Lesson 3

[Steve Jones]

Steve Jones Character Profile Part 2

What I learned doing this assignment is that my characters are becoming more real.

Harry

What
draws us to this character?

He
always intends to do right but gets confused when others tell him what’s
right.

Traits:

Duty
bound, loyal, maverick, observant, clever

Subtext:

Harry
is always watching and interpreting. He can guide the conversation to
show the person who he is talking to what he has already recognised about
them before they know it themselves.

Flaw:

Confusion.
Harry is always confused about how to act based on his own conflicted thoughts
and what he thinks others are thinking.

Values:

Honesty,
truth, hard work, personal growth

Irony:

Irony: He can see what others can’t, but he is blind to what’s really right under his nose.

What makes this the right character for this role? He is an amazing detective and the perfect stooge for Vor.

Role
in the story: Harry is a victim. He is an Immigration Officer in the Mars
Police Force. He is tasked with preventing the illegal entry of anyone
from Earth not on a tourist VISA or working on Mars.

Age
range and Description: Harry is mid-thirties, charismatic but troubled. He talks to anything that
will listen as he explores his thoughts on his own.

Internal
Journey: Harry is isolated and
conflicted to start with. He believes only in the law and his ability to
track immigrants better than even the robots. But he is unsure that the
Immigration policy is fair. He becomes part of a group who are all working
towards the same goal. He believes in the goal and trusts those he is
working with.

External
Journey: Harry tracks illegal immigrants
to start with but ends up working to break down the barriers and instigate
legal immigration to Mars.

Motivation:
Harry blames himself for the
death of the immigrant he lets through in contradiction to everything he
believes is right. He is driven by guilt and the fear that his actions
will be uncovered and he will be sent to earth like the people he tracked.

Wound: Harry’s parents were part of the construction of the last
dome habitat on Mars but were sent back to Earth when the project was
finished. Harry was left to stay on Mars as he was born there and his
Mother and Father knew it would be a better life for him. Harry never
forgave them for abandoning him and put his abilities to good use sending
anyone who tried to make a new life on mars suffer.

Mission/Agenda:
Harry will defeat Vor and expose
the terrible immigration policy so that the boarders can be opened for
some legal immigration to Mars.

Secret:
Harry is terrified of being sent
to Earth.

What
makes them special? Harry can
read people and think for himself in a World where everyone relies on
computers and AI to think for them.

Vor

What
draws us to this character?

Amazingly
charismatic and utterly ruthless. But he’s driven by his own demons and fear
of death.

Traits:

Driven,
capable of anything, changeable, spoilt, charming

Subtext:

Vor
wants to control everyone and everything so is a huge manipulator

Flaw:

Tunnel
vision. Vor can only see what he wants.

Values:

Himself.
Loyalty.

Irony:

He
is fighting to avoid the only inevitable part of living – death.

What makes this the right character for this role? Vor is as clever as Harry, more driven than Harry and has infinite resources to fund his madness. He can see no-one other than himself so he registers none of the consequences of his actions.

Role
in the story: Vor is a villain. He runs a clinic that caters to incredibly
rich but aging population of Mars.

Age
range and Description: Vor
could be 50 or 70 but he looks amazing and is incredibly agile, active and
strong.

Internal
Journey: Vor starts as supremely
confident and even has a God-complex. He ends up feeling powerless, weak
and old.

External
Journey: Vor is wealthy and successful
and ends up losing his business and his freedom/life/residency on Mars.

Motivation:
Vor wants to control everything.
He started by controlling his own aging process but ended up trying to
control everyone and everything.

Wound: Vor is mortal and it kills him to be so.

Mission/Agenda:
Vor needs to extend his life
long enough to achieve everything he wants and deserves.
Secret:
He has a hereditary disease
that will kill him.

What
makes them special? Vor is
the most driven person on the planet and has all the resources he needs to
make anything happen.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by  Steve Jones.

[Anahi Hoeneisen]

Subject line: Anahi Hoeneisen: Character Profile Part 2

What I learned doing this assignment is that you can dig deeper into your character, step by step, without overcomplicating things and, most importantly, without rushing through it.

