Post Day 2 Assignment Here

[Arjen Westra]

ASSIGNMENT 1:

Example Show to see how the characters fit into these three circles. A quick list for each circle:

A. Main Characters Circle: Elizabeth Jennings, daughter Paige (early teenage), son Henry (younger brother, early teenager),

B. Connected Circle: Stan Beeman, Martha (works at FBI Counter Intelligence, Sandra (Stan’s Wife),

C. Environment Circle:

Colleague of Philip, agent Mizzi, Timoshev, other victims, Classmates of the kids, Stavos, Helene (both staff members of Jennings Travel, the company that Philip and Elizabeth use as a cover company). Elizabeth’s trainer, Politician/Goverment Official, Sandra (Stan’s Wife), Matthew (son of Stan and Sandra)

[Arjen Westra]

Subject line: Arjen Westra’ s Three Circles of Characters

What I learned doing this assignment is, that a circle of main characters, each with their intrigue, mystery, storyline can contribute to making the main character more interesting. You could even talk of synergy here: there is always something going on that keeps the mind of my viewer busy and that gives me reasons to go back en get more engaged.

A. Main Characters Circle:

Kamau: low profile plumber, our main protagonist.
Mutuku: Kamau’s brother in crime, best friend and business partner.
Kamau’s four kids.
Kamua’s beloved wife Imelda, on and off after two divorces they keep coming back to each other.
Kamau’s brother Jake, who is a well meaning pastor.

B. Connected Circle:

Cousin Jim, a selfish ad corrupt MP.
Uncle Bob a silent and somewhat mysterious uncle with a background in hospitality. He owns some land and some hotels.
⁃ A young cousin that wants one thing: to get rich by working his ass off. He is extremely smart especially in IT.

C. Environment Circle:

Some local shop owners
People of the slums where het operates
An NGO-worker that he meets from time to time to talk capacity building.
A National politician, who is a friend of a friend’s brother but well connected because he is a Minister of National Security

[Rob Sutherland]

Rob’s Character Descriptions

What I learned doing this assignment is the value of laying out the elements of a character before writing the prose description of that character.

DAVID / THE MIRAGE

An immortal spirit who appears human and fights demons

Noteworthy traits: various supernatural abilities – pass through solid matter, invulnerability to normal weapons. His face cannot be captured on camera and his touch is repulsive to the living.

Intriguing history: Unknown origins centuries ago – no memory of where he came from or why he has powers.

Intrigue / Mystery: Who are the demons and why are they targeting Julia?

How do they support or drive the conflict with others?: hunts down the demons to try to find out what their plans are; protects Julia from ongoing attacks; goes on a quest for a mystical blade that can kill the demons

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: has extraordinary access to others’ secrets but knows nothing about himself; extremely powerful but cannot engage in intimacy

Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters: Julia resists authority figures and perceives the Mirage’s protection as a form of control

Unpredictable? Nihilistic, but fights evil anyway

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters: Madeleine, Detective White, Vincent Chamberlain, Julia

START

An ancient spirit with no knowledge of his past or his present, lives in secret amongst humans. He can pass through solid matter, is invulnerable to normal weapons . However, his touch is repulsive to the living, keeping him apart, alone, isolated. . His face cannot be captured on camera earning him the moniker “The Mirage”.

MIDDLE

Rescues Julia from a demon attack, find out more about who he is

END

Confronts his nemesis – an archaeologist with the power and obsession to steal his immortality and destroy him

THE MIRAGE’S CHARACTER DESCRIPTION:

An ancient spirit with no knowledge of his origins lives in secret amongst humans. He can pass through solid matter and is invulnerable to normal weapons. His face cannot be captured on camera, earning him the moniker “The Mirage”.

However, his touch is repulsive to the living, keeping him apart, alone, isolated; for centuries he has been in search of a way to become human. Habitually helping people in distress he rescues a feisty young woman, Julia Lockhart, from a demon attack. He tracks the attackers and uncovers a dark underbelly of demonic beings who prey on humans, led by the mysterious archaeologist Vincent Chamberlain, who is obsessed with destroying the Mirage and stealing his immortality for himself.

The Mirage, who can see through the demons’ human disguises, uncovers a sinister plot to unleash demons upon the world. Julia holds the key to defeating them, and also to uncovering the truth about his own identity and where he came from. Together they hunt for the one weapon that destroy the demons forever, and the means for him to become human.

JULIA LOCKHART

An archaeologist with a mysterious connection to The Mirage.

Noteworthy traits: smart, feisty, independent, resistant to authority

Intrigue / Mystery: how does she know how to track down the Mirage? Why does she have memories of his exploits over the years?

How do they support or drive the conflict with others? Julia tracks down the Mirage and draws him into conflict with the demons hunting her.

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: smart but insecure

Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters: makes the Mirage’s job protecting her difficult because of her independent spirit. Also seeks to use the Mirage to further her career as an archaeologist

Unpredictable?

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters

START

Archaeologist; feisty, independent, resists authority

MIDDLE

Saved from a demon attack. Uses academic smarts

END

Learns to team up with the Mirage and help him defeat the demons.

JULIA’S CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Julia Lockhart is a brilliant archaeologist, feisty and resistant to authority. She works at the museum where she is bullied by her boss, Vincent Chamberlain.

After an attack on her life by a terrifying demon she encounters the Mirage, the powerful but secretive individual mentioned in the media, a being who appears periodically to help those in need and then disappears without trace. Julia uses her academic smarts to help him track the demons who hunt her and to uncover the secrets about himself that even he doesn’t know. But her feisty independence and her determination to avoid victimhood challenge the Mirage’s attempts to keep her safe, and her enthusiasm to advance her career tempts her to misuse the information she and the Mirage uncover.

In a final confrontation she discovers her own boss, Vincent Chamberlain, is in league with the demons and seeking to steal the Mirage’s immortality for himself. Realising the darker forces at play than mere career ambition, she teams with the Mirage to defeat Vincent and stop the demons from unleashing Hell on Earth.

