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nano_writers— Elizabeth Lyon, Manuscript Makeover
Today, we'll dig a little deeper into the personality of our protagonist (and our antagonist) by looking into his or her Enneagram personality type...
I promise that this won't be painful! All you'll need for today's exercise are the answers from yesterday's mini biography for your characters and to click on this link: Create-a-Character. The link takes you to a free character generator (a mini version of the Character Writer software) and works with the following information:
- Character's name (if unknown you can always go with TBD)
- Age
- Occupation (at beginning)
- Birthplace
- Where is he or she now?
- Why is he or she there?
- Physical description (in one complete sentence)
- Goal (in one complete sentence)
- Married? Children?
There is also a drop down menu that asks you to choose the best description for your character's personality:
- A principled person on a mission
- A self-denying caregiver
- A driven status-seeker
- A creative individualist
- A focused thinker
- A dependable ally
- Always on the go
- A respected leader
- A peaceful optimist
Here is the result for my protagonist (let's call him "Jack"):
Jack, age 15, strives to better him/herself and to achieve status, becoming, at times, a shameless self-promotor. Originally from Albany, Jack now lives in Chicago to learn how to become a great wizard and holds a job as a a wizard's apprentice. Jack is single and has no children. He's short with a wiry build and dark, lanky hair that often hangs over sharp blue eyes.
As a child, Jack connected with the mother figure, finding plenty of love there. Later, the mother had problems of her own, which interfered with the her ability to continue lavishing love on the child. Jack's reaction was to become whatever person he/she had to become to impress and recover the love of his/her mother. Combine this with a more recent loss or disappearance of a loved one, and you get an overwhelming urge to be accepted and take on any social issues or goals that would help achieve acceptance. Jack's flaw is that he/she is never finished improving him/herself or the world, which can lead to a breakdown. He wants to become the strongest wizard ever.
Whether or not I explore Jack's personality type with further research into his Enneagram type, the excerpt above gives me a lot of new ground to consider as I continue to discover my characters.
Questions? Comments? Tell us about what drives your protagonist!
Tomorrow, we'll continue to explore more unconventional methods to characterization by looking into the use of Tarot cards whose imagery psychoanalyst Carl Jung considered to be representative of human archetypes. Until then Nano Writer, keep writing!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-12 04:57 pm (UTC)Looking forward to the Tarot post tomorrow.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 01:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-12 06:41 pm (UTC)As a child, Jin-Yu lived in an unstable environment. Perhaps Jin-Yu's parents weren't there or were erratic in some way. As a result, Jin-Yu learned to look inward for the rules of right and wrong. Combine this with a more recent loss or disappearance of a loved one, and you get an overwhelming urge to correct some social problem or to eliminate an evil force. Jin-Yu's flaw is that the motivation to do what's right can alienate friends and family, putting perfectionism and principles above other relationships. To help her clan stave off whoever it is trying to ruin them, and survive long enough to raise a child of her own.
... Mmm pretty close. Save the 'look inward' bit. Her "parents" were erratic, if only because her aunt was insane and her uncle tried to temper that...
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 01:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 01:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 01:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-12 10:31 pm (UTC)As a child, Jillian lived in an unstable environment. Perhaps Jillian's parents weren't there or were erratic in some way. As a result, Jillian learned to look inward for the rules of right and wrong. Combine this with a more recent loss or disappearance of a loved one, and you get an overwhelming urge to correct some social problem or to eliminate an evil force. Jillian's flaw is that the motivation to do what's right can alienate friends and family, putting perfectionism and principles above other relationships. She wants to fulfill her destiny — whatever it turns out to be.
Hmm. Her parents did (amicably) divorce when she was a child, but she saw them both regularly. Other than that, I'd say she had a rock-solid upbringing, both from her parents and the Jedi Order.
She "looks inward for the rules of right and wrong" because that's what a proper Jedi does.
The rest of it is pretty close, actually. Except there is one person who comes to matter as much to her as her principles and destiny.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 01:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 05:24 pm (UTC)Now that Jillian is an adult, her moral compass is firmly grounded upon her own conscience and feeling the Force within. The spirit of the law/code matters more to her than the letter. Qui-Gon would approve, I think.
When she was born with Force potential on the high end of the Skywalker spectrum, her parents and the Order had to make a decision: Choose the path of mistrust and fear of her power and try to restrict it — we all know how well that turned out when the Old Republic Jedi tried it with Anakin — or choose the path of trust and love and focus on giving her the moral/emotional foundation to make the right choices in the use of it. I like a Jedi Order that learns from past mistakes.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 06:13 am (UTC)As a child, Shinji lived among others with incredible skills, perhaps his/her father or mother was a brilliant scientist. Shinji's parents were probably neglectful. As a result, Shinji learned to look to the outside world for answers. Combine this with a more recent loss or disappearance of a loved one, and you get an overwhelming urge to understand and correct some social problem or to eliminate an evil force. Shinji's flaw is the belief that experiences are for learning and not for fun. He/she may not have a lot of fun, but secretly wants to. He's been told that finding the Awakened will restore the hearts in the ocean back to normal.
It's almost scary how right some of these parts are. Looking forward to the Tarot cards.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 01:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 04:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-13 03:07 pm (UTC)Dagtian, age 20, is an imaginative, and sometimes dark, artist who knows him/herself very well. Whether Dagtian likes himself is another story. Originally from Tenpillar, Dagtian now lives in Arteg to find work and holds a job as a pirate-for-hire. Dagtian is single and has no children. He's fairly short, with a deep tan and long hair.
As a child, Dagtian never identified with or found much in common with either parent. As a result, Dagtian had to look internally for an identity. There's a whole world in there that few people see. This leaves a perfect opportunity for a love interest to find something intriguing and to bring that something out into the world. Dagtian's flaw is that he believes that to continue this flow of self-discovery he has to increase who he is, including any dark side, offering an opportunity for mistakes and learning. He wants to make new discoveries.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-14 02:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-14 08:44 am (UTC)I haven't started this exercise yet, but that quote made me realize my protagonist is someone entirely different from who I'd originally assumed. Immensely helpful but not without a healthy does of *facepalm*.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-14 02:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-14 10:12 pm (UTC)