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Writing Checklist
I thought this up ages ago and have tried to use it each time I write something. Generally, I've failed dismally. This NaNoWriMo attempt I'm trying to find ways to force myself to use it.
People have different traits, mental capabilities, blind spots, and failings... annoying & pleasant attributes & quirks
things to mention in a story
settings:- time
- color
- bright/dark
- size
- temperature
- humidity
- texture
- wet/dry/sticky
- soft/hard
- shiny/dull
- smell -- mainline to emotions
- sounds
- echoic/dead ambience
- loud/quiet ambience
- height
- angle (incline/lean/point of view)
- activity/peacefulness
- relaxed/tension
People have different traits, mental capabilities, blind spots, and failings... annoying & pleasant attributes & quirks
- clothes
- hair
- color
- style
- length
- shiny/dull
- eyes
- iris
- pupils
- lashes
- eye shape
- eyebrow
- height
- build
- mouth
- fingernails
- earrings, other piercings
- ornaments:
- necklace
- brooch
- rings
- anklets
- bracelets
- watch
- belt
- footwear & gloves
- mood
- personality
- quickness of mind
- irascibility/calmness
- perceptiveness
- observant
- judgemental/tolerant
- needing approval/confident
- quiet/loud
- fast/slow talker
- graceful movements/clumsy
- suave/awkward
- centered-calm/flighty-excitable
- nervous/self-assured/defensive
- open to new things/entrenched
- mannerisms (voluntary & involuntary)
- habits of speech (common phrases)
- flexible/obstinate
- optimist/pessimist
- sense of humor/serious
- verbal skills
- trusting/suspicious
- care of physical appearance
- physique (endo/meso/ectomorph)
Characters make mistakes:
- misinterpret what others mean
- go the wrong way
- look in wrong direction
- pick up wrong thing
- jump to wrong conclusion
Characters say/do unexpected things
Characters look before they leap and question before they do
Make use of characters' lack of knowledge to ask questions in order to make expository lumps more digestible (e.g. "What was the name of that thing that 'death' carries?" "A scythe?" "Yes, he cut the weeds with a scythe.")
use unexpected things -- they are refreshing
Useful to punctuate the story with comedy as relief from the drama and expository bits.
Wall-to-wall dialogue can be a problem. It helps to have significant quiet spaces.
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Did I mention what an anal-retentive freak I've become? :)
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I'm finding it helpful for me. I've altered the people parts of the list slightly, joining them into one and I've been filling out copies of it for each of the characters. It has the effect of bringing them clearly into my mind's eye. My head is very foggy from this damn medication so I kinda need tools like this at the moment I think. (I'll be so glad when I'm back to normal in February.)
Actually, I'll re-edit the list above to be the same as what I'm using.
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(Anonymous) 2007-10-23 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)Characters Characteristics
(Anonymous) 2007-10-26 04:35 am (UTC)(link)I see my characters moving and talking in my brain. It is only if they start multiplying in number (or if there are many similar characters), or the work gets really long - that I feel the need to create a separate document with brief descriptions of the main characters or of significant places in the work. Sometimes I do timelines or chapter summaries too if there ends up being a lot going on!
But it is create first - annotate later.
Otherwise it is a bit too much like role-playing :-)
MFG.
Re: Characters Characteristics
I've been trying to use it as a way to get me to think in different ways from what I would normally... with limited success. But one thing it has helped me do is bring some of the characters more clearly into my mind's eye.
I'm trying to do my writing a different way this time than what I usually do. It will be interesting (to me at least) to see how it works. I've been compiling extensive notes about the plot and the characters over the past week. It has already produced some pleasant surprises in making the story work better than how I'd originally envisioned.
One of the reasons I'm putting so much effort into this preparation is that I'm quite worried that the medication I'm taking for this infection is making it difficult for me to think agilely. I'm scared that this NaNo will flop badly due to my limited ability to think and my constant tiredness. So, I guess I'm trying to make the writing easier so I can just relax and create.
I hope it works. :)
Guess we'll find out soon. Just another 5 days till it starts... [gulp]