VINCENT CHAMBERLAIN

Archaeologist, senior manager at the Musuem; summoner of demons.

Noteworthy traits: obsessive, charming, ruthless.

Intriguing history: where did he get the parchment with information about The Mirage?

Intrigue? Mystery? What is Vincent planning? How does he manage to evade the Mirage’s attempts to find and catch him?

How do they support or drive the conflict with others? Teams up with demons to track down the Mirage and steal his immortality

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: charming killer; ruthless, but cultured

Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters

Unpredictable? Willing to do anything to defeat death

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters: Julia is a rival, a hoped-for lover, a protege

START

Archaeologist

MIDDLE

Ruthless and competitive

END

Steal immortality

VINCENT’S CHARACTER DESCRIPTION:

Vincent Chamberlain is a senior archaeologist and Julia’s boss at the museum. Smooth, ruthless, competitive and brilliant, he hides his lethal tendencies behind a facade of charm and culture.

Since surviving a terrible childhood illness he remains utterly terrified of death. His research leads him to uncover an ancient parchment containing information about the Mirage’s identity. Using the parchment he summons demons to do his bidding, steal and murder on his behalf, with a view to stealing the Mirage’s powers and immortality for himself.

[Jack Sherry]

Jack’s Character Descriptions

MODULE 2 LESSON 2

What I learned from this assignment is I must have unusual, interesting, complicated characters with unusual goals

KAYLA

Role
in the show? Protagonist

Noteworthy
traits – smart lawyer, environmentalist
Intriguing
history: Has no connection to her white father, a NYC banker

Intrigue?
Mystery? – She seduces Victoria, learns of a life she knew nothing about

How
do they support or drive the conflict with others? – She switches her
frozen eggs with Victoria’s

Irony
— She believes nurture, not nature, drives a person’s personality, yet
switches her frozen eggs with Victoria’s so she can have Victoria’s genes.

Opposing
agendas/etc. She sues Adolpho Ramirez, the sugarcane king, for polluting
the Everglades, and Adolpho is represented by lawyer Sir George

Unpredictable?
– She uses her sexuality to seduce both Victoria and Sir George

Intriguing
relationship with one or more characters – She has an intriguing
relationship with both Victoria and Sir George, whom she seduced, but also
Billy Osceola, her Miccosukee Indian client who will raise the child of
Sir George and Victoria

KAYLA – START

An environmentalist lawyer who lives on a beautiful, remote beach that is part of Vero Beach, Florida’s turtle preserve, Kayla Hitch is a tall, mixed-race, athletic, sexual being who loves to gamble and uses her beauty and strong personality to seduce English hedge fund manager and international polo player Victoria Cromwell, then fly off with her to England on Victoria’s Lear Jet to engage in a life-changing weekend adventure where she participates in a Druid Samhain celebration at Stonehenge and then freezes her eggs, along with Victoria, for future fertilization.

Rejected as inferior by Victoria’s blue-blooded parents, Kayla switches her frozen eggs for Victoria’s as revenge and to prove her theory that nurture, not nature, is the determining factor of one’s personality.

KAYLA – MIDDLE

Kayla then seduces Sir George Townsend, Victoria’s intended, and uses his seed to fertilize Victoria’s eggs to create an embryo implanted in Windy Moon, the daughter of the Miccosukee Indian shaman, Billy Osceola. The tribe is Kayla’s client in a lawsuit against sugarcane king Adolpho Ramirez, who is defended by Sir George’s law firm. Adolpho’s Haitian wife, Sabrina, is a voodoo queen and places a curse on Kayla and Billy Osceola after he is arrested during a protest at the new Ramirez sugarcane plant.

KAYLA – END

The son born to Windy Moon and Billy Osceola is thought to be Kayla’s child, but she keeps them from discovering that he is really the biological son of Victoria and Sir George. He is raised in the Everglade and becomes a great python hunter and alligator wrestler (a modern-day Tarzan), but is most appreciated by the tribe for his ability to understand numbers and formulas, even as a youth, and assists the mangers of the tribe’s casino to run their business efficiently.

VICTORIA

Role
in the show? Protagonist

Noteworthy
traits – brilliant blockchain mathematician, manages some royal wealth
Intriguing
history: Plays polo, flies her own Lear Jet

Intrigue?
Mystery? – Not good with people, becomes unglued when she learns her child
is actually not hers biologically

How
do they support or drive the conflict with others? – She funds others
companies and makes investments that come with conditions the debtors don’t
like
Irony
— She believes in her blue blood, but raises a mixed-race child, not
knowing it isn’t hers.

Opposing
agendas/etc. She fights hackers and thieves of her clients’ accounts

Unpredictable? – Normally composed, She seeks revenge when she finds out about the switch.

VICTORIA – START

We are introduced to the short-in-size but tall-in-stature Victoria Cromwell as she pilots her Lear Jet into Vero Beach for a polo match in which she excels. She is a brilliant mathematician who manages a London hedge fund which invests some of the royal family’s wealth, but her brilliance is not matched with a personality of social skills. She has no time for incompetence or failure and has been paired by her parents with Sir George Townsend, who has the high-brow blood and background to produce children suitable to be brides or grooms to the royals.

VICTORIA – MIDDLE

Victoria’s hedge fund is hacked, and much of the money lost is from the royal account. In her quest to find and defeat the attackers, she uses her Argentinian polo captain Santiago Rodriguez, who clones polo ponies in his world class facility in Buenos Aires. He has been selling embryos and children with the DNA from Adolph Hitler’s granddaughter, Porshe, to white supremists in Florida. Victoria meets these people when she adds Americans farms with fresh water supply to her list of assets to be held in times of financial crisis. They, in turn, assist her with finding the hackers, who are Chinese.

