The Life Of Ezero Laffan For Dummies (D8) [fin]

Chapter 1
Creating A Character

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
In This Chapter
⊳ Setting down the outline
⊳ Adding a face to a name
⊳ What is a good description
⊳ Unrealistic characteristics
⊳ What is a balanced personality
⊳ Adding dimensions
⊳ What is a congruent history
⊳ Lining up the details
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A character is someone you portray through the words you write - sometimes it may feel like they take over your writing and take it from there but that's an issue for later. They are your tie from the world you live in to the world that they occupy, and should be written well in order to maintain a good link. In order to get started we will have to go over the basics and then go on from there. This is not something most people can just write and have turn up well - at the least minimal planning is needed.

Since we are talking about creating a living breathing person, even if they are in another world, we are going to need to make them as realistic as possible and breathe the life into them in order to get things rolling. Starting off let's lay down the basics.

Making A Sketch

In order to have a character - and be able to stick to the form of that character as you write - you have to make a simple outline. Let's get started shall we.

Gender

First off, this character needs to be given a gender. Names are rarely the first things to be picked, even if they are the first thing listed, since they need to have a gender to back them up and make it easier to find what kind of name you are looking for. For this example, let's say we are making a male. So this is the lump of clay that we are making our character from, we chose the male model to work with.

Age

Next, we should decide age. You may ask about the name, but a name is more than just a title, it is something that represents the character, and it's hard to find the representation of something that hasn't been built yet. Think about the age for a bit, what makes sense in the society you are placing them into? Don't throw a five year old into somewhere when you can't do anything with them there. That's not to say don't make a five year old, but be sure you know what you're getting yourself into with that. As for our unknown male, let's say he is eighteen years old. Now we know his is an older teenage male, already that puts a decent sketch in your head of how he might look body structure wise, but let's hold back on appearance for now.

Location

How about we give this guy a location, not a specific house or anything but a general area of residence. With this it will give some background and supply a smaller number of options for both major and minor details - such as occupation of both the character and those closest to him, as well as what the population was like. For example, in the Capitol there are many people, but only something around one third to one half of the people there actually work while most own avoxes and thus are free to do as they wish. Let's place our teenage male in District eight.

Here, most people work in the business of textiles, or working with fabrics - seamstresses, tanners and the like. Few people wander from this main job line, so keep that in mind. As for our character, because of his age we can say that he most likely doesn't have a job or works someplace where his parents have connections.

Name

Alright, now that we have all of those things sorted we can move onto the name. It seems somewhat late in the creation process to be giving our character a name, but sometimes waiting even longer than this might make it easier. For us, however, we will be giving him a name. In order to give a name that suits your character you can use a few different methods. The first of which is using baby name sites and finding popular names, or names that you like. You could also use these same sites to find a name with a certain meaning pertaining to the character, this method is easiest when the rest of the character sketch has been created. Along with that method you could also translate a word from another language to use as a name, but this as well is a method best left to be used later. In this case we will be using a random name, though the root name holds the meaning of "aid". We will now refer to our teenager as Ezero.

All that for just a first name? Well the last name requires a slightly different process to find. While the first name has to do specifically to the character the last name has meaning for the entire family, though it might hold no meaning at all or just have the meaning be held in it's pronunciation. One way to find a last name is to use a meaning search like with the first name, except using something relevant to the character's family. You could also find a name that relates to the first name, or sounds like a phrase when said with the first name. Just remember, this is what your character is going to be called, make it represent them well. In this case, Ezero's last name will be Laffan.

So let's recap, at this point what we know about our new character is his name is Ezero Laffan, he is male, eighteen and lives in District eight. These are highly important details that we need to stick to through the course of not only finishing our sketch but also writing the actual biography.

Appearance

Now, we are still laying out the basics. This is the point where you get to make a lovely little list of attributes that you will flesh out later. At this point you must keep in mind the points you had stated before and try to give as many major details as possible. Let's start off with race, as that will give us details like hair and eye colour. Most people give very little thought to the race of their characters, and this is where mistakes like having character of African descent with orange hair comes in. When first sketching a character try to keep the details as close to the character's reality as possible. As for Ezero, he is going to be of Asian descent.

Now that we know that Ezero is Asian we can lay down the basic details to give a basic idea of what he looks like. To start why don't we go with hair colour, like most of the Asian population he would have very dark hair, in this case black. Onto eye colour, as with his hair he would have an eye colour common to his race. His will be a very dark brown. At this point we don't have to be overly descriptive, but giving a simple lay out of body structure will do use some good for later steps. This is especially important if you plan to not use a face claim. As for Ezero, he will have light muscle and be of a medium-tall height. As we agreed before, specificity isn't hugely important at this point.

