Think of this as both an experiment and an exercise. Just off the top of your head create a character. Don't look at anyone else's until after you've come up with one, just read this post and then hit reply. In fact, put it in a spoiler. I'm usually a fantasy writer, so I think I'll try coming up with a character from a Space Opera. You can do the same and try something different, or stick to what you know. The main goal here is to come up with something off the top of your head without previous thought or even a character sheet. Spoiler Daniel Easley, captain of the Red Dawn, a small Cutler Class starship. He heads a five man crew: Biggs, his first mate, Co-pilot, and foil; Lina Harper, Love interest, shady dealer, and petty thief; Wedge, the chef who can (and will) turn anything into something resembling edible at least; and Vanger, cargo manager and the only level headed person on the ship. Daniel is a short, scruffy man, his dust brown hair keeping the same 'just-woke-up' look all throughout the day. He squints like the sun is in his eyes, and wears a pair of reading glasses that he doesn't actually need. He claims it's because it lures his enemies into a false sense of security, but in reality his childhood sweet heart liked the glasses he had to wear. He doesn't know it, but that girl is Lina. He's also known to wear an old (very old) duster that has been in his family since the days of the old west. Daniel is a likable person, often one to help a stranger out and one to buy a round for the whole bar. He is also incredibly bad with money, and is the reason why the crew is usually hard up for cash. His appearance is deceiving though, as the crew of the Red Dawn, while having many legal functions, also are prone to doing less than legal but not quite illegal things in the frontier of the colonies due to the loose government being unable to regulate things like illegal less than legal Immigration and the use of third parties as hired guards. Easley also prefers the term 'less than legal' as opposed to illegal. The way he sees it, the colonies only have a loose tie with the government, and therefor very little is illegal. He gets that streak, or so people tell him, from his ancestors in the West. Now you.
[noparse] Spoiler Write what you want hidden between these two. [/noparse] There's a full list of things like this here: vB code
Spoiler Jack Edwards, retired USA Army vet.; walks with a limp from injuries sustained in Vietnam and has shrapnel scars covering the lower half of his body. His wife is long dead, and his two children live in Europe and Canada and seldom visit. He lives alone and remains in close contact with another soldier from his squadron that lives just a block away, and they routinely meet in the park to hang out. He scoffs at the other retirees who go to McDonalds to play cards and cry about their troubles, and as a hobby he carves wooden pistol hand-grips.
i don't see the point in hiding them all... seems a waste of time and energy, since everyone can see them with a simple click anyway...
yes, but then nobody sees them scrolling down. You seem to have underestimated the laziness of the average human being. Or is it underestimate?
Spoiler Bernie Cosgrove, 5'7", 45 years old, balding with an untidy fringe of brown frizz. Wears wire-rimmed bifocals, works as a tax advisor for a New York investment company. Divorced for 4 years, currently lives alone in a basement apertment in Greenwich Village. He jogs every morning before getting ready for work. That's how he ran into Fiona Kelleher. Literally. (Psst - I don't believe in character sheets )
Spoiler The Nametaker, he has no name of his own and guards the pathway to a large city where The Ruler of his world lives. He will allow no one to pass him onto the pathway to the city unless they first give him their name. He then enters this name into a large typewriter-like device that then calculates the person's "true name". They are then allowed to pass, for with their "true name" they can be controlled so any trouble they cause in The Ruler's city can be easily quelled. He is tall, thin, and has unnaturally long fingers to easily reach all the keys on his typing device, he also sports a long crooked top hat.
Spoiler Leonard Wilph, retired poet. 5' 4", black hair, european, two left feet, (literally), knows 3-5 languages, can play the piano, has a fear of phones, wierd tendancy to re-vamping his house every few weeks. or. he will re-paint walls. or completely re-arrange things. has an addiction to smelling foods. he can only write non-fiction, but prefers to write his non-fiction work in the vicinity of restaurants.
Spoiler Jeanie Ray, aspiring actress. Dark brunettes spiral curls down to her waist. A voice the Gods are jealous of. She's evil and wicked. Her only companion is a cat. A naked cat. Deep cut dresses show off her best assets, and she is sure to let everyone know it. In the streets, this is the lady who pushes you out into the traffic and mutters to you 'Move it!' AHs an odd desire to marry a sweet young poet, someone to take care of. But of course she doesnt let anyone know this. She hates candles, but lover schocolate and wine.
Spoiler Donnie M. Westermen, age 53. Manages a motel just outside of Salem, New Jersey. Every night he dresses up in women's clothing, and talk's to God on his rotary telephone. He refuses to listen to any song except for "Wrapping Paper" by Cream. He knows what an octopus is and what they're good for. His favorite color is green, and he can only count to 346. He tried counting higher once.
