Character Profile #1

Hello all. I apologize for what I'm about to do. For the next couple of posts, you are going to get some choppy short little snippets about either my planning for my first writing project, or postings of what I'm doing in Creative Writing. The Pertinent Life Questions series is most likely ended. I will try to post an occasional post about something other than writing, but this blog is called "The Write Place" after all.

As I begin planning today for my first official writing project, please keep in mind that all of the things I write for my Creative Writing class are all off of the top of my head. That means that they are random spoutings of words which I do not plan in advance. I do not expect any of that crap to be good. I just use that class for practice. With that being said, I will post my modernization of a Grimm fairy tale after a couple of days.

For my first "Short Story Planning" post, I'd like to post a profile of the first character I've created for my story. I do not know how they will fit into the story yet or even what the story will be, but I have devoted this day to fleshing out this first character.

Name: Stephanie Winters

Meaning of Name: Stephanie is the female form of Stephen. Stephen means crown in Greek, which I take to mean leader. Saint Stephen was also a biblical figure who was stoned to death after Jesus died. He is widely regarded as the first Christian martyr, and so, I take Stephanie to also symbolize martyrdom. So far, Stephanie Winters is a leader and a martyr. Winters was a last name that used to be given to farmers who had to send in their taxes during the winter. That, to me, symbolizes hardships that the farmers took to do their duty. So Stephanie Winters is a leader who is willing to go through any hardships and any sacrifices to succeed at what she does. Although she is female, I picture her as a character who goes against the stereotypical female. Stephanie reminds me more of a male character at this point, having a mysterious past and having dealt with many a hard time.

Age: 64 years old, this reinforces the fact that Stephanie is an older (but not elderly) lady who has seen her fair share of the cruelties life can offer.

Height: 4 foot 9. I am a short guy, and the top of Stephanie's head comes right up to eye level for me. She is a short woman, which exemplifies even further the fact that she has dealt with bigger (and meaner) people.

Eye and Hair Color: Her eyes are steel blue. Stephanie is a character who is dead set on what she wants, and she will give up anything to see her dreams come true. But she also has another side to her...her hair is bright red (although it's starting to gray a little bit). This shows her passionate side. Just because she can be cold and determined doesn't mean that she is an emotionless monster. She actually CARES about the people that she works with.

Character Traits: Assertive. We've already beaten to death the fact that she is more man than woman. She has a confidence about her that sets her apart from the stereotypical literary woman figure. Imaginative. This is another aspect of her passionate side. Playing into her bright red hair, Stephanie is also very creative and clever. This helps her to succeed and really make a name for herself...in whatever she does. Moody. This is a downside of being a hard-shelled person. Stephanie can occasionally get REALLY crabby. She definitely has her bad days, and she is for sure a person who will snap at you if you get caught on her bad side. Scared of fireworks. Not quite sure about how to implement this one yet, but I'll figure it out eventually. I think that I may have her have a traumatic childhood experience involving a death because of a firework accident. The death will definitely involve a major female figure for her, since that adds to the lack of femininity that she has.

That's all for now, folks. Hopefully after I post my Grimm fairy tale story I'll be able to clue you in a little more on what to expect for my short story collection. I'll have a basic story line by next time, and maybe another character or two. Please comment below and tell me how you like Mrs. Stephanie Winters. I'm eager to read your reactions. Until next time...