Create a character by conducting an interview. Interview your character before you start writing so you can immerse yourself completely in who they are and what they stand for. Interview them and find out who they are.
Why Interview Your Character Before You Start Writing?
When you completely know your character before you start writing, you will have a better understanding of how they will react in different situations. Your character will be more three-dimensional if you know who they are before you start writing.
Your character will be three-dimensional and not flat if you spend time thinking about how they think and feel about life. If you know your character's worldview it will be easier to keep their personality consistent throughout the story, and you will have a better understanding of how your character will grow and change as they deal with conflict.
37 Questions to Ask Your Characters
These questions will help you find out if your character is kind, honest, loyal, or trustworthy. These questions focus on how your characters think, not what they look like. We will develop their appearance later when the photographer arrives to photograph your characters.
10 Questions
- What did you eat for breakfast? Did you make it yourself? What time do you eat breakfast? Do you wash the pan after you cook the eggs or do you leave it for the maid to clean? Do you have a maid?
- Do you have a cat? How many cats do you have? Do you wish you were a cat? How many litter boxes do you have? Do you clean the litter boxes every day? Or does your maid clean the litter boxes?
- Do you go our for lunch or bring a sack lunch? Do you take an extra long lunch break and charge the company?
- Are you an only child? How many siblings do you have? Are you close or are you estranged?
- If you are adopted, do you know your birth parents? Do you want to find them?
- Do you call your mother every day, or only on her birthday, Mother's Day, and Christmas? Are your parents alive?
- Do you like to cook? Do you use recipes or make up your own recipes? Do you eat out every night?
- Do you put both socks on first, or one sock, one shoe?
- Do you have a dog? Is the dog a rescue dog or bought from a breeder?
- Or perhaps a hamster? Or do you have any pets?
11 More Questions
- Do you iron your clothes? Who does your laundry? Do you do it yourself or do you send it out?
- Are you married? Are you divorced? How many times have you been married?
- Do you brush and floss your teeth before you go to bed? Do you use an electric toothbrush and a water pick?
- Do you have any cavities?
- Are those your real teeth, or are they dentures, or are they all capped?
- What do you throw into the garbage? Do you recycle?
- Do you live in an apartment or a house?
- Do you own your own home or rent?
- Do you mow your own lawn or use a landscape service?
- Have you ever had a garden?
- Have you ever eaten a carrot right out of the ground?
16 More Questions
- Do you pick your nose?
- Do you bite your fingernails? Do you have any bad habits?
- What is your earliest memory?
- Do you hold the door open for the person behind you or do you let it go and slam in their face?
- Do you take chicken soup to your elderly neighbor when they are sick?
- If you had a dog, would you pick up your dog's poop when you go for a walk or sneak off and hope no one saw your dog poop on their lawn?
- If your boss asked you to cheat on your invoice and bill your client for extra hours, would you do it?
- On Monday morning, are you excited to go to work, or are you sad?
- If you could go back in time for one day, where would you go?
- You can cure one disease. Which one would you cure?
- Do you honk at the car in front of you if they didn’t see the light turn green?
- Do you exercise or are you a coach potato?
- If a Boy Scout comes to your door selling popcorn, do you hide in the kitchen or buy popcorn?
- Have you ever served in the military?
- What is your greatest fear?
- Would you like me to get you a glass of water? Or would you rather have soda? Wine? Whiskey?
Know Your Characters
Questions like these can help you know your character better. If you'd like even more, read this famous list of 35 questions French novelist Marcel Proust was asked by a friend when he was fourteen years old.
Think of other questions you would like to use in your interview. What questions will help you understand your character's personality, motivations, and goals?
I wonder how your characters in your current story would answer these questions?
What questions would you want to ask your character in an interview? Let me know in the comments section.
PRACTICE
Take fifteen minutes to get to know your character better. Using the above list, interview a character in a story you have already written, or interview a new character for a new story you are writing.
After you have interviewed your character, place your character in line at a department store waiting to return a pair of shoes. Based on your interview with your character, how do you think they will react to a long line and one teller?
It will be interesting to see how characters from different writers will respond to the same situation.
Please share what you have written in the comments and read and comment on someone else's story. We can share our writing and support each other.
xo
Pamela
Aw, man, this looks like fun, but I don’t think my current character qualifies. The downside of writing historical fiction. Either way, love this list, although I respectfully disagree with your stance. I write the book and let the character ‘tell me’ who they are along the way. It makes it interesting, for me, when I start the book while not really knowing the character.
Great, fun post, though. Can’t wait to see the other responses!
Same here, I’m writing historical fiction and none of the characters can answer some of these questions! By the way, your way of getting to know your character is interesting, but how do you let him/her tell you about what they are like? By how they respond to the situations you put them in, for example, or something different?
Yes, pretty much. It’s hard to explain, but I pretty much have to really, really become them (as in, leave reality for awhile!). I start off with a basic shell of a character (name, a bit of background, occupation, etc.), and work from there. As the story progresses and plot twists come up, I look at the character so far and judge how someone like them would respond. How they respond to that determines how they respond to the next problem, and so forth. By the end of the story I have a real, fleshed-out character who is beter than I expected. I used this method with the book I just published, and it seemed to have worked. I hope this helps!
(P.S., what era do you write? Mine is 1st century Israel, Biblical-based)
They have method acting, and then there’s method writing. It takes a toll. -_-‘
Hi Reagan/Riff, wanted to chip in since you both said your characters can’t answer these questions since you write historical fiction. I dabble in fan fiction and found these questions a little strange for my characters to answer too. But it was still a useful exercise because putting my characters in situations I’ve never considered before (Eg ‘Have you ever eaten a carrot straight out of the ground?’) helps me find another dimension of their personalities.
Like I have this very prim and proper character who’s a museum director. So her first response to the carrot question would be ‘No, of course not!’ I can imagine her wrinkling her nose in disgust at the very question. But she could also go the other way. I can see a mischievous smile forming and her leaning forward to whisper ‘This is going to sound weird, but back when I was in school…’ Both are avenues for me to further explore the character.
But you have to decide how she feels about the person asking…which is another avenue to further explore the character. 🙂
Oh, that’s true. Hadn’t considered that, thanks for pointing it out! Always happy to find new ways of getting to know characters better.
Sure does 🙂 It sounds fun as well as rewarding. I might try it out.
(My current WIP is in the 19th century)
Reagan,
I love your approach. Letting your character tell you who they are as you write. Like discovering a new friend.
xo
Pamela
That’s exactly what it’s like, and it makes writing that much more fun! Thanks, Pamela! 🙂
I have the habit of building my main character around a real person, someone I know well; a family member, a friend, a movie star, singer, a celebrity. Seeing the person in my mind’s eye, helps me to create the story.
I love your list of questions, Pamela. Here’s a few others I usually ask.