VICTORIA – END

Victoria and her family raise Kayla’s and Billy Osceola’s biological daughter, Katherine, thinking it is hers and Sir George’s. Victoria’s life takes a shocking turn when she discovers the truth.

PROFESSOR MATTHEWS

Role
in the show? Antagonist

Noteworthy
traits – world renown gene-editing scientist
Intriguing
history: Was involved with cloning Dolly the sheep in 1996

Intrigue?
Mystery? – He is one of England’s head Druids

How
do they support or drive the conflict with others? – He steals what he
thinks are Victoria’s eggs to create his own child
Irony
— He thinks he’ll have a son with Victoria’s genes but instead has a
daughter with Kayla’s.

Opposing
agendas/etc. His professional competitor is Santiago, Victoria’s
Argentinian polo captain who clones polo ponies in his own gene editing
lab

Unpredictable?
– He must choose between his Druid religion and his family and business
Intriguing
relationship with one or more characters – He has a daughter with Kayla
but doesn’t know it, and upon discovery, must make interesting choices

PROFESSOR MATTHEWS – START

Formerly one of the scientists who cloned Dolly the sheep in 1996, Professor Matthews now runs a world-renown gene-editing and cryogenics lab in England and is one of the country’s head Druids. His company was funded by Victoria and his secret wish is to convince her to freeze her eggs in his facility so he can use them himself to create a son to be infused with the DNA of eighth-century English king Bran The Blessed, whose skull (which is the precursor to, and reason for, the pumpkins displayed during Halloween) has been handed down over 1500 years to end up in the hands of the professor.

PROFESSOR MATTHEWS – MIDDLE

Because Kayla switches the eggs retrieved from her and Victoria, the professor actually uses Kayla’s eggs and his daughter Bryony as surrogate to create the child.

PROFESSOR MATTHEWS – END

The embryo is a female, not the intended male that the professor wanted, so he demands Bryony abort. Instead, she flees and has Dana, who, as a child prodigy, becomes Dana The Celtic Princess and has millions of social media followers.

[Tracy Cheney]

Tracy El Pueblo Main Characters

What I learned doing this assignment is a different way to write a character description. The intro of traits in the beginning flows into the main action and ends with what happens as a result of taking the action.

Antonia Moreno de la Cruz

Heroine, represents Spanish life in the village El Pueblo

Start: A provincial girl in a Spanish society with far more men than women, organized by strict castes, brown-skinned Antonia chaffs at her choice in life — marriage and children. Because of her grandmother’s status as one of the last original founders of <st1:city w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>, Antonia has older ranchers and retired soldiers courting her. Who her grandmother will choose scares Antonia to distraction.

Middle: During the year 1818, the four men who come from different corners of the world to El Pueblo upend Antonia’s life. But it’s the captured white American pirate that makes infatuated Antonia throw all rules out the window — including the young clerk from <st1:city w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Mexico City</st1:place></st1:city> who she was considering, but never loved.

End: Antonia has made her interest clear, even persuading her grandmother about the possibility of a union with Joseph. They’ll have to fend off other girls who think the same thing. Grandma weighs all marriage options carefully for financial gain, but has always cared about improving the family’s caste. She’s lied on the census, claiming a lighter color each time. Antonia works this angle even though she knows nothing about this strange enemy in their midst. She’s determined to get him, or run away to a convent.

Thomas Fisher

One of four outsider men who disrupts Antonia’s life

A black American sailor, represents the sin of slavery; first illegal immigrant in LA

Start: The runaway slave only found freedom aboard ship, so had hired out to support revolutionary causes like many unemployed mercenaries. Thomas doesn’t hate <st1:country-region w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, just sails for those who do. He’s just gone around the world flying the Argentine flag.

Middle: Thomas decides to jump ship in this Spanish village when he sees no white Americans. He is in a brown and black world of acceptance, far away from slave traders, and ready to settle down. He may be without means in a hostile world, but Thomas speaks the language and knows how to fit in anywhere to survive. He courts Antonia as a way to get closer to her grandmother, but she’s only interested in lighter complexions or money.

End: The ranchers are reluctant to teach horsemanship to the native men for fear they’ll take off. Aside from being a fierce American warrior, Thomas finds his horse skills in demand. The military officer who saved him and Joseph from the firing squad gets Thomas released from jail to manage his herds.

Joseph Chapman

One of four outsider men who disrupts Antonia’s life – her love interest

A white American sailor, represents US enterprise; first illegal immigrant in LA

Start: The American enemy, and instant star — is the first blonde, blue-eyed, foul-mouthed, white English speaker the villagers have ever seen. A master carpenter, his is the only woodworking talent for 1500 miles in a poor province praying for a church structure…and here comes the answer from the sea!

Middle: Joseph is only interested in Antonia if it builds an alliance to the powers-that-be who argued for keeping him, which she is a part of — but only has the power of her grandmother. He has been saved from harm several times by being kept in jail. An anomaly among the Spanish men since he is physically strong and hardworking, Baptist Joseph breeds their suspicion. But he didn’t jump ship to languish as a prisoner without freedom.

End: To get out of jail during the day, Joseph has to prove himself trustworthy by finishing big projects which languished for years until he can find a way to get home to <st1:place w:st=”on”><st1:city w:st=”on”>Boston</st1:city></st1:place>. Under the watchful eye of the priests who are intent on converting him, then marrying him to a local girl, there doesn’t seem much chance to escape — unless he goes to the mountains to cut timber. Or be at the coast when a black market ship secretly unloads goods. Or build his own ship, which not only can he do, but could sail far away if given the opportunity.

Lucas Polanco

One of four outsider men who disrupts Antonia’s life – he expected to be betrothed to Antonia

A Criolla, he represents the resentful class born in <st1:place w:st=”on”>New Spain</st1:place> but frozen out of best positions

Start: The refined young man is unfortunately the 14th child, and his oldest brother inherited everything when their father committed suicide. He is pulled from the university and cosmopolitan world of <st1:place w:st=”on”><st1:city w:st=”on”>Mexico City</st1:city></st1:place>. As a loyalist, he opposes the revolutionary battles waging across the county. But fearful of military conscription, he heads north to clerk for his childless uncle, the mayor of dusty <st1:city w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>.

