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OKAY. So, after a break, I'm ready for Zel again. I've made some alterations on her character, really to just make things easier for me, so I won't be so confused.

Basic Statistics

Name: Zelphia Margot Rosamund
Nickname: Zel, Zelly
Meaning of name: Zelphia - Frailty, Margot - Pearl,
Origin of name: Zelphia - Hebrew, Margot - Greek,
Age: 230
Sex: Female
Blood type: AB
Nationality: Scottish.
Ethnicity: Scottish
Political Party: None
Socioeconomic level as a child: Wealthy
Socioeconomic level as an adult: Middle class, leaning towards lower.
Birth date: October 31, 1779
Birth place: Edinburgh, Scotland
Current residence: She keeps a permanent home in Leeds, England, but often stays with her friend Elliot in London.
Describe their dwelling/house: It's a little shabby and eclectic. The Walls are painted a deep crimson, and antique paintings and prints grace the walls. Her books shelves are over flowing, so there are books stacked up everywhere. It's cluttered and small, but all together clean.
Occupation: She just works odd jobs every once in a while.
Hobbies/Pastimes: Drinking, reading, people watching, taking walks, playing the guitar
Talents/Skills/Powers: Werewolf.
Birth order: Middle child of five.
Family:

Mother: Carol - Deceased
Father: John - Deceased
Eldest sister: Gwendolyn - Deceased
Older Brother: John Mason - Deceased
Younger Brother: Tyler - Deceased
Youngest Sister: Ophelia - Deceased

Past History

Hometown: Edinburgh, Scotland
First Memory: Being pushed through the Laundry shoot by John Mason, she was 3.
Childhood: She had a relatively good childhood. Her family was very wealthy, and she was somewhat sheltered. She was often picked on by her older siblings.
Most important childhood event that still affects him/her:
She was attacked and bitten by a werewolf when she was only 7, and 10 years later it caused her aging to be halted completely. Her childhood was thoroughly disrupted by this, but her family accepted her and kept her secret for her. She tried to live as normally as possible.
Other memories/events that still affects him/her:
Her father abandoning the family for a period of time. But he ended up coming back when he heard of her infliction.

Past failures s/he would be embarrassed to have people know about:
None really, she's very modest.
Favorite parent:
Her father. Because out of the two, she is most like him.
Biggest role model:
Her father, same as above.
Biggest disillusions from childhood:
When her John Mason told her that there were no such things as mythical creatures, such as werewolves, oddly enough.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 5' 2"
Weight: 104 lbs
Posture: For the most part, her posture is very good. But at times in can become slouchy and unhealthy.
Build: She is very thin, with a small bust and small hips. She lacks womanly curves.
Race/Species: Werewolf, though she identifies as human.
Skin: Ivory
Hair: She has thick, auburn hair. It falls just above her waist. It naturally falls in loose waves, and the pieces that frame her face are cut short and they flip back. She hates washing it.
Widow’s peak?: It's not very prominent.
Ears: Pointed
Eyes: Her original eye colour was a deep brown, but now they're a gold colour. They're almond shaped and a little heavy lidded. Her eyebrows are softly angled and they're a bit darker than her hair.
Nose: It's straight and has a bit of an upturned tip (not too prominent). A thin diagonal scar runs across, starting from the inside of her left eye, and ending right at the base of her nose (on the right side)
Mouth: Her top lip is a little fuller than her bottom lip.
Face shape: Oval
Expressions: She usually just keeps a neutral (but content looking) expression, or frowns slightly. But when she smiles she has dimples on both sides of her face.
Describe their smile: She rarely smiles with a closed mouth, she usually flashes her teeth. She has dimples on either side of her mouth.
Hands: She has small, bony hands with skinny fingers. They're usually colder than the rest of her body.
Feet: She has relatively small feet. Wears a size 7 shoe.
Tattoos/Scars?: She has a scar running down her right eye, and one that goes diagonally across her face and over her nose. She also has a scar of a bite mark on her left arm, right below her elbow.
Glasses/Contacts?: Occasionally she wears a pair of black horn rimmed glasses. But usually just contacts, she's near sighted.
Left/Right handed?: Left
Virgin?: No
Distinguishing features: A mole on her left cheek, facial scars.
How does s/he dress: She uses a lot of layers. Most of the clothes that she wears were bought in the 60's and 70's. She wears a lot of dresses and skirts. She almost always wears some sort of jacket or sweater.
Jewelry: She doesn't wear much jewelry, only studs in her ears.
Other accessories: She loves scarfs.
Weapons: Keeps a switchblade with her at all times.
Are they generally balanced or clumsy?: She's very clumsy, she doesn't pay enough attention to her surroundings.
Mannerisms/Poses/Movement: When she stands still she stands with her left hip cocked out to the side and her leg bent. She also has a nervous habit of clutching her neck. She talks with her hands a lot.
Describe their walk: It can almost be a strut, but she walks with her feet pointed somewhat inwards. She has a hard time walking in straight lines.
Habits/OCDs/Obsessions: Pack rat
Health: She's generally healthier than she looks, she just doesn't sleep well.
Speech Patterns: She mumbles a lot, and often has to repeat herself. She has a habit of not finishing her sentences and answering thought questions out loud.
Unique phrases/words: Occasionally makes up her own descriptive words.
Voice: She speaks with an elegant, but somewhat gruff sounding Scottish accent.
Describe their laugh: Short giggles
Style (Elegant, shabby, etc): Vintage, very layered.
Physical Flaws: She has loads of scars, and she hates her body.
Physical Qualities: Her lips and hair
Greatest Physical Flaw: The scars on her face.
Best Physical Quality: Her eyes

Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes

Intelligence Level: Very high. but she doesn't flaunt it.
Known Languages: French, Latin, Spanish, and Italian. And bits and pieces of others
Character's long-term goals/desires in life: She would like to find away to becoming fully human again, but it's not her first priority.
Character's short-term goals/desires in life: Just to get through they day alive.
How self-confident is the character?: She's pretty confident in her personality, but not so much her looks.
How does Character see him/herself?: She sees herself as human, she knows she has flaws and excepts them.
How does Character believe s/he is perceived by others?: She thinks that other people see her as eccentric and quiet, maybe a bit stuck up.
How does Character express themself?: Playing music.
Is this character generally dominant or submissive? Submissive
Patience level: Moderate.
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof?: A combination, though leaning more towards emotion.
Most at ease when: Playing her guitar, or taking a hot bath.
Ill at ease when: Full moons or crowded social situations
Describe their sense of humor: Dry and sardonic.
If granted one wish, what would it be?: Probably to be wholly human again.
Character/Personality/Mental/Social Strengths: She's strong and opinionated.
Character/Personality/Mental/Social Flaws: She's stubborn and easily upset.
If they could be described with one of the seven heavenly virtues, witch would it be?: Humility
If they could be described with one of the seven sins, which would it be?: Sloth
Biggest Vulnerability (non physical): Her status as a werewolf.
Optimist or Pessimist: Pessimist
Introvert or extrovert: Introvert
Greatest Fear: Death
Other Fears/Insecurities/Phobias:The dark, the full moon, pain, she's insecure about her body.
Peculiarities:
Biggest regret: Letting her family die, even though she couldn't stop it, they just died naturally.
Biggest accomplishment: Traveling around the world.
Minor accomplishments: Winning Bar fights.
Musical talents/instruments: The guitar and piano
Secret desires: To be mortal again, so she can age and die properly.
Character's darkest/deepest secret: That she's a werewolf.
Minor Secrets: Her age

Relationships with others

Relationship Skills: Laughable
Loves: Questionable.
Crushes: She doesn't really crush on people, or at least she doesn't admit it.
Lover(s): Questionable. Their either lovers or just friends with benefits.
Best Friends: Elliot Anderson, a paraplegic half-demon. Ethel, maybe, but their relationship is questionable.
Friends: Lynn, just a normal human girl.
Hates: No one really.
Dislikes: Trevor Hetfield, a boy who used to tease her when she was a child.
Rivals: None really, she tries to avoid conflict.
Pets: Animals don't like her
What kind of person would s/he consider to be the perfect mate? Quiet, thoughtful, and a good listener. Someone who doesn't try to move too fast, and someone who's as equally awkward as her.
How is s/he perceived by strangers?
They usually just see her as a bit off, and tend to avoid her.
What type of people does s/he like or associate with? People with the same interests as her and who are kind and quiet, people she knows wont annoy her. She likes introverted people, and only has a few close friends.
What type of people doesn’t s/he like or associate with? Loud obnoxious people who don't know how to behave in public. Most teenagers.

