Class 6 - Writing Characters
Main Character – Older (before reforming)
Saul
1.)
Ethical Baseline
a.
Hedonist.
i.
Saul would rather turn to what’s easy and
pleasing than deal with harsher decisions. At this point in his life he does
whatever makes him “feel good” rather than what’s right to do.
2.)
Dominated by emotion or logic?
a.
Tells himself most of his decisions have to do
with logic, but he’s really basing all of his decisions on a hatred and anger
deep within.
3.)
Greatest Strength.
a.
A once very spiritual and kind kid — and if he
looks hard enough in himself he still is.
4.)
Flaw?
a.
Addicted to heroin and shoots up almost every
night.
b.
A hardened heart and unwilling to change.
c.
Very gruff, stern and put-offish.
5.)
How do they see themselves?
a.
Saul knows he is a broken person and hates what
he has become however he thinks that there’s no more hope for him and this is
just who he has to be.
6.)
How are they seen by others?
a.
Family who used to know him were shoved away and
given the cold shoulder. They worry for him but there’s only so much you can do
for someone who doesn’t want to change.
7.)
What’s his biggest secret?
a.
He’s terrified of being alone forever. One of
the reasons why he turned to drugs after his mother passed away was because he
wanted to suppress that fear.
8.)
What’s his relationship with his mother?
a.
When he was younger they had a very strong
relationship. After his father passed away he tried to cherish every moment he
had with her. When his mother started to change and deal with the passing of
his father and the reoccurrence of her illness he tried to stay ignorant to it,
hoping it would go away. This helped the mother isolate herself from her son —ashamed
of herself— and would eventually lead to her
suicide.
9.)
Who has the power in the relationship?
a.
As a mother, she would have to hold power over
her child, in a healthy familial way. Although after her suicide her memory
would hold Saul captive and guilty for a long time.
10.) What
do they want for each other?
a.
When he was younger he just wanted to have his
mom with him forever and loved to hang out with her and tell her stories.
b.
After her passing all he wants is for her to
forgive him.
c.
His mother wanted the best life for her son, but
was consumed with the loss around her and eventually all she wanted to be was
less of a burden to him.
11.) Who
is the story about?
a.
The story focuses its narrative around Saul and
how he deals with loss of his mother and subsequently his faith.
Character Arc – Saul – Older
1.)
He goes through a physical change – from covered
in dust to clean by the end.
2.)
A spiritual change – relatively bad to
relatively good, faithless to faithful.
3.)
Emotional Change – from angry, hateful, and
hopeless to happy and hopeful.
Questions – Saul – Older
1.)
What is your character’s full name?
a.
Saul Nevi (As in the book of Jonah “Nevi’ism”
from the Hebrew Bible)
2.)
When were they born?
a.
1965, February 2nd
i.
(Jonah 2: 2 He said; “In my distress I called to
the LORD and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for
help, and you listened to my cry.”)
3.)
What are their parent’s names?
a.
Mother: Anne Marispan (Nevi)
b.
Father: Arden Nevi
4.)
Do they have any brothers or sisters?
a.
His father died, and his mother never remarried
so he is an only child.
5.)
What kind of eyes do they have?
a.
He used to have bright greenish eyes, but as he
got older they browned to more of a hazel.
6.)
What kind of hair do they have?
a.
His hair is short at the sides and longer
towards the middle, a style he wore since he was a child.
7.)
What is his greatest fear?
a.
Dying alone, with no one to care if he were
gone.
8.)
What body type are they?
a.
Thin chested, with a long torso and shorter
legs.
9.)
What is listening to their voice like?
a.
He has a strong voice that sounds like it has
endured a life of harshness, but when he want to he can sound almost charming.
10.) Do they have a favorite quote?
a.
Romans 7:15 “I do not
understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
(This is Paul talking, after he has been saved.)
11.) What
sort of music do they enjoy?
a.
He is a fan of older music that tells happy love
stories — lots of elvis, Bing Crosby, The Capris, CCR, Danny Kaye, Ernie Ford
<3
12.) Have they ever cheated on a partner?
a.
The only time he ever had one, she left him
because he was self-destructive but he never cheated.
13.) Have they ever lost someone close to them?
a.
Both their father and their mother, but the
mother’s death is the one that spiraled him.
14.) What
is their favorite sound?
a.
Hearing the radio crank to an old melody.
15.) If
they found a $20 bill on the ground what would they do with it?
a.
Slip it into their pocket, say nothing and spend
it on something he will hate himself later for.
