Getting to know a Character-protagonist

January 28, 2013:  I need to write something for my website.  So what do I do?  First I need to make a new friend.  With each new character in my stories, I need to get to know them first.  Lately I have been thinking about someone like Typhoid Mary.

In the next few weeks I will add to this blog as I do research and get to know this character.  Besides research, I need to find out what her name is. That will be the first step in my process.

January 29, 2013:  The first step in this process is to find out what the character’s name is.  This character is a female, so I have two choices for determining the name.  One is pay attention today to the women I come into contact with.  Another is to got to a baby name website. The second is one of my favorite ways of naming characters. This way my character’s names have meanings.

January 30, 2013:  So what do I already know about this character?  1) she is a survivor. 2) she has the potential to kill simply by being in the presence of those she can infect with the disease she carries in her body. 3) instead of wanting this, she fights to prevent it. So far, not only have I discovered things to name may character, I have learned things about her and the story that will evolve.  Tonight I will got through the baby names and learn her name.

January 31, 2013:  The name I came up with is Zoe (Greek for life) Iona (a Scottish island) Leomaly (Leoma = like a lion/Egyptian).

Now for tomorrow’s assignment, determine sun sign of the character.  Since I write Science Fiction, I use Linda Goodman’s book, “Sun Signs”.  This will give me a much better understanding of who Zoe really is. It will also give me insight into what the problem for the story is.

February 1, 2013:  Getting to know dimensions of Zoe. At this point I believe Zoe is a Gemini. Even though her life has diminished the sparkle of her personality, she still comes across, almost as if she were two different people in the way she deals with her everyday life.  Her spark brings a tiny glow, at first, to a dismal situation.

February 3, 2013: Interesting to learn some of the basics about Zoe. The color of her eyes, her height and weight are evolving as I learn more about who she is.

February 5, 2013

Her hair is dark brown, except for a silver streak that extends from the right side of her forehead back. This is from an accident that happened when she was 5 years old. Her hazel eyes change from blue to green, and on rare occasions soft brown. They flitter around taking in everything.

February 6, 2013

Attributes I’ve discovered today:

1. cares about others.
2. slender and agile
3. multi-tasker
4. speaks multiple languages

Things that work against her.

1. uses an alias
2. thinks she’s clever
3. scared to document or keep a log of her exploits
4. easily side tracked

February 14, 2013

Zoe’s favorite color is yellow.

She gets headaches.  This is what leads her into the troubles she must deal with.  She doesn’t like doctors, so she goes for a quick fix.  After the treatment she wakes up on a ship traveling through space, metal groaning from age and chains rattling.