Middle: Penniless, Lucas stands little chance of getting a village woman of high status, but brown-skinned Antonia is a good compromise because of her grandmother’s standing. He’s taught her to dance as a way to stay at the center of attention socially. Grandma is pushing on his uncle to make Lucas his heir, then he’d be worthy of Antonia.

End: Lucas opposes keeping the Americans, as he saw the Inquisition operate in the capital towards infidels. But more than that, Lucas knows Joseph is a rival for Antonia’s affection and is messing up his plans. He can’t return to his family in <st1:city w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Mexico City</st1:place></st1:city> until he’s proven himself in a big way.

Father Diego Perez

One of four outsider men who disrupts Antonia’s life

A wealthy priest, he represents the hidden Jewish converts that populated New Spain

Start: The most handsome and wealthiest man, and most unavailable, Diego was forced into the priesthood and then exile to <st1:place w:st=”on”><st1:city w:st=”on”>Los Angeles</st1:city></st1:place> by his father. He hides a 400 year-old family secret, their Jewish heritage. He supports the Insurgents, a very unpopular position in conservative pro-Royalist El Pueblo. He is happy tutoring Antonia, encouraging her curiosity about art and science, and learning to read. He is cautious about fending off her marriage prospects, as he will do what the family requests.

Middle: Diego is not a welcome presence to the Franciscan friars at the mission, but the villagers have been asking for a priest of their own for years. The friars are too busy minding the native workers to get to El Pueblo often. Diego stands for everything their vows cannot abide. But they are Catholic brothers and will tolerate this guest until he leaves on the supply ship in 1819.

End: Diego forms an alliance with the village powers-that-be to keep the American carpenter from being sent back to the ship. Diego oversees the beginning of construction of the church in the plaza by Joseph. He’s curious about these Baptists, having never met a Protestant. He studies the Bible to figure out Jewish customs, trying to reconcile the secret rituals practiced without comment in his own family. He wrestles with doctrine taught in Catholic seminary and what his study now reveals. He yearns for home on the <st1:city w:st=”on”>Rio Grande</st1:city>, the comfort of wealth, and the return of the supply ship from <st1:country-region w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He would never have stepped off the one which brought him if he’d known they only came once a year.

[r. reid jr]

R. Reid Jr.’s Character Descriptions

“What I learned doing this assignment is my stories keep getting redrawn with new lines of connection and my stories keep unfolding in new directions!”

Module 2 Assign 1 TITLE SHOW#1 SIGMA 2619

A main character (BRUCE) and answer the following questions:

Who is the character? He is the alien who comes to earth/aka SIGMA 2619.

Role in the show? He comes to Earth to get TECH that was stolen.

Noteworthy traits Intriguing history: Intrigue? the main character memory has been wiped but he still has a few traits like “stealth” and advanced fighting skills. But it is a mystery what he did before to result with a wiped out memory.

The intrigue is watching him operate like a fish out of water.

Mystery? Who is the Mysterious woman who holds the TECH and what does she want as people around her are doing her bidding to commit crimes and then quickly have no knowledge of the crimes or the time during the crimes.

How do they support or drive the conflict with others?

Bruce is opposed the woman he is hunting down and stay away from the 2 agents who are hunting down the Mysterious woman the TECH itself. it is unclear if they are good or bad.

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other charactersUnpredictable?Intriguing relationship with one or more characters.

-Bruce is on the trail of the TECH and the Mysterious woman and him cross paths only she tells him that they know each other while he is waiting for SNOWY to return from the bathroom. She is the first victim and he has to stay with her to find out what happened to her.

START: (Present the character as someone we can relate to.)

Bruce is a fish out of water and clearly he needs help but her isn’t a menacing person and won’t commit crimes to get what he wants. He seem patient to start his journey on Earth/SIGMA 2619

MIDDLE: (Conflict, intrigue, and issues.)

He starts off trying to do things on his own but quickly finds he is in over his head. He also discovers there are two special agents looking for the TECH and also a MYSTERIOUS woman who was close to the site of the crimes.

ENDING: (A final punchline that hooks us and sends us into the future of the story.)

-The Mysterious woman tells BRUCE that he is the one who sent the TECH to EARTH 2619 and that they do indeed know each other because he was the one who sent her to earth in the first place.

TITLE SHOW#1 THE KIDNAPPING OF CASEY K.

A main character (KEN) and answer the following questions:

Who is the character? He is mostly on the good side of the main person who is missing.

Role in the show? He is reluctantly going to try to be the moral compass of the people who are looking for Casey K

Noteworthy traits Intriguing history: Intrigue? Casey the guy who is missing has funded the start up company that Ken has started it. When things flipped around in middle school it was Ken who protected Casey from bullies at their middle school.

(Mystery? )Though Casey has funded Ken’s start up-his life day to day is unknown to Ken. The mystery of how you can get someone so hateful of you that they would kidnap you at your own part and then try and cover it up is the biggest mystery Ken and those around him are trying to solve.

(How do they support or drive the conflict with others?) Ken as stated is the moral compass of the friends and associates of Casey K who might be willing to do illegal things and beyond that to keep their secrets safe. Ken wants to find Casey K but doesn’t want to break the law doing it.

Irony — (Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other charactersUnpredictable?)

-As said above Ken doesn’t want to break the law and he would rather walk around any issue but is forced more than once to bulldoze a problem when peaceful solutions are not available.

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters.

-Ken is opposite to Casey K (they were middle-school friends) and Mallory (one of Casey’s charity cases it looks like) but turns out Mallory is a TAKE-CHARGE-KIND-OF-GIRL when the occasion arises.