Personality

With those basic details decided, it's time to sketch out Ezero's personality. Single words are great to use at this point. For this you want to be more specific than "nice" or "funny", though, since those words differ in meaning for each person. Ezero, for our intents and purposes, is patient, smart, witty, and lacks some understanding of human interaction. Using this, plus maybe a few more descriptive words can give us the foundation of his personality and make building his character that much easier.

History

Finally, to end off our sketch, we need a brief idea of what kind of past Ezero has had. Once again, I remind you that we need to be as realistic as possible. We can't have him come from District eight and have trained all his life in the art of weaponry. As well, we also have to figure out the lives of his parents enough that we know how they affected him. Since Ezero is smart, we can say that his parents probably are smart themselves. Every District has a school, so let's say one of Ezero's parents is a teacher. Perhaps the other is a librarian. Together they would easily be able to teach Ezero and would provide the perfect opportunity for him to learn a lot. In order for this to happen, they would have to have been supporting of him, and they would have lived a comfortable life. There isn't much time for learning and book reading if you are constantly in search of food.

Other ideas for the history include any important occurrence, which doesn't always have to be sad or horrible. Ezero might have been taught by his parent at the school, or had an awkward run in with a girl. Also, think of reasons why your character would have the personality traits they do. You can't just say someone hates everyone without a reason why they shut people out. Maybe they had been hurt by someone close to them and don't want to be hurt like that again. History is one of the most important sections, and a good base makes writing it less taxing.

Finding A Face Claim

So you have decided to use a face claim to portray your character. This doesn't mean that you can just skip writing the appearance, but it can make it easier to give a lot of detail. Finding a proper face claim is as easy as it isn't, I'll explain what I mean about that. In order to find a celebrity that will accurately show what your character looks like you need to go back to that list of attributes you made before - remember when we said Ezero was Asian, had black hair, very dark brown eyes, light muscle, and was medium-tall? Now the tricky part is trying to find someone who looks like that. Sometimes people just start with a face claim and work from there, but most people find a face claim at around this stage. There are two main things to keep in mind when looking for a face; hold onto your sketch, and make sure the person hasn't already been claimed. Even if you don't find the exact person you want to portray your character, don't give up hope and change their appearance. If you need help with finding a face, just ask around - most people will be happy to help, we've all needed help before. As for the claiming, it's easier to check whether someone is claimed before you start than having to go back and change everything to fit a new person.

I have already found the person who is going to represent Ezero, here is a picture. This is Harry Shum Jr. He will be the face of Ezero.

Tell Me What I Look Like

We are now at the point where we can start the writing process, and begin the journey through the creation of our character. Using the face claim you have found, or the simple sketch you have made we can begin to flesh out what they really look like. Remember that appearance is as important as personality and that it should include flaws like any person. No one is flawless - but this doesn't mean you have to make your character grotesque, just realistic. We will talk more about do's and don'ts with appearance later. First, we have to decide on point of view and then I will give an example of an adequate description for our character Ezero. Point of view is a necessary part of any biography, and of any character. You have to decide right here and now whether you will be writing in first, second or third person. Once you have decided you can always change it, but make sure you stick to a single point of view for the entirety of the biography - otherwise it becomes hard to read when there is a sudden shift from one point of view to another. With that in mind, let's start our appearance. Ezero will be written in the first person - like he is acting as a narrator to his own actions, detailing life from his perspective.

My name is Ezero, and I live in District eight. At eighteen I am on the cusp of still being eligible for the reaping and my birthday can't come soon enough. From books about the world before the existence of Panem I have learned that I descend from a race of people that used to be referred to as 'Asian'. Basically, it meant that 'my people' used to live in Asia. Traits I have inherited from that lineage are the colour of my hair and eyes. Typically they are quite dark, and mine are no exception. My hair is black, dark like the ink in the books I read, while my eyes are an extremely dark brown. I only know my eyes are brown and not black because I have read that there are no such things as black irises. At least, they weren't heard of when the book was written. My Asian descent has also given me surprisingly light skin despite my dark hair and eyes, since the thing that gives them colour - melanine - would normally also tint the skin, but in my case it is a pretty subtle shade. I suppose the contrast is alright, it does bring attention to my eyes which is nice - it keeps attention away from my nose, which is a bit too big for my face.

