Latest Posts by ainesseyspiegel - Page 5
What Never Made it to Print (Part One)
They always knew they’d end up together at the end of the line, they just hadn’t imagined it would be in this way. In hindsight, maybe they should have had some clue as to what that kooky old fortune teller meant when she said, ‘Together forever, and not a day more’.
Kyle had brushed it off as a cop out, saying the old woman had no way of knowing anything else about them-they really hadn’t given her anything to work with during their introduction and had yet to do anything more than give very short responses to inquiries she used to make her so called deductions- so she had gone with the usual thing that psychics always said. That there was someone out there that they would be with until their dying day, someone who they seemed to care about more than anyone else in their lives. He would admit that she had a unique sense of style, claiming that the two of them would be joined at the hip until the inevitable as opposed to their current girlfriends, but that was about all he was impressed by. Considering that it was nothing he didn’t already know, she was lucky to get that small bit of admiration out of him.
Shawn just didn’t see the point of putting any merit to the predictions. They might have gotten him excited when he was five, and Kyle’s mom had threatened to move hundreds of miles away if the boy’s didn’t eat their vegetables, but that was twenty years ago and the white lie was nowhere near palpable enough. Kyle was not going anywhere, and Shawn was not planning on letting any argument split up the only long lasting ‘relationship’ he had ever had in his life. If the fates had not seen fit to separate the two of them by now, it just wasn’t going to happen. So he was not to going to be inexplicably terrified of the thought of losing his best friend. While he believed that anything could happen at any given second, he also believed in facts and statistical data. The area they both lived in, the crowd they both ran with, the backgrounds they both came from, and the jobs they both had, were not conducive to a tragic outcome. They were both safe in the lives they created for themselves and as long as they were careful, it was always going to be that way.
So how they ended up here, out of breath and clutching to each other as if there was nothing left while literally staring down their demise, was pretty much a shock to both of them. Looking back on things now, it really shouldn’t have been.
(Sometimes I begin writing something, and while I decide at the end of my writing time that I like what I have so far, I never quite find a place to put it. So I put it on a shelf for later and occasionally look at it again to see if something comes to me. This is one of those times, and I still have no clue.)
According to psychological facts, the inability to fall asleep at night means you’re awake in someone’s dream.
"She wrote the damn book! He didn't have to die!"
Oh honey.
You don’t understand how this works, do you?
What Never Made it to Print (Part Two)
The word taboo was created for a reason. In the mortal world there are certain things that can never mix. Things like oil and water, greenery and fire, and magic and science just to name a few. So men created rules. They created boundaries. They created taboos, so that nothing that should not be could ever come into existence. However, one of the most predictable aspects of a mortal man’s nature is that he will break his own rules, forget his own precautions, and dismiss his own consciousness in order to gain something he desires. And, of course, sooner or later, something he desires is bound to come along.
Sometimes this forgoing of common, cautious sense can be noble. If enough of a spin is put to it, it can almost seem legendary or heroic. Most of the time, however, such an event is just tragic. Because when humanity is forsaken for humanity’s sake, well, humanity loses that which made it human in the first place. That was why the rules were put into place to begin with. They were meant to prevent the loss of all order and the introduction of new chaos. But by the time everybody stops for a moment to remember this one simple fact, it is already too late.
4 Ways to Reveal Backstory
Unless you’re the next J R R Tolkien, it’s best not to attempt a huge outpouring of historical backstory at the beginning of your novel. Your readers want a gripping story, not a history lecture.
There are many ways that you can gradually reveal backstory through your novel without having to halt the telling of your story.
Setting: Bombed buildings hint at a recent war, a flood may have left your characters living upstairs in their houses. Street names, pub names and building names can hint at historical backstory (such as Battle Square, Hangman’s Lane or The Burning Scholar Inn).
Culture: A town that used to be plagued by dragons may have a policy on killing lizards, a populace that used to be slaves may eat quickly, a town that suffers regular droughts may value water over money.
