Lesson 3

[Blair Marino]

Blair Profiles People

What I’ve learned that is improving my writing is thinking about what traits a character has can help produce an interesting and three-dimensional character.

Person 1: Friendly, Lonely, Manipulative, Dysregulated
I only interact with this person by phone and text now, but the traits I have given them have showed up many times in the past.

Person 2: Loyal, Caring, Loud, Self-Centered
I don’t see this person on a consistent basis, but their traits tend to show up individually, or all at the same time.

Person 3: Nurturing, Naive, Trying, Vain
The traits that I have assigned to this person can be inconsistent. The most recent time I have interacted with this person, they were mostly nurturing.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Blair Marino.

[Deb Johnson]

Deb Profiles People

Person 1:
Sociable
Sturdy
Lazy
Duplicitous

After Testing:
Lazy changes to Petulant

Person 2:
Virtuoso
Idealistic
Irresponsible
Procrastinator

After Testing:
Procrastinator changes to Scatterbrained

Person 3:
Humorous
Considerate
Shy
Obstinate

After Testing:
Considerate changes to Sensitive

What I’ve learned that is improving my writing is that extreme people make for interesting characters. As the story develops you can test their traits to ensure that they are consistent throughout. If not – it’s okay to change the character traits to fit. The most important thing is consistency – their traits need to show up every time they show up.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Deb Johnson.

[Yvonne Arnett]

Yvonne Arnett Profiles People
What I’ve learned is that my leading character lacks enough traits, good and bad to
make him interesting. This will most definitely change the dialogue in a lot of my
scenes. I’ll also be looking at other characters in my script.
Person 1: Good Person (2 normal, 1 extreme good guy trait, and 1 bad guy trait)
Giving
Proper
Sacrificing
Vindictive
Person 2: Extreme Person (2 normal and 2 extreme traits)
Loving
Fun
Generous
Narcissist
Deceptive
Person 3: Bad Person (2 extreme bad traits, 1 similar to good guy & 1 Positive trait)
Cunning
Malicious
Proper
Charming
Person 4: Regular Person (3 familiar traits and 1 extreme trait)
Proper
Charming
Loving
Judgmental

[Christopher Fallon]

Chris profiles people.
What I’ve learned that is improving my writing is that it is really important to have characters with clearly defined traits.

Person #1:
Unshakeable self-confidence
Problem-solver
Opinionated
Judgemental
After testing: Problem-solver becomes Rescuer

Person # 2:
Highly intuitive/psychic
Charming
Judgemental
Aloof
After testing: confirmed

Person # 3:
Intelligent
Fun-loving
Fantasist
Unreliable
After testing: Unreliable becomes Selfish

[Firdaus Bilimoria]

Firdaus profiles people

What I’ve learned that is improving my writing is that some traits are not immediately observable or recognized, and can manifest as a surprise or are recognized over time.

Person 1
1. Amiable
2. Reliable
3. Hard Working but Mediocre
4. Morally ambiguous under pressure
I really this person and can rely on them, however, depending on the situation they are hesitant to pick a side. Trait 4 can be a surprise under certain circumstances although overall the person is reliable.

Person 2
1. Charismatic
2. Great Talker
3. Limited intellect
4. Feels entitled and will act in bad faith when personal success is on the line
The person surprised everyone by acting in bad faith in a public environment, based on strong motivation to gain the upper hand in a competitive situation. Given the inherent limitations, in spite of their charisma and people skills, they eventually were not able to deliver on expectations and suffered a loss of reputation. Trait 4 came as a surprise, and the subsequent failure and loss of reputation could not have been originally foreseen.

Person 3
1. Intelligent
2. Successful
3. Politically astute
4. Cynical decision-maker
This person is intelligent and successful given their comparative youth. They are politically astute, and their decisions are based more on strategic positioning and expediency rather than based on values and justice. Trait 4 was not immediately obvious but over time this was recognized by the more astute people in the environment.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 1 week ago by  Firdaus Bilimoria. Reason: the formatting does not show in the main screen