Spoiler Andrea Wilbur was the bane of Sarah's existence. Andrea and the other "popular girls" were always the center of attention, and had every intention of keeping it that way. The teachers they could charm into leniency, they did. But Adndrea was the worst. Behind her pretty face and somewhat ditzy facade was a scheming mind and vicious nature. Mr. Saltzman. the World Studies teacher, prayed daily for her to switch schools, ever since she threatened to ruin him with a baseless rape scandal if he didn't raise her failing grade to a B. Andrea was the worst kind of bully, the kind who always caught her victims alone, with no witnesses...
Spoiler Traya, 5'2", 22 years of age. Lives in an abandoned river shack after the brutal murder of her current life partner after finding him in bed with her mother and sister. She is violent and aggressive. Wears long black velvet cloak and a short black leather skirt with a blood red corset. Has become a recluse and lives off the raw meat of rabbits.
Spoiler 8057. It is a slave in a lunar mine. One of ten thousand clones, genetically altered, mute, lobotomised. It wears a grey permasuit, an organic spacesuit that pysically attaches itself to the wearer, making it impossible to remove from the wearer without killing it. The organic suit converts his sweat, exhaled breath, and other bodily waste back into oxygen and water. it eats once a month, and drinks once a week. It does not think of idle things, its mind swarms with thoughts of efficiency, determination and sacrifice. It has never seen sunlight, it does not know of earth, or its owners, or anything except the mine. To it, the mine is the entire universe. It does not contemplate escape, as a normal human does not contemplate escape from the known universe. It has never experienced strong emotion. It is, however, undamaged. Almost all clones have some sort of damage, from amputations, gashes, broken bones, but 8057 has none. It has an immense capacity to learn, and a seemingly perfect memory, so that it can perform new tasks after being showed once. After a section of mine collapses, trapping it and 700 other clones, they are left for dead. However, they do not know the meaning of death, or defeat. As is their nature, they do everything in their power to keep digging, keep mining, even when supplies run low and machinery breaks down. they dig with their fingers and hands when they have no other choice. Eventually, by chance, they break through the wall of a lunar chasm, and find themselves ourside. 8057's universe has just expanded a billion times over. Wow, got kinda carried away there. Also, I kept writing 'he'. It's difficult to remember to call someone 'it' all the time.
Spoiler Sara Kessler never wanted to be a librarian, which stinks, because that's what she is. She never wanted to live in a one-Starbucks suburb where the ground is frozen over 3/4ths of the year, which stinks, because that's what she does. She never wanted to meet a rude, womanizing former high school football star who would somehow draw her into a destructive relationship and then get her to marry him by making it way too awkward for her to leave...which stinks, because that's what she did. And she never even imagined she would one day find a magical wand in the back of her library that would allow her to influence people and change the world...which is pretty bizarre, because that's exactly what's about to happen...
interesting... people seem quite fond of villains... Spoiler Gary Gander. New Delaware's greatest acting homicide detective. He once solved a crime over the telephone, just from having someone tell him the facts. He's really just that good. But this Holme's has a secret side, he's really a Moriarty. Gary Gander is not just the greatest detective, he's also the greatest serial killer New Delaware has ever known. or at least, he would be if they ever knew. He's torn between his two worlds, and every sunday night he goes to the church to confesses his sins. The Minister is always the same, but after trying futilely to cease the killing, he eventually gave up and began tormenting Gander. Living the double life and being told by a priest that he should kill himself in the most painful way possible has taken quite a toll on Gander's fragile mind.
Hmmm, this sounds like fun... Spoiler Honesty George Macaburger-Gender-male Age-28 Profession-Meat Factory Worker/ Guitar Player/ Professional Assassin Honesty was born in a farm in Georgia and lived there until the age of 6. His family moved to New Jersey, and incidently had their house reposessed, causing them to move back to the small town in Georgia. Here, at age 9 Honesty discovered his true and hidden talet for tipping cows at a local farm. A horrible accident at the local meat factory left his father faceless and with no left nipple. Deciding he would atone for his father's mistakes, Honesty took up a job at the local meat factory at the age of 9 3/7. Unfortunetaly, a flood struck the town and everyone he knew and loved drowned. So, Honesty moved to Quebec, then to Los Angeles, and finally wound up in Peru at age 10. Here Honesty used his Cow Tipping skills to become a professional assassin for hire. Known as the "Tipper" Honesty used questionable methods to kill all targets he aqcuired. Still, Honesty worked at a meat factory when he was not murdering politicians to uphold the memory of his father. One day, when strumming a slap of pork, he discovered he also had amazing natural ability with guitars. By age 12, Honesty had become a world-touring platinum record winning guitar player with his band Plounder. Still, Honesty continued to assassinate when he wasn't on the stage and every city Plounder came to he signed up for a part-time job at the local Meat Factory or Sizzler.
