First of all, Happy Memorial day!
Second, to the business at hand: you’re probably feeling lazy today. That’s under-standable, but still not a reason to not write. You’ve got to write rain or shine, 6:00 AM or midnight, ill or health, in life and in death. (now you know how some writers manage to ghostwrite…ha ha)
But fear not! I have concocted a scheme that will make it far easier to create and frame new stories with respective characters! (I’ll make another one in the future for a setting, and the one for genre/plot can be found here) Just answer a few questions and be open to some advice!
#1: You’ve been asked to undertake a difficult spy mission, but you get to invite three fictional characters to help you on it. Which of the following teams would you take?
A: Obi-wan Kenobi, Sherlock Holmes and Gandalf
B: Batman, Flynn Rider and Han Solo
C: Frodo, Luke Skywalker and Willow (From George Lucas’ underrated fantasy film)
D: Samwise, C-3PO and Mr. Tumnus
#2: Which of the following faculties would you choose to have an infinite amount of?
A: Wisdom
B: Bravery
C: Determination
D: Kindness
#3: When you sign on for a role in a large, collective project with a few peers, which of the following roles would be one that you want?
A: The mastermind spearheading the plan behind the project
B: The main coordinator and overall doer
C: The motivator and morale-booster
D: The marginal and not-very-well-known but helpful background worker
#4: When you buy something off Amazon, what is your biggest concern about the product?
A: Is it worth your money
B: Does it work
C: How will it help you achieve your goals
D: If push comes to shove, how well can this product serve other people
#5: Which of the following pieces of advice would you give to someone who wants to make friends?
A: Be eloquent and witty with thought and speech toward others
B: Be outgoing and friendly
C: Be supportive and encouraging
D: Be helpful and kind
#6: Which of the following incidents are you most likely to win an award for?
A: Solving the Goldbach conjecture
B: Saving a child from a burning building
C: Being an outstandingly moral role model
D: Working for sixty years without pay on a difficult project and not being recognized for the next twenty
#7: Which of the following would you choose as an epitaph?
A: “Know thy enemy”
B: “Be the hero you so admire”
C: “Do right, no matter what”
D: “I live to serve”
#8: Which of the following do you think is the most important on a work crew?
A: The visionary
B: The main brawn
C: The one with the most tenacity
D: The one that will humbly work for less pay
#9: Which of the following names is your favorite?
A: Sophia
B: Miles
C: Erin
D: Alfred
#10: Which of the following people would you be afraid to become?
A: An idiot who doesn’t know truth from untruth
B: A coward who never left their mom’s house
C: A cheat who makes their living by lying and stealing
D: A boastful and proud braggart: an annoying sweaty tryhard
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And the results are in! You score this one just like the last one, so I will give the categories below: (for main characters, take the most letters you scored and go with the role attached to it, for lesser-known characters go with second-most letters)
A: This means that the most prominent character in the story will be a wise councilor. Alternatively, it could be someone smart and high-powered, and this makes a better main character (usually). If you’d prefer to demur to someone who’s more wise than scientifically minded, you might want to go with someone like Sherlock Holmes.
B: As was probably the most obvious, this means that the main character will be the archetypical hero: bold, dashing, swashbuckling, reckless, and impulsive. There are many manifestations of this character, like pirates, treasure hunters, and spies. Not too much here.
C: I’ll bet my front teeth that this one was the most obscure. The main character for this one is small and unassuming, but has great spirit. Think “body of a hare, heart of a lion”. A obscure and humble hero who is probably the least likely to be one.
D: This one may seem like a contradiction, but here goes: You’re going to want to make one of the supporting characters the main character. The humble, works-in-the-background janitor is suddenly catapulted onto a great adventure in which he plays the main role. For examples, see the film Willow and The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Good luck, and happy writing!
Be sure to check out my latest novel, Book 1 in the Praetors of Lost Magic Series, and our Publications page. Until then, writers!
The Writer's Rack 