1) What feature do you like best in a person’s face?
2) Do you like being in company?
3) Do you like team work or tackling a job alone?
4) Do you like children?
5) What’s your favourite colour?
Please ask Harper if he likes being with other cats. Minnie has three friends now, and she looks for them each morning when I let her into the garden.
Hugs and blessings to you and the cat clan.
Hello Lillian,
Harper says she likes other cats. However, poor thing, she never gets to go outside. She says hello to Minnie.
Thank you for sharing the questions you usually ask.
I hope you and Minnie are well.
xo
Pamela and Harper
He is obviously aggravated. Why is the shoe department always understaffed? What happened to the days when the sales person conversed with you, learning a bit about you in order to suggest a second pair of shoes for some other function than the ones you came in to try? Who sat you down and even though you know your shoe size,would immediately put your foot in a Brannock device and measure it?
The longer he waits, the more agitated he becomes, sighing and repeating under his breath”Come on, already!”
Me, in this situation. You’ve written a character with whom I can identify.
LOL, thanks.
Hi debbi,
Love all of the questions at the beginning. I can feel his frustrations by all of the questions.
He is obviously aggravated, sighing and repeating under his breath, “Come on, already.”
What about putting the first sentence at the end? Then I can see his aggravation before you tell me what is obvious.
xo
Pamela
Good suggestion, thanks.
Excellent use of detail here! Nothing felt superfluous, and even though it was a brief piece, it captured who this man is.
Thank you!
Thanks!
Beautifully written article. I like to surprise my readers by letting them discover how my characters react in certain situations. I do use the interview method for them when I need to know the basics though.
Hello James,
Thank you for your kind words. I just thought flowers were beautiful.
Sometimes I just start writing because I don’t know who the character is yet.
Letting your readers discover your characters is a fun way to meet them. The interview is to help the writer know them better before they start writing.
xo
Pamela
“This is incompetence,” Coral muttered and began to count the people in front of her again. Seven. Eight. Nine. She glanced back to see three more people behind her. She shifted her weight to the other leg, her feet aching. The irony tickled her.
“Hey,” she said to the man in front of her.
He didn’t respond.
“Hey,” she repeated. “You.”
“What?” he asked, looking up. “Me?”
“Yeah, you. What kind of shoes are you buying?”
“The red ones that were on display.”
“Oh,” she said, pushing her eyebrows up. “I got some of those last week. I had to return them.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah. The soles came right out. I would put them back if I were you.”
“Oh….thanks for the warning.” He looked wistfully at the box and stepped out of line.
“Bye,” she sang and stepped forward.
Four. Five. Six. Seven.
The girl now ahead of her had earbuds in. Coral reached forward and tapped her on the shoulder.
This made me chuckle. I love that so much of Coral’s identity is left for the reader to surmise.
Oh so devious I love it… job well done
Thanks for reading and thank you for the feedback. I feel very encouraged. 😀 Gracias!
Hello Zerelda,
haha, I love your character too. She is funny and resourceful.
xo
Pamela
Thanks! I’ve spent a lot more time developing characters this time round and it looks like it’s paying off. Your article has some questions that I’m finding to be very helpful. 🙂
Yeah, I kinda like that too- I mean, thanks! 🙂
hee hee hee; please write more with Coral!!! She’s a Hoot!!!
Thank you! I should probably go to bed, but if write more I’ll put it here – https://www.wattpad.com/user/TheQueenZerelda
Delightfully mischievous, Coral! How many different stories did you use?
Amazing what you accomplished, Zerelda, with so few words. Very fun.
Thanks! I’m very happy with how it turned out. 😀 If only I could duplicate.
Haha, love this! Subtle and funny. This is a complete story in itself, love how you did it in so few words!
Thanks! (I feel a need to reply to ever comment. Probably just to say, “received and thank you for reading”.)
You’re welcome! I understand that compulsion, haha.
Coral sounds like a fun character for a reader to follow! Great work!
Thank you!
I’m writing about a cat and he’s pretty feisty. I’m just now getting to know about cats. I knew a little about their nature, but, had no idea of my journey into their lives. (When I was a little girl, my uncle’s 1st wife had a cat. My parents were pet parents because they needed to watch him while they were away. One morning, my sister and I were on the couch and it leaped up on the back of it and the sun flashed in his eyes. They turned red! I was so scared. Sorry to say, that one incident made me dislike cats.) True story. So, my character probably won’t like all of those questions. They will get on his “Cat nerves.”
My apologies to Harper. But, I may be coming around so, it will take some time. I’m hopeful. I had a wonderful German Shepard growing up, he never left my heart.
Hello LaCresha Lawson,
Oh, a cat with red eyes would be scary. I understand how the cat made a lasting impression on you. Harper doesn’t mind. She will always love you.
You have made me realize how the writers life influences how they write their stories.
Yes, the questions would get on your characters “cat nerves.”
Do you have a photograph of the German Shepard you had growing up? I never had dogs as a child only cats. But, as an adult I had one, Sally. She lived to fourteen.
I hope you are well.
xo
Pamela
Thank you for your kind words! They are well taken. And, thank you Harper for helping me feel better about my feelings of that traumatic incident. I will fight that fear every step of the way. Also, I will ask my Mom about the picture of that cute puppy we raised. As always, take care my friends.
My character is a teenager battling amnesia and a physical handicap. That led to a lot of “I don’t know/I don’t remember” answers. (Indeed, I know more about her than she does.) Here she is, waiting in that line:
Akiko held the shoebox under her arm. She had asked Mrs. Olsen if she could return the shoes herself, but she knew Mrs. Olsen was watching her. That was what made Mrs. Olsen a good foster mother. She was always concerned about Akiko.
The line moved slowly. People in the line, both in front of and behind her, grumbled. Akiko quickly surmised there was only one person at the customer service counter. Somewhere ahead of her, a woman was complaining, demanding another register be opened. In front of that woman (at the register, Akiko assumed) a man shouted, “It’s right there on the receipt, are you blind?”
Akiko suppressed a chuckle. The man’s words were insensitive, of course, but nevertheless she found it funny. She made a point of tapping her cane gently on the floor as the line moved up. Unlike the people around her, she felt tranquil. She wondered if that stemmed from her martial arts training. So many people around her seemed to be frustrated with the line. But Akiko was far more frustrated at not knowing anything about her parents, about her past. She knew the line was long. She did not know, in effect, who she was.
I love that thought, “I know more about her than she does”. It’s so stark and tragic. *highfive*
I also suppressed a chuckle, but failed. Wow, there is so much story squeezed into so few words. It has to be read slowly. Which I think is excellent. It’s feels three-dimensional. *secret handshake*
I would mention that since you start with the point about the foster mother and then end with a related point, they get separated. It threw me off a little, but if the excerpt continued it would make an excellent launch pad and as it is it brings the excerpt to a focused ending- as in, it brings the main conflict of the story to the forefront (that seems to sound right.)