START: Present the character as someone we can relate to. Ken presents himself as someone you want to depend on. That good friend Casey has called at all sort of hours to run an idea by or to have some consoling word from when he lost money or a company didn’t work out.

MIDDLE: Conflict, intrigue, and issues. When Ken is tasking himself to find Casey K he doesn’t realize that the people around him don’t have moral compasses. Some of them seem to be more or less a menagerie of criminals Casey has associated with. Ken is trying to stay the strait and narrow road but is constantly drawn into not seeing the line he has created to not be like Casey K’s friends who see no difference between good and evil.

ENDING: A final punchline that hooks us and sends us into the future of the story. Every time he gets through a problem and closer to finding Casey K he starts to change and amass the respect of people on the wrong side of the law while he is searching for someone who might have more or less broken the law many times.

[Janeen Johnson]

Janeen’s Character Descriptions

What I learned doing this assignment is that I’m awful at summarizing what is important about my characters, but infinitely able to complicate and extrapolate to make the stories more vivid and exciting. This was a tough assignment for me and I think I’ll be updating and modifying the character descriptions for a long time. These are early drafts, I hope.

Cara:

A Silva Mind Control and intentional medicine practitioner in LA agrees to be the guardian of her lifelong best friend’s twins and farm when the friend gets a premonition that she and her husband are in danger. Two months later, she’s on her way to rural Iowa to take on the responsibilities of the twins and their legacy, a $60M farm that, on average, breaks even. Smart and empathetic to the family and friends left behind by the deaths, she finds herself besieged by people giving her farming advice, including her friend’s mother-in-law who might have been her own mother-in-law if she’d married the farmer before her friend did.

When the mother-in-law reveals that she has Alzheimers, the newly minted farmer must become the mechanic, agronomist, dairy farmer, manager and financial wizard that modern farming demands in the short time remaining before Alzheimers renders the woman incapable. With her own biological clock ticking loudly and the widower next door starting to look good to her, she navigates the high stress, high stakes world of Midwest farming and uses her mind control techniques to attempt to control those around her.

Randi:

This mother of three adult boys and grandmother of delightful boy-girl twins has just found out she has early onset Alzheimers. With her favorite son dead, this hard working, opinionated farmer is compelled to use every trick in the book to keep her daughter-in-law’s replacement focused only on the twins and their legacy until they are of age. The fact that their new guardian is even better at manipulating people via parapsychology than her daughter-in-law was is a bonus.

Blessed with a wicked sense of gallows humor, she pushes to keep the new farmer from falling for her widowed neighbor or anyone else that could take her away and leave the twins vulnerable to unprincipled guardians, including her other two sons. Knowing more about her neighbor’s wife, her son’s three loves and the new farmer’s foibles than she lets on, she struggles to school her in everything she’ll need to know before her own incapacitation makes her dependent on the new farmer as well.

JIm:

Avaricious and vicious, a charismatic farmer seeks more land to leave to his two sons. Having gotten enough land for one of them by marrying his first wife, he is now on the hunt for a second one who will leave everything to his sons someday. Jealous of his neighbor who had better parents, first pick of all the girls in high school, including his dead wife, and who is possibly the father of his oldest son, Jim finds himself drawn to the new farmer in the neighborhood, but repelled by her lack of land.

As Jim’s oldest son grows more distant and more involved with the neighbors, Jim wonders how much people know about his first wife’s apparent suicide and if they will connect it to the deaths of his friends next door. If charm and lending a helping hand will keep him safe until his sons are of age, he’ll use them.

Mike:

Although recently deceased when the story opens, Mike’s altruistic heroism is the stuff of legend. Unaware of his wife’s parapsychology help and his mother’s Alzheimers, he rescues women from loneliness and abuse while being a leader in the local agricultural economy. What no one sees is how easily he can be drawn from one woman to another if the new lady needs rescuing.

Mike’s wife keeps him safe from the wiles of other women and a safe distance from Cara who he once let slip was his soulmate, but she could do nothing when they began to suspect that Jim, his lifelong friend, had faked his wife’s suicide. Gathering evidence and preparing to take it to the police was the last thing he did.

Mindy:

Although killed in the same crash that took her husband, Mindy was Cara’s childhood best friend from their days as schoolgirls in Chicago to college besties to parapsychology enthusiasts throughout adulthood. Although unaware that Cara love Mike before she did, she was well aware that Mike was always eager to talk to Cara and she saw to it that that never happened by preventing Cara from coming to the farm.

Mindy’s love of her twins and aware of her mother-in-law’s Alzheimers made her sign Cara on to become the twins’ guardian should anything happen to Mike and her. Believing her powers were weaker than Cara’s, she was aware how much Cara envied her idyllic farm life and perfect family. When she had a premonition of death, she wasn’t sure if Cara’s powers had something to do with it or if it was all Jim.

Molly:

Farmer at heart and heir apparent to her family’s considerable holdings, Molly wanted to marry her best friend Mike but couldn’t go to college when he did because of her father’s failing health. Marrying Jim on the rebound and satisfied with her choice of the charismatic man who adored her, she never questioned that her firstborn was his child, but her jealous husband did. As her eldest child grew up and seemed to enjoy time with Mike and his family more than his time with Jim, her charismatic man swung between loving husband and abusive madman.

Knowing that if anything happened to her, Jim would inherit the land and fearing that her sons would suffer, she sought help from her old friends, Mike and Mindy, only to have her husband’s rage increase. Fleeing from his rage one night, she drove into the path of a train. How her life unraveled and what role she played in it may explain how and why she died.

[Sharon Scherle]

Jean’s Character Descriptions

What I learned doing this assignment is that by filling in the answers by using the list of questions, helped me organize the character into bits of information that I could then use to describe them in a more unique and interesting manner. I’ll be honest; this was a hard assignment for me and took me longer than usual. But I am happy with the end results. So it was worth it and a good learning experience for me.

