TIME FOR PART 2 of the Shared WIP Tag in which I'll be talking about the main characters for The 101st Human ...
That's all the intro I have for today, and as for how Nanowrimo is going well ... don't ask XDD
Fun breakthrough though - I FOUND THAT SOME OF EDGAR ALLEN POE'S POEMS SUIT MY STORY so it's going to be a theme in here lol
Introduce your MC a little (name, maybe a description or picture, etc,) and tell us something quirky about them.
I have two main characters who have perspectives in the book - Rae and Adam. Rae is the main main character, who gets more chapters, but Adam is just as important.
I don't have pictures for them because ... well, I once saw a guy and thought - I need a character to look like him - and so Adam looks just like that in my mind and I cannot find a good picture of him XD And if Adam can't have a face, Rae won't either :P
Here's something I LOVE doing for characters though - I call it a verbal board (alternative to Pinterest ha!).
It'll probably take you a while to figure all that out so let me help :
RAE :
17. dark wild hair. dark eyes. eye bags. no sleep. nightmares. no smile. her mom used to be the village baker, and everyone still thinks she is, but they don't know who really is. her arms are as strong as her father's from chopping wood every day. a singer who will not let anyone hear her voice. temper. scorns art. a survivalist in every way.
ADAM :
wanna-be explorer and geographer. a genius. but no one knows he's a genius. raised by his tyrannical aunt who thinks he's useless. loves animals and plants. keeps tabs on the island's wildlife. short. sandy brown hair. has a collection of old moldy book and draws maps. on a quest to build his own boat. wants to escape but is afraid to do so.
[and here's a bonus for Sammy, Rae's nephew, who's a major character too:
SAMMY :
7 years old. pale and weak, with a boundless energy and imagination that has been stifled and pressed down. a reader. a voracious reader. a reader who's possibly read all the books there are on the island. memorizes edgar allen poe. sharp mind. good, kind, and a sad, mild kind of kid.]
What does your MC value the most?
There's nothing Rae values like Sammy. And second, her brother Dex, and parents - their comfort, survival, and presence.
As for Adam - he values his books, his maps, his work ... oh and his pet monkey, Ruzzie. There's also this old reclusive religious dude on the island who's his only friend so far, and calls him "son"... And maybe - just maybe - he comes to value a certain other person in the course of this story.
What is your MC’s wildest dream? What is their greatest fear?
Rae has no dream, she thinks, but honestly, deep, deep down she wishes she could live in the past where an unlimited amount of people were allowed to exist. Her wildest dream is that Sammy could live like a normal kid.
Her greatest fear is that they'll find Sammy and that her family will be punished and that Sammy will die.
Adam's greatest wish is that his aunt would not expect him to be the next *dictator of the island* and that she'd let him have a boat and explore the seas that surround the island. His greatest fear is that he'll become like his aunt and that he'll be stuck on the island forever.
What is your MC’s favorite food? Can they cook?
YES! Both my main characters can cook because I'm sick of characters that can't.
[^^simple as that]
Rae's favorite food would be bread (that she made) eaten with a kind of vegetable stew (that her mom made). Adam likes plain scrambled eggs ... with ... Rae's bread. (Surprise, surprise? Of course, he never knew it was hers XD). Bread is a very very common staple food on the island.
What do you (the writer) have in common with the MC? What do you not have in common?
Just like Rae I have a) a baking parent and b) younger siblings whom I feel very protective of ...
[^^ or maybe not? maybe I just feel it's my duty to teach them all I know ...]
Currently I really relate to Adam because I HAVE TO STUDY SO MUCH just like he does. Except that he does it because he wants to. (Or maybe not? It's his aunt's fault, because that's all she made him do when he was younger ...)
What lie does your MC believe about himself/the world?
Well the lie they both believe is that --- ----- -- ------------ --- ---- --- --- ------ ----- but that's all spoiler stuff so, SORRY xD
I think they both believe that they are stuck where they are without power to do anything about it and that's just ... not true. Just that doing something about it is very hard and dangerous.
Who is their best friend and why?
Rae's best friend, Kaya, is this writer girl whose family owns the dairy farm. They are best friends because they practically grew up together - went to the same school (as if they couldn't, ha!) and just spent a lot of time playing when they were little. Now, Rae loves Kaya because Kaya is really reserved and reclusive and Rae can escape to her house whenever she wants to.
