Month: July 2015

Character Development – Describe their eyes in detail.

Post author By Muse Inspired
Post date July 28, 2015
No Comments on Character Development – Describe their eyes in detail.

Eyes – Everyone has them, describe them in detail for your character.

The eyes are the window to the soul. We hear this all the time. For this exercise, describe them in as much detail as possible. Here are some things to consider!

The Shape

Almond, round, squinty, upturned, hooded, monolid, downturned, etc. Fonfabulous has a GREAT shape guide.

The Spacing

Wide set, close set, deep set, tilted, parallel, and so on. They may be really close together, or far apart. Consider that everyone has a perfectly symmetrical face, perhaps this is a unique character trait.

The Color

Blue, green, hazel, brown, gold with flecks, or even unrealistic shades. Playing with color and descriptive details is a fun way to add a little flair. Are their hazel orbs more green with a little ring of brown, or do they have ocean blue pools?

The Mood

What sort of emotion would some see if they stared in to those eyes? With just the right words, you can convey all kinds of things. The sadness hidden beneath a sunny gaze, or the cold dead emotionless stare of a serial killer.

The Makeup

There’s a whole world of possibilities here. Makeup is a wide and varied art form in many cultures. This Tumblr search can give you loads of inspiration.

Other Details

Tattoos? Shape and thickness of the brows? Long lashes, normal, or heaven forbid – none at all! Maybe they are missing one or both. Perhaps they are made of glass. Laser beams could shoot out every time they take off their sunglasses.

For added fun you can see what shape might mean for personality with this cool link. Obsidian Bookshelf also has a really great guide for describing them in your writing. Now Novel contains excellent advice on the subject, while Words to Use provides you with a big list of descriptive words!

Tags bio, biography, character traits, characters, traits

SIRING SETTINGS

Describe the Setting – A den of taxidermy animals.

Post author By Muse Inspired
Post date July 27, 2015
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You have walked in to a den of taxidermy animals. What do you see?

A den of taxidermy animals. It invokes an instant image in your brain. Describe this setting with as much detail as you can muster. This could be a hunter’s lodge deep in a fantasy world’s forest, or the very strange garage of someone’s modern day house. Could you imagine the kind of creatures one might find in a space station’s taxidermy shop? If you’re not familiar with the basics of taxidermy, the wikipedia has just what you need.

Tags room, settings, writing, writing challenge, writing prompt

STORY PROMPTS

What’s the Story – A blog post someone didn’t want posted in school.

Post author By Muse Inspired
Post date July 26, 2015
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School blog post?! Someone’s nightmare has happened and a post they didn’t want seen has been posted up at school.

What’s the story? These days EVERYONE has access to the internet. High school students, middle school tweens, and even elementary school kids are sporting laptops, tablets, and personal cell phones. Between Facebook, Twitter, and random sites all over the net, there is a TON of ways for school kids to interact. Can you imagine the chaos and drama that would follow if your private online blog suddenly got posted up for the entire school to see? Imagine your crush getting the truth about your feelings, or that one person that ticks you off getting to see mile long rants about how much they suck. Your life, inner thoughts, and deepest secrets. There’s a whole world of fun school-involved drama you can write up for an unsuspecting set of characters. Need a little help for getting in to the mind of the modern school students and faculty? You can search a ton of hosted blogs at WordPress.com. If teenagers are not your cup of tea, consider writing from the perspective of a parent or a teacher at the school. Some parents are heavily involved in school activities, what would they do to find out their personal business is now posted all over the school? How would a teacher react to finding out they are being talked about in student blogs? The janitor might have a double life that no one knew about or even suspected was possible. It could even be an official school blog post – just not one anyone was meaning to post! Consider that things involved in the blog post might not be bad things. A list of the top hottest teachers in school, or the town’s sexiest single dads? Perhaps it’s the best dressed students of all time and someone is really embarrassed to be publicly noticed.

Tags blogs, story starters, writing, writing challenge

CHARACTER CREATION

Character Development – What is their current job?

Post author By Muse Inspired
Post date July 24, 2015
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Employment is an important part of a person’s life. What is this character’s current job?

People spend the vast majority of their life working. At least most people do! This has been true since the dawn of time where the primary jobs were hunting and gathering. The jobs has a person has done gives them experience and encounters – this adds up over a lifetime. Even if your character is just a teenager, maybe they are after their first job or just starting one. Adult characters can be struggling to find new employment, loving or hating their current job. Maybe they are out seeking inspiration for a new career! Need a little help in thinking of a good job history? This List of Careers is a great resource.

Tags character traits, characters, traits

SIRING SETTINGS

Describe the Setting – Castle over-looking a frozen lake.

Post author By Muse Inspired
Post date July 23, 2015
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A frozen lake castle… There it is, a castle sitting above the lake. What sort of setting does this invoke?

I may have watched Frozen one too many times, but I’ve often seen beautiful artwork of castles over-looking the waters of a lake or ocean. For this setting challenge, image the castle is standing over the bank of a frozen lake. What sort of home or fortress might this be? Is it in a modern setting or in a fantasy world? What about on another planet and discovered by space explorers? Who lives in this castle and what sort of kingdom does it reside in? What might you find inside, or in the area surrounding it? For a little visual inspiration, this Pinboard offers thousands of real life castles or you can take a look at this great collection of castle artwork.

Tags fantasy, settings, story starters, writing, writing challenge, writing prompt

STORY PROMPTS

What’s the story? – The Unicorn with bad intentions.

Post author By Muse Inspired
Post date July 22, 2015
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The unicorn with bad intentions. What’s the story?

Unicorns in stories are usually depicted as creatures of goodness and light. Often only seen by innocent virgin damsels. But what would you get when the unicorn isn’t so nice? Unicorns are unique in that they don’t seem to have an origin story in mythologies. They also have only ever been depicted as good creatures. Not a monster or frightening beast like most fictional creatures of legends.