Thanks so much. I think I understand your final paragraph. This scene probably won’t make it into the novel, but I’ve placed it right at the end of the exposition, just before everything hits the fan.
Oh, yeah, I can see that being very effective. 🙂
I like how tranquil this character seems. Most people would be annoyed or frustrated about being stuck in an unmoving line, but Akiko’s amnesia actually seems to make her calmer. Also enjoy how you tied her lack of frustration with the line to her backstory! It weaves in naturally and makes me want to know more.
Thanks so much! It is encouraging to know you want to know more about Akiko’s story. While this scene probably won’t make it into the novel, I’ve placed it just before everything hits the fan, at the very end of the exposition.
Bruce,
Thank you for putting Akiko in the shoe line. Her character is so alive. I loved the joke about “are you blind?” And how you didn’t tell us, “she was blind,” but showed us by her tapping her cane.
I would love to read more about her. I am frustrated too, who are her parents, what is her past.
xo
Pamela
Thanks, Pamela. It is encouraging to know you want to know more of her story. I’ve enjoyed the exercises at The Write Practice as they have given me an opportunity to try writing from the perspective of a blind person.
Overall this was very good, with nice details and flow. There were a couple bits of information at the end though, about the martial arts and her amnesia, that felt stuck on. Be sure to show and not tell!
Thanks. I’m still working on showing rather than telling. It is a particular challenge in this case as Akiko has recently discovered she must have had martial arts training in the past (because she is a skilled martial artist) but has no memory of it.
These are some cool questions – some I had never thought of. One of my characters is named Toni Rogers and he is a rich Prince in disguise and lives in a castle. He and several of his friends were interviewed. One of the questions he was asked was what does he do for fun, he said volunteer with habitat for humanity. The reason, he wants to be an example to others.
Hello Debra Johnson,
How have you been? It is nice to see you again.
Toni Rogers is very kind to be an example to others. I hope the questions helped you know more about your characters.
xo
Pamela
I’ve been good. Went through a rough patch there with my writing but have found a new muse and he’s great. Working on a 2 part crime story,,, and finding new life for it. Its so comforting to be able to get excited about writing again.
A lot of these questions apply to a modern setting, but it’s not as though they can’t be of use to someone writing about an older or futuristic time period. I guess you could even try to see how your character would react if they WERE from our world, or were suddenly placed here! Either way, it sounds like lots of fun–so let me disappear for a while to interview some of my characters.
Hello Ai-tama,
Hmm, I hadn’t realized the questions were for a modern setting. I will have to be more aware of my preconceived notion of where the character is. It would be sad to limit the character to a time period during the interview.
I look forward to meeting one of your characters in a shoe line. If they have shoes in their time period.
xo
Pamela
No, it’s perfectly fine! Like I said, the majority of these questions can be modified to fit any setting. But thanks for taking the time to read my comment!
Great post!! You always make me chuckle. I have asked real people several of these questions, for example, nos. 6 and 8 (particularly this one) in the “10 Questions” and nos. 4 and 9 in the “16 More Questions.” Some folks thought I was the weird one . . . imagine that!!
Hello Okie Writer,
Glad to bring you a chuckle.
If you could back in time for one day, where would you go? I want to go to 1932, and meet my grandmother before she died.
Weird is really creative in disguise.
All my best,
xo
Pamela
Pamela, These are great questions. My son and I are writing a YA mystery together. We will have fun answering these. Thank you
Hello CHERRILYN BISBANO,
How fun to write a YA mystery with your son! I hope you had fun answering the questions with your son.
You are very welcome.
If you and your son write about one of your characters in the shoe line, please post it here.
xo
Pamela
She knew she would regret buying that pair of shoes. She only ever wore heels, for work, and slippers, for home, so buying that pair of fancy high-heeled boots was completely unnecessary. Why had she bought it anyway? Expressing her unconscious desire for the day her life would be more than just work and an empty home?
Going shopping for shoes had taken a precious thirty minutes out of her already-full day. Coming back to return them was going to take another ten minutes at least. She did the mental calculations as she backed into a finally-available parking lot. Five minutes from the carpark to the store, five minutes to locate the refunds counter, five minutes to talk to the staff, or ten if they didn’t want to give her a refund.
She didn’t think she’d have much trouble on that score, though. If she could ‘persuade’ a lazy waitress to show up for work on time and cajole a set of circuit boards to become a functioning machine, getting a shoe-store guy to help her out shouldn’t be a problem.
Refunds counter. She hadn’t shopped enough to use it before, but had no trouble finding it. She could read signs, after all. The overhead arrow promised she’d find it ‘fifty metres up ahead’, so at first she sailed straight past the twenty-deep queue of people without connecting the dots between it and her destination.
Then she realized that the queue ended – or rather, started – at the counter, above which was perched a big downwards-pointing arrow. Refunds counter.
She hadn’t forgotten that it was Christmas again, had she? She quickly checked her phone calendar. No, it was firmly in the middle of a very boring August. Then why on earth was everyone and their mother recreating the Great Wall of China in the middle of this department store? On the one blue-moon night that she, Kendall Morgan, decided to venture into an area that wasn’t her workplace?
Again she did the math. Given that the single teller at the counter was in danger of being outpaced by a glacier, she didn’t see the twenty-man queue moving anywhere fast. She could spend the rest of her night and possibly part of next morning solidifying in the queue. Or she could bring the shoes home and…well, the eighty bucks she’d dropped on them were gone, and she definitely begrudged the closet space she’d have to make for the shoes, but at least she could spend her night solidifying over work she hadn’t been able to clear, as opposed to in this queue.
Or hey, she could bring the shoes to work with her the next day. Too many of her employees had been underperforming. Maybe she could finally give them the boot.
Stella,
Your character was very real in the shoe line story word prompt. I felt like I was with her as she saw the Great Wall of Chine shoe line. Funny ending with, “Maybe she could finally give them the boot.”
Is she from a work in progress or a new character. She is very well rounded, as though she has been in your writing life for awhile.
xo
Pamela
Thanks so much for the encouraging comments everyone! Reading them made my day. Usually check The Write Practice just once a day, so coming back a day later to this feedback was so great.
Pamela, you’ve hit the nail on the head. She’s a character I’ve been struggling with for a while, because she’s very similar to myself in real life. She’s a workaholic, has a sarcastic side, doesn’t make friends easily, quite reserved around people. Which makes it easier to write her most of the time, but on the occasions where we respond differently, I hit a roadblock. Anyone have similar experiences when writing characters similar to yourself? (And Pam, thank you for the wonderful post!)
Definitely! I totally agree with you! @Stella
This is a nice little snapshot of your character! Her defining traits come across very clearly.