Adam has no friends ... except the reclusive man who lives all alone on a cliff on the north end of the island, studying ancient languages (that means Spanish and French and Chinese and *gasp* even Latin ... etc.).
[^^ wow reclusive-ness is becoming a theme in this book. actually, kaya isn't that reclusive, she just likes to be locked up in her room or roaming with her cows ...]
What song best describes them in this book?
*skips question bc I never thought about it till now*
Why should your readers care about this person?
Good question. My readers should care about Rae because ... as a character she's very practical and caring and I think people will relate to her fears/troubles (of loosing someone she loves) and then she's thrown into a very desperate situation and she acts quite selflessly and smartly - while still making mistakes and taking things very hard. So I'd say she's a mix of relatable human and admirable wits. (I hate characters who do things we readers know they shouldn't. I like those stories where the characters do all the right things and things still go wrong.)
As for Adam, I think people will like him because he's in a relatable situation of struggling with expectations, and while he's trying to figure out how to break away, he has his own dreams and goals, and in the end he does the right thing.
I hope my readers will relate to these characters because they'll be going through the same internal struggles we all do; and I hope my readers will like my characters because they are conflicted and smart and suffering and still try their best.
Ya know?
OKAY MY DRAGONS, we're done here for this week. I hope you liked hearing about Rae and Adam. Be sure to check out the rest of my friend participating in this link up/tag.
Jules @ Saver of Memories
Nicole @ Legend of a Writer
Ceci @ Ceci Creates
Gray @ Writing is Life
Julia @ Lit Aflame
Jem @ Jem Jones, Writer
Melissa @ Quill Pen Writer
Brooklyne @ Showers of Blessings
Ariel @ Scribes and Archers
Keturah @ Keturah’s Korner
Sarah @ Pen of a Ready Writer
speak up, dudes :
what would make you like/relate to my characters?
xx lisa
[acknowledgements to pinterest for pics]
[acknowledgements to pinterest for pics]
I RELATE TO ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS SO HARD!! Honestly, though I love them both so much already!
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of these two! A verbal board is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteAhh I loved hearing about your characters and the aesthetic photos were so gorgeous and perfect too 😍Also the first question, just listing all those things about them...LOVE THAT SO MUCH. They sound like such complex and intriguing characters!! (Also Adam is such a good name ajfdklsa I love it.)
ReplyDeleteWow, your characters are so interesting, Lisa! I thought Rae would be older than 17...
ReplyDeleteI already love Kaya!
Love everything about your characters! Such a realistic unique detail to add about about Rae's eyes baggin ;) And so funny how you say the one character doesn't get a picture because you can't find the other's ;)
ReplyDeleteketurahskorner.blogspot.com
Oooh amazing, I'm getting more and more excited about this story! :D And I love the idea of a verbal board -- I might have to steal that from you. ;)
ReplyDeleteOoh, your verbal boards look awesome! And I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND A MATCHING FACE FOR YOUR CHARACTERS AHHH. Also I agree with Adam. What's better than bread? *waits for you to answer me. silence.* that's what I thought.
ReplyDeleteEleanor | On the Other Side of Reality
That verbal board is AMAZING teach me thy ways SERIOUSLY
ReplyDeleteAlso "my characters can cook because I'm sick of characters that can't" #same
Kaya is the best. I like just being out with my cows, too...
So funny story...a few years back, I was at a bluegrass competition, and there was a guy there who looked EXACTLY like a character in one of my books. It was so weird, I kept staring at him and then he went on stage to compete and they announced his name AND IT WAS THE SAME NAME AS MY CHARACTER like HOW IS THIS EVEN HUMANLY POSSIBLE???????
...okay, Julian, that's enough creepy stories now?? ;P
Delete(He was your character. He had escaped beyond the fourth wall. Your writing is too powerful [although apparently not enough to contain him...] and must be stopped...)
I didn't know that Adam is the heir to the "dictator of the island" position! And Rae is a protective older sister?? she and Billie might get along, maybe. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd that verbal board is gORGEOUSNESS wow. Did I say last week how awesome this story sounds? becasue it sounds AWESOME. :D
- Jem Jones