Character: A woman who was attacked may be scared to leave home after dark, someone who was criticised as a child may be a perfectionist as an adult. After a long war, a town may be very short on men, and the men that survived may have trouble re-adjusting to life.
Dialogue: Characters can, of course, talk about the past, but avoid another outpouring of historical information. Hint at things, leave clues, tell half stories; let your reader enjoy piecing everything together.
To All Writers of Everything Ever
I need to rant about this:
Also known as the best writing program ever! It’s a full-screen writing program!
So you open it up, and it looks like this:
You’re thinking, “Ok, so what? It’s a screen with a picture. Whoopdie do.” But it get’s better! It’s customizable!
See that “appearance”? Click it.
You can also use custom fonts that you have installed!
See that “music”? Click it.
If you drag your own music into the folder, like so:
You get this!:
But wait! It gets better!
See “typing sounds”? You can change those too!
Perhaps the best is - YOU CAN USE ANY PICTURE FOR THE BACKGROUND. It will automatically fade it for you!
Seriously, guys, this tool is wonderful. You can use it for:
Research papers
Novel writing
Play writing
Short stories
Homework assignments
Ranting about your friends when they piss you off
Writing your shopping list
It auto-saves. It exports to .rtf. Hotkeys from Word for italicize, underlining, and bold work. You can print RIGHT FROM THERE.
And the seriously best thing ever?
It fits on a flash drive. The entire thing with added music is maybe 131MBs.
The bestest thing ever.
It’s free.
She Loved Me
She used to really love me, and she used to need me too.
When she saw my face on Christmas morning, after she ripped off that sparkling wrapping paper, her grin outshone the star on the top of the tree. She cuddled and kissed me, and thanked her parents a million times before the day was through. That night she set out a special place for me on the pillow next to hers, and she held on tight throughout the entire night.
From then on she didn’t leave the house without me. I was the friend she brought to school, ate her meals with, and played every single game with. I had to get washed a whole bunch of times because I couldn’t drink her lemonade or eat her sandwiches the way she could. I tried for her, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t like the washing machine much, but I did like how fresh I smelled when I got out of the dryer. She did too, and soon it didn’t matter that I had been tossed around, because when she threw me up in the air and caught hold of me again, the world was great.
She showed me off to all of her friends, and I made some of my own with the unicorns and elephants from down the street. We talked about, when our kids left to go get cleaned up, how much we did without moving. I talked about how I protected her from the monsters at night, and let her read to me when no one else was around to play. She loved books. She loved to read as many as she could, and she loved reading out loud to people. She used to make up stories too, when she couldn’t read the words, and she would put me in them when she needed an animal for a hero. I loved the stories she told me.
I hated to see her cry. She did that a lot one day, when her sisters took me early one morning. They wanted to play a mean joke, but they didn’t want to get caught, so they took me when she was still sleeping and hid me in a closet. She was frantic when she didn’t see me once she woke up. She asked her sisters where I was. They laughed and told her they threw me away. I looked on in silence and felt like crying too. At that moment I wanted to be like one of the heroes in her books who helped rescue people from their troubles. So I did something drastic. I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I tumbled out when her sisters weren’t looking, and I think they thought they must have not propped me up right. They did. I just didn’t want to stay still while she cried. Her smile was worth it.
She used to sing to me a lot too. She taught me the songs her parents sung to her. She had one favorite she liked to sing every night before she said her midnight prayers. It was a song about little chickens, and she sang it in Spanish. The chickens were cold and hungry, and I thought it was kind of sad, but I was happy because she was sharing with me. I liked it when she tried to show me things. I remember one time she took me on a car trip with her. The sight outside was fun to see. She opened the window and tried to hold me up so I could see the moving tress better. But then we went over a bump and she dropped me. I only had time to hear her shriek before I was on the ground. I waited there for a long time. I got a little dirty, and a few birds started to peck at me. I felt so alone. But she made her parents turn around. She came back for me, and hugged me even though her mom told her not to because I had been on the ground. She didn’t listen.
She loved me a lot, and I loved her a lot too. Life was good.
