Oh he'd totally try to stop it. He has a friend, another MC, who could just simply crumble the asteroid to dust with his powers.
How well do you know your main character? the SF/F edition
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(this doesn't happen in the story since he's with someone else who vouches for him, but let's say he was alone...)
1. The Guardians.
The howl came again, closer this time.
Gasping, he pushed himself to his feet and ran on. His bad knee was throbbing. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.
The Guardians hated magic, and they could smell it on him. They could smell what he carried with him, the evil he'd brought into their land.
There was a snarl just behind him. He risked a glance behind him.
The creature leapt.
2. The Lady
The labyrinth twisted and turned, and by now he'd lost all sense of direction. There was only one way in and one way out. But where had she put him?
Please, Wyrhta, don't let him be heading for the center.
Behind him -- before him? -- She laughed.
Stifling a scream, he fled.
---
OK, my turn.
I'm still in music mode, so listen to THIS and tell us how it would make your MC feel.
That sounds like dancing music! *does a jig*
*ahem* Now that I have that out of my system...
MC1 (Ashley): It's very happy music, so I think it would make her feel happy. It might even make her feel like dancing. She doesn't dance in public because she's shy about that kind of thing, but she would still feel like dancing and maybe if she was totally alone, might take a few twirls around the room.
MC2 (Dawn): It sounds like the kind of music Dawn would hear during one of the master's festivals, therefore, it would make her feel tired. Dawn is a servant in her master's household, so when he throws a festival it guarantees that Dawn and the other servants will end up working long into the night.
Speaking of festivals...Your MC gets invited to a festival where there is lots of food, music, socializing, and dancing and s/he has to go whether s/he likes it or not. Once there, how does your MC feel about being at the festival? Does s/he enjoy him/herself or does s/he simply endure it? Does s/he participate in any of the activities? Which ones? Which activities does s/he avoid?
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Dang, got beaten just as I'd written it.
Hyarou would enjoy it, would eat the food, would stop to listen to and participate in the music (clapping/singing along, dancing), would join in with anything she was invited to, but would mostly just move through the festival without actively joining in on her own.
Morgan would hate it and would stay on the fringes and grumble, wouldn't even pick up food and would glare at anyone who tried to socialize.
Well, tianaluthien got me in music mode as well! Have at THIS piece.
Hyarou would enjoy it, would eat the food, would stop to listen to and participate in the music (clapping/singing along, dancing), would join in with anything she was invited to, but would mostly just move through the festival without actively joining in on her own.
Morgan would hate it and would stay on the fringes and grumble, wouldn't even pick up food and would glare at anyone who tried to socialize.
Well, tianaluthien got me in music mode as well! Have at THIS piece.
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Ahhhhh Viking Music!!
Lilith: She'd get all intense and start contemplating the deepest darkest mysteries of the universe. She's not really a fighter but she likes to think and ask questions - something girls aren't expected to do in her world. So if dark intense music like that came on, that's what it'd do to her. Make her think.
Adel: That's easy. He'd probably go practice his swords.
The pirate festival happened near me this weekend. It's just like a Renaissance Festival, but more yarg. If your MC walked into a pirate festival full of modern day people acting like pirates, how would your MC react?
Lilith: She'd get all intense and start contemplating the deepest darkest mysteries of the universe. She's not really a fighter but she likes to think and ask questions - something girls aren't expected to do in her world. So if dark intense music like that came on, that's what it'd do to her. Make her think.
Adel: That's easy. He'd probably go practice his swords.
The pirate festival happened near me this weekend. It's just like a Renaissance Festival, but more yarg. If your MC walked into a pirate festival full of modern day people acting like pirates, how would your MC react?
Emre and Ithmír would likely think they'd walked into a madhouse. They've met real pirates (Emre's related to a couple; they're not in touch).
Assuming it went on into the night so Byron could avoid the sun, he'd dress like Douglas Fairbanks in the films he saw when he was young and join in the fun.
Edit: Whoops! Forgot to add a question. Thanks for covering, Shirokirie!
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Your MC must confront their antagonist/evil force/it's final fight time. Show us what they must do to resolve the final conflict of the story they're currently involved in. (or in other words, how does your MC go about resolving the plot of their story?)
Being a pantser, I'm not entirely sure. However, I expect it to involve elements of sea caves, treasure, orcas, poison, human sacrifice and the death of a love interest.
If your MC could change one thing about their personality, what would it be?
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Morgan would like to change the disconnect between her desire to heal people and her intense distrust and dislike of the vast majority of them.
Hyarou would like to be more earnest and open.
Still in music mode. So, what's happening? How is your MC feeling?
Hmm...The music starts off sort of soft and then crescendos which makes me think of someone starting out tentatively but then growing in confidence.