16.) Are
they judgmental of others?
a.
He is more judgmental of himself than of others.
He tells himself he couldn’t care less about the outside world, although he
loathes others that seem to be able to hold onto love longer than him.
17.) Have they ever been drunk?
a.
Too much to count.
18.) What
are they like when they stay up all night?
a.
Saul is used to staying up all night since if he
sleeps too long he has nightmares and starts to sweat — craving his next fix.
When he doesn’t sleep all night he acts as if he’s a hollow husk of a person,
running on memory and the tiniest bit of motor control.
19.) Have
they ever been arrested?
a.
Once or twice.. Maybe three times. He doesn’t
really remember that well. He had to stay in jail for a short while but paid a
fine and showed up in court. Since he generally does his business in his own home
he has not had to serve any lengthy time.
20.) What
color evokes strong memories for them?
a.
Any warm color (yellow, red, orange) will remind
him of his past. He generally only owns cool colored items for that reason,
although with how grayed out his living room has become with how much dust has
gathered — if there was anything in those colors it would have long been
obscured.
21.) What
does he do on rainy days?
a.
He tends to close his blinds and sleep in, but
most of the time he does exactly what he does every day —if he even notices the
weather at all.
22.) How would they survive the zombie apocalypse?
a.
Getting high and dealing hard to obtain drugs to
garner power and influence over strung out people. Using them as a pawns to an
eventual end rather than treating them as people.
23.) What word do they overuse the most?
a.
“c’mon,” “enough,”
“f*** it”
24.) What
do they wear to bed?
a.
Whatever clothes he happened to fall asleep in.
25.) Do
they have any tattoos or piercings?
a.
He has a tattoo on his shoulder with a wilted
flower and his mother’s name.
26.) What
type of clothing are they most comfortable in?
a.
He has a tendency to wear baggy jeans and either
tank tops or ill-fitting clothing since he has lost a lot of weight but doesn’t
have money to buy smaller clothing.
27.) What is their most disliked saying?
a.
“This too shall pass,” “calm down” “everything
will be alright”
i.
Doesn’t believe in hope, so doesn’t see any of
these as useful.
28.) Do
they have any enemies?
a.
At this point in his life, he is his only enemy.
Although he sees most people trying to help him this way as well.
29.) Would you two be friends?
a.
I feel like I would try to be his friend but he
would push me away like he does with everyone and resent me for trying.
30.) What
disgusts them?
a.
Himself and who he turned out to be. What has
happened to his home.
Main Character – Younger (before mother’s suicide)
Saul
12.) Ethical
Baseline
a.
Veil of Ignorance
i.
He tries to ignore painful things around him
since it’s harder to confront them.
13.) Dominated
by emotion or logic?
a.
Very emotional, tends to make decisions on what
will make others feel good.
14.) Greatest
Strength.
a.
Very spiritual and compassionate towards others.
15.) Flaw?
a.
Choses to be purposely ignorant of bad
situations.
16.) How
do they see themselves?
a.
Thinks of himself as a pretty good kid with a
pretty good family.
17.) How
are they seen by others?
a.
Family loves him, and loves to see him. His
mother thinks he has a promising future as he’s very charismatic.
18.) What’s
his biggest secret?
a.
He’s terrified of being alone forever. And actually
knows that his mother is depressed but doesn’t want to bring attention to it
hoping it will go away.
19.) What’s
his relationship with his mother?
a.
Has a very strong relationship. After his father
passed away he tried to cherish every moment he had with her. When his mother
started to change and deal with the passing of his father and the reoccurrence
of her illness he tried to stay ignorant to it, hoping it would go away. This
helped the mother isolate herself from her son —ashamed of herself— and would eventually lead to her suicide.
20.) Who
has the power in the relationship?
a.
As a mother, she would have to hold power over
her child, in a healthy familial way.
21.) What
do they want for each other?
a.
When he was younger he just wanted to have his
mom with him forever and loved to hang out with her and tell her stories.
b.
His mother wanted the best life for her son, but
was consumed with the loss around her and eventually all she wanted to be was
less of a burden to him.
22.) Who
is the story about?
a.
The story focuses its narrative around Saul and
how he deals with loss of his mother and subsequently his faith.
Character Arc – Saul – Younger
4.)
He goes through a physical change – From being
okay to having a large wound on the side of his face after slipping in the
blood in the bathroom.
5.)
A spiritual change – Relatively good to
relatively bad, from faithful to faithless
6.)
Emotional Change – from happy and ignorant to
hateful and knowing.