Thank you! Very encouraged that you liked it. Haha what would you consider to be her defining traits? (I know what about her strikes me as a writer, but curious what stands out to readers.)
I love how you give us a great idea of how impatient and even a little sarcastic your character can be. You also offer a couple of nice jokes there, which is always a treat.
Thanks! Haha I’d ask which bits you found funny, but there’s a quote I read about attempting to write humour: it’s like dissecting a frog. You can analyse what makes it work and take it apart, but nobody is interested and the frog dies in the process.
I’ve never heard a truer statement about the science that is humor. The more you think about it, the less funny it will be. Likewise, as the Joker from Batman: the Animated Series said: “If you have to explain the joke, then there IS no joke!”
I love this. The character is so relatable! (What does that say about me?) And you’ve really pinned down “show don’t tell”. Specifically the part with the line and the counter…
Thank you! Kendall’s one of my favourite characters and I’m over the moon that you relate to her too. Haha and at the risk of making you state the obvious – what DOES it say about you? Curious what aspects you related to most – shopper’s regret? Getting sarcastic when frustrated? Working too hard?
Shoppers regret, sarcasm…feeling like buying nice things is unnecessary, calculating how many minutes each part of a plan is going to take, being persuasive, having to be persuasive…though one big difference is that in that line I would just be watching people and taking notes. Oh, the freedom of non-writers to live their lives normal *lament, lament*.
“Expressing her unconscious desire for the day her life would be more than just work and an empty home?” I think everyone can relate to this.
It’s funny how purchases like that express an “unconscious desire” to fill-in-the-blank. Makes me think of that sunhat I own, and how I don’t live anywhere near a beach. The joke at the end made me smile.
I’m glad! It made my sister roll her eyes and do an extended fake laugh. And thanks for your feedback! Kendall is a character very close to my heart so every time someone relates to her, it’s like meeting a new person and realising you two have mutual friends in your best friend.
Hello Felicia,
Glad this could be helpful.
All my best,
xo
Pamela
My current WIP is scifi, so the second half of the prompt doesn’t exactly work for me, but I can post a quick Q&A with two of my characters!
What did you eat for breakfast? Did you make it yourself?
SHANNON: We take turns with the cookin’. I made pancakes this mornin’.
LEIKO: She’s been force feeding me American food.
SHANNON: (slightly wounded) I thought you liked my pancakes?
LEIKO: I do! So far I like pancakes, I like scrambled eggs, but I don’t see what all the fuss is about bacon.
Are you an only child? How many siblings do you have? Are you close or are you estranged?
SHANNON: I got a big sister, Cherry. We never got along too good, but our ma’s gettin’ on, and Pa’s not around much. We’re really all we got left in the way of family, so we’re tryin’ to patch things up.
LEIKO: I had a little sister. Her name was Ai.
Are you married? Are you divorced? How many times have you been married?
LEIKO: I was engaged for nine years. My fiancé passed away, but…well…the engagement wouldn’t have gone off anyway.
SHANNON: No, I’ve never been married. But, uh – (glances at Leiko) I’m working on that.
If you could go back in time for one day, where would you go?
LEIKO: Oh wow. That’s a tough one. There’s a lot of moments in medical history I’d love to see. Or I’d want to visit Japan on Earth Prime before the Exodus. What about you, koibito?
SHANNON: I think I’d like to see my folks when they was young. I’ve always wondered how they got to courtin’, considerin’ how their marriage went.
Would you like me to get you a glass of water? Or would you rather have soda? Wine? Whiskey?
LEIKO: You have whiskey?! Why didn’t you say so!
SHANNON: (laughing) That’s a yes for both of us on the whiskey, thank you kindly.
That was epic.
Totally epic!
Love it.
xo
Pamela
Dear Endless Exposition,
Love the dialog between two characters. They sound like real people. Like, really real.
xo
Pamela
Your characters seem like so much fun!
Shock. Horror. Does not like Bacon??? lol Heretical. Could tell right away this person in not American, being force fed American food. How funny: they’ve developed a taste for whiskey though!!
Leiko is Japanese, but when it comes to alcohol she considers herself a citizen of the world
Now i understand! :~D since it was sci fi, i thought she might be An alien…. .thank you for explaining! These two sound nicely comfortable with each other.
Thanks! This story is much more romance heavy than usual for me, so I’m glad to hear I’m doing alright.
; ) Very nicely done, then. Yay for romance, lol.
I wonder how your characters in your current story would answer these questions?
Mostly with confusion. He’s not been in a modern world for nearly a decade, and has forgotten most of what these things are. Now, Proust’s Questionnaire, on the other hand, has some questions he could answer. We’ll go with ten.
RwFoster: What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Carter Blake: Being at peace, reunited with my Rishka Keeper Dearbhaile Galadriel.
RwF: What is your greatest fear?
CB Failing to protect my loved ones and innocents.
RwF What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
CB: My recklessness. It has gotten me and others in danger too many times to count.
RwF: Which living person do you most admire?
CB Queen Adora Orwen. Her will, and intelligence, make her a formidable woman. I am glad she is on my side.
RwF: What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
CB Honor. To the dead, it doesn’t matter if you fought them sword-to-sword, or if you cut their throat while they slept. They’re still dead. Worrying too much about fighting your enemy with honor allows innocents to be put in danger through your arrogance.
RwF: On what occasion do you lie?
CB: When confronting my enemies? Almost every time I open my mouth. With my loved ones? Almost never. It is better to be honest with those you care about. In the short term, telling someone what they want to hear might make them happy, but in the long term? They’ll be – usually – pissed off. And hurt.
RwF: Which living person do you most despise?
CB: Drago the Clanless. That dwarf has cause more chaos and harm than any other I’ve met, or heard of, all to rule a single layer of the Abyss. AT the same time, his tenacity and ability to roll with setbacks is admirable. Were he not so foully evil, we might have been able to be friends.
RwF: Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
CB: According to Robilar, it is the word, “Indeed.”
RwF: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
CB: My lack of knowledge about what the Walker of Worlds is, how my powers work, and what I’m meant to do as the Walker.
RwF: What do you consider your greatest achievement?
CB: Getting Belial so angry with my snark that he forgot he wanted me alive and bellowed for his demons to kill me. All by saying he talked too much.
RwF Thank you for your time, Carter. May you find your answers.
CB: Thanks for having me, Rob, and thank you for the wish.
Dear RevDr. Robert Foster, AbC, EfG ,
A great use of the questions given to Proust. I hadn’t realized how much you can learn about a character by asking these questions. Very thoughtful. And, you make me want to know more about them.
Please say hello to your characters from me. They are real, right?
xo
Pamela
I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
This was very interesting. I’d like to read more about the world you’ve created just from reading this!
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you’re interested, The Chronicles of Carter Blake, Book I is available on Amazon. This guy is the MC of it, and the one I’ve been sharing on here lately.