I am not like those from the upper Districts, I don't have huge muscles or a profanity for fighting. I have never wanted into the Games like they have, so what's the point spending time training for it. That doesn't mean I'm completely weak, or that I have no muscle whatsoever, I can still carry things that are more than a few pounds. I do have some muscle, built up from time spent helping my parents carry heavy books and boxes of things and from trying to stay healthy by following steps in one of the books that my mom told me to read. I weigh a bit more than the others of my size because of it, after all muscle weighs more than fat, but I'm at a good weight for my height, which is more than I can say for some people. I average around 5'10" and weigh in at about 142 lbs, which is supposedly almost the middle of what the books say is healthy.

As for my body shape, I follow the standard form for a teenage boy. I have a rectangular body, though my sides are not truly flat, but they are close. My chest is slightly wider than my navel, and my hips are the same width as my chest. It's not too noticeable, but I am a bit of a stickler for details so I have to record it. My legs though, they make up over half of my height, and I don't really pay any attention to how they look. As per the norm, they have a gradual triangular shape that narrows until it reaches the foot. My feet are average size, I guess, for my height at least. I like not having huge feet, but sometimes I wonder if they are a little small for me.

Some might say I dress like a nerd, while others might just say I am one. I admit I'm intelligent, but to say I am a nerd feels like they are taking it a little far. Maybe. Admittedly, I do wear things similar to sweater vests, and I do enjoy reading and learning. Still, I wear normal T-shirts, and jeans. Plus, my shoes range from dress shoes to skateboard shoes, I enjoy a variety. I also wear leather jackets sometimes, or even no jacket at all. I don't believe anyone who really knew me could claim I was a nerd. Not while holding a valid reason for it anyway. Scrutiny and logic are two of my strongest points.

Perfection To A Fault

So if that was an example of a decent appearance, what is a bad one? In this case, a bad appearance doesn't mean someone who looks ugly or has a lot of appearance flaws. Quite the opposite, in truth. When is perfection just too perfect, pretty soon actually. So, the best way to avoid mistakes is to learn about them, right? So let us begin with our learning about unrealistic appearances.

Perfection

One of the biggest problems in appearance is the unspoken wish to be perfect, leading to the character's appearance being flawless and causing an unnatural appearance. A type of character known as a Mary-Sue is the result of this. Mary-Sues are one of the most boring character types to encounter, and will almost certainly drive any potential roleplay partners to leave, or at least roll their eyes.

Scars

Time and time again scars are thrown in last minute in an appearance to try and create and flaw. If the scar is especially disfiguring - one crossing most of the face, a large old burn mark, a lost eye or ear, or some larger mass of scar tissue for example - then it is an appearance flaw. However, if it is not (the above list was not exhaustive, but something not along those lines would not count) then it may even be endearing to another character. For example, a scar on an arm or leg might show that the character has had a run in with a sharp fence or has gotten into a fight - these are two of innumerable options for cause - which might signify bravery to another character and therefore turn the scar from a slight disfigurement to something of pride. Therefore it is not a flaw.

"Cascades"

Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus - as the males are referred to - are often described with inaccurate or commonly repeated words. Many of these have become exasperating to those that read them instead of applying the descriptive technique they could have done otherwise. One such word is used excessively to characterize hair for Mary-Sues. This word is cascades; as if hair were some sort of waterfall or rapids that pours from the head instead of growing. Sweeping is the male counterpart to cascades; making the male's hair sound like a broom on top of his head. It is advisory to refrain from using those words unless you are truthfully talking about a waterfall or a broom.

I Am Who I Am

This is the point where we have to put the soul into the character. We've given him a body, and a partial voice, but now we will insert real character into him - otherwise the title of character is entirely inaccurate. If you don't know what kind of person your new creation has it is time to make it. Get them to explain everything about themselves, whether in details that seem irrelevant aside from opinions or just how they would react to a situation. Remember to continue with the same point of view that you wrote the appearance in - unless done in a highly complex and stylistic manner it would only confuse the reader to change it now.

I'm not exactly the best judge of character, but I suppose I could explain what I'm like. People have told me I'm patient, and that it's a good thing, but sometimes I wonder if my patience means that I let people get away with too much. Too much tolerance could end up being a bad thing, no matter how much easier it makes everyone else's lives easier. I'm not everyone else, so it doesn't help me any. I also get told I'm smart, but I don't need people telling me that. If I didn't know I was smart then I must have been oblivious to all of the time I spent reading books and learning about things, and I couldn't have noticed how high my grades are in school. Honestly, some people need to realize that they don't have to state the obvious. But either way, I am smart, and I enjoy learning about things. Not bad for a kid born to a teacher and a librarian, best possible outcome actually, otherwise I would be having a horrible time.