Questions – Saul – Older
31.) What
is your character’s full name?
a.
Saul Nevi (As in the book of Jonah “Nevi’ism”
from the Hebrew Bible)
32.) When
were they born?
a.
1965, February 2nd
i.
(Jonah 2: 2 He said; “In my distress I called to
the LORD and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for
help, and you listened to my cry.”)
33.) What
are their parent’s names?
a.
Mother: Anne Marispan (Nevi)
b.
Father: Arden Nevi
34.) Do
they have any brothers or sisters?
a.
His father died, and his mother never remarried
so he is an only child.
35.) What
kind of eyes do they have?
a.
He used to have bright greenish eyes, but as he
got older they browned to more of a hazel.
36.) What
kind of hair do they have?
a.
His hair is short at the sides and longer
towards the middle, a style he wore since he was a child.
37.) What
is his greatest fear?
a.
Dying alone, with no one to care if he were
gone. His mother “leaving” him like his father did.
38.) What
body type are they?
a.
Stocky built, short but strong for his age.
39.) What
is listening to their voice like?
a.
High pitched and has a tendency to break when
speaking as he’s hitting the age where his voice starts to deepen.
40.) Do they have a favorite quote?
a.
“This too shall pass,” his mother used to say it
to him.
41.) What
sort of music do they enjoy?
a.
He is a fan of older music that tells happy love
stories — lots of elvis, Bing Crosby, The Capris, CCR, Danny Kaye, Ernie Ford
<3
42.) Have they ever cheated on a partner?
a.
He is too young to have ever dated.
43.) Have they ever lost someone close to them?
a.
Both their father and their mother, but the
mother’s death is the one that spiraled him.
44.) What
is their favorite sound?
a.
Hearing the stove turn on in the morning.
45.) If
they found a $20 bill on the ground what would they do with it?
a.
Show it to his mother and ask where the police
are so he can turn it in.
46.) Are
they judgmental of others?
a.
He hasn’t yet formed judgmental tendencies.
47.) Have they ever been drunk?
a.
Too young to have ever touched the stuff.
48.) What
are they like when they stay up all night?
a.
Tends to be manic and run around a lot before
tuckering himself out eventually and claiming to be “not tired” as he falls
asleep on the couch watching a show with his mother.
49.) Have
they ever been arrested?
a.
Too young to have ever even thought of doing
anything to warrant an arrest.
50.) What
color evokes strong memories for them?
a.
Any warm color (yellow, red, orange) will remind
him of his mother.
51.) What
does he do on rainy days?
a.
He tends to open the blinds and watch the storm
with his mom and talk about how weather patterns are possible.
52.) How would they survive the zombie apocalypse?
a.
He thinks he’d survive the zombie apocalypse
with his really sweet pillow fort he can make in a little under 5 minutes and
the baseball bat his dad used to play with.
53.) What word do they overuse the most?
a.
“Heck yeah”
54.) What
do they wear to bed?
a.
Whatever clothes he happened to fall asleep in.
55.) Do
they have any tattoos or piercings?
a.
His mother won’t let him get any but he thinks
they are pretty cool.
56.) What
type of clothing are they most comfortable in?
a.
He likes to wear his Father’s old clothes.
57.) What is their most disliked saying?
a.
“You’re not old enough to do that yet.”
i.
Wishes he was old enough to do that.
58.) Do
they have any enemies?
a.
He has no enemies as of right now.
59.) What
disgusts them?
a.
Those weird bugs that sometimes get into the
house. Although he thinks crickets are kinda cool.
Secondary Character – Mother
Anne Marsipan (Nevi)
1.)
Ethical Baseline
a.
Categorical Imperative
i.
Knows what’s right and wrong, but tends to be
conflicted on if life really is that easy.
2.)
Dominated by emotion or logic?
a.
She tends to be dominated by emotion, but thinks
she is making logical choices. Most of the time it’s out of love for her son.
3.)
Greatest Strength.
a.
Very compassionate and loving towards Saul,
wants him to have all that he can especially after the death of her husband.
4.)
Flaw?
a.
Extremely depressed after her husband’s passing
and sees herself as a burden. Her illness as returned and she knows she will
get insurance money if she passed away — thinking that may be the only way to
provide for Saul.
5.)
How do they see themselves?
a.
She thinks she is a burden and wishes she had
more to provide for Saul.
6.)
How are they seen by others?
a.
Her sisters think she is a kind and loving woman
who has gone through a terrible loss, they don’t yet realize how broken she is.
