Post by Stockmon on Dec 20, 2011 15:00:11 GMT -6
Character Development Worksheet
CHARACTER DESCRIPTION
Your character is set where, what locale, when in time: Modern, a few years in the future, London, England and the Hogwarts area.
Name: Persephone Blake Addison, Perry
Age: 16
Race: Human Witch
Sex: Female
Why is this character worth writing about?: Because she has an interesting backstory, she has a subtle personality and one she puts worth, she brings a new twist into my main character’s life, and has potential to be quite different and interesting. She is also interesting to me because though statistically she seems quite similar to her foster mother, they act quite different, feel different, and are motivated by similar things that drive them in totally opposite directions.
How will they grow: I feel like Perry won’t stop being cunning, witty, and edgy. However given the right nurturing she will develop a few very close relationships, use her intelligence and sharp mind for something good, and become happier and well adjusted. She will still be harsh and smart, but be perceived less as mean.
Are they your main character: No.
Most important thing to know about them: I think it is important to know that Perry is harsh and guarded, but she is not mean or weak.
A one line description: A carrot haired fair skinned tight lipped analyst.
Present problem or crisis: She has no friends and trusts no one. She is far behind in her magical studies and is struggling to excel academically while not letting her lack of friends upset her.
Attend church? If so which, if not why: No, there are no churches at Hogwarts and everyone she loved has died, so why believe in higher powers.
Basic belief: Death sucks, make life what you want.
Car: Perry doesn’t have a car, or a driver’s license.
What sports do they like: She likes baseball and soccer, she has a passion for ballet, and she has grown fond of Quidditch.
What is their taste in music, art, books, TV:She likes classical music and dance music because she likes beautiful sounds and moving to a beat. She likes photography and natural art because she considers realistic representations to be honest and she likes to see things that do not change with a fad, “nature, is nature, it is always beautiful, we don’t sculpt it to what we think is cool at the time. It is as it is. Accept it.” She likes mystery novels that give her something to think about, and scholarly journals. On Television she likes crime scene investigation shows that involve lots of science and plot.
Political party: Maybe Democrat, she doesn’t care all that much.
Hobbies: Reading, mind games, she used to like ballet, partying, and practicing magic.
Favorite foods/drinks: Water, soda, and energy drinks. She likes eating Subway sandwiches and Italian food.
Favorite Clothes: Beanies, stripped sweaters, yoga pants, and ballet flats.
General style: ] Large striped sweaters, button up vests, yoga pants, tight jeans, ballet flats, and anything good looking.
Taste in Jewelry: She doesn’t wear a lot, but she does like stud earrings, and chokers.
Favorite Colors: Black, Red, Silver, and Purple.
Description of Home: She lives in a room at Hogwarts, it is like all the other Gryffindor rooms. At “home” she has a small room with a couch, computer desk, and some other office supplies. She will be moving to a new room soon.
FAMILY DATA
Relationship Status: Single
To whom: No one
How do they feel about this relationship: Eh, mostly neutral. She would probably like to date, but has no friends.
Exes: Roman Levi, Jordan Smith, and Matt Ellis,
How do they feel about them: Roman was a boy she dated when she was thirteen for a year, she thinks he is childish but was always pretty fun. Jordan she dated for about two months until they argued and he insulted and shook her; she thinks he is a manipulative jerk. Matt and Perry dated for three months until Claudia died and Perry decided she couldn’t handle it, she thinks Matt is a nice and funny guy.
What do they look for in relationships: Excitement. She looks for someone who will want to take care of her, but accept that she is going to run her own life. She needs a strong person to keep up with her, someone who can live without her, but doesn’t want to. Perry needs space but to know that if she is ever weak that she has someone to turn to. She needs unconditional love, but someone who will speak their mind when they think she is wrong. She also likes a challenge. After all, she wants someone she treasures, not someone who throws themselves at her feet.
What do they like in men/women romantically: A strong will, a beautiful face, nice body, interesting personality, sharp mind, passion, loyalty, and ambition.