I will definitely get it as soon as I’m able!
Awesome. I appreciate it. Oh, and would you do me a small, relatively painless favor? After you read it, would you leave me a review? Good, bad, or ugly.
Wow, that was pretty entertaining to read. I agree, I’d definitely want to read this story! I’m already curious as to what the Walker of the Worlds is!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
(My characters are actually from Ancient Greece, so there are no shoe stores. However, I decided to see how they would act if they were from our times. I also went a little over 15 minutes–oops!)
With the shoebox tucked under her arm, Rain made for the returns counter.
She didn’t want to return the shoes. She thought the sneakers looked awesome. But as soon as Bellanca saw that she’d bought something–gods forbid–as a treat for herself for once, her little sister nearly blew a gasket. She went on and on about Rain’s frivolity, scolding her for using her own damn money to buy something nice. Seriously, what was Bella’s deal? Rain wasn’t harming anyone. But instead of making it into an even bigger thing, Rain promised her she would just return them. If she didn’t, Bellanca would have never let her hear the end of it.
So of course, what did Rain find when she reached the returns counter? A huge line.
She groaned. She was already going out of her way to even bring the shoes back here to return them; now, she had to spend just about a million years waiting in line to actually do so.
Why in the name of sweet Mother Rhea were there so many people in this stupid line? She watched from the back of the queue as a woman with a screeching child was yelling at the poor teller, demanding to know why the kid’s light-up sneakers didn’t light up. The flustered young man was trying to explain that it must have been the batteries, which were easily replaceable. The woman would have none of it. She demanded that he go and fetch a new pair for her brat, one that actually did what it was supposed to.
The teller, not wanting to incur the wrath of the mentally unstable woman, apologized profusely, telling her that he could not leave his station. He would, however, call someone else to do the job, asking that the woman stand to the side while she waits so that he can serve the other customers.
The woman would never be so kind as to oblige. She insisted on standing right there, right at the front of the line, until she got what she and her little demon-spawn wanted.
Rain wrinkled her nose at the sight. Awful, annoying people, breeding awful, annoying children. It was people like this lady, she thought, that made the world a worse place.
Forget this, Rain thought to herself. Who knew how long it would take until this she-devil’s ridiculous desires were sated? She spun on her heel and made for the doors. Bellanca would just have to put up with the sneakers, because this was far too much trouble for a pair of shoes.
I’m glad she turns out to be spunky! At first she seemed to be Belkanca’s victim, but put up against the conflict seemed to make get stand up for herself. Nice turn around!
Thank you very much!
You’re right–Rain tends to give into her sister’s complaining a little too much, so it’s good of her to stand up for once!
Maura read the sign over the Returns Desk, the store policies
for returns and refunds. The receipt for Milo’s shoes was carefully tucked in
the box, the shoes carefully wrapped in the perfect white tissue paper. No one
could even tell Milo had tried them on. At least a dozen people in front of
her, only one cashier with a calm face, not hurrying at all, pausing to sip
from a large water bottle with ice cubes swirling with each swig. Pausing each
time she had to point to the sign with the big, bold instructions stating the
return and refund policies of McBratten’s Family Department Store.
There should be someone at the beginning of this line checking everyone’s credentials for returns, checking for the receipt, checking in the tags were still attached, checking
if the appropriate credit card, if used, were available so the credit could be
applied. If not, stand to one side and get it ready. Then people like her could
get through quickly. The instructions were easy enough to follow.
But she actually welcomed the few minutes she would be delayed by this line returning her son’s shoes. It gave her more time to think what she wanted to say to Milo, how to
react with him about finding out he had done absolutely no homework at all for
the last nine weeks. She thought she should have been checking more thoroughly
on him, but he was in fifth grade already. He was supposed to be old enough to
take on responsibility for himself.
(p.s. Pamela: so nice to see Harper has come onboard, on the boards. What Lovely Ears Harper has!! The better to listen with? :~) ).
I’ve been doing this for several years now. I also add in parenthesis how they move, their facial expressions–it really helps with finding a quirk.
It is a great article. It helps to build a solid character foundation.
Hello Jason,
Thank you.
Hope all is well with your writing.
xo
Pamela
Loved the article ! Very useful and fun to do !
I am part of a French writing community and we shared your article on fb but as it is in English, not all of us could actually read it, so would you mind if I translated it and the community posted it on its blog (with all the credits and a direct link to the article ?) here’s the blog url : http://www.herosdepapierfroisse.fr/blog/bienvenue/
Thanks in advance for your answer 🙂
Akasora
Hello Akasora,
Yes please. What a generous offer to translate the article. If you give credit and post a direct link to the article, you can translate the article.
Wishing you well.
Now if only I could read and understand the stories in the shoe line that your readers will write in French.
All my best,
xo
Pamela
Have you ever wished that the weird guy with beard, goggles and muffler around the corner of the shopping mall, would suddenly turn out to be Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt in disguise?
Maybe you have.
But I bet, in that case of your wistful fantasy, your imaginations were altogether different from what I am wishing for right now.
No, I would not run screaming like a madwoman towards that hot celeb guy, ferociously searching for a paper in my handbag and fighting others like crazy to get an autograph or shouting on top of my voice “Oh Gooood! I can’t believe it… I can’t believe it… I can’t believe it… I am feeling faint…Owwwwww…..”
No, I wont do any of these.
But, I wish others would react exactly in the above mentioned manner, so that…
.
.
.
.
.
So that, the big queue in front of me would rush towards the Celebrity and I can quickly return the shoes to the refund counter.
Yes, that simple.
You would think that I am out of my mind. But honestly, it has been a long day and there is nobody waiting for me in my apartment to ‘make me feel alright’ ‘on a hard days night.’
Suddenly a buzzing sound startles me out of my musings. My phone.
Oh it is my mother on her daily phone call.
“Hey Mum”
“Hi honey, have you returned from university yet?”
“No, actually I am standing in front of a long queue in the shopping mall, hoping to return a pair of shoes I made a mistake of buying yesterday.”
“Oh I can guess! Mimi again cajoled you into buying those killer hills, isn’t it?”
A smile crept on my face despite being really frustrated a moment ago. Yeah, that’s my Mum, knowing me and my lifestyle too well though I have been living out of town for five years now.
“Yes Mum, you are right.”
I heard a soft laughter from the other side of the phone.
“But Kendra, may be you should keep these shoes this time.”
“What! Why?”
“Well, because I am planning to arrange a surprise grand party on your Dad’s fiftieth birthday next month. All of his business associates and colleagues will be invited. You may have a use for those hills then.”
Oh, how I hate those kind of parties. I actually hate being born in such a privileged family. That is why I left my house to live near the university in a small apartment and paying my bills by working as a tour guide in the city.