7.)
What’s her biggest secret?
a.
She has been putting out life insurance on
herself in case she ever passes away from her illness so Saul will at least
have something.
8.)
What’s her relationship with Saul?
a.
When he was younger they had a very strong
relationship. After his father passed away he tried to cherish every moment he
had with her. When his mother started to change and deal with the passing of
his father and the reoccurrence of her illness he tried to stay ignorant to it,
hoping it would go away. This helped the mother isolate herself from her son —ashamed
of herself— and would eventually lead to her
suicide.
9.)
Who has the power in the relationship?
a.
As a mother, she would have to hold power over
her child, in a healthy familial way. Although after her suicide her memory
would hold Saul captive and guilty for a long time.
10.) What
do they want for each other?
a.
His mother wanted the best life for her son, but
was consumed with the loss around her and eventually all she wanted to be was
less of a burden to him.
11.) Who
is the story about?
a.
The story focuses its narrative around Saul and
how he deals with loss of his mother and subsequently his faith.
Character Arc – Anne
7.)
She goes through a physical change – from being
mostly healthy looking to being thin, frail, and sickly.
8.)
A spiritual change – She goes from faithful to
faithless.
9.)
Emotional Change – from happy and hopeful to
depressed and hopeless.
Questions – Anne
60.) What
is your character’s full name?
a.
Anne Marsipan
61.) When
were they born?
a.
1945, February
26
i.
(Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he
should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”)
62.) What
are their parent’s names?
a.
Mother: Margaret Marsipan
b.
Father: Marty Marsipan
63.) Do
they have any brothers or sisters?
a.
She has two sisters but they don’t talk as much
as they used to.
64.) What
kind of eyes do they have?
a.
She has bright green eyes.
65.) What
kind of hair do they have?
a.
Her Hair is long but is always kept in a messy
bun.
66.) What
is her greatest fear?
a.
Not being able to provide for Saul
67.) What
body type are they?
a.
Thin and classic 50’s style body type,
hour-glass figure and all.
68.) What
is listening to their voice like?
a.
Very soothing and melodic voice, could probably
sing if she wanted to.
69.) Do they have a favorite quote?
a.
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he will not depart from it.”
70.) What
sort of music do they enjoy?
a.
she is a fan of older music that tells happy
love stories — lots of elvis, Bing Crosby, The Capris, CCR, Danny Kaye, Ernie
Ford <3
71.) Have they ever cheated on a partner?
a.
Never, she was very loyal.
72.) Have they ever lost someone close to them?
a.
She lost her husband very young into the marriage
and is still clearly heartbroken about it.
73.) What
is their favorite sound?
a.
Hearing the radio crank to an old melody.
74.) If
they found a $20 bill on the ground what would they do with it?
a.
If she were behind on her bills, she might use
it to help herself out. However if Saul was with her she would always try to
find the owner or do what she could to make using it right.
75.) Are
they judgmental of others?
a.
She tends not to judge others and is more
focused on her home life, however she tends to judge herself based on how other
mothers are able to take care of their children.
76.) Have they ever been drunk?
a.
She has been drunk a few times when she was
younger, but sobered up as she became a mother. When her illness reoccurs she
started to drink again.
77.) What
are they like when they stay up all night?
a.
If she stays up all night she tends to be very
depressed and lonely so she tries her hardest not to.
78.) Have
they ever been arrested?
a.
She has never been arrested.
79.) What
color evokes strong memories for them?
a.
The color red will remind her of her husband’s
bright hair.
80.) What
does she do on rainy days?
a.
She likes to wake Saul up and watch the storm
with him.
81.) How would they survive the zombie apocalypse?
a.
She would do everything possible to make sure
Saul was safe and then scavenge for food in the dead of night where she would
be least likely to be seen or confronted.
82.) What word do they overuse the most?
a.
“honey”
83.) What
do they wear to bed?
a.
She likes to wear a plaid onesie to bed and
bought Saul a matching one.
84.) Do
they have any tattoos or piercings?
a.
She does not like tattoos, so does not have one.
85.) What
type of clothing are they most comfortable in?
a.
She likes to wear long khaki pants with flower
blouses.
86.) What is their most disliked saying?
a.
“You’ve been late on your payments please
contact our service desk at…”
87.) Do
they have any enemies?
a.
She has no known enemies.
88.) Would you two be friends?
a.
We would be very good friends, but as she starts
to lose herself in her depression she would probably push me away.
89.) What
disgusts them?
a.
A dirty home and how some mothers treat their children.
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