What draws us to this character?

How she overcomes her fear to start over so late in life. Her drive.

Traits:
sensitive, intelligent, daydreamer. <div>

Subtext: She
avoids conflict at all costs but speaks and acts with irony.

Flaw: fear of
being alone.
Values: family,
love, freedom, self-worth.

Irony: She wants
to become an independent woman but she knows very little about it.

What makes this the right character for this role?

She is the one who brings the family together, but she´s also the one who leaves it.

</div>

[Stephen Maynard]

Subject line: Stephen Maynard Character Profile Part 2

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” These questions answered in advance will help in the shaping of character and conflict.

Profile for your two lead characters.

PROTAGONIST – Two BOYS

What
draws us to this character? They are
young, intelligent, mischievous, naive, and fun-loving. <div>

Traits: One boy is analytical and deliberate and
one boy is impetuous and quick-acting.

<div>

Subtext:
None as yet developed. They are in-your-face, an “open books” and without guile.

Flaw:
Selfish, irresponsible, and oblivious
to the needs or feelings of others.

Values:
A high priority on having fun and playing risky games.

Irony:
When they are impacted and moved
emotionally, they discover compassion for another and use their old traits
to address and solve the problem.

What
makes this the right character for this role? You be the judge.

ANTAGONIST Banker and Builder

What
draws us to this character? The
share depravity of the evil character. </div><div>

Traits:
Slick, cunning, and crafty, these dishonest men present themselves as
upstanding citizens and good fathers to their daughters. They are the
opposites of the image they project.

Subtext:
They are not what they pretend to be.

Flaw: Dishonest and devious.

Values:
Money and self-enrichment.

Irony:
They enlist their daughters to help them advance their nefarious scheme and
it turns out that the daughters are instrumental in bringing them to
justice.

What
makes this the right character for this role? His credentials are impeccable
for a COMEDY villain. This quintessential bad guy is smooth and oily, he’s
greedy, he’s cunning, and he is willing to sacrifice his brother and put
his teenage daughter in jeopardy if it can further his scheme to steal an
old lady’s property.

</div></div>

• This reply was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by  Stephen Maynard. Reason: STOP SCREWING UP MY SPACING

[Mark Hammond]

Mark Hammond’s Character Profile Part 2

What I learned doing this assignment is stick with the process-it works.

What draws me to this character?

(Protagonist.)

Traits:

He’s a dreamer with champagne, taste and beer money. He wants to be included.

He has delusions of grandeur.

Subtext:

He over bearing with people to hide his inadequacies. He uses this to impress women.

Flaw:

He’s a coward.

Values:

Confidence, boldness, and there is always hope.

Irony:

He is head and shoulders above the people who wanted to imitate.

When everyone else ran from the killer, he attacked the serial killer.

What draws me to this character:

(Antagonist.)

Traits:

He’s a predator, gruesome, and will use any and all means necessary to get you.

Subtext:

He has a job to do. His job will ultimately help humanity.

Flaw:

He feels justified when he kills someone-no remorse.

Values:

Dedication to his job of killing people. Treats everyone equally-does’t discriminate.

Irony:

He wants to be loved. Sometimes he takes his job personally, and kills in a more gruesome manner than necessary.

[Jennifer Williams]

Jennifer Williams – Character Profile Part 2

ASSIGNMENT

1. What I learned doing this assignment is…?”

I learned to focus on the information that draws an audience’s interest in a character.

2. Fill in Part 2 of the character Profile for your two lead characters.

Protagonist

· What draws us to this character? She’s a loving, caring person who has been through the unthinkable and is trying to create a better life for herself and her daughter. You want her to find love in her life and not be alone.

· Traits: Determined, intelligent, caring, organized, kind.

· Subtext: Changes the subject and avoidance. Hides behind her work.

· Flaw: Insecure, does not trust her ability to love.

· Values: Honesty, confidence, and people who know what they want from life.