Then she started growing up. She didn’t play with me much anymore. She did a few times, but only when people weren’t looking. She didn’t show me to the new friends she made, and most of the time they would never see me. She still sang and read, but only to herself, and didn’t need me to protect her during the night anymore. Soon she wanted the bed to herself, and I went to stand beside some of her other old toys on a desk. Our numbers got fewer and fewer until there was only a boxful of us left in the room. We stayed still, only being glanced at during a moment of distraction or when she was feeling nostalgic.
Still, I loved her, and I knew she still loved me. Otherwise she wouldn’t keep me around.
One day she moved. Packed up all the old toys still remaining and put us in a big blue suitcase. I was scared when she closed the zipper. I didn’t think she would open it again for a while. But I knew she would eventually. She just had too. I stayed in that blue suitcase for a long time. I heard people come in and out of what had to have been her new room. I heard laughing, and plans being made. I hear secrets being told, and decisions being made. Things she used to do with me, only now her friends were different. Her friends were real. Then one day she moved the suitcase, and I didn’t hear her voice anymore. I was sad.
She grew up, and I don’t think she loved me anymore.
I was surprisingly okay with that for a little while. She never used to have many real friends. The fact that she was making some meant she wouldn’t ever be lonely. I could stay in the suitcase forever and she would be fine. She could leave me where I was and not ever feel like she wasn’t safe because she was. She was safe without me. But that made me sadder. I wanted to cry.
I wanted her to never forget me because I would never forget her. Even if I rotted away and became nothing but limp cloth, I would never forget the days when she had been so nice to me. I’d never forget her songs or her heroes that became mine, and I’d remember that her favorite color was blue even though she thought it was supposed to be pink because her sister told her that all girls liked pink. I would never forget the thankful kisses she generously gave me when I kept the monsters away, or the thank yous I got for comfort I gave when I let her squeeze me tight when she was upset. I could never forget because those were the best memories of my life.
But I wanted her happy even if it was without me. I still loved her, even if she was too old to love me now.
Then one day, the suitcase was opened. I had been in the dark for so long I didn’t remember how bright light was supposed to be. The face I saw was unfamiliar, and it was a little boy I saw, not the little girl I was secretly still hoping for. He didn’t think much of me. I could tell. He turned me around in his hands a bit, and sort of snorted when he saw how dirty my fur was.
“Yessy, is this yours?” He called over his shoulder.
And then I wanted to cry again. Because a girl came up next to him, and when she smiled I was reminded of the time when a Christmas grin came into my view. She took me from the boy’s hands, and she held me tight. “I remember you.” I heard her say, her voice different and more pronounced than the last time I heard it. “How long has it been?”
The boy scoffed. “Do you want it or not? Dad said we have to clean this place up. If you don’t want it, then throw it away.”
I got scared, but she laughed and shook her head. “Of course I still want him.”
“Aren’t you too old to be playing with toys?”
“Probably.”
She took me to her new room. She had a lot of space now, and she didn’t share it with her younger sister anymore. She had a fireplace, and a bookshelf built into the wall for all her books. It was nearly full. That day she put me right in front of the fireplace, and she took a book from her shelf and started reading it to me. It was still her favorite story, the same as I remembered. Later that night, when it was really late, she got out of bed and took me from my spot in front of the fireplace.
“I had a bad dream,” she said as she tucked herself into bed, with me tucked right under her arms. “And you used to be pretty good at keeping bad dreams away. Let’s see if my memory serves me right.” It did. I made sure I was extra ferocious so that nightmares were too scared to come near her. Or maybe I didn’t do anything. What matters was that she slept soundly. She still smiled when she woke up and went to school.
Other toys were eventually put in places or given away to younger members of the family. But she kept me. She always told people that she was never giving me away. She wanted me to stay with her. Not to chase the nightmares away. Not because she was lonely. Not because she needed someone else to tell her stories to. Just because she wanted me there.
She used to really love me, and she used to need me too. Nowadays she doesn’t need me for much of anything. She still loves me though, and I think that matters most of all. It’s not when they need you that gets to you. It’s when they don’t need you at all, but still smile when they see you around, that you know that you did something right. Because they remembered what love they gave you long enough to give it back.
