https://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=37961 As long as we are allowed to keep it - started this companion thread.
I meant what your character is doing at the present moment. Por ejemplo: Amos: (Is spying on a suspect) Robin, are you writing down what they said? Omar: (Is going across a crappy bridge across a raging waterfall in Romania) Allah, preserve me and my companions as we go across this thing... Heridon: *is playing baseball* Helen: *is having a drink with her crew in the kitchen* So Lindsey and I were at the LRN mart in Atlanta the other day...
No offense, my friend, but you still haven't answered in full. Of course "right now" means "the present moment". But the present moment as in January 2011? Or the present moment in the novel? You just stated your vague statement in different words. I ASSUME you mean at the present moment as in when I'm writing it. Last scene I wrote, or next one I'll write, or something like that. Okay. Robert: He's in a presidential suite, alone, on the floor, curled up and crying his eyes out. The most powerful man in the world, in a position you wouldn't wanna see him in. Kevin: I sort of left his last scene in a weird position, twistin in the wind. He's probably taking a shower or something. He's been to the gym earlier.
Socrates: Jealousy - how dare you spend more time with other characters that aren't me. Angus: Can I have a look at your astonomy and physics books, would love to know more about the way the world you comes from work. Nate: Which ones have the cute men in them? Confronted by a large beautiful blonde male, what does your MC do ?
Good one, Elgaisma. To answer my own question first, regarding the books on my shelf: Robert: He would be happy that I have Dreams From My Father, and Decision Points. He probably read both these books. It's gonna bug him, probably that most of my books have a political bias different than his own. Kevin: Since Kevin is old in the book, and the young Kevin is based on me, I'm guessing Kevin would be happy. He'll think I'm a lot smarter than he was when he was my age, and that I see the world for what it is, as opposed to himself in his youth.
As for the question about confrontation with a large beautiful male: I actually have two blonde male characters, who are not unattractive. So there are confrontations characters have with blonde males. The first confrontation someone has with a blonde male ends with the blonde male putting a nice shiny bullet in his head. Most of my characters are straight males (sad, I'm a part of the evil patriarchy). To speak for my female characters: Wendy would want to either beat him up or hump him. Jenny would be intimidated. (Jenny is Robert's temporary assistant. I mention Wendy in our sister thread https://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=37961 ) My main characters: Robert: Depends on the issue, Robert would either try to cool him down and have a civil discourse with him, or look him straight in the eyes and show no fear. He's already gotten away, as president, with more than any American president before him. Kevin: He'll try to stand his ground, but without making too many waves. I'm not really sure what he would do. It's a good question. He is supposed to be my main character, but he hardly has any interaction with all the others.
Okay. If your MC is zapped into our day and age (for all those who write about the past, future, alternative histories/realities/dimensions) and could have dinner with one person, who would it be, and why?
Socrates and Nate: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) and David Tennant (Tenth Dr Who) - swap stories about time travel and meet up with the actors that inspired them. Angus: hmm not sure probably Patrick Moore, Brian Cox or Brian May he is into astonomy could see him getting on with the Dog Whisperer as well. Does your MC wear a hat if so what kind?
Yatro: I don't wear a hat, but Fred, my giant bug, sometimes sits on my head when it is annoyed or scared. Does your MC prefer the city or the country?
[MC: Connor] Country, but wouldn't want to work on a farm or have a whole mile to the nearest neighbor or anything like that. Just a rural area in general, with woods and stuff. How would your MC react to you being transported into the world of the story?
I believe that my main character and I would be shy of each other, but if we would ever begin to talk for one reason or another I beleive that we may become quite good friends. If your MC was given a task to do, how well and when would they do it?
@Birmingham The whole point of this is to find out how your MC would react in a situation outside of your story, to help you understand your character better. yatro: I will do my best, and won't wait but I will probably fail miserably. How does your MC react when things go completely wrong?