2. Select a main character and answer the following questions:

Sharra Lane

Who is the character? Role in the show?

An unemployed accountant running from a bad boss becomes the newest recruit of a secret agency, She didn’t choose this new life. The Vault chose her. Innocent until thrown into this new world and has to change to survive.

Noteworthy traits:

logical, headstrong, moralistic, the martyr, an optimistic nature kind, caring/loyal, Reluctant hero,

Intriguing history:

her parents died in a car crash when she was 14, her last conversation with her mother was a fight. Her psychopathic brother became her guardian, dumping her when she turned 16 and disappeared.

Intrigue?

a connection with the Vault that no one else has, not even Lazarus who knows its secret. Willing to break rules, take huge risks

Mystery?

A rogue agent wants her dead and no one knows why.

How do they support or drive the conflict with others?

Pushes herself, Tanner, and others into dangerous situations

Uses Tanner and Faolan’s feelings for her to distract them from her goal.

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: trying to save her parents causes a series of events that kills them, creates a time loop. The one with the least fighting skills saves everyone. Has to break her moral code to get what she wants

Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters:

Sharra wants to fix her past which is against Vault rules. It can cause a paradox that disrupts future timelines. Faolan doesn’t want her to be an agent.

Unpredictable?

becomes a risk-taker, from innocent to the savior of the Vault and the world.

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters:

Tanner, Faolan, Lazarus, and other agents

She falls for Tanner but her feelings get confused when she meets Faolan on a mission, not knowing he’s a rogue agent. Now, she’s conflicted. The one she wants, she thinks she can’t have, the other is too good for her.

Lazarus Maitland

Who is the character? Role in the show?

Vault Agency Head Director and former British Earl from 1700s tasked with keeping the Vault alive and its true nature a secret.

A man with the weight of the world on his shoulder, trying to do good in an impossible situation. get Sharra assimilated to save the Vault

Noteworthy traits:

Methodical, driven, powerful, alcoholic, the father figure. Behind his sharp eyes is an old soul. And dark secrets.

Intriguing history:

First at the Vault. Head-hunts Sharra because his future self had left him a message to recruit her. Chose power over love.

Intrigue?

He knows that something is wrong with the alien lifeforce and that it’s connected to Sharra.

Mystery?

How does the Vault exist and what does Lazarus have to do with it?

How do they support or drive the conflict with others?

Forces Tanner to take on more responsibilities. Coerces Sharra and others

He’s been there for eons and has reached his limit. He needs to pass the torch and has chosen Tanner, though Faolan is his first choice. His secrets and lies are driving him into a mental breakdown.

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character:

Hurts people he cares about to keep Sharra alive, but not for her, for the Vault because if it dies, they all do too. Messes with the timeline to find recruits, breaking the rules.

Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters:

He needs to fix the Vault but fears being found out as a deceiver.

Knows the true nature of the Vault and has to keep it alive at all cost. Faolan knows the truth and wants Lazarus to give full disclosure to the rest. Lazarus is grooming Tanner to take over, but Tanner isn’t ready.

Unpredictable?

lies to keep the Vault’s true identity a secret but it drives him to drink

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters:

Sharra, Tanner, and Faolan all conflicted purposes.

Tanner Holmes

Who is the character? Role in the show?

An American ex-navy seal from the 1980s, now a Vault agent and Trainer, given the task of turning their recent recruit, a nobody accountant, into a top-notch time travel agent.

Noteworthy traits:

Cocky, Impulsive, short-tempered. All around good guy, the hero.

Intriguing history:

Whatever happened in his past drives him to protect women.

Intrigue?

falls for the new recruit and tries to hide it until Faolan becomes a rival for her affections.

Fight with Lazarus, Sharra, willing to risk/sacrifice his life, hides his feelings

Mystery?

Why did he leave the navy?

How do they support or drive the conflict with others?

His cocky, impulsive nature gets him in all sorts of trouble.

overprotectiveness of women is good and bad

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character:

Protecting Sharra puts her in danger.

Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters: Protecting Sharra from outside sources and herself.

Unpredictable?

Short-temper personality makes him a powder keg of unpredictability.

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters:

Sharra, Faolan, Lazarus

ill-qualified Sharra comes along, he is ready to dismiss her but has to fight his growing attraction until Faolan becomes a rival for her affections.

Tanner and Faolan have loved the same woman in the past. It didn’t end well for all of them.

Faolan

Who is the character? Role in the show?

A Vault agent, originally from late 700s Scotland, considered a rogue agent by his contemporaries becomes embroiled in Vault business when he stumbles across a new recruit on a botched mission.

Noteworthy traits:

intelligence boarding on genius, honorable to a fault, an idealist, has no problem taking a life when warranted, investigative, weapons expert

Intriguing history:

Has been in hiding since his fallout with Lazarus.

Chose self-preservation over saving his clan. Punishing himself.

Intrigue?

He doesn’t like to talk about his past. Something really bad had happened. It’s what makes him a loner. His odd relationship with his female programmed communication device is endearing and sad.

Mystery?

What went down between Faolan and Lazarus that made Faolan leave disgraced?

How do they support or drive the conflict with others?

infiltrates the Vault to gather intel on Sharra though it makes him a suspect.

Pushes Sharra to leave the agency

Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character:

forced back to Vault Agency because of his feelings for Sharra

Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters:

wants to reveal the true nature of the Vault to his fellow agents, what Lazarus lies about to keep secret.

wants to keep Sharra from joining, saving her from the Vault. Sharra wants to change her past and needs to join to do that.

Unpredictable?

Though honorable, there’s something dark about him, in his eyes and the catlike grace of his fit body.

Intriguing relationship with one or more characters:

Sharra, Tanner, Lazarus, and other agents

Faolan was once Lazarus’ closest friend, knows of Lazarus’ deception and left the agency because of their differences. Now he’s pulled back in.