Don’t misunderstand me. I love my parents and I would love to organize a party on my father’s honor. But a cozy family gathering is my preference.
But then again, my parents respected my choices back then despite being a bit morose and surprised at first.
So it is only fair that I too should bear with some snob guy for a few hours in the party, which would be a special occasion for my parents.
And also I would not have to wait at the end of this long queue and wish for intervention from Tom Cruise!
“Kendra, are you there? You would come to the party, wont you?”
My mother’s anxious voice caught my attentions.
“Yes Mum. Of course.”
“Well then, goodnight sweetheart. You must be tired.”
“Yes Mum, I feel really sleepy.”
“I can tell. And oh, don’t skip your dinner, it is bad for your health.”
“I sometimes forget that you are a doctor, Mum”, I smiled as I made my way out of the shopping mall.
“Ha ha ha. I love you honey.”
“And I love you too, Mum.”
“One, two, three…” she whispered under her breath as she darted through the crowded aisle with two pairs of pink ballet flats on one hand and one kid in tow on the other.
“Amber! Bailey!” she called. “Come on, kids! Hurry!”
She heard little patters follow her as she charged down the aisle with a mission. ‘Ok,’ she thought. ‘I can do this.’ Suddenly, the little patters disappeared.
“Shit!” she exclaimed. She already knew what happened before she even had a chance to turn her head.
“Shit,” the little girl in hand chuckled.
“Cameron, no!” she exclaimed. “We don’t say that word!”
“Shit,” Cameron repeated.
Emma’s eyes widened as she looked at her innocent little girl. She would’ve scolded her for that, but right now she has two more on the lose.
“Amber! Bailey!” she scurried back up the aisle checking under every clothing rack on the way. “I don’t have time for this, girls!”
After the third clothing rack, Emma heard chuckles from the right. She turned around and marched towards the Junior Miss department with Cameron trailing along. She stopped for a second honing for the sounds of those high-pitched chuckles. It was faint, but she heard it. She turned left, took three steps forward, and heard it once again. Right in the corner of her eyes, she saw a glimpsed of blue slippers and tiny toes underneath the revealing cocktail dresses. She moved towards the clothing rack with the dresses, let go of Cameron’s hand, and stood there for a few seconds. She admired the little
dresses and took a deep breath. “I remember when I used to fit in one of
these,” she sighed.
She counted under her breath, “One, two, three.” And parted the dresses revealing two mischievous little girls.
“Eeeeeeee!” one, two, three of them shrieked.
Emma was planted in place. Shocked and mortified by the sight of her three little girls running and screaming in three different directions. One, two, three. The shock wore off. Emma darted to the left and scooped a little girl with her right hand. She darted to the right, dropped the ballet slippers, and caught another one with her left. Emma turned around hoping to catch another one, but there was no sight of the third! Panic grew
from the pit of her stomach, rose up, and formed a lump in her throat.
‘Calm down, girl,’ she thought. ‘Relax.’
“Ma’am,” a deep throated voice crept behind her. “Is this yours?”
A burly man in blue security uniform with black trousers was holding the third one in arms length.
“Yes,” Emma nodded as she blew a strand of stray brunette hair from her face. “Thank you, sir.”
“You gotta keep your ducks in a row,” he said.
“Quack! Quack! Quack!” three of her little ducklings
quacked.
Emma smirked and turned. ‘What does he know,’ she thought. ‘He’s never had three year old triplets before.’
With three little hands in hand, Emma and her triplets picked up the ballet slippers and waddled their way up to the register only to find out that the line was longer than three elephants’ trunk to tail with only one cashier to boot.
‘Oh dear god,’ she thought. She knelt down in front of her triplets, fixed their ponytails, and straightened their matching A, B, and C shirts.
“Amber, Bailey, Cameron,” she said. “Work your magic.”
The three year olds don’t really have tricks, but they have the smiles of cherubs when they’re not being monsters. As soon as Emma stood up, the woman in front of her turned around and adored her little monsters.
“Oh what precious little angels you have,” the woman said. “And you’ve got three! I have problems handling one at home. I don’t know how you can handle three.”
“They’re definitely a handful,” Emma responded.
“Why don’t you go in front of me?” she offered. “I heard what happened there and it seems like you only have two things to buy.”
“I’m just returning these ballet slippers. My husband got the wrong sizes for two of my ballerinas.”
The three little ballerinas twirled, and the line simultaneously exhaled, “Awwwww.
The line parted and let the three little ballerinas through. ‘Happens every time,’ Emma thought.
After they returned the shoes, Emma and her three girls smiled and departed, but before reaching the exit Emma knelt in front of her triplets.
“You three gave me hell, but you’re my tickets to heaven.”
One, two, three. She got three kisses from her three little angels.
(Never really done this before heehee)
Baekyeun furrowed his eyebrows curiously- disoriented- at the cardboard package he held close to his belly. A…shoe box?
His stomach hiccuped and he surveyed the surrounding area, a weary yet motivated sense trickling over his awareness as if he’d just awoken from slumber. Nonetheless he felt that moderate twinge of mundaneness that compelled him to believe he’d been standing there for a while. Department store? Why?
Something clicked in his mind then, an establishment of authenticity: he had anterograde amnesia. His name was Baekyeun. He lived in South Korea. He was twelve.
No. That couldn’t be right. Twelve year olds didn’t hang out in department stores.
The edges of his pink clamshell lips quirked up. He began guessing how old he was; that seemed like fun.
It also seemed he would need that entertaining pastime; he stood sandwiched between two bodies stoic and much larger than himself near the end of a healthy long line.
He bounced on his feet, hummed to himself, then leaned to the side and poked the man in front of him. “Excuse me,” he said with a beaming smile. “What are we waiting for?”
The man scowled skeptically then grunted, “The return counter.”
Baekyeun nodded when the man impatiently turned away. Baekyeun- who was, in fact, twenty years of age- flipped open the cover of the bright shoe box to take a gander at what was inside.
Folded picturesquely beside their twins were two bleach-white converse shoes. Baekyeun’s jaw fell: they were so nice, why would anyone want to return them?
With an indifferent shrug he slipped the box under his arm and took one step out of the line when a hand snagged his hoodie and reigned him back in.
“Whoa there, Baek. Don’t do that, you’ve waited for so long already.”
The relatively short male found himself standing beside a lanky tower of a man, someone who was clearly of the same age.
The question, “Who are you?” was ready to fire off of Baekyeun’s tongue when the face suddenly became familiar. His features illuminated with glee. “You’re Chanmyeon, aren’t you?”
The taller patted Baekyeun’s short locks of obsidian hair and nodded, then proceeded to inform the other why they were standing in line.