I've been called witty, but I always feel that when someone tells me that I actually have to try to uphold that view of me. Of course, they can believe what they want if they feel like it because I would rather just worry about myself than how another person thinks. I do like my little quips and jabs, don't get me wrong, but it isn't like I am going to throw them around just because people expect it. Most of the time I don't even make them up on purpose, I just have a thought come to me and when I say it people find it funny. There have been times when people have not enjoyed my little inputs but I can't really help them. To my misfortune I have the habit of saying what is on my mind without always thinking about the consequences.

Previously I had mentioned that I wasn't the best judge of character. It's true for more than just myself. I don't really understand people, how the operate and why they think what they think. I've heard other males complain that women are too complex for them but for me that applies to each and every human being that isn't myself. Even then I don't know why I do some of the things I do. There are things I know, the physical triggers that cause certain sensations and movements, but there is still a drive behind them I just don't comprehend. Only so much can be explained in a book, and I've reached my fair share of dead ends from what I've read.

I know that I can be a bit introverted and get lost in my book learning so I forget about interaction with something human - or at least living. Though, Puddles - my Siamese fighting fish, also referred to as a betta fish - is company enough for me most of the time. He just stares at me with his googly fish eyes as though he knows just what I'm like. I swear, that fish would be called brilliant if only he could talk. It's odd to think that my best friend is a fish, even one as elegant and regal as a Siamese fighting fish; most of the time pets are something a little bit bigger. After all, how often do you hear "a boy and his fish" instead of "a boy and his dog" not often right?

An Unbalanced Scale

As with the appearance, there are some things to watch out for when creating a personality. One of the key elements of a personality is that it is balanced. Off balanced characters can end up being more like a Mary-sue or Gary-stu if you are not careful. Like with Newton's third law of motion - "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" - there is also an equal and opposite personality trait for every trait your character has. In short, for each good trait your character has, they also have a bad one - and vice versa.

Good

More often than not, if a Mary-sue is afoot she generally stands in this category. There is no balance to a Mary-sue, and this scale has been tipped completely to the "positive" side. Remember that no person is purely evil or purely good, and therefore no character will be either. However, this does not mean that a character has no good side if they lean more towards negative traits but the positive ones will not be as precedent. For example, Ezero's positive traits are that he is patient, and smart.

Bad

Sometimes, when a goodie-two-shoes Mary-sue isn't appealing, an evil Mary-sue will be created. As the complete opposite to good Mary-sue, there will be no good points to evil Mary-sue and often leads down a gothic path. No person is fully evil, there is always a reason for everything they do and that reason is what convinces them they are doing the right thing. Even a psychopath has a reason, though it may seem twisted to others. For Ezero, a negative trait is that he lacks some understanding of human interaction.

Indifferent

Some traits can have both a negative and positive connotation, meaning it can be more negative or more positive depending on how it affects the characters actions. In Ezero's case all of his traits could fall into the neutral category but they generally have a strong connotation one way or the other. The one trait that Ezero has that securely rests in this position is his wit. While wit can be useful to create comedy, and helpful to understand situations, there is also the side of it that can cause clashes between him and another person if it causes him to say the wrong thing.

History Has Taught Us

Everything hinges on the past, especially personality though appearance does have numerous connections to the previous times in a person's life. In order to make sure everything works and connects properly, it might be advisable to start with the history so you have something to refer to when creating the personality. Make sure that there aren't things in the history that affect personality that aren't mentioned, unless you have clearly explained what happened because of it. As well, personality that isn't well explained by the history is hard to uphold, and harder to make sense of. Remember, your whole bio connects within itself, keep it doing so and it will be easier for everyone to understand.

My childhood was comfortable, even if at times it was overly informative and I would think that I might just pass out from how much I was being overwhelmed. Still, all my parents ever wanted for me was the best. They had that attitude from when I was born and somehow managed to keep it through the eighteen years I have lived with them. From the meticulous picture albums my mother kept I managed to figure out the parts of my past that I hadn't held memories of. My birth certificate put me at the healthy weight of seven pounds and six ounces - it was the only thing I really cared to look at for the first year of my life as I would rather avoid seeing myself as odd looking as I had been at that age.