Children, names, ages: N/A
Background: Perry was born to twenty-five year old former college sweethearts Ramona and Peter Thomas. She had a quiet and pleasant childhood, learning to be a proficient ballerina for her mother. When she was ten years old her mother died of a hereditary illness that Perry found out she would eventually die from. One thing Perry got on her own was magical abilities, but since she had no one to help her with them she learned on her own. When she was fourteen her father died in a car accident and she moved from Seattle to Kansas City, Kansas. She lived happily for a year until her adoptive mother Claudia died in a house fire. Perry had already gotten her last name changed from Thomas to Addison and she kept it that way, feeling it could give her a new start. Claudia’s best friend, Jessie, came to sort out Claudia’s affairs and Perry ended up going back to London with her as a foster child. Perry treats Jessie with resentment, but in living with her Perry is allowed to attend a prestigious magical school called Hogwarts to finally get a magical education.
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, USA.
Class in society now: Lower Middle, City.
Class growing up: Upper Middle, City.
Interesting information regarding family: Her mother wrote children’s novels, which Perry has taken to collecting, but some are difficult for her to find. She received a fatal hereditary illness from her mother which will kill her before she turned forty at the latest, but more likely about thirty-five. Due to this illness Perry would have extreme difficulty in conceiving children if she tried, and she finds this poetic since even if she did bring a child into the world they would have a death sentence. Perry’s adoptive mother was an illustrator, and one of the books by her mother that she cannot find was illustrated by Claudia Addison. Perry knows next to nothing about her extended family.
Any significant happenings during childhood which affected way of thinking,
personality, etc.: Being trained as a ballerina taught her structure, order, discipline, and grace. Her parents and adoptive mother taught Perry about harsh realities, and has made her purposefully detached from relationships.
Happy or dysfunctional home life?: Dysfunctional. She had a happy life, until her mother, it has been downhill since then.
Parents’ occupations: Both dead. Her mother was a children’s book author, her father a bartender, her adopted mother was an illustrator. Her foster mother is a journalist.
Divorced parents? If so when: Nope.
Relevant death in family: Both parents and her adopted mother.
Relocation of family, where to where: She was relocated from Seattle to Kansas City when she was adopted at the age of fifteen. And just before she turned sixteen she was relocated from there to London, England.
Education: She went to public school until she was fifteen, and now she is playing catch-up with magic at Hogwarts.
The best thing to happen to them: Being raised by loving and responsible parents.
The worst thing to happen to them: Her mother dying.
CHARACTER
Best character trait: Knowing what she wants and having the drive to get there.
Outstanding qualities: Stubborn, passionate, analytical, self-assured, spiteful, driven, brave, guarded, and independent.
Worst flaw: She enjoys annoying people just to analyze how they act.
How do they come across to others: Smart, arrogant, malicious, and distant.
What is their self opinion: She thinks that she is smart, and knows what she wants from life. She likes herself but feels a bit like she is bad for people since they keep dying. She knows she is sad about this, but not how much.
What kind of sense of humor do they have: She finds smart humor funny, not body humor or stupid humor. She likes spontaneous humor and stories, not dry or planned humor for the most part.
Ambition: To do something with her mind, like science, or consulting. She wants to find a way to live through her illness. Her biggest dilemma.
Philosophy of life: Death sucks, make life what you want.
What do they admire in men/women: Knowing who they are, having a family, being logical but emotional, and not changing just because people disapprove. Self-respect and happiness.
How do they handle stress and problems: She handles them by checking her emotions at the door and evaluating things. This can lead to her seeming detached and insensitive. However when something really gets to her she feels it, she can cry, scream, and melt down. But that is the rarest part of her personality. She tends to lash out, but she does it on purpose, for effect.
Are they capable of lying, cheating, stealing: Yes.
How do they feel about that: She feels that being capable of doing anything is good, but she prefers not to do any of them.
How do they react to extreme circumstances: She is usually able to check her emotions and use a cool head to deal with the situation logically. If all else fails, improvise and go with the flow.
How do they see their own faults: She knows she can be harsh, but thinks people need to get over it, and she knows she is detached, but she is afraid of people getting hurt. She would like to get over that, but she doesn’t know if it would help.
Why are they different from other characters: She is more alone than any of my characters, but she is less lonely than most of them. She isn’t evil but she seems like an annoyance. She has a specific life, unlike most of my characters, getting married; settling down, and having kids… it’s not an option. She has to make a different life for herself, and in that she is different.
