Characters

   Characters are easy to set up. The first thing you need to do to start creating a character is to hit the Add button on the toolbar. This button creates space for a new character. As you would probably imagine, hitting the Delete button removes the currently selected character.

   Here's a full screen picture of the Characters screen.

   The first thing you probably want to do is to give your character a name. As you would imagine, you do this on the First Name, Last Name, and /or Nickname sections on the upper left hand corner.

At your convenience you may want to print out your character(s). If you'd like to print your curently selected character(s) simply press the button on the toolbar.

If you would like to select one particular character, press the Find button. This will take you to a lookup screen. Here, double click, or select the character you'd like to see alone then press the OK button. This will set the program to have only the selected character displayed.

This program is put together so you rarely need to hit the Save button. Usually, after you enter information into a section and move into another section, your work is saved. Also, if you find things aren't staying like you expect, feel free to hit the Save button at your convenience.

To go to Scenes, hit the Scene button, or select it from the menu under 'View', then under that at 'Scene'.

To go to Stories, hit the Story button, or select it from the menu under 'View', then under that at 'Story'.

To get through your entries use the following buttons: . If you'd like to see the first character in the system, depending on which you currently have selected, hit the First button. if you'd like to see back one character hit the Back button. If you'd like to see the next character in the system hit the Next button. And, if you'd like to see the last character hit the Last button.

Remember, the name of your character is about the only arguably necessary information. Anything you put in after this is your choice and is hoped to help you write your story.

Not all the character pieces are described below. Many are self explanatory, such as First name, hair color, etc.

Characters Piece	Description
Nickname	This is an obvious entry, but I do recommend you place the nickname in double quotes - "".
Snapshot	Give a brief description of the character.
Outer Motivation	What, for all the world to see, is the character's top goal?
Inner Motivation	What secretly inside the character, for the world not to see, is the character's top goal?
Outer Conflict	What, for all the world to see, is a personality or other conflict the character faces?
Inner Conflict	What, in secret, for all the world not to see, is a personality or other conflict the character faces?
Short Term Goals	What is the character's short term goals?
Long Term Goals	What is the character's long term goals?
Short Term Needs	What is the character's short term needs?
Long Term Needs	What is the character's long term needs?
Distinguishing Features	What physical or other trait is unique to this individual?
Emotion	Does the character bottle up their feelings or do they share all their thoughts with the whole world to see and hear?
Approach	Does the character jump right into things, keep away from conflicts?
Talking Style	Does the character talk fast, slow, with a Southern drawl, New England accent, etc?
Temperament	Is the character mean, nice, laid back, etc?
Shadow Side	What's a personality or side the world doesn't see of the character?
Character Flaw	What is a personality problem the character is trying to fix, or struggles with?
Introvert/Extrovert	Does the character keep to themselves, introvert, or do they go out of their way to interact with other people, extrovert.
Paradox	What's something ironic about the character? For instance, someone who tells everyone to be tight with their money but ends up spending their money as fast as they can get it.
Gestures	What's some physical movement(s) the character does that helps make them distinguishable as an individual?
Type of Person	How does the character fix problems they face? For instance, do they think their way to solutions, smooze, buy their way out of problems?
Secondary Type	Secondarily, how does the character fix problems they face? For instance, do they think their way to solutions, smooze, buy their way out of problems?
Self Esteem	How does the character think of themselves? Do they like or hate themself?

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