What does the character do that contrasts with their inner goals? He wants money but can't hold down a job. Gets mouthy with the boss or steals time.
What do they do to compliment their inner goals? When he does get paid, he invests wisely.
What is the characters stand out physical feature? Good posture
What is the physical flaw? Big ears & two different colored eyes.
Do they have scars or tattoos? Scar cutting through eyebrows.
What are they hobbies? Sudoku
Nervous habits? Rubs neck.
Favorite music? Blue grass.
Who is the most important person in their lives? Father.

You should know: eye & hair color, age, weight, height, birth date & place, birth order, etc



How do you make sure your characters are unique? 
Do you have a work sheet? Character bible?

Names, Characters & Eternity

In the LDS church, we believe that families can be together forever. These 'ordinances' are performed in our temples. Worthy members of the church can enter the temples to be married and hopefully, reunited after death.

We also believe that many of our ancestors who have died before they were married in the temple still have the opportunity through us, the living.

Today, many members of church went to the temple with over 140 names of my ancestors. I was unable to go but many stopped me and told me how much they enjoyed helping my ancestors.

And how much they enjoyed the names:

Margaret Coke
Dorcas Benedict
Phebe Earll
Fawn Price
Matilda Gleed
Elizabeth Cotton
Thomas Howard (Duke of Norfolk)
Sir Knight Tomas Howard (1st Earl of Suffolk)
Lady Mary FitzAlan
Capt. John Benedict
George II Count of Hesse-Darmstadt
And my favorite! Christmas Poll (male)

I have found the mother lode of names for any books or stories within my own family!

What about you? Any interesting names in your family?