Writing Tips- My Characters Part 1- Character Analysis

When I develop characters I make sure that I know these things:

Physical Appearance- Hair, eyes, face, height, approximate weight, any piercings or tatoos, mouth, and facial expressions. 

Clothing- Overall style of clothing.

Movements- How does your character move? With confidence, hesitance...?

Behavior- How does he/she act with other people? By themselves?

Home- Where they live: home, town, bedroom.

School/Work/Activities- Know what or how these are done.

Family- This mostly pertains to who the character lives with or who they will meet. For example one of my characters has an aunt that will be coming to visit. 

Possessions- Many characters will have a necklace or something that is special to them. Know what is in their bedroom or the place they live.

Interests- Things they like to do or are interested in. This could drive the plot highly or be the main point of the story.

These next few are optional, but I like to include them.

Beliefs- religion, devotion?

My character is the sort of person who... (for example)

1. Tries to stay out of trouble.

2. Is not the best student.

3. Is picked on a lot.

4. Is unsure of herself.

5. Is surrounded by mystery and worry.

I also like to list a lie that my character would tell.

"Do or Do Not, There is No Try"- Auditioning for a Part

When you are auditioning-
Make eye contact- You want to seem confident and at ease when auditioning.
Remove jewelry, watches, or dangling things- When you're nervous you tend to play with things on yourself. I always pull my hair back and take off all jewelry.
Avoid your default position- Folding your arms, rocking back and forth, twisting, all signs of nervousness- makes the directors feel uncomfortable.
Never apologize- If you're sick, they'll know. Apologizing is like saying "I'm so sorry that you can't hear just how great I am because I happen to be dysfunctional at the moment. But I promise, every other time, I'll sound great!"
Always self-build- Never tell yourself before an audition or performance that you "are going to die!" Tell yourself things like "I can do this. I've rehearsed this. I'll make it!"
Never ask to start over- Everybody makes mistakes. What the directors will be looking for is how well you can push through them. Make it seem like you did it on purpose.
Smile, stay calm, and focus- The more at ease you are, the better.
Don't rush- It'll be over soon. Slow down, and enjoy it.

When auditioning requires you to sing a song-
Most auditions require you to sing sixteen bars of a Broadway song. If you don't know what sixteen bars is, look it up or count. Or ask someone.
Pick a song that is in your range- If you can't hit all the notes in the piece that you are singing and sound nice, this is not the song for you.
Make sure you understand the song- Understand why or how this song was originally performed. Stand in front of a mirror and speak the words. Your hands should do what you would normally do in the situation that the song gives.
Project- You might audition in a small room, but imagine that you are performing in front of a New York style audience. Be LOUD!
Bring your music- Make sure you bring the sheet music for your piece. Bringing a CD or singing acapella is not acceptable. This pianist will be able to play the song. If you need it in a certain key, tell them.
Pick your song carefully- Singing a song from a recently premiered Broadway, or movie, is not a good idea. For example if you sing Popular from Wicked, people will compare you to Kristen Chenowith. And unless you are a Broadway star, this makes you look bad. Doing a song from Les Miserables at this time after the movie just came out, might not be a good idea either.

After auditions-
If you're not called back, this doesn't mean you're not in the production, it just means they don't need to see you again.
If you don't make the part you want it doesn't mean that you are not good, it could mean that you are just not right for the part. For example (again I'm referring to Wicked) Kristen Chenowith was perfect for the part of Galinda, meanwhile Indina Mendenzel would not have been able to do as good of a job. But she worked great for Elphaba!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know it's a little late, but here is my valentine for you.

"If I was going to pick one person in the world to reattach my head, I'd pick you."
-Percy Jackson: Demigod Files, Rick Riordan

Hope you enjoyed your holiday!

Drama Games- Gibberish Translator

You need 4 people plus an audience. Two people sit in two chairs side by side each other. The other people stand to the side of each chair on the edges. The two people in the chairs are arguing about something. But the twist is that they can only speak Gibberish  The people on the edges are translators. In some versions, the Gibberish speaking are given a relationship, or a topic to argue on. The conversation goes something like this:

Gibberish 1: Blah, blah blah blah blah blah.
Translator 1: Cats are way better than dogs.
Gibberish 2: Muh muh muh muh muh mumumuh!
Translator 2: No way! You have no reason to think that!
Gibberish 1: Blah.
Translator 1: Yes I do! Cats are cleaner, smaller, and quieter. They can get their own food and they don't require that much attention. Dogs are smelly, messy, hungry, hyper, and big. You can't possible think they are better than cats.

Good example? Yes, I think so. You might ask though, how does blah translate into all of that? It doesn't matter. As long as they are arguing and translating. But watch out, don't get ahead of yourselves.

Obert Skye's Life Philosophies- A Perfect Birth

Obert Skye is an amazing author and philosopher. He has thoughts so intoxicatingly deep that I can't resist blogging about them. I will be sticking these under my author page under Obert Skye's name. Enjoy, and think Skye-ward.

This first philosophy is from Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, Chapter 1: A Relative of Foo, The Birth of Leven

"Who can say for sure what constitutes the perfect birth? Perhaps a mother, while playing cards and sipping lemonade, might simply hiccup, pat her stomach, and there in her arms would be a beautiful child, already diapered and pink-cheeked, looking up at her and emitting a soft coo. That wouldn't be too bad.
Or perhaps, while taking a nice ride up the coastline on a golden afternoon, a woman might tap her husband on the shoulder and say, "Look what I found."
Together they would peer into the backseat and there would be their lovely newborn buckled in a car seat and sleeping blissfully. A person could argue that that scenario would be perfect to a lot of people."

Like I said, I did not write any of this. This is all Obert Skye's grand work. All rights belong to him and Shadow Mountain Publishing, and whoever else might deserve them.

Helpful (or not so helpful) Hints: A Not-so Important Thing that You May or May Not Want to Know About Book Series

Book Series (Series? Serieses?) come in many different sizes. You may be reading a series right now and you may wonder: What type of series is this? Or you may not. But either way, just continue to read this post and enjoy it because I have placed my heart and soul into this thing, and that's what the courteous person would do. Oh man! I need to go back to bed.

Different series of books have a different number of books in them. Surprisingly, all these different series have different names.

A series with one book in it is not a series. It is a book. Or possibly a companion.
A series with two books is called a Duology. (Reiyalindis)
A series with three books is called a Trilogy. (The second most common series type. Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, Pillagy, Kane Chronicles, Serpent Tide series)
Four books is a Quadrilogy. (Peter and the Starcatchers series, Jimmy Fincher Saga)
Five books is a Pentalogy or Quintet. (The most common series type. Leven Thumps, Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, Spiderwick, The Time Quintet)
Six books is a Hexalogy (I've heard it called a Saga or a Sixtet).
Seven books is a Heptalogy or a Septalogy. (Harry Potter, Septimus Heap, The Chronicles of Narnia)
Eight books is a Octalogy.

Now you've gained some knowledge. Go imply it into your natural lives. Though I wouldn't recamend going around telling people that you're reading a 'Hexalogy'. You might get some strange looks.