Just to point out, this really works better with specific scenarios. What type of going-wrong situation are we talking about here, for example? Connor has a very shove-it-under-the-rug attitude about problems. He's 10, and he doesn't want to alert grown ups and get in trouble, so he thinks if he ignores the problem it will go away. He's also got a curious, exploratory mind, so eventually he will go poking at the problem to try to fix it and will end up making it worse. What would your MC do if he/she was at a theme park and one of the clowns began to follow him/her everywhere?
Sasha, I know what the point of the exercise is. I simply misread what someone else wrote. My problem here is not with the exercise. My problem is when someone gives a scenario that I don't understand. Sometimes it happens when people don't write clearly. This time it happens because I didn't read clearly, and skipped a word.
Since I'm writing an ensamble, I try to narrow it down to what my two SORTA main characters would do, though sometimes I'll mix it up if a "supporting" character has a more interesting reaction, since Kevin and Robert are mostly just regular people, aside from their unusual professions (author and leader of the free world). Kevin: He'd just want the guy to leave him the hell alone. Why can't people just leave one another in peace? Personal responsibility, personal autonomy, liberty. Leave others alone! This friggin clown is just like the dictator who runs this country! Screw you, clown! and screw you, Robert! Robert: He doesn't really go to parks. I guess if he were a civilian he'd find it funny or charming. Either that, or he'll find it scary and the secret service people are gonna kick the clown's butt. Depends on whether or not the clown was cleared with the advance team. See, it's so hard answering some of these questions, knowing my character isn't just the average Joe. Jeremy: He would put on a show as if he enjoys this and think it's charming, because Jeremy is good in putting on a mask of sanity. Also, he's in a powerful position that he wouldn't want to destroy. But if he were unemployed he'd punch the clown in the face, in front of everyone. How would your MC react if they'd find out they have a child they never knew about?
Socrates and Nate: I hope to goodness that happened in birdform, if not we are dying. HELP!! (immortals become mortal when they reproduce naturally in human form). Also you had relations with a woman? Angus: Beatrice is gonna kill me - very, very slowly. And wow I must have been drunk - did she see me naked ? If your MC is in a field full of flowers of all types what kinds to they pick to make a bouquet?
I don't know. I don't know much about flowers, and even if my characters know, they'll know more than I do. Robert wouldn't do much about the flowers, because he has nobody to give them to. The women in his life are either platonic with him, or dead, or give him the cold shoulder. Kevin would probably get flowers for his daughter, as I believe he's not in a relationship anymore (though that could change retroactively as I write this thing). As for minor characters: Jason: He would naturally bring flowers to his girl. Dunno which cos I don't know flowers, but I assure you he knows what flowers she likes. Roger: This is gay. Wendy: This is gay. Jeremy: So gay. Carl: Life is meaningless. (ps: None of the last 4 characters I mentioned know the other 3, and they're different from one another, but I guess we finally found some resemblence).
What would your character do if he/she finds a note in a high school library book saying: I will kill everybody in this library on Junuary 18th. (It's the 16th the day your MC finds the note) Socrates and Nate, make sure its just them there, they can be injured, sent into stasis but not killed and are capable of despatching most things together. For me this thread is making me realise just how much I miss writing Socrates and Nate together - never ever again am I seperating them for a whole book. Angus: Call in the Order of the Sea and the divine warriors or just send Soc and Nate in. If your MC saw someone on the bus who was a few pennies short of the fare what would they do?
She would probably ignore it, thinking it's a minor problem. It takes less than a day to walk across the city. If the person seemed very unhappy or distraught, she might give them a few coins, since money is not that important to her. What would your character do if they found a hair in their food?
My MC is living in captivity and has been doing so for most of her life, only being served really old bread most of the time. So she would probably welcome this addition to her diet! If your MC met God (assuming he exists) and could ask him one question, what would it be?
Todd: God, what do you want me to do with my life? I'm sorry, I've messed things up with my family. If there was one person in all of history your MC could meet, who would he/she want to see?