MC1, Ashley, sort of does that in her story. When she's first transported from her world into the Other world, she starts out kind of shy and scared, unsure what her place is, if anyone cares about her, if she has any friends in this world. But as the story progresses, she does gain confidence. She finds her direction, her place in the Other world, and she finds friends/people who care about her enough to help her and she comes to care about them too.
If a stranger, beaten, bruised, and bloodied, comes to your MC in need of a place to hide because the person who beat the stranger up is coming and will be there at any second. If the stranger is caught, he/she will be killed. What does your MC do?
They find out if they have a reason to care. If there's no reason to care, there's no reason to intervene - but there are quite a lot of reasons they might care, from original insults directed at the King to cold hard coins.
What's your MC's theme song?
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How has no one answered this already? Holy smokes, this got me thinking. I went through a whole range of possibilities, from as hard rock as Ultranumb (which totally doesn't fit at all, no idea why I considered it) to meditative, east-Asia stuff). But before my answer:
I think my answer depends greatly on the time in the story in which the question is asked. By the end, and particularly into the first part of the second book, Jaxon's theme song would be Kryptonite (Three Doors Down). The rock undertones, played out in a contemplative and almost gentle manner, match very well. The lyrics themselves aren't far off (he is far from Superman-like power, but at that part of the story he is unique and shares similarities to Clark Kent's loneliness, as depicted in some versions of the Superman story).
That one really struck a chord with me, so I'm totally going to repeat the question: What's your MC's theme song?
Medicine, by Jasper Byrne
Okay so, in the same vein: What is your MC's theme song and how does that represent them?
Usually I have theme songs for all my major protags, but this made me realize I didn't have one for my current MC! After some thought, I think her most appropriate theme song is Lorde's cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." The character comes to realize the person she idolized and staked her sense of morality on is actually a misguided tyrant. I think this version of the song reflects her realization that the world is a different place than she realized.
Next question: what breakfast cereal does your MC most strongly identify with?
Next question: what breakfast cereal does your MC most strongly identify with?
Yesssss. One of my MCs has chronic insomnia. He often tosses and turns to get to sleep, and wakes up well before dawn. He has a lot on his mind and sticky emotions to deal with, so that can explain why. Over the years, he's learnt to live with the lack of sleep. He doesn't like lying in bed waiting to go back to sleep, so after a while he gets impatient and gets up, goes for a walk, watches the sunrise, plays some music or gets something useful done. There's two instances in my WIP when he doesn't sleep all night.
MC2 has trouble falling asleep sometimes, especially when he has something on his mind, but most of the time he sleeps like a baby. MC3's head hits the pillow and she's asleep.
Describe your MC's relationship with their closest friend. If they don't have one, do they wish they did or are they happy being alone?
MC2 has trouble falling asleep sometimes, especially when he has something on his mind, but most of the time he sleeps like a baby. MC3's head hits the pillow and she's asleep.
Describe your MC's relationship with their closest friend. If they don't have one, do they wish they did or are they happy being alone?
Emre's lifestyle hasn't allowed for getting close to anyone in years, and he's not completely uncomfortable with that, though he does miss having someone to talk to sometimes. The problem is that the only people in his life for any length of time are his employees.
Ithmír is pretty self-contained, which is good, since her non-human heritage and exile status makes her an instant outsider wherever she goes. Her last really close friendship ran a long course -- Dunn was a kid when they met, so they had kind of an older sister/younger brother dynamic for years, then became business partners later on, until he settled down to get married. She misses him terribly sometimes, but she avoids the little town he lives in because there are a lot of unsettled issues between them.
Byron's best friend, Walter, has been one of his blood donors for going on forty years now. It amuses Byron that, as Walter gets older he's been more and more treating Byron like a son, even though Byron's old enough to be his grandfather. The situation got really complicated for awhile a few years back when Byron and Walter's son, Chris, became lovers, but they figured it all out in the end.
What is/was your MC's relationship with their parents like?
Ashley's relationship with her parents is pretty healthy/normal/loving. They were tough but fair with her and her older sister as they grew up, and though all kids get annoyed with their parents every now and then, Ashley ultimately was/is grateful that they did what they did to make sure she grew up a decent person. At the beginning of the story, Ashley is 19 and still living with her parents, but preparing to go to college. But aside from that little tidbit, her parents don't have much to do with the rest of the story because it isn't long before Ashley gets transported to the Other world all by herself and the majority of the rest of the story occurs in the Other world. She does miss them while she's in the Other world, though.
Dawn never knew her parents. When she was a baby, someone dropped her off/abandoned her on the doorstep of this mansion where she was taken in and raised by the household servants. No one saw who left her on the doorstep so no one knows if it was her parents or not and so no one knows if they're alive or dead, where they came from, or where they went. Heck, I'm not sure I know those things yet and I'm the author!