Tanner feels threatened by Faolan and has been in competition with him from the start. They shared a past love that didn’t end well.

He wants to get to know Sharra without giving it away he’s an agent in hiding.

4. Sequence the info and write a START, MIDDLE, and END.

Sharra:

START: An unjustly fired accountant takes a job offer that sounds ‘too good to be true’ to escape a ruthless crooked boss. A secret agency that fixes the past for the betterment of the future.

MIDDLE: headstrong, moralistic, the martyr, can change others past but not her own, meets a man from 1825 who challenges her on many levels,

ENDING: a connection to the Vault that no one else has.

Rough Draft: Sharra

Optimistic, tenacious, and brave, Sharra finds herself taking a job offer that sounds too good to be true to escape her ruthless ex-boss. But she can’t escape her problems, not even hiding in the undisclosed headquarters of Vault Agency, and it requires her to step out of her comfort box.

Her new trainer labels Sharra as a piece of coal – a nobody. Maybe that’s how she presents, but she will quickly prove them all wrong. She can be fierce and protective of those she cares about, even violent when pushed and she will be ‘pushed’

Family is what Sharra craves, having lost her parents as a teen and being abandoned by her guardian older brother soon after. She blames herself for her parents’ death and that guilt will drive her to cross borders both morally and physically especially when she discovers the true purpose of Vault Agency and the nature of the strange connection she has to it.

Lazarus

START: Methodical, driven, and powerful, Lazarus is the Vault Agency Head Director and a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Beyond his sharp eyes is an old soul and there’s a reason for that. He is a former British Earl from the 1700s, the first to come across the lifeforce that is the Vault.

MIDDLE: tasked with keeping the Vault alive and its true nature a secret. He knows that something is wrong with the alien lifeforce and that it’s connected to Sharra. He’s not above coercion, even hurting those he loves if it means keeping those he cares about alive.

ENDING: He’s been there for eons and has reached his limit. He needs to pass the torch. He needs to fix it and the new recruit is the key. He knows because his future self told him so.

Rough Draft: Lazarus

Methodical, ruthless, and powerful, Lazarus is the Vault Agency’s Head Director and a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Behind his sharp eyes is an old soul and there’s a reason for that. He is a British Earl from the 1700s, the first to come across the lifeforce that is now disguised as the Vault Agency.

Time had been on his side for eons, until recently. Lying and deceit is the only way he keeps the true nature of the Vault secret from those connected to it and it’s wearing him down. He knows that something is wrong with the alien lifeforce and that it’s connected to Sharra. He’s not above coercion, even hurting those he loves if it means keeping those he cares about alive. He needs to fix it and the new recruit is the key even though it will come at a high price that is yet to be revealed. He knows because his future self told him so. And so, he must press forward, whatever the cost.

Tanner

START: An American ex-navy seal from the 1980s, now a Vault agent and Trainer given the task of turning their recent recruit, a nobody accountant, into a top-notch time travel agent. Cocky, Impulsive, short-tempered. All around good guy, the hero. Short-temper personality makes him a powder keg of unpredictability.

MIDDLE: Whatever happened in his past drives him to protect women.

His cocky, impulsive nature gets him in all sorts of trouble. Overprotectiveness of women is good and bad. Protecting Sharra puts him in danger. ill-qualified Sharra comes along, he is ready to dismiss her but has to fight his growing attraction until Faolan becomes a rival for her affections.

ENDING: fight his growing attraction until Faolan becomes a rival for her affections

Rough Draft: Tanner

An American ex-navy seal, Tanner is the Vault Agency’s Trainer and all-around good guy, oh, and easy on the eyes. But don’t underestimate him. Though his short temper makes him a powder keg of unpredictability and his cocky, impulsive nature gets him in all sorts of trouble, he’s a guy you want on your side.

His cockiness hides a dark secret. Whatever happened in his past drives him to protect women. When ill-qualified recruit Sharra comes along, he is ready to dismiss her, but his duty to the agency and his protectiveness forces him to see her as something more, though he’s not ready for a relationship. It gets real interesting when a former friend, who had once loved the same woman as he, shows up and becomes a rival for her affections.

Faolan

START: A Vault agent, originally from late 700s Scotland, considered a rogue agent by his contemporaries becomes embroiled in Vault business when he stumbles across a new recruit on a botched mission. Honorable to a fault, an idealist, has no problem taking a life when warranted, investigative, weapons expert.

MIDDLE: Though honorable, there’s something dark about him, in his eyes and the catlike grace of his fit body. Has been in hiding since his fallout with Lazarus.

Chose self-preservation over saving his clan. Punishing himself. wants to keep Sharra from joining, saving her from the Vault. Sharra wants to change her past and needs to join to do that.

ENDING: Faolan was once Lazarus’ closest friend, knows of Lazarus’ deception and left the agency because of their differences. Now he’s pulled back in.

Rough Draft: Faolan

Faolan is handsome with a swoon-worthy Scottish accent, but there’s more to Faolan than meets the eye. Though an idealist and honorable, there’s something dark about him, in his eyes and the catlike grace of his fit body. Here is a man that has no problem taking a life when warranted.

He is considered a rogue agent by his contemporaries, but there are always two sides to a story. Somehow, the Vault draws all those attached to it back, including him when he stumbles across a recruit on a botched mission and has to intervene.

Knowing the truth about the Vault, he will do his best to stop her from committing, but it’s harder than he thinks. She just might be his match… and savior.

[Natasha Le Petit]

What I learnt from this assignment was to go deeper with my descriptions, find the intrigue, add the irony, their weaknesses.

