Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Getting in Touch with Characters

There are many tools that writers use to get to know their characters. I have a couple that are tried and true for me. One has always been creating them physically with TS2. The other is creating a mosaic of their likes and traits. I did mosaics for my central characters in The Sweet Spot although I did not follow the usual 12 things. What I did was look for images that reflected who they are and what has affected their lives. These may not make much sense since you don't know them yet but you will one day.

Without giving too much away, please meet my central characters ~

Tate James Cavanaugh
Tate's Mosaic Revised
Age: 28
Vital Stats: Height - 6'3" Weight - 205 lbs
Description: Dark brown hair, thick and wavy; compelling blue-green eyes
Traits: Honorable, predatory grace, generous, charismatic, laid back, protective
Star Sign: Scorpio
Siblings: Older brother, Jack; Younger sister, Poppy

1. Rule 10: The Eyes Are The Window To The Soul - The Can Betray You, 2. Baseball: Seasoned Leather, 3. catcher's gear, 4. Bay Bridge, 5. kiss, 6. The Sweet Spot, 7. Untitled, 8. Knight in Shining Armor, 9. H is for Honor, 10. Laid Back, 11. sweet spot, 12. www.flickr.com/photos/jpnaddct/2866420944/

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

*****

Wilhelmina Skye Reed (Willa)
Willa B&W
Age: 24
Vital Stats: Height - 5'7"  Weight - 127 lbs 
Description: Curly brown hair with gold highlights; citrine-colored eyes
Traits: Rich, stubborn, smart, wildly independent, perfectionist, caged, romantic
Star Sign: Pisces
Siblings: Only child

1. dirty girl, 2. 365.129 - Criminal, 3. Runaway bride?, 4. Brookdale Lodge 20080614-023, 5. Lighthouse at Pidgeon Point, 6. Sleeping Beauty's Prince Phillip, 7. Daddy's little angel, 8. a prayer for the wild at heart kept in cages, 9. Happy FUTAB!, 10. 127/365, 11. 301/365 Runaway Child [Explored], 12. waiting

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

9 comments:

  1. Oooh, I love character mosaics, and these are great ones!!! :)

    And if I might make a guess, I'd say she's going to do a number on him! She seems like a very bold woman. Can't wait to read more about them both.

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  2. Laura thanks! I really love creating mosaics as well. They are almost a prerequisite for me now. Willa is very bold but Tate can handle her. I am very excited about these two and cannot wait to finish their story! I suppose I should have revealed a little more about them...

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  3. ~ and I added links to the original images I used ~

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  4. I always love your mosaics. Very intrigued about these characters. Can't wait to meet them on the pages :)

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  5. Thanks! I really enjoy doing them. I hope you will find these characters as engaging as I do!

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  6. I adore both of these characters and I LOVE the mosaics. WRITE. MORE.

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  7. I was happy with these mosaics myself but then I always love the finished product despite the work that goes into creating them.

    I am multi-tasking today. Writing, sorting through CC, organizing and doing mindless things to distract me from the monotony.

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  8. Gayl, your characters sound amazing! I am hoping this is a romance, yes? Yes? Yes?! LOL! You know I love a good romance, these two already sound like explosion waiting to happen! Whatever it's about, I would love to read anything you do. :)

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  9. Emily! Thank you, I am excited about these characters. It is a romance and these two are very explosive! Thank you so much for leaving me a comment. I hope you will be reading this soon.

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