As a toddler I was plenty curious and loved to try things. My parents would provide me with objects, generally along the lines of toy blocks or bricks so I might stick them in my mouth, throw them about, or - perhaps more by chance than anything - stack them. They said I learned quickly, but I'm not sure about that after seeing the considerable amount of pictures of me with something in my mouth - I know now that my mother is a bit particular about my "firsts" and therefore had to take a picture of me every time I tried something different, this included putting something new in my mouth for the first time. I am only glad that she has since discontinued the practice for the trivial things as otherwise my privacy would be nonexistent.

Look, little rugrat me. Oh I was a smartass when I was this age - to be truthful I have always been and still am but at this point in my life I was terrible about it. Just beginning school I blazed through every lesson because my parents had prepped me a little too much. Their attempts to help me succeed actually put me ahead of my class by almost two entire years. I was allowed to skip one grade - still bored most of the time because of how easy it seemed - but my parents were happy. It wasn't much the teacher didn't expect, knowing both of my parents were well educated.

As a tween I began to grow even more distant from others. I never was able to get to know people well, always deterred by something if I hadn't driven them away with my blatant ignorance. Even at that age I was horrible with understanding people. My mother tried to encourage me to make friends, not understanding when I tried to explain that I didn't know how. I didn't understand why I couldn't either even with all of the books my mother handed me on making and maintaining friendships. The trouble with being the son of a librarian was that she would always find a book for you to read, no matter what the occasion.

My father was a little more understanding - he had been awkward too at my age and merely attributed it to that, I had supposed it close enough and went along with it. He tried to teach me how to deal with the awkwardness, claiming the things he was asking me to do would work for me like they had for him. They didn't, but I couldn't tell him that. My mother may be a librarian but my father was a teacher. True to his profession, he would continue to try and teach me the concept until I learned it - though I suspected, and still suspect, that I never will.

The teenage years are not easy for anyone, and I feel as though it is an overused statement to say that I believe my teenage years were worse than anyone else's but I certainly did not have an easy time with them. I was a know-it-all, begrudged for knowing the answer to each and every question posed as well as almost always having the highest mark in the class. The trouble with having a librarian for a mother and a teacher for a father is every once in a while they will break down and teach you something - whether you wish to learn about it or not. English had long been my favorite subject, but Math was still a strong suit of mine and I finished with an A average.

Graduating school a year early left me with little to do but read, help my mother or father at their job, or sit in my room gazing blindly at the ceiling while Puddles gave me his "you should do something" look. It is a tad challenging helping my father as that requires me to act as an assistant teacher for the high school, odd as most of the people I am helping to teach are those my age or the people I had seen around in my time there. I was never popular, so only a few people actually recognize me, but I know most of the faces and nearly as many names. I'm not sure if I was cut out for teaching, sometimes I can only long for the peace of my mother's library - instead I have to deal with overly loud teenagers where the boys sneer and the girls stare or jeer. Perhaps the real reason is I was never cut out for high school the first time, so it's no wonder why round two isn't any better.

Follow The Path Of The Past

Due to the fact that everything about your character is based off of their history, the most important parts of their creation is the detailing of their past. This means you want to keep it as plausible and suiting as possible. If someone has a deviation from their character in this section, it is usually caused by what they either wish their character could do or influenced too heavily by what they would have done. Both of these are things to be wary of, as they make the history not line up with the character that supposedly lived through it.

Too Young

A common mistake is to have a character perform a task they should be too young to do. An example is a young child, detailed as average intelligence or without information given as to why this would be otherwise, becoming top student in a prestigious academy. Another may be a twelve year old boy becoming the top fighter in his training gym within a year. While either of these may be possible in extremely rare circumstances, it would be impossible for any "average" character. If either of those characters were closer to eighteen, then it would be more plausible.

Too Old

Not as common, though it comes up sometimes, is the mistake of having a character perform a task they are too old - or not medically able - to do. A character with arthritis in their knees would have a hard time walking for days through the forest, and to manage that long while being chased would be impossible. As well, an older man without the proper nutrition would be unable to fight off an attacker without receiving serious injury. Keep a notion of the age of your character, their health condition, and other physical traits that would affect what they could do.

Too Not You

Along with matching the history to the age and physical description of the character, making it coincide properly with the character's personality is highly important. If you have a shy character that can barely speak to anyone, or is scared of many different things, it would be impractical to say that they would have the courage to stand up to a bully the first time they were picked on. Even more improbable would be that they would challenge the bully to a fight and win. Remember, keep true to the character that was written and avoid inserting wishes as facts. One day they might come true, but if the character isn't written as the person who could do those things then how would they have managed to do them?

Other

Part of the Library plot. FC: Harry Shum Jr. Puddles Reference Palette

odair