5 Tips on Describing Your Setting
Your reader wants to know where they are, but they don’t want pages and pages of intricate details about your setting. You need to choose what’s important and give your reader a few specific points. They can fill in the rest.
Here’s five tips for making your description say as much as it can in as few points as possible:
Think about what’s important to the story: Think about specific landmarks, individual items or the general layout of the land. If your character needs to be able to see a certain doorway from their armchair, make sure they can.
Think about what’s important to the characters: What in the setting reveals more about the characters that live there? Look at unusual things - it’s more interesting for a character to have no family photos in their house rather than having their walls filled with them.
Think about revealing backstory: What in your setting has been influenced by what happened before the beginning of your story? A statue in a town square or the name of a street can reveal important historical facts.
Think about revealing culture: Certain items can reveal interesting points about your world’s culture and traditions. The way the houses are built, or particular religious items in a room.
Think about revealing time and place: Particular items can instantly let your readers know what point in history and where in the world your setting is. A harbour full of tall ships instantly ages a place, a line of coconut trees along the beach gives a hint at possible locations.
“In the end, we’ll all become stories.”
— Margaret Atwood (via paperlover)
NaNoWriMo tip of the day: The "Distraction Free" Word Processors
For some of us, the ol’ Microsoft Word just doesn’t cut it.
Do you stop writing and check Tumblr or any other social network every time you see a (1) in your browser? Does this checking of the one become a thirty-minute or longer thing? Are you procrastinating from your writing right now?
One of the things that I find handy is having a “distraction free” or motivational word processor handy. They are designed to take up your entire screen, including the taskbar at the bottom. It keeps you from seeing all of your notices that ultimately drag you away from what you’re doing. They also are minimalist, so you don’t have all of these unnecessary bells and whistles to deal with. How many times have you changed fonts today?
Here are some of my favorites:
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This Is a Towel: Sex Scenes
piperkenton asked: I know there’s a page for this but I can’t for the life of me find it and I really should bookmark it but could I have a link to the tips to writing a kissing scene or whatever it was called page? I’d love you forever, my characters in a relationship and I have a feeling the next couple scenes in our para will be steamy.
Worldbuilding Series: Religion
This is the first of many articles that are a part of a WriteWorld and LiveWriteDream co-op series on Worldbuilding. Stay tuned to WW and LWD for updates on this series, and go here to find an articles masterpost.
Now, let’s begin. Today, we’re talking about religion.
Religion (n): The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods.
Religion plays a major part in almost every culture and society of the world. Whether someones belief be Christianity, Hinduism, Atheism, Buddhism or Agnosticism, religion is important to the majority of people in some way.
The religions, or lack thereof, mentioned above are only some of the many world religions being practiced today. Here are the most popular:
Monotheistic-
Christianity. This is the most popular world religion. Christianity is a monotheistic belief that is widespread geographically and is a most common in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa.
Christianity as it is known today was started as a Jewish sect around the 1st century. Its leadership consisted of the 12 Apostles, most notably, Saint Peter and the Apostle Paul. According to Scriptures, Christians were being persecuted by Jewish officials who didn’t agree with the Apostles’ teachings. This was the split between Judaism and Christianity.
The basic Christian belief is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born human but immortal. He died on the cross for the sins of the world, and after rising from the dead on the ‘third day’, he ascended into heaven, promising to return for those who worshiped God and kept His commands. (These commands are found in the New Testament law of the Bible)
Christians practice the belief of eternal life for those who live according to the Bible, and that those who fail to follow God will live for eternity in hell.
Christianity is split into three major groups: Protestantism, Eastern Orthodox, and Catholicism. Under these are many denominations of the Christian faith.
Islam. This is a monotheistic religion that originated in Arabia from the Prophet Mohammad, known as the Last Prophet of God.
Islamic belief is that the Qur’an is the verbatim word of God, or Allah, and that all other religious texts have been corrupted and defiled over time and that the Qur’an is the only infallible word of God, written by Mohammad.