Likes/Dislikes

Likes: Scarfs, warm things, socks, reading, taking walks, spending time with close friends, sleeping, hot chocolate, hard liquor, people watching, eating.
Dislikes: Social situations, loud people, people who cry at the drop of a hat, the full moon, most women, romance novels, know-it-alls, bugs, hot weather, washing her hair, etc.
Favorite:
Color: Navy
Clothing: A plain white cotton sundress she got in 1964.
Place: Her house.
Food: Garlic and Herb Chicken
Music genre: British Indie, Folk-punk, some classic punk.
Song: "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" - Graham Coxon
Movie: "Wristcutters: A Love Story"
Book: Doesn't have a particular one.
Historical figure: Oscar Wilde
Animal: Doesn't have one
Quote: “The older one grows, the more one likes indecency.” - Virginia Woolf
Least Favorite:
Color: Yellow
Clothing: Anything tight fitting
Place: Malls
Food: Mushrooms
Music genre: Techno
Animal: Doesn't have one.
Simple Pleasures: Reading, drinking
Greater Pleasures: Traveling
Where does this character like to hang out? Her own house or Elliot's flat. Sometimes in parks, if it isn't too hot. Pubs.
Where is this character’s dream place to live? Perhaps somewhere in Russia, but she is very content with where she lives.
Motto/Personal quote: "I try not to care, but it gets a little bit harder to do so every day."
Mode of transportation: Walking for the most part. She has a car, but it hardly ever runs properly.
Most prized possession: Her father's journal.
Because It's one of the only things she has left from her parents.

Emotional Characteristics

Describe character's etiquette: Her mother taught good etiquette when she was a child (elbows off the table, don't talk with your mouth full, say 'please' and 'thank you', sit up straight, etc.). But as the years passed, she just began to care less, so they could use some work, but they're not barbaric.
How does this character act in public? She's quiet and polite. She tends to come off as nervous or stuck up.
How does this character act at home? Her home is her safe place. She props her feet up on tables, and can be as sloppy as she wants. She talks alot more when she's at home.
How has this character most changed from childhood? She's no longer naive, and she's a better listener.
How have they remained the same? She still tends to approach things with caution, and she's still a bit gullible.

How does this character deal with or react to:

Anger: She tends to shut down if someone is angry at her. Her responses become stiff.
Sadness: She tries to shy away from someone if they start crying, or are sad. She lacks the tact to comfort someone properly.
Conflict/Danger: She normally puts on a brave face, and faces it head on. She hates to seem weak, even though she's probably panicking on the inside.
Fear: Again, she shuts down if she's afraid. Remains silent.
Change: She's lived long enough to learn to welcome it.
Sex: You could call her a prude. She's only had sex once in her life time.
Homosexuality: Has lived long enough to know that love doesn't know gender, whatever happens, happens.
Pain: Hates it. Probably the only time she'll ever tear up is if she's in pain.
Stress/Pressure: She becomes frustrated and irritable.
Being wrong: It's a fact of life.
Love: She doesn't know how to approach it.
Being hated:
Public Humiliation:
What does this character think/feel about:
Children:
Homosexuality:
The opposite sex:
Politics:
Religion:
Science:
Killing/Murder:
Love:
How does the character view life?
How does the character view death?
How does the character view society?
How does the character imagine his/her own death?
What does the character want out of life?
What would the character like to change in his/her life?
What motivates this character?
Why?
What discourages this character?
Why?
What makes this character happy?
Why?
What makes this character sad?
Why?
What makes this character angry?
Why?
What most describes this character's personality?
Psycho analysis (Describe why they act the way they do):
Does it stem from childhood or an event, or chemical?
What is this character all about (if they can be described with one word)?

Spiritual Characteristics

Religion:
Does the character believe in a god or goddess?
What are the character's spiritual beliefs?
Is religion or spirituality an important part of this character's life?
If so, what role does it play?
Superstitions:
Chinese Zodiac:
Astrological Zodiac:
Element:

Other

If this character were an animal, what would they be?
Why?
IF this character were the opposite sex what would they
Do?
Say?
Feel?
If this character were to be characterized by an object, what would it be?
Why?
What song best fits this character?
If you could compare this character to an existing character, who would s/he be and why?
If you could choose an actor for this character, who would it be?
If you could choose a voice actor for this character, who would it be?
Who/what was your character inspired by?
What if? ...