Baekyeun frowned, then immediately perked when an idea came to mind. “I don’t really want to wait but…” He thrust the box into Chanmyeon’s chest, grinning. “You could have them!” He peered down at the taller’s paddle board feet, though, and realized the flaw in his plan. “If you want to try to fit into size eight, I mean…”
Chanmyeon, the faithful caretaker of the forgetful amnesiac chuckled and tucked Baekyeun to his side, placing an almost protective arm around him. “No. I won’t. We’re going to return them, Baek, even if it takes us an hour.”
The shorter giggled. “Then I think a game of I-Spy is in order. Who’s first?”
I squeezed all of my main characters from my fantasy story into this prompt. It wasn’t easy, since the story takes place is a less advanced society with mythical creatures. Tell me what you think!
“Ugg! Why is this taking so long! We haven’t taken a step since we got into this line! All I want to do us return this pair of shoes!” Kaeso grumbled to Corry. The shook the pair of tennis shoes that was way too small for him.
“There’s only one kiosk. It’s bound to take awhile,” Corry replied gently.
Kaeso growled under his breath, but didn’t say anything. He inched himself forward to help himself feel like he was moving, until he was right on top of the next person.
The man twirled around, revealing himself to be the elf, Edwin. “Uh oh,” Corry thought. “This could get ugly.”
“What are you doing breathing on my neck, orc scum?” The elf demanded.
“Me? I can’t even breathe on your neck your hair’s so long. Why aren’t YOU moving forward? That’s the real question,” Kaeso retorted.
Edwin snarled, “I know you don’t have any brains in that thick skull of yours, orc, because if you had, you would have known there is a long line and the EDC machine, the machine that swipes your credit card, is broken.”
Now, he had struck a nerve. Corry’s eyes widened as she saw Kaeso ball his left fist. Corry slipped in between them and tried to diffuse the situation. “Settle down you two. Only fools quarrel amongst themselves,” she directed the last comment at Edwin, as it was a famous elven proverb, but she wounded Kaeso’s pride as well.
Kaeso took a few heavy breaths and then turned away after deciding the elf wasn’t worth it. Corry glanced at Kaeso and to her relief, his fist was once again relaxed. She let herself exhale a small breath released her tight grip on her shopping basket.
“Step aside, human girl. Your words mean nothing!” Edwin snapped.
Corry turned to face the elf. He still couldn’t let this go. The nerve of some people. “No.”
“Excuse me?”
Kaeso stepped forward beside Corry. She tensed up, bracing for the storm to come, when she suddenly exhaled. A warm, calloused hand was wrapped around her fist. Corry glanced at Kaeso, who gave her a reassuring smile and mouthed, “I got this.” She forced herself to smile back.
Kaeso straightened, still holding on to Corry’s hand, and mimicked Edwin’s know-it-all British accent, “I know your ears can’t hear a thing buried in all that hair, because if you could, you would have heard CORRY say no. My girl friend will not be stepping aside.”
Edwin’s eyebrows narrowed and his face started turning pink, moving quickly towards maroon. Before he could say anything in reply, a voice on the intercom came on. “Sorry for the delay. Our card swiper is malfunctioning, but if you have cash on you, please come to the front of the line.”
Kaeso pulled out his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a wad of twenties. “Perfect. I never trusted those plastic cards anyway.”
Corry blushed as Kaeso took her hand again and dragged her to the front. “You don’t have to go so fast!” Corry said as she had to jog to stay on her feet.
“I’m not letting anyone else get there first. No more waiting!” Kaeso replied.
Corry chuckled pleasantly. “Nice come back. Did you see Edwin’s face!”
Kaeso laughed, “Yeah, it reminded me of those rotten tomatoes we passed in that bin in the produce aisle in that lousy super market next door.”
Corry couldn’t stop laugh, even though she didn’t like the comparison of people to rotten fruit. “Let’s never shop here again.”
“Agreed,” Kaeso said. He finally slowed down as they reached the counter. Corry placed the basket next to the scanner, but the box was empty.
“No!” Kaeso cried. “Where is the cashier?” He slammed the shoes on the counter.
Corry patted Kaeso gently on the back. “It’ll be fine. You need to work on your patience.”
Kaeso frowned glumly, “Add that to the list.”
“Excuse me, I’m right here,” a tiny voice said. A tophane stepped out from behind the basket. “Whew! You nearly squished me!”
“Sorry, Ben,” Corry said. “We didn’t see you there.” She nudged Kaeso
“Sorry, Ben,” he muttered.
“No problem, you guys. I know you didn’t mean any harm,” Ben replied.
Kaeso frowned at the little man. “They let a tophane work as a cash register? No longer it was taking so long!”
Ben shrugged, “Apparently, no one else wanted to work here, so they gave me the job. It’s not my fault I can’t reach half the items.”
Corry smiled politely. “It’s okay Ben. Let’s just get this over with. There are plenty of grumpy people behind us.”
Kaeso and Corry shared a knowing look. Ben glanced between them, and then shrugged again. “Let’s do this!” He went over to the scanner, which was just as big as he was, and jerked it up in the air.
Corry winced at Ben’s struggle to keep his balance. “Here, I’ll scan it. You just tell us the total.”
“And can you return these shoes while you’re at it?” Kaeso added, placing the receipt next to him.
Ben nodded, and let out a huge gasp is relief when Corry took it from him. Corry made short work of scanning her shirt and jeans, while Ben pushed the shoes into a box “6.54 is your total.”
“That was cheap,” Kaeso commented.
Corry nodded. “That’s the only reason I wanted to come here. A friend told me the prices were off the wall cheap, and since I’m on a tight budget…” Corry trailed off.
Kaeso frowned. “Which friend was this?”
“Your cash please?” Ben asked. Kaeso handed Ben a twenty.
Corry rubbed her arm and glanced away from Kaeso’s face, knowing that he would over react. “Arthur,” she admitted.
Kaeso’s mouth dropped open. “Corry-”
“13.46 is your change,” Ben interrupted. He handed the money to Kaeso with two hands and bowed slightly. After Kaeso took it, he reached behind him and grabbed another stack of money. “And here is the money for the shoes. Hope you find a better fit.” He stared pointedly at the orc’s bare feet.
Kaeso snatched the money and stomped out. Corry sighed apologetically. “I have to go. Sorry about Kaeso. He’s always so over dramatic. Nice to see you again.”
“No problem,” Ben replied. Corry turned to leave, when Ben called, “Corry!”
She turned her head, impatient to get to Kaeso. “What?”
Ben smiled. “Don’t worry about Kaeso. He’ll come around. Remember when he first heard about me?”
Corry remembered. It was not pretty, until Kaeso found out that Ben was the size of his hand. Then he wasn’t worried anymore. “Yeah.”
“It’ll work itself out.” Ben bobbed his head once, “Now go get ‘im.”
Corry nodded in thanks and sprinted out of the store. “Kaeso! Come back!”