They believe that He is one, incomparable being whom they must live to love and serve. They also believe that Jesus was a great prophet, but not the son of God, and that He lived a sinless life.
Salvation through Islamic belief is obtained by following the laws set by Allah, and doing good deeds on earth, which will guarantee Islams a spot in ‘paradise’. Contrarily, failing to observe Allah’s commands will guarantee a spot in hell.
Islamic belief is separated into many different denominations, the most common being the Sunni. Other include Shia and Sufism.
Judaism. This is a monotheistic religion that originated from the Hebrew Bible. Abraham, a Hebrew, is considered the father of the Jewish faith because he was the first prophet to promote the main idea of the Jewish faith (that there is only one God).
It’s believed the Judaism is based upon the relationship between God and the Children of Israel and the promises He made to protect them as long as they obeyed His laws.
They believe that God is one supreme being, and that Jesus was a false prophet, though they do believe there is a messiah coming that will relieve the the Jews of heartache and pain. War and suffering will abound in the time leading up to the Messiah’s coming.
The Jewish belief focuses solely on life on earth and the way in which the Jewish life is lead, but they do believe in an afterlife. It’s believed that following God’s word and doing good deeds will lead them to heaven, while failing to do so will cause their souls to be destroyed. It is debated whether or not this means they will spend eternity in Hell, or if the soul is literally destroyed.
Judaism has three denominations: Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative.
Sikhism.This is a monotheistic religion founded in the Punjab Region in the fifteenth century. Founded by Guru Nanak Dev, it has since grown to be in the top five world religions.
Sikhs are commanded to follow the virtues of Sant-Sipāhī, a saint soldier. They must be able to control the internal voices (the desire to do wrong) and abide by the law of the Guru Granth Sahi, the Holy Scripture of the Sikhs.
Sikhs believe in spending time for others, giving to those who need it like the poor, homeless, and hungry. They believe that prayer to the One and Only God is of the utmost importance.
It’s believed that humans are reincarnated after death, going through countless life cycles (birth, death, rebirth) before reaching Enlightenment and separating from the earth and joining the Divine.
There are many unorthodox sects of Sikhism, including, but not limited to, Sahajdharis, Udasis, and Keshadharis.
Other-
Hinduism. This is the predominate religion of the Indian subcontinent, and it is a controversial subject as to whether or not it is pantheistic or polytheistic. It was founded upon many different beliefs and traditions, and has no one single founder.
They follow many beliefs similar to Buddhism, such as Karma and Dharma (cause and effect, and righteous living, respectively) They believe that God is everywhere and in everything, and is the Supreme Being over all.
They believe that every person on earth experiences reincarnation, starting as a flower or an animal and becoming a better person each time, and the only thing that can stop the process of reincarnation is the resolution of all Karma and the perfection of Dharma. When this happens, they go and live with the gods of the universe. During this time, the reincarnation process continues until they reach ‘Enlightenment’, thus receiving ‘Moksha’, and living amongst the stars, which is more an eternal state of mind than a place.
Most practicing Hindus don’t identify as a specific denomination, however religious academia have separated the religion into four different groups. Vaishnavism, which worships Vishnu as God, Shaivism, which worships Shiva as God, Shaktism, which worships Shakti, a power personified as a female Goddess, and Smartism, which worships five or six separate entities as the Supreme God.
Buddhism. This is a nontheistic religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. It is a religion that is based around the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, meaning ‘awakened one’. His teachings are used to help people end suffering, ignorance, craving, and selfishness, eventually reaching the ultimate happiness, known as Nirvana.
They believe that all negative thoughts, known as ‘delusions’, can be resolved by meditating. They also believe in four cycles of living: Birth, life, death, and rebirth. This is known as reincarnation. It is believed that humans go through many lives, and only stop when Nirvana is reached; when the desires of earthly life are no longer a part of their soul and they are truly ‘happy’.