How the Character is Involved in the Story

Character's role in the novel (main character? hero? Villain? etc):
Scene where character first appears:
Relationships with other characters:
Where, how and when did s/he first interact with other characters:
What was this character’s life like before something, if anything, happened to change it all:
How Character is different at the end of the novel from when the novel began:
Background Story:
Additional Notes on This Character:

Notes on creating effective characters

Motivation: When considering a character, always ask yourself ‘why’? Question your character’s motive for everything they do, think, or say. Delve into the psychology of your character. Don’t just make them ‘insane’ for no reason, or ‘just always happy,’ or anything that can‘t have backup. Every thing has a reason, and this should be relatively obvious to your readers, unless you mean to keep it a secret; but a good, solid character has depth. One creates depth through a deep understanding of their character’s past, psychology, and motives.

Stick to what you know: It’s hard to have a deep understanding for your character, if they have no basis in reality. It doesn’t mean you can’t have superheros or fantasy elements, but their traits and personality are still realistic. Even in an alternate universe, there is a state of consistency. Lack of consistency creates an unbalance and a poor foundation for your character, and they will be loose and shallow to the reader. A reader connects with a character when they can sympathize, or feel an emotion from them. Keep at least that much realistic in anything you do. In order to understand your character, you have to understand, or research them. Do you know enough about the period in which they were born, or their habitat? Do you know anything about their demographic, their race, their age? All of these things you must familiarize yourself with in reality before you attempt to recreate it in your story. It is the same with an artist; an artist can not learn to exaggerate reality before they learn to replicate it, at least to some extent.

Clichés, Stereotypes, and Archetypes: Clichés are not the same as archetypes or stereotypes, mind you, and to some extent these things are necessary for a story, however a cliché is never an important element. However, this does not mean that all clichés are bad. You can have a cliché storyline, but a diverse range of characters with depth and personality interesting enough to keep your reader into what you’re writing. Cliché characters, however, run the risk of becoming flat, and undeveloped. If you do not move beyond it, it will remain stagment, and thus hindering the potential of your story. Avoid them when you can, work around them when you have them. What is the difference, you ask? In my personal opinion, archetypes are ‘genres’ of stories or characters, a very basic and general ‘theme.’ These are hard to avoid. Archetypes of stories could include: love triangles, the classic Romeo and Juliet fate, jealousy, etc. These are things in which you base your story on, but build off of. Stereotypes are only acceptable in moderation. To some extent, you have to make a character believable. Certain fashions, dialects, and generally accepted truths about a stereotyped character might be necessary to get your point across. This is especially helpful for minor characters. Let’s say you have a bartender, who is in only one or two scenes. He needs no real development, as he only acts as a prop for your main characters to interact with. Go ahead with generalizing the character; the bowtie, the slicked back hair, calm and collected, usually the one to give a pick-me-up to the downtrodden. If you start going to the extreme opposite, and try to create the ’super unique, most original awesome character ever,’ or as I like to call it, the ’anti-stereotype,’ you run the risk of ’obviously trying too hard,’ which will come off to your reader as amateur. If he’s only a minor character, or someone in passing, don’t make the bartender “a midget, old woman with a beard, who’s lesbian for no reason, has wings, and speaks backwards in French.” That isn’t cute, it’s not clever, it’s not funny, it’s just stupid. Don’t try too hard to create something no one has ever seen, because you’ll inevitably fail. It doesn’t mean that you can’t create something original. Originality comes from making the particular character just unique enough from the others to stand out, however many aspects of this character probably have their inspirations from other sources. Don’t be afraid of that, but at the same time, don’t let your inspirations be all you draw from.

Conclusion: Most of all, keep practicing. Writing is like an art, no one is perfect the first time they start. No one creates masterpieces with their first works. Don’t bank all your money on one story, or one character. Continue to create, because you never know which one might be the big hit. Even when you have created something people like, don’t stop there. A true artist or writer is never pleased with their work. Continue to aspire to create more, create something new, and most of all, let your love of the hobby inspire you to never stop.

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