The End
I made a few mistakes. Ignore Kaeso took her hand again. He’s jerking on her arm trying to get to the front so he doesn’t have to wait
Also, it’s supposed to say he shook the shoes. Not the. Autocorrect. I’m just now rereading it.
Sorry if it sounds forced or like I’m showing more than telling. I’m still working on my writing skills.
hi. I started asking my characters questions but I’m having trouble with part of it. I don’t know whether to do it before or after the books happen. Because some of the answers would be different depending on which way I do it. If you could give me advise on that I’d really appreciate it. thanks.
September 29, 2014-Prologue
I woke up to a world of quiet. A rare moment, but I didn’t stop to think about it then. It was a normal morning, so I thought. And It was, but the mornings after that weren’t. But no one can see into the future, otherwise we would be scared. Maybe that would help us understand the present, but it would be scary. But I’m getting ahead of myself. You don’t even know who I am, or why I am talking in past present form. Well, your questions will be answered, in time.
The reason quiet is a rare gem in my house is because I have a rather large family. But I’m the only girl, sister, or daughter in this house ever since my mom died. I have a twin brother, who is fifty-four minutes older than me. His name is Alex, and he’s my best friend. We look very similar, but not identical because we are fraternal twins. If you’re wondering if we are as close as identical twins, yes, we are just as close as them, if not closer. Whenever he’s gone I feel an emptiness inside, like apart of myself is missing. Lucky for me, he’s never been gone for too long.
I have six brothers, counting Alex. Usually I don’t count him with the rest, mainly because he’s different than a normal brother. Not that any of my brothers are “normal”. They all have their different personalities, and sometimes I don’t even believe we’re related.
The oldest was Gabriel, and he was sixteen at the time of my story. He has a disorder commonly called Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, usually shortened to ADHD. My family has many disorders running through it, like a crayon drawing by a small child. The bright colors are supposed to be in the lines of the drawing, but sometimes they are smudged or wander outside of their lines. Gabe is a wonderful big brother, and he is The Boss when Dad’s not home. Dad isn’t home very often, but I’ll tell you about him after going through all of us first.
After Gabriel was Copper. I liked to think of him as the copper ore in our family. It’s there, shimmery and beautiful, but yet blends in. He’s not there often either. Once he became fifteen he started disappearing, such as not showing up for meals and we could never figure out where he was. Then I found out he had started his own business, which takes up his time. He is a really nice brother, even if he is so distant. Not a mean bone in his body. He was fifteen at the time of….of this story.
The third oldest was Braiden. He was fourteen. Braiden is unique in his own way. He had ADHD like Gabe, which made him have a lot of energy. He used to flip his hair all the time, which used to make me laugh. I think it was a nervous habit, like how some people chew their nails. When I was there, we were the only two kids in our family with glasses, so we used to switch glasses sometimes. It was fun trying to get my tiny pair on him, & then his on mine because my face is small. They kept sliding off my nose.
After Braiden is Alex and I. My name is Joey. No, I was not a boy. I was a girl. A girl named Joey. I and my brother were thirteen in the year 2014. Something was always special about us from the moment we were born. Ever since Mom and Dad brought us home we were inseparable. We refused to have separate rooms since we were five, so Mom set up a big bedroom for both of us and added room dividers for when we went to sleep. Mom used to tell us stories about how she would leave us watching TV in the living room late at night, and then come back and see us asleep under the blanket.
The next youngest was Jackson. When he was smaller I used to play with him and Alex often. He was fun, and he always seemed to know more about the world than I did. He was a sweet little brother for awhile, but then he changed. Slow, but steadily, he changed. Maybe it was the heavy metal music he started enjoying, or maybe it was the meanness he saw around him in Dad & school friends. Or maybe it was just the way he was supposed to be. Whatever it was, I lost him. He liked seeing me angry, because when I get angry it looks funny. Admit it, there’s always that one person who is absolutely hilarious when they’re angry, so they get teased. It’s immensely funny to the people watching. But it felt like torture to me. The internal screaming & fear wasn’t fun. Constantly having to watch for insults wasn’t either. It didn’t help at all that he slowly became my height, & stronger. But he was my little brother, & whenever I was angry at him I would remember who we were before.
After Jackson is the youngest brother, Jake. Jake is almost indescribable. He gets angry sometimes, but he respects others during it. He cares about other people like Alex does, but when he protects the people he loves he sometimes hurts. At least he was loyal to us though. He always tried to protect me, even though I was older than him & a little taller.
Dad & Mom were the people at the head of our family. Mom died when Alex & I were nine. I didn’t like talking about how she died. I always loved her, even though it was hard after the Incident. Dad loved Mom unconditionally. Or at least, he said so. After Mom passed away Dad drank more & more. Dad was always violent when he drank, but I tried to ignore it while I was there. Little did I know it would be the reason for..that’s getting ahead of the story I’m telling though. First I want you to understand the life that we had, & how to forgive. Then you will understand everything.
Our house is not only noisy because of the people living there, but also because of the animals. We owned about five dogs & two cats. The dogs bark, growl & fight, most of which makes noise. They were all mixed breeds, except for the cats, which were tabbies. Most of the dogs were sweet to their family, except for this one, a pit bull mixed with a German Shepard. It wasn’t friendly, but not because of its breed. It was Dad’s favorite dog, so it wasn’t treated with respect whenever Dad got angry. Dad used to get angry a lot, but it got even worse after Mom died.
We lived in St Louis, Missouri, in a two story house. It was rather beat-up looking compared to the other houses, with paint chipping & the backyard fence was falling over & leaning on rusty metal poles. That was the only thing holding it up. When we first moved in, it was a improvement from the hotel we lived in till I was four. Alex & I were born in that hotel. Mom & Dad weren’t able to afford a house back then, so we first grew up playing in the hotel lobby & playing tag while weaving behind suitcases.
When Mom & Dad took us to go see the house, I loved the light bluish grayish colored paint. It was brand new, & the house was spotless. The fence was grey to match the house. For the first week Mom kept the house clean, but after that things went downhill & the weather outside took its toll. The house became messy & pretty soon I couldn’t quite remember how it had looked before we moved in. When I was ten, I found a picture someone had took of Alex & I staring at the house & the for sale sign was still up in the yard of the picture. I still have that picture, hidden away in a box. Sometimes memories are all I have.
My character is from another dimension, so it was tricky to interview her with these questions, but I tried anyway. Arden (the MC) might have been confused or bewildered by the modern mentions, like electric toothbrushes or calling people using phones, but she’s so headstrong and stubborn she ended up just arguing with the interview. I spent an hour asking her questions and at one point I couldn’t get her to answer at all – she just kept asking to interview me because she wanted to know where I was from! It wasn’t planned at all, but I loved it because it showed me how much she hates to be gotten the better of. I know this comment is seriously late (this post is from two years ago!) but thanks anyway, this was so useful to me!