There are two distinct branches of Buddhism. ‘Theravada’ and ‘Mahayana’. A third, named ‘Vajrayana’, is often thought to be a third branch, but the general consensus is that it is merely a part Mahayana.
Wiccanism. This is a Pagan religion known for its use of witchcraft. It originated in England in the twentieth century and is a duotheistic religion.
Wiccans believe in gender polarity, worshiping a Moon Goddess and a Horned God. These are believed to be the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine, however in some forms of Wicca, they are believed to be part of the same godhead.
It’s believed that all plants and animals are to be treated with respect, as the Divine are present in them.
Most Wiccans choose not to focus on an afterlife. Like Judaism, Wiccans focus solely on the life as it is being lived. When someone dies, they mourn not their death, but the fact that they are no longer a part of the living. They believe that the soul is reincarnated into another person.
There are 15+ denominations of Wicca.
Non-religion-
Atheism. This is a lack of religion, and those who choose to follow this way of life believe that there is no supreme ruler or deities in charge of the universe.
They generally do not believe in any sort of supernatural beings, such as ghosts or angels or demons, and most believe that there is no Heaven and no Hell.
Some atheists believe in reincarnation, stating that as humans are made of energy, there has to be a place for the energy to go when we die. Atheism, though, varies from person to person as it is not a religion and has no core beliefs.
The only aspect of Atheism that stands true for each and every Atheist is that there is no god. Any other belief is subject to the individual.
Agnosticism. This is the belief that Gods, supreme rulers, or any other type of supernatural or metaphysical deities cannot possibly be proven true or untrue.
They believe that humans are not mentally or physically capable of proving or disproving the existence of such deities. Most Agnostics literally just do not know whether or not god, Heaven, Hell, or anything along those lines exist, and choose not to try to understand them.
Like Atheism, each individual is different, and various beliefs may be different from person to person.
When creating your world, you don’t have to use a religion that is already in existence. Use your imagination! Create your own.
Some basic steps to creating a religion:
Determine whether the religion has one god or many, and how many there are.
Determine from where the religion originated. (What country, state, nation, or the like.)
Set up a doctrine of beliefs. How practitioners of the religion feel about things such as social and mental states, the afterlife, basic steps to being a good person, etc.
Determine who created the religion. Was it one person? Was it a group of people? Was it no one? Did it originate from stories or folklore?
Determine whether it is only practiced by a certain type of people. (Such as people from a specific part of the world, a certain gender or race.)
When creating your world, there are many questions to ask yourself about religion. The most important being, does your world have it?
Here are some other questions to answer regarding religion and your story.
Does the god in your religion actually exist? i.e. does it actually have the power to affect the goings-on in your story? If not, it’s probably more of prop than a main plot point.
Is there more than one religion? Do they get along?
Is religion pertinent to the plot?
Does it further the story?
Does it affect your characters? If so, positively or negatively?
Does it cause strife or conflict between certain people?
So, in short, religion can either be very important, or not at all in your story. You don’t have to use a previously-established religion, but you can if you want. Answer the above questions, and then you should be set!
Thanks for reading, and if you have any further questions or comments, please leave a message in our askbox.
-Laikyn
More Information On:
Christianity: [x] [x]
Islam [x] [x]
Judaism [x] [x]
Sikhism [x] [x]
Hinduism [x] [x]
Buddhism [x] [x]
Wiccanism [x] [x]
Atheism [x] [x]
Agnosticism [x] [x]
Writing Sex
Okay, so I saw a post recently on writing sex, and it got me thinking about some things. What is the best way to incorporate sex scenes into fiction?
I think it really depends on the mood and tone of the story/poem/novel. Unless you are writing specifically children or teen lit, I think anything sexual is fair game, although the words you use and the amount of detail you go into will shape the tone of your story. A lot of the time, the build-up to sex is much more important to focus on than the actual sex in writing fiction. Focusing on emotions between the two characters, physical sensations they encounter at the thought of sex, and the way the two people fall into bed together will help keep your otherwise serious mystery novel with a side of romance from turning into porn. Describing sex acts in detail and using specific words for genitalia, in my opinion, cheapens the work and can make it tawdry rather than titillating.