Why would a reader like/dislike them: They would like her because she is misunderstood, they could probably relate to feeling lost, trying hard, feeling helpless, and being in completely unfamiliar territory. They could admire her for being smart, resourceful, and tough skinned. She might annoy them with her un-reasonability, stubbornness, selfishness, and harsh dealings with others.
What will they be remembered for: Being a smart and determined girl who came to magic at sixteen and had to play catch-up, and befriend a vampire in order not to die.
Habitual expression/mannerisms: Often a straight face or a smirk. She tends to have something to hold onto , her own hands if nothing else, when thinking.
Fears: She fears being completely alone and helpless. On some level she fears death.
Frustrations: She hates that since she is “a child” she has to have someone to make decisions for herself. It also frustrates her greatly to be so behind in her magical studies.
Temperament: She is calm and serious, witty and cynical, confident and hard working, but exasperating if she is bossed around. She has a big attitude and she is full of sass.
Emotions: She experiences all emotions, lately a sense of loneliness, stress, and excitement at all new things she sees. However normally she would experience excitement, contentedness, amusement, and superiority.
Leader or Follower: Leader
How do they feel about that: She can follow others if they deserve to be followed and have the most knowledge and experience with the situation, but she feels it is important to be able to step up if a leader is not present.
Best friend: She has none currently.
Enemies, why: She also has none, because she doesn’t really know anyone to be enemies with.
Physical appearance:
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 110lbs
Body type: Petite and feminine.
Birthmarks or scars: None that she knows of.
Posture: Stands up very straight with natural grace.
Unique mannerisms, gestures, expressions, sound of voice: She tends to keep her gestures close to her center, not flailing about. She usually looks thoughtful or innocent. Her voice is sweet, soft, gentle, innocent, almost childlike.
Scars or handicaps (physical, mental, emotional): She is afraid of being alone, afraid of caring about people and losing them again, so she keeps her feelings close and doesn’t flaunt who she is on the inside. She also has horrible sleep problems that require pills for her to fall asleep, and an alarm to wake her up. She also has a fatal hereditary illness, and it is almost impossible for her to conceive.
Complexion: Very fair skin.
Hair color: Red, somewhat carrot colored hair.
Eye color: Light blue
Jawline: Very soft and round
Lips: Light peach, soft, not exaggerated.
Mouth: Small, not pushed out.
Eyebrows: The same carrot color as her hair, thin, long.
Face: Soft, clean, pale, gentle, usually quite calm.
Ears: Average size, pierced, they usually keep back by her skull.
Nose: Rounded at the bottom, soft.
Neck: Long and slender.
Teeth: Straight, very white.
Hands: Delicate but strong, relatively soft.
Fingers: Often adorned with nail polish.
Shoulders: Slightly broad, but round and soft despite that.
Hips: Small, like a ballerina, but they are getting curvier slowly.
Waist: Small, tight, with just about no fat.
Occupation/Profession: Gryffindor Student at Hogwarts
Quality of work performed: She is in lower level classes, and is excelling at them as best she can. She does her best and constantly thinks about getting better.
Reputation: Cold, unfeeling, annoying, loner, stupid(for being held back), mud-blood, tiny, uptight, weird.
Hours: All day, everyday? She’s a student, with homework, and work to catch up.
Income/financial status: She has no income herself, but she imagines her foster mother makes a reasonable amount. She knows that the life insurance payments for her mother, father, and adoptive-mother were put into a savings account with her name on it. She cannot touch it until she is eighteen, and she usually forgets about it for that reason.
Feelings about wealth or lack of: Since she doesn’t know she actually has a large amount of wealth, she feels like a normal teenager, with no power, and no means or doing what she wants.
Relevant co-workers/fellow students: Currently none. But she will have some eventually, hopefully.
Grades: She is doing alright. Normally she starts a new area doing relatively poor, but in a few weeks the gets to be above average, and at the point of excellence she moves onto the next thing. Normally, in muggle school, she was an average student, except in math and science where she excelled.
Favorite subjects: Math and Science
Poorest subjects: English and Art.
Military service, branch, highest rank achieved, etc.: N/A[/size]
