Character Origination Prompts: Week 9

[The Mood is Write]

Character Origination Prompts​

Time to make a new character, but you're clueless? Just want to invite a new person to live in your head? Want to round out a character who's been untouched for a while?

This thread is for you and anyone else who feels like doing character work today.

Use as many or as few of the prompts as you like, and create!

How Do I Take Part?​

Each week, I will post three random prompts in line with the title theme: images, text, dialog, links to articles, or other neat things that seem like they could spark new life. I may also include bonus rounds! You can make whatever character you want, and they don't have to fit everything (or anything at all).

I'll provide an (optional) "basic" character sheet that you can use.

Click Here for the Optional Character Sheet

[b]Full Name:[/b]
(Including titles.)

[b]Nicknames:[/b]
(Including titles that aren't part of formal address.)

[b]Species:[/b]
(Could include a few notes on if they're variant or unusual.)

[b]Occupation:[/b]
(Don't be afraid to be descriptive!)

[b]Age:[/b]
(Actual and/or apparent.)

[b]Sexuality:[/b]
(Gender, physical sex, and preferences.)

[b]Eyes:[/b]
(Color, shape, position...)

[b]Hair:[/b]
(Color and style.)

[b]Features:[/b]
(Facial and skin descriptions. Eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, etc.)

[b]Height:[/b]

[b]Build:[/b]
(Bone structure, musculature, amount of fat, body shape—this is great for giving an idea of history and personality.)

[b]Outfit:[/b]
(What do they wear?)

[b]Body Mods:[/b]
(Scars, tattoos, piercings, prosthetics, and more.)

[b]Impression:[/b]
(What do people think when they encounter this character the first time?)

[b]Voice:[/b]
(Describe the tone, manner, volume, and more about how a character communicates: should include any nonverbal communication methods too!)

[b]Fears:[/b]
(Big or small, what frightens the character?)

[b]Motivation:[/b] (One of the two links below might be helpful.)
https://dragonwritingprompts.blogspot.com/2013/08/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-for-writers.html
http://www.fiction-writers-mentor.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/

[center][size=2]~*~[/size][/center]

[b]Virtues:[/b] (Definitions below, pick however many fit and describe how, if you are so inclined.)
Chastity ([i]Castitas[/i])
A habit of controlling inappropriate physical desires and impulses.
Temperence ([i]Temperantia[/i])
Attentiveness to one's needs, with restraint from wasteful excess.
Charity ([i]Caritas[/i])
Willingly giving of the self to ensure others' happiness and health.
Diligence ([i]Industria[/i])
The habit for performing work with perseverance, honesty, and care.
Patience ([i]Patientia[/i])
The ability to forgive and eagerness to seek paths toward harmony.
Kindness ([i]Humanitas[/i])
The sharing of one's skills and possessions for the sake of others.
Humility ([i]Humilitas[/i])
Prioritizing of other individuals and the community above oneself.

[b]Vices:[/b] (Definitions below, pick however many fit and describe how, if you are so inclined.)
Lust ([i]Luxuria[/i])
The lack of self-control over one's bodily desires and urges.
Gluttony ([i]Gula[/i])
Overindulgence and overconsumption to the point of waste or harm.
Greed ([i]Avaritia[/i])
A disproportionate valuing of material wealth and its acquisition.
Sloth ([i]Acedia[/i])
Habitual apathy or aversion to effort that results in detriment.
Wrath ([i]Ira[/i])
Uncontrolled urges that encourage one to harm to others and self.
Envy ([i]Invidia[/i])
Sad or resentful desire toward traits or possessions of another.
Pride ([i]Superbia[/i])
Obsession with one's own superiority to the detriment of others.

[b]Strengths:[/b]
(What they're good at.)

[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
(What they're not good at.)

[b]Quirks:[/b]
(Habits and other little things.)

[b]Racial Details:[/b]
(Optional details about the character's race.)

[center][size=2]~*~[/size][/center]

[b]History:[/b]
(Write a brief backstory.)

[b]Hook/Summary:[/b]
(You can include something meant to catch interest here.)

Prompts:

1. A farmer is more than they appear.
2. Make them as self-sufficient as possible.
3. They crave social interaction.
4. 
   
   

 

[PoetLore]

Jonathan James Palmer
35
Widower

JJ as he has been called for as long as he can remember is a sixth generation farmer. The 500 acre farm that has fallen into his possession with the passing of his father three years ago is the same one that his great, great, great grandfather had homesteaded in the early 1880's. It had been started much smaller and over the years each new generation had added both land and amenities to the farm, until it was now providing a literally self-sustained lifestyle. The bulk of the profits came from the potato and corn crops which had been perfected and optimized by improved technique and higher yielding seed. there were also cattle for breeding and butchering, as well as hogs for the same purpose. There was also a personal vegetable garden for the family to partake of and eat that was not intended to be sold that was housed in an all season greenhouse close to the main farmhouse. There was also a chicken coop and a large barn to house all the livestock. it was quite the large operation now, though JJ was the only one there now.

His father's sudden passing at only 65 years old was a shock to him. JJ and his wife Emily had been planning a vacation that year, since they hadn't ever taken a honeymoon trip. Emily had felt that a bit of time away just relaxing might hopefully get their family started. Not that they had lacked for trying to this point, but it was Emily's assertion that there was just too much stress around the farm. Sadly though, not long after JJ's father passed, Emily received a call from her doctor informing her that her tests had come back and that she had ovarian cancer. she fought bravely but succumbed to the disease in only four months. JJ worked himself into the ground that next year. The farm's profits were sky high because he spent very little of it. neighbors began to visit and try to engage him in community events but he wasn't ready to face anyone or anything.

Another year passed and still he was a one man work horse. Working himself into utter exhaustion every night, so that he would be able to fall into bed mindlessly and allow sleep to claim him. one day though, as he looked at a picture of his wife he could almost hear her voice scolding him for what he was doing. "Did I drag you into the grave with me?" The smiling face in the picture seemed to be angry as he looked at it. He'd alienated everyone though, and he wasn't even sure how to interact with people anymore. Deep inside though his soul ached for someone to talk to about anything...inane, mundane chit chat would be welcome. The quiet of the house was stifling, which was why he worked until well after dark, and left as quickly in the morning as he could. He set the picture down on the bedside table and went to the window to look out over the family farm, his pride and joy and also his self imposed prison. Hearing the rooster crow he sighed, there was work to be done.