Of course, you’re not always trying to say the same thing, and a lot of how sex scenes function is determined by the plot and characters. I find that when my characters are having a sexual encounter that is awkward, uncomfortable, frightening, traumatic, dangerous, etc., I will go into more specific detail about the actual sex acts, whereas in writing a scene between two people in love, I will be much more vague and focus more on emotions and what the scene means to them. Another instance where describing the sex more specifically can be necessary is if it’s a character’s first time; going through how the character is taking it all in, what he/she doesn’t know about what he/she is doing, what feels new, good, wrong, etc. can be helpful in moving the story along, if it is a virginal scene.
Most importantly, I think it’s just good to remember to use sex scenes the way you would any other scene: if it’s essential to furthering the plot or the development of the characters, go for it. If it’s not, leave it out.
What do you other writerly folks think? How/when/why do you write sex scenes?
Character Development Questions for RPers
Inspired by 10 Steps To Creating Memorable Characters: Forms, Checklists and Exercises
What are your their priorities?
At their best, they are:
At their worst, they are:
How do they see themselves?
How does it differ from the way others see them?
How do they react to arguments?
What do they do when they want to impress people?
What trait in others do they find admirable?
Are they more of an optimist or a pessimist?
What is the worst thing someone could do to them?
What is something that would make them upset enough to cry?
Are they more of a leader or a follower?
What are their responsibilities, or at least, what do they see as being their responsibilities?
What frightens them most?
What sort of physical quirks do they have when they are bored or otherwise stationary (tapping fingers, shaking leg, biting lip, etc)?
How do they react to social situations?
How have their parents influenced them?
What is their role in their social circle? What do they bring to the table?
How do they feel about the way they look?
Describe their living space, be it a bedroom, apartment, or entire house.
What are their best and worst memories?
What do they do when they’re upset?
If their personality and disposition were a bit of scenery, describe it, from flora and fauna to weather.
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions:
Taken from the Nanowrimo forums. For my future reference. I might just answer questions later, or post my own answers as well.
What kind of shoes do people wear?
Do they have guns?
As a culture, do they prefer sweet foods or savory foods? (or spicy?)
Do they have horses? Other large pack animals?
How do your people typically dance, and when?
What kind of food do your people eat, and how is it grown?
What are your people’s death customs? Cremation, burial, something else? Is there any kind of mourning ritual?
In your world, is the country ruled by one family/king, or by several?
What education is available?
What is the economy of your world like? If there are several countries, what resources do they trade, and what do they need to import to survive?
What kind of opportunities and power do women have?
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Personality Types
Here is a test is based on Carl Jung’s and Isabel Briggs Myers’ typological approach to personality.
Here is an Enneagram personality test.
You can take them in character, or look up the different types and then assign the one that you think fits your character best.
Enjoy!
Small Prologue
Show a thief a safe, and he will undoubtedly come back and take it for his own. He will not lie to you. He will always be bluntly obvious about his deceptions. You will know, one way or another, that once he is done with you, you will have your pockets cleared of anything valuable they once possessed. But you will have expected that of him. Show an officer of the law that same safe, and you take a chance on whether or not you will ever see it again. He might tell you he will guard it with his life, but no one can really trust the spoken word anymore. For while he is assuring you he will never let another man touch it, he is holding the key behind his back. This you are surprised by. Which do you find more wicked? The conman who told you that you were going to be deceived? Or the lawman that fooled you into thinking you were safe for harm? True, there is always an exception to the rules. There can be a bad criminal and there can be a decent officer. Just remember that there can also be an opposite to this exception. How many times have you heard stories of a crooked cop, or tales of a heroic villain? A twisted world it will be when those rules mentioned above are applied. Yet in today’s world in today’s society, such rules can apply almost instantly without any kind of hesitation. Take a look around. Decide for yourself. Which category do you fit in? Which world is yours? Is it a law-abiding universe? Or is it a thief’s world?
((Would really like some feedback if anyone has the time. Thanks for taking a look.))