Spoiler Name:Thor Hair Color:auburn. Eye Color:hazel. Odd Marks:a long scar down his cheek. Personality:swift, silent, usually unnoticed.Makes a good spy.On the good side, but more neutral than good.Very stubborn, slightly ammbious, and courageous. Skills:being a messenger, riding horses (delivers important messages on horses). Interests:horses, running, drawing. Dislikes:swimming, writing.
Spoiler Name:Thor Hair Color:auburn. Eye Color:hazel. Odd Marks:a long scar down his cheek. Personality:swift, silent, usually unnoticed.Makes a good spy.On the good side, but more neutral than good.Very stubborn, slightly ammbious, and courageous. Skills:being a messenger, riding horses (delivers important messages on horses). Interests:horses, running, drawing. Dislikes:swimming, writing.
Off the top of my head... Fredrick Rollins is 34 years old, but life has aged him more quickly than most. He has a full head of grey, a quiet temperament and stern blue eyes that have seen more than there fair share of hardship. He used to be a sailor but after losing his wife and only son 8 years ago in a fatal car accident he quit the navy and began working as a security guard for a privately owned company. Fredrick lives a life of solitude, he has a few aquaintences from work, but no real friends and spends his nights walking, rain or snow down familiar streets. He imagines the life that was taken from him, living always in the past more of habit now than grief. Dont know why that came out so depressing, oh well there it is.
Bryan Hughes - A Man with a love of Windmills lives a simple life as a fifty year old farmer. He discovers he has a much more interesting talent though - Dancing. However, it's only the pharamones in the cowdung at his farm which give him the abilitiy and energy to be such a good dancer. There's nothing like the image of a plump middle aged man, wearing a tweed hat and suit, sporting a scraggly white beard and stumpy little legs attempting a lift on his twenty year old female partner during a performance of the Rhumba. Unfortunately for Bryan, he has a price on his head, set by who used to be the greatest dancer in the world, who discovered how Bryan got to be where he is now. Assassins and Hitmen pop-up from everywhere, but Bryan's energy is then used for his fighting skills, performing dropkicks that are unmatched by anyone else. His west country accent makes him apear to be a very friendly man, but his thirst for new power after this newly discovered energy boost has made him into an arrogant perverted freak who gets with and then dumps his partners like a cow on Laxatives.
Reuben is a low life. At 32 years old he hadn’t achieved anything in his life, save for surviving this long. The only thing to his name is a substantial debt accumulated by all his years of addictions. He lives where ever his ‘friends’ can accommodate him, though they seem to be diminishing. His life is being threatened by the not so few dodgy debt collectors. It seemed it would all be over until he discovered a new ability he had acquired. Somehow he found himself able to change his appearance. Not clothing and makeup but his skin and bone structure could change at will. Now he uses his ability for personal gain. Acquiring money and power is the only thing on his mind.
Woo hoo my first post. Yes mate I’m typing as quick as I can. Ebaum Gently is a man about town “And a man for the town.” Yes Ebaum 34, unemployed and yet a man of means, "Any means" as he would say. Laughs “you know me too well.” He’s a confidence trickster with a hair trigger temper. He has a soft spot for Damsels in distress and film noir. “The good French stuff.” He hates crims with no principles but loves their money. “Especially if I’ve swindled it out from under their crooked noses.” He loves 3 things: “Other peoples stupidity, me girl and me mums Sunday roasts and not always in that order.” If you don’t know him he’s a conniving piece of crap but when you do he’s a true friend. And last but not least I found out on the weekend that he’s a two glass Sally. “Now why would you go and say that?” Because its true. “thanks now no ones gunna respect me.” I do mate and thats all you need in life now stop banging my chair with your foot its driving me nuts. thanks -Accerbyss
Spoiler Texas Blackburn, age 15. He's 4' 10", with dark eyes and freckles. He's a natural redhead, but dyes his hair electric blue. Wears a Domo-kun beanie when his hair fades to greyish-green. Moved to Desert Foothills, Arizona, from Tempe (which is also in Arizona) shortly after fall break in his freshman year of highschool. He's quiet and awkward and tries to be polite to people he doesn't know. Still, Tex doesn't hesitate to mooch off of his friends - especially during lunch. Tex's dad's a raging homophobic, and is always trying to "make a man" out of his puny, hair-dying, platform boot-wearing, 80s-and-rave music-loving social outcast of a son. Tex is pretty close to his mom, and she helps him redo his hair every month. Ugh, dumb character is dumb. I don't like this exercize...
Spoiler Mayci Becker - 25 - Tall and thin with a heart shaped face, unruly, curly red hair, pale skin with freckles, soft brown eyes, and glasses. Incredibly shy and somewhat "socially awkward." Struggling to make something of her life in the competitive business world. Hopeless romantic who is in love with her brother's off-limits best friend.
