Sunday Salon: What a character!

Captain Jack Sparrow
My mind has been on characters lately especially since my son is on a Pirates of the Caribbean kick and we've been watching the first three movies over and over again.   Thankfully the movies are interesting so the repetition lends itself to studying the characters, noticing different things each time.  Makes me wish I could draw faces better because I get a picture in my mind's eye of what my characters should look like and makes me want to see them since I'm a very visual person.  Their looks gives me insight into their character.  KWIM.  Which is why love the internet and all the wonderful professional model and talent agency sites out there.  Have always been able to find a picture to match the idea I have in my mind's eye of the character.  I found my Layla and Paul.


Aren't they cute.  Now I can start working on their profiles.  Plus, a couple years back I downloaded Holly Lisle's Create a Character Clinic but never did anything with it. Guess I needed a couple more writing years under my belt to make use of it.  I printed it all off yesterday, put it in a binder and will be working on the course for this round.   One of my goals at the start of the year was to take a writing course of some sort.   Now I'm ready for it.   I also excited because K.M. Weiland's just launched her latest book Outlining your Novel and it arrived UPS on Friday.  I love her blog - she always has something wise to share.

As far as my goals last week I failed. I was overly ambitious in thinking I could complete character sheets for 4 characters.  Lots of distractions.  I started the Novel Bible but need to get a bit more organized.  My brain had been totally wrapped up in my last WIP and finishing the first draft.  Guess I needed a break to refocus my brain on Eyes in the Ashes.  So my goals this week are 

1)  complete character study on Layla
2)  Start Section one of Character Clinic 
3)  Read Chapter one of Outlining Your Novel
4)  Organize Novel Bible
5)  DYI MFA - Work on reading list 
6)  Treadmill workout - one hour a day 4 times a week
7)  Visit and comment on at least 5 rowers every day  - We have lots of newbies this round so lets give them alot of encouragement. 

Speaking of which, ROW80 has a group on Facebook and the twitter hashtag is #row80.  Check out how everyone else is doing and what their goals are for this week.

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.  ~Toni Morrison


8 comments:

  1. I know what my characters look like in my mind but I also enjoy having a visual too. It helps me create their personalities better.

    Good luck with your goals for the rest of the challenge!

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  2. Robin,
    I sometimes have an idea in my mind, but I really like the idea of looking for a picture. I think it would help me work through some of the characteristics.

    I'll be following you and shamelessly mining your ideas from the craft books and workshops you're reading. If I find anything useful, I'll be glad to pass it on.

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  3. I think it's very helpful to have faces in mind when you're writing about characters. The two you chose have friendly faces.

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  4. what is the novel bible? I only ever had 1 picture years ago when visitng a house with a lot of males in it I saw a beautiful face on their 'supect' calender in the loo - I brought her home with me and thought of the story (20 yrs ago) she is about to be revived in NaNo!

    I try and get around as many as possible - easier as the round continues!

    all the best for coming week

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  5. Fun to re-watch Pirates of the Caribbean!

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  6. I like your idea for visualizing your characters...I'll check that out! I must admit that I have character files with descriptions, but sometimes the "visuals" are not as clear to me.


    Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a great week.

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  7. Terrific goals, Robin. I'll have to feature another link-back to your blog for the writing course and book...You're filling up my educational reading pile! Ha.

    I like the idea that you can create/fill in a lot more personality once you've got a picture in mind (or in front of you) of your characters. I may borrow that technique and see if it helps me along.

    My boys are on a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 kick right now. Netflix is fantastic!
    ~ Nadja

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  8. Sounds like you're moving right along even if you did need to adjust. I might track down pics when I get to redo my character sheets. best of luck for the week

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