Characterization and Part 2 for "What a Character!" Contest

[ladyseishou]

As Janet Burroway observes in her work: Writing Fiction - A Guide to Narrative Craft, "Human character is in the foreground of all fiction..." and "...we must find them interesting, we must find them believable, and we must care about what happens to them."

To work toward these goals, she provides the following advice:

1. Keep a journal and use it to explore and build ideas for characters.
   
   
2. Know all influences that go into the making of your character's type: age, gender, race, nationality, marital status, region, education, religion, profession.
   
   
3. Know the details of your character's life: what he or she does during every part of the day, thinks about, remembers, wants, likes and dislikes, eats says, means.
   
   
4. Identify, heighten, and dramatize consistent inconsistencies. What does your character want that is at odds with whatever else the character wants? What patterns of thought and behavior work against the primary goal?
   
   
5. Focus sharply on how the character looks, on what she or he wears and owns, and on how she or he moves.
   
   
6. Examine the character's speech to make sure it does more than convey information.
   
   
7. Know what your character wants, both generally out of life, and specifically in the context of the story.
   
   
8. If the character is based on a real model, including yourself, make a dramatic external alteration.
   
   
9. If the character is imaginary or alien to you, identify a mental or emotional point of contact.
   

And now (finally) Part 2 for "What a Character!" ( details_and_contest_here )