· Irony: She finds solace in internet conversations and becomes involved in a relationship she has been trying hard to avoid.

What makes this the right character for this role? What makes her right is the same thing that draws you to her: she’s kind and weathered a devastating loss in her life. She deserves to be loved and happy.

Antagonist

· What draws us to this character? She’s very good at being bad.

· Traits: Cruel, vengeful, desperate, selfish, unkind

· Subtext: Sarcarasm never gives a straight answer.

· Flaw: She is mean and has an abusive personality.

· Values: Being in control and manipulating others.

· Irony: She is a good mother and wants an everyday family life.

What makes this the right character for this role? She relishes all opportunities to hurt people to take advantage of them whenever possible.

3. Make any improvements you think of to your Part 1 profile and bring the two parts together. – I don’t see anything at this time.

[Stephen Maynard]

Lesson 4: Character Interviews

Subject line: Stephen Maynard Character Interviews

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” The interview process and the insightful questions in this exercise are a gift from Hal that when applied will assist the writer in crafting well-rounded and complex characters.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST Johnny Grant

Tell me about yourself.

I’m a smart and handsome eighteen-year-old lad looking to have some fun before I reach the dreaded twenty-one and have to start acting like a man.

Why do you think you were called to this
journey?

I heard it was going to be a fun-filled adventure.

Why you?

Who better than me?

You are (you) up against?

Some greedy old men who are in it for themselves at the expense of others.

What is it about them that makes this journey
even more difficult for you?

They are the establishment with a huge infrastructure, money, and resources which they can use against me and my buddy Stevie.

In order to survive or accomplish this, you are going to have
to step way outside of your box. What changes do you expect to make and
which of them will be the most difficult? <div>

We will
have to start thinking about the good of others and be less selfish.

What habits or ways of thinking do you think
will be the most difficult to let go of?

Our narrower-minded selfishness.

What fears, insecurities, and wounds have
held you back?

Fear of becoming an adult and having to assume the responsibilities that come with adulthood.

What skills, background, or expertise makes
you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?

We are smart, creative, naive, and in great physical condition to face the task at hand.

What are you hiding from the other characters?
What don’t you want them to know? </div><div>

We’re both virgins but we want
the girls to think that we are experienced lovers.

What do you think of?

Having fun and getting girls.

Tell me your side of this whole conflict/story.

We saw a guy try to take advantage of someone we liked so we stepped in to try to stop him before we realized we were up against a force much greater than we foresore.

What does it do for your life if you succeed
here?

We’ll be forever changed. We learned that the best thing one will ever do is to do something for someone else, especially if that person is weaker or in need.

Ask any other questions about their character
profile that will help you. </div><div>

Has your life up until now
been wasted then?

No. We could not be what we have become without having
been the way we were in our youth.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST Mr. Bradford, The banker

Tell me about yourself.

Let’s make this brief, I’m a busy man with huge responsibilities.

Having to do with this journey, what are your
strengths and weaknesses?

I’m an educated man, I have a family and huge responsibilities to my investors. I have no weaknesses. What an absurd question!

Why are you committed to making the
Protagonist fail?

This is off the record. I’ve embezzled some money from the investors and I need to get this old woman’s land to make things good. I will crush those two no-nothing little bastards If they have the audacity to get in my way.

What do you get out of winning this fight /
succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?

I stay out of jail and continue with business as usual.

What drives you toward your mission/agenda, even in the
face of danger, ruin, or death?

The fear of losing everything I’ve worked for and going to jail.

What secrets must you keep to succeed? What
other secrets do you keep out of fear/insecurity?

I can’t let anyone know I am an embezzler or all is lost.

Compared to other people like you, what makes
you special?

I’m just a little slicker than most and I have the resources to get the job done.

What do you think of?

At the moment I’m obsessed with stopping those two damnable BOYS from preventing me from getting that old woman’s property. Everything depends on that.

Tell me your side of this whole conflict/story.

Are you ignorant? Do I have to give you a fucking hysterectomy? I’m desperate, goddammit. I have to get that land and I don’t care who dies in the process.

</div>