Hallo Everybody! I am not sure what I should do for today's writing challenge...Oh it just came to me, isn't that nice when things like that happen?!  Okay so for this evening, I am going to write a character bio!! 

For those of you who don't know what that is, a character bio is a short summary of one your characters. This can be for a book, or a play, or in my case, just for fun. The purpose of this is for the author to get in tune with their character. It helps them keep track of who they are writing about and how they would act in certain situations. As your story line develops so can your characters. Having a character bio allows authors to compare this growth when the story is over, or add to it throughout the book or play. 

Character bios can be very detailed, depicting every single moment of your character's life, or they can be simple and only depict the key features of your character. I don't often make one, but doing this fleshes out your character and makes them more of a person and less like a cut out. The style in which you write your character bios can very as well. (I just realized I switched perspectives... Oh, well, "The author" is now "you")  

Once in high school, I wrote a play and the character bios were in an interrogation format. The play was a murder mystery so, I thought it was fitting to have my characters introduce themselves this way. (Maybe in a later "episode," I'll share a couple of them.) I had fun with the scene too, which is important when writing! Some characters were pissed off by having to sit down and talk, others were in a hurry and couldn't wait to leave, etc. You get my point. Other character bios I wrote in third person. There was no interaction with the actual character either. Both are very effective as long as you feel you've fleshed out your character enough.

Now, that you're all caught up, I'm going to go find a name generator and get started! OMG Behind the name is a great name generator it helps with coming up with a first and last name and gives details of the person's life if you chose to add that option. I am just going to randomly choose the name though.

Name: Cian Plaskett

For this bio I want it to be first person. Cian will be auditioning for a live talent show, like the X Factor, or America's got Talent. I chose this because they always ask about the person's life, before they actually perform. I will only be writing Cian's responses to the questions he is asked, so hopefully you guys can infer what is being said. You don't have to do this for your writing. Since this is technically for me to understand my character, I don't need to write the questions because I know what is being asked of Cian. Anyways, here we go!

*~*~

Hi, I am Cian, pronounced "Key-an." Oh, yeah I could speak louder. Sorry, I'm just a little nervous. This is the first time I've ever done something like this. 

What? Oh, Um... I am twenty-three years old and I work at a shipping company. I basically move boxes from one shelf to another. It's not the most exciting job, but it helps pay for my sister's medical bills. 

Yes, I am doing this for her. She's my baby sister and I would do anything for her and my mom. It's just us three, and if I win the competition, the first thing I am doing is getting my sister the best doctor on the planet and my mom the hot-tub she's always wanted.

Haha! Well hopefully that hot-tub will be attached to a new house, but for right now all she really wants is a the tub. 

I hope she gets it too!

Oh, um... I am going to sing for you tonight. 

It's song called Medicine, by Guster. 

Th-Thank you.

****

Okay this was a small character bio I wrote, but I've decided to make this a learning opportunity rather than an actual prompt. Even though I did not write "a lot," we can learn a lot about Cian's personality and life. I'll list it to make it easier.

1) Cian's name is not a "typical american" name so, we know he's got some Irish roots. This is one of the  more subtle traits to pick up on, so don't feel bad if you didn't catch it, remember it's for my own benefit. I know he's Irish, and I might mention that to my readers, by making another character point out his accent, or mention his background in a different setting.

2) We learn Cian's age and where he works. We know Cian is young and has a low paying job. I could have added where what his mom does, but if I wrote her a character bio I would say she would have a stressful job because she is a single mother with a sick daughter. (And all she really wants is a hot-tub) Which brings me to point three.

3) Cian's family is very important to him. We learn he is the man of the house by default. I made sure to make Cian sound confident when talking about his family, but seem nervous when talking about anything else. He knows his role well and that's why he is confident in it. (I'll explain this further in point six.) We also know he is selfless because the prize money is not for Cian, but for his mom and sister. 

4) We also know from Cian's family and work life that he is poor. This competition means a lot to him because he needs the money to pay for a good doctor for his sister. I could have added more to Cian's home life, but the information I wrote about so far, already tells me he is struggling at home. 

5) The song I chose for Cian also shows a bit of his personality as well. I could have chosen any song really. If I had chosen an old rock song, we could say Cian might have an old soul. If Can chose to sing a rap song, it would also change the way we look at him. The song I chose is actually real and from an indie rock band, but the real reason I chose it was not to make Cian a hipster, but because that's what's currently playing on my computer.... (lol) But my point still comes through, also we can correlate the word medicine to his sister, if we really wanted to. 

6a.) These are really just side notes, but anyways, I really like the character I have created so far because we know he is strong and confident for his family, but this competition shows a more vulnerable side to Cian. He is not used to people and therefore is shy when he has to talk to "the Judges." These contrasting traits give Cian more complexity which is nice. 

6b.) Notice how I didn't add Cian's physical traits? This is because I don't really know what I want Cian to look like yet, sure I can figure it out if I really think about it, but it doesn't really go with the flow of my character bio. For me this exercise was to learn who Cian was not what he looks like. That does not mean I will write every character bio this way. If I chose to write Cian's life in third person then I would take his looks into more consideration. However, since I chose to write in first person, I might make an "*" at the end of my character bio for extra information like, physical traits or developments in his personality. 

6c.) Lastly, your character is not set in stone! If you wanted your character to suddenly grow a unicorn horn, then go for it! If you want your quiet shy girl to cry about not getting those cute shoes on sale, then go for it! Contrasting traits make your character more complex, but just be careful as you develop and grow your character through your story. If they flip-flop their personality too suddenly, it might throw off your readers... But maybe you want that?

7) Just be confident and have fun! I think every time you write this should be your main priorities. Don't get stuck on the little details, (even I do sometimes, but I try hard for it not to control me too much!) you can always rewrite and edit!

Alright that's all for now, I didn't expect to be writing a "tutorial," but I hope it might have helped some of you! Fun Fact: If you try to say the alphabet without moving your lips or tongue every letter will sound the same... You just tried it didn't you XD (I think this FF is more fun than fact, but it makes me smile thinking someone else besides me tried it.)

(FF source: Facts App)