100 things, writing, #21, work shop

[jana_denardo]

I was reading treelight's blog and she had a link to a writers workshop that sounded interesting. Building Believable Characters on Honey's blog. Who couldn't use a little more help with building characters? It sounded like fun.

The first challenge was :Exercise: Do a character sketch. I found this website, click on the word here, with some great suggestions for building characters.

Here's mine. I did this as a more of a sketch that would go into my notes for a story rather than a piece of the story. Let me know what you think. (This will be a m/m erotica/fantasy either novella or novel).



Nine was born into slavery in another country. His early life with his mother wasn’t bad as a house slave. After her death and being given to the Master’s son as his personal slave, Nine learned what abuse was. War came and the estate he served was destroyed. He’s been on his own since he’s been around ten to twelve years old (He doesn’t know how old he is), traveling, living as a rent boy. Homeless, he survives the best he can.

Nine is ill prepared for the moment he is swept up in Reko and Eevi’s life. They show his existence in sharp relief. He is illiterate and has never had the time to develop hobbies and interests, while they are highly educated and important people. His whole life has been either used to please his master or tricking enough to keep eating and not freezing to death.

While cynical, Nine has a good heart. He doesn’t like injustice and his need to help people is how he met Reko and Eevi in the first place. He feels inferior to them and eager to please and feels isolated from them not just by social standing but also his ethnicity, having the dark olive skin and dark hair and eyes of the countrymen from a southern kingdom. Nine is stymied when Eevi and Reko ask for his real name. It’s been so long that he’s been anything but a numbered slave that he has forgotten what his mother used to call him.

Comments

[honey rose (from livejournal.com)]

Not sure this comment will come out, but that's a great character sketch. I'll have to add that I want this workshop to be for a general audience and no x-rated stuff please.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

It came out fine and not a problem. I usually never do any erotica for these blog hops for that reason.

[treelight.livejournal.com]

Slaves always provide a good story and your Nine definitely has caught my interest.

I'd say, there is quite a bit of synopsis in this character sketch, too, like in my first try at this exercise. However, I like it that way ;)
I just wondered how old Nine is when he meets Reko and Eevi, still a child?
And how about his father? Another slave? A master perhaps? It's just that I was reminded not to forget the father when I mention the mother in my own sketch ... and I always like to know such things about the characters.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

thanks. He's @19-20 when he meets Reko (who'll be the love interest) and Eevi. Reko is the eldest at about 26.

I've done a scene already talking about his father. Nine doesn't know. He is not sure if it was his mother's husband (before she was captured and enslaved) or the master or another slave. He has different scenarios as to who's daddy depending on his mood that day.

[treelight.livejournal.com]

Oh that's lovely! What's for example the good mood version? :)
Do you have a snippet of that somewhere in your blog? I'd like to read it.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

when he's in a good mood his father was Mom's husband and they were a loving family until the war and enslavement.

it's on my other journal cornerofmadness on a filter there.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I like Nine.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

thanks