Module 2, lesson 2

ZOE

Fame, money, movie premieres. On the surface Zoe has it all. Married to a famous film director, she is invited to all the Oscar parties, drives luxury cars and lives in a huge mansion. But Zoe also lives with a dark secret. While her husband is known for making some of the most successful blockbuster movies, behind closed doors he is a controlling, verbally abusive sociopath. Years of treading on egg shells, of enduring neglect and financial abuse (she has no access to her own money) have taken their toll on Zoe. Her father, the only person she completely trusts, has had a stroke. While trying to keep up appearances for the sake of her children, she secretly begins to plan how to escape. When she seeks the help from a private investigator to find out where her husband is and what he has done with their money, she instead finds her old friend, Nadine, who has been missing for 25 years. The friends become close again very quickly, and Nadine promises to help Zoe with her separation but Zoe begins to discover that Nadine’s story of why she went missing does not add up. Zoe’s years of keeping up appearances, come into play as she begins to investigate Nadine. To her horror she begins to realise that Nadine has a far more sinister reasons for being in Zoe’s life and that her family’s lives are in danger.

NADINE

1997. Nadine is in her twenties and is an aspiring actress. While she works jobs to pay the bill, she also takes care of her father who has cancer. Nadine is a confident, feisty young woman who puts everything into her auditions but can’t cut a break. She becomes friends with a budding photographer, Zoe, and finds out that Zoe’s dad runs a film studio. The two women become inseparable. Zoe doesn’t usually get involved in her dad’s work, but seeing Nadine’s struggles to help her father and support them both, she wants to help her in any way she can. Zoe introduces Nadine to her father – Leo, who is head of a film studio. Zoe begs her Dad to give Nadine a role in a film. Zoe is unaware but Nadine and Leo more than hit it off. They end up having an affair. Nadine, naturally, gets a role, in a big budge movie and after it wraps, it looks like Nadine’s career is about to take off. Then she suddenly disappears.

2021. When Nadine learns that Zoe’s father has had a stroke and is permanently paralysed she sees this as an opportunity to reconnect with her best friend, to make amends to her for vanishing, to support Zoe with helping her father and helping her leave her unhappy marriage. This is what Nadine presents as the truth. But she is an actress, a good one, and she is about to play the role of her life. 25 years ago, Nadine didn’t just vanish, she was running for her life. Inpregnanted by Leo, forced to give up her baby and her family murdered when she tried to speak out, now, Nadine is back searching for answers, to reconnect with the son she lost and to seek justice for her murdered family . But she is up against powerful and dangerous people – and Zoe’s father is part of it.

LEO

Head of a film studio. He is ruthless, driven, but very charismatic. He was thrilled when his only daughter, Zoe, started dating James Montgomery, up and coming film director, but began to see another side to James. Leo is a womaniser, has had countless affairs until his wife, Hannah, got fed up and left. Leo is a hypocrite and hates that James is having affairs behind his daughter’s back. Zoe is the apple of Leo’s eye and he also adores his grandchildren. Leo has a particular fascination with special effects and magic. He genuinely loves children and his studio specialises in family and animation films. He usually is the life of the party – especially kids parties. He’s the first to play games and he loves performing magic tricks. He makes things disappear…and he also makes people disappear. There is a dark side to Leo. There are many people willing to do whatever it takes to become rich and powerful. Leo is no exception. He is part of a syndicate, a criminal organisation which is rife in his world of show biz. Some of the most unlikely film people are caught up in it. Leo is just a small player in a bigger scheme that also infiltrates politicians and media tycoons. Deals are made behind the scenes and they can cost you to disappear if you don’t fulfil your part of the deal. When Leo has a stroke and becomes paralysed, his words slurred, he is trapped inside a prison. Now things are dire. The one woman he thought was dead (Nadine) has re-emerged and not only could she expose his secrets she could put his family’s lives at risk.

JAMES

Borderline sociopath, complex, self absorbed. A successful film director, James is a control freak on set and an even bigger control freak at home – directing his wife and children like they are on set and he’s screaming action. He grew up dirt poor and escaped into a world of television and movies. His father left when he was a baby. His mother worked two jobs and one day dropped dead at a cleaning job. James and his brother, Henry, were separated and sent to live in different foster homes. James became a compulsive liar to escape his reality. A teacher recognised how bright James was and got him to apply for a scholarship at a college. He got in, studied film and never looked back. James adored and admired, Leo, who mentored him. Leo was the father figure he never had and shortly after he works under Leo, James meets and falls in love with Zoe. But years of people stroking his ego has turned him into a megalomaniac. He is the ultimate Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. To the outside world, their mutual friends and colleagues and the media, James as a larger than life personality. Full of laughter and endless jokes. Sometimes this is the James that his family get to see. Generous, fun, playful. But the other James that comes home can be distant, dark, brooding. James has a deep fear of abandonment and is so afraid his family will leave him, he does everything to control them….which actually makes them want to leave him even more.

KATE

Is a retired journalist who once worked on a murder case with links to some big players in Hollywood (Leo included) but was ordered to drop the story by her newspaper editor and the police. She was later threatened by some mysterious person who followed her and turned up at her daughter’s school. As a young budding reporter with a small child, Kate took the threats seriously. She dropped the story but then lost her confidence and passion for journalism. She ended up writing for a small magazine, – mainly doing lifestyle articles. Now, decades later, Kate lives alone. Her husband and daughter both died from the same cancer. Kate has become bitter and resentful. She drank heavily to cope with her loss. She suffers from arthritis. She is chronic pain, externally and internally. An old friend helped Kate get back on her feet and has given her a job at a local college teaching journalism. Kate is empty inside. She goes back to her home with her dog and cat and smokes pot to dull the pain. She feels lost, alone and angry with herself that she let fear stop her from going after her dreams. It takes a young man – a rude, entitled, lazy student, Robbie, to lift her out of her slump. He fires her up and gets her to go back and investigate the cold case that was buried. Now with nothing to lose, Kate decides to find the truth, even if she is danger. She has nothing to lose. But as Robbie also gets involved, she realises she is potentially putting his life at risk. The syndicate don’t like anyone asking questions. People disappear when they ask too many questions.