Get in Character! Making of

And here is a little list of keywords I used when I created my third writing panel. I thought it might be interesting to read for other people who want to make a panel themselves, so they know how to get started. It's actually really simple. I collected subjects to talk about, summarized them into keywords, and then explained the keywords to the audience using pictures and examples.

Get in character! Making of

Different writing styles (detailed sketch vs on the fly)

Mixture you, others, imagination

Relatable (correspondence)

Rounded, complete, balanced

Round vs flat character

Character’s backpack:

-purpose

-strengths

-flaws

-personality traits

-ideals and beliefs

-history or backstory

-bonds

Ask why and work backwards

What is the character’s role in the story?

What is the character’s motivation? What does he or she want?

What did the character’s childhood look like? Did it shape him or her?

What does the character’s family look like?

Does your character have many friends? What does he or she have in common with those friends?

What is the character’s age? (Old = more life experience; young = less life experience.)

What is the character’s race, ethnicity, and what is the cultural background? What do others think about that or how do those things influence the character’s life?

What is the character’s physical appearance? Think about height, body type, and face. Do his or her looks tell you something about the character? What do others think about his or her looks?

Where does he or she come from? Has that place shaped him or her? Does the character like the place?

What is the character’s lifestyle. Think about hobbies, sports, favorite food, favorite animal, favorite color, musical preference, etc.

What personality traits does your character feel attracted to?

What is the character’s romantic (sexual!) history?

Is your character an introvert or an extrovert?

What would your character die for?

What does his or her home look like?

What is the character’s greatest fear?

What is the character planning to do in the future?

Is your character rich or poor or somewhere in between?

Always ask yourself ‘why’ and then work backwards. Find a reason for everything.

DND character sheet

Mary sues

Alicorn OC? No!

Hero archetypes

OC names

-personality/special talents

-physical appearance and color

-how would their parents name him/her

-Use either two words or one long word with multiple syllables.

-same letter

-no body parts

-thesaurus

Antagonists

Backstory-reason why evil-goal-motivation

Weaknesses and fears

How evil?

Don’t develop or improve

Making antagonists evil

-show horrible things

-exploit weaknesses of the hero

-difficult choices

-same goal

It’s the most wonderful time of the panel

Shameless self-promotion

Thank you/questions