Discussed Exercise 2 with my partner and a few others.
I must admit I'm not as good at this stuff as I'd like to be. I think I get it, I give answers, and then I discover I've not dug far enough down. Although, in my favor, I'm at least breaking ground or, at the very least, scraping the surface.
When I originally answered question #1, I said "Aislinn is very determined young woman." This wasn't wrong. Aislinn is a very determined character but the answer didn't perfectly capture her most obvious character trait. Someone then asked me a question I felt really opened up the purpose of this exercise. (Thanks, Andi!)
Imagine meeting my character for the first time at a party. I know nothing about the challenges facing her, the upcoming plot twists, her past, or her future. We're just two people who happen to run into each other by chance. What are my impressions of this young woman?
This really opened up my eyes to how others would see my character. First impressions matter not only in RL but in fiction as well. What would my first impression be if I were to meet Aislinn Kelly at a party?
Friendly, smiling, more attentive than talkative. She listens when people speak. She watches people. Yet, she's not shy. She's comfortable interacting with people. She doesn't draw undue attention to herself but she certainly doesn't fit into the shadows either.
In short, Aislinn Kelly is a quietly confident young woman.
This answer, pulled from me piece by painful peice, is a much better fit for Aislinn than "determined". Even as we continued to discuss the opposing trait, I felt Aislinn become more defined in my imagination. I began to feel her as more than just a plot device. Yay for me!
For the sake of curiosity I guess I should discuss this opposing trait. What is the opposite of "quietly confident"? Loud and fearful come to mind. So does blantantly insecure. There are any number of opposites I can choose from for Aislinn. The problem I'm having is figuring out which one is right for her and, at the same time, the most drastic out-of-character trait for her to possess. After all, the purpose here is to create multidimensional characters. Unpredictability and fallability make a character interesting.
I must admit I'm not as good at this stuff as I'd like to be. I think I get it, I give answers, and then I discover I've not dug far enough down. Although, in my favor, I'm at least breaking ground or, at the very least, scraping the surface.
When I originally answered question #1, I said "Aislinn is very determined young woman." This wasn't wrong. Aislinn is a very determined character but the answer didn't perfectly capture her most obvious character trait. Someone then asked me a question I felt really opened up the purpose of this exercise. (Thanks, Andi!)
Imagine meeting my character for the first time at a party. I know nothing about the challenges facing her, the upcoming plot twists, her past, or her future. We're just two people who happen to run into each other by chance. What are my impressions of this young woman?
This really opened up my eyes to how others would see my character. First impressions matter not only in RL but in fiction as well. What would my first impression be if I were to meet Aislinn Kelly at a party?
Friendly, smiling, more attentive than talkative. She listens when people speak. She watches people. Yet, she's not shy. She's comfortable interacting with people. She doesn't draw undue attention to herself but she certainly doesn't fit into the shadows either.
In short, Aislinn Kelly is a quietly confident young woman.
This answer, pulled from me piece by painful peice, is a much better fit for Aislinn than "determined". Even as we continued to discuss the opposing trait, I felt Aislinn become more defined in my imagination. I began to feel her as more than just a plot device. Yay for me!
For the sake of curiosity I guess I should discuss this opposing trait. What is the opposite of "quietly confident"? Loud and fearful come to mind. So does blantantly insecure. There are any number of opposites I can choose from for Aislinn. The problem I'm having is figuring out which one is right for her and, at the same time, the most drastic out-of-character trait for her to possess. After all, the purpose here is to create multidimensional characters. Unpredictability and fallability make a character interesting.
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