But, I think she may discover something about them as the story progresses. As for the servants who raised her, her relationship with all of them is pretty close. Some closer than others.Take the first letter of your MC's name and choose a different character (they don't have to be from the same story) who's name starts with the next letter of the alphabet. For example: If your MC's name starts with A then choose a character who's name starts with B, and so on. The character you just chose picked some flowers for your MC. What reason would they have to do that and how would your MC react to being given flowers by that person?
As I enter the mansion, a bouquet of flowers on the hall table catches my attention. "These were delivered this morning," Tanirra says. "Said they were from someone named Egil Bearclaw."
"He sent me flowers?" I say. "How did he even do that? He's two weeks sail away from here." She just shrugs.
Flowers. Egil is the person least likely to send me a sentimental gift. An idea tickles my mind. Flowers can have meanings. Could Egil be sending me a message, one unsafe to put even in the diplomatic missives?
I look at the bouquet. It's definitely not designed for beauty. I try identifying the plants in the mix.
Monkshood. That means you have an enemy. Snapdragons. Deception. Dark crimson rose. Mourning.
And geraniums. Stupidity.
Thanks, Egil.
Question: Would your character prefer to own their own home, or to be able to get up and leave at a moment's notice?
"He sent me flowers?" I say. "How did he even do that? He's two weeks sail away from here." She just shrugs.
Flowers. Egil is the person least likely to send me a sentimental gift. An idea tickles my mind. Flowers can have meanings. Could Egil be sending me a message, one unsafe to put even in the diplomatic missives?
I look at the bouquet. It's definitely not designed for beauty. I try identifying the plants in the mix.
Monkshood. That means you have an enemy. Snapdragons. Deception. Dark crimson rose. Mourning.
And geraniums. Stupidity.
Thanks, Egil.
Question: Would your character prefer to own their own home, or to be able to get up and leave at a moment's notice?
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Most of my characters prefer being able to leave at a moment's notice. Except for the ones that have the burden of greater responsibility. But then again, even Lucein, as an adult, likes to take liberties and go on adventures. His twin, Gnyovante, is about the same in that regard. The two do, however, take turns running a country so that order is maintained while one is away.
So if i had to pin it down to either-or, I'd have to say it's a mix of both: they do prefer their own homes, but they also like to chase the wind at a moment's notice.
Here's an Inversion:
Have your MC go through a typical day in their life, but from the opposite narrative mode (If first-person, write it in third, and vice versa). How do they feel narrating themselves in the different mode?
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"Morgan gets up in the morning, has a large breakfast, goes to the hospital of the day to heal as many people as she can for as long as her energy allows. She probably falls asleep and- My life is really boring without my running commentary, isn't it?"
"It's time to face facts, we're all going to die."
"Well that's unfortunate," Amonthe said. "Maybe you should come over to our plane of existence - our anti-gods take good care of us. I've lived three-point-eight billion years, and I haven't seen anybody drop dead yet." He grinned.
What's the greatest disaster your MC's ever been in?
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Jaxon witnessed the extermination of the last political party seeking peace in his country. In a future book, he will see his adopted home's army wiped out in a series of battles. But perhaps the greatest disaster he has ever been in is one he caused (and, in his estimation, was a victory, not a disaster, but that opinion is not shared by the opposing side).
“Report,” High General Martok ordered. The man before him, Colonel Lutang, looked like he could barely stand, but Martok would have his report before releasing the man.
“General Sarnos is dead,” Lutang said softly. “May I sit?”
Martok grit his teeth and frowned, but motioned toward a crate of supplies. “How did you lose?”
“Cannons,” Lutang said as he lowered himself onto the crate with a sigh. “The Allies call their new weapon 'cannons.'”
“And these cannons can defeat the best warriors this continent has ever seen?”
Lutang nodded. “Only about four hundred made it back with me.”
Martok's eyes went wide. “Four hundred out of twenty thousand?” His assistants stopped pretending not to listen and a major's mouth actually dropped open in surprise. All noise in the tent stopped except for Lutang's voice.
“The cannons began hitting us about a mile out,” the colonel said as he wiped dried blood from his face. “At that range they didn't do much, but as we got closer, they stopped firing bullets and started firing something like our grenades.” He held his hands up close, moving them apart to mimic a dispersion.
“There was ice hidden under the snow, and the Dornians had moved roots up in a tangled mess to slow us down. We took more hits from the cannons because of it, and when we drew right up to the fort, that's when it was the worst.”
Lutang stopped to take a gulp from a wooden mug a grim major held out for him. Licking his lips, he continued. “Up close, the cannons just... they spewed death. Every time they fired I saw men and women get shredded like paper. Everyone they hit at twenty to fifty yards was killed or maimed. Everyone. Sarnos died in one of those blasts.”
“How did you survive?” Martok asked in the silence.
“I...” Lutang looked down in shame. “I ran, sir. After Sarnos fell I ran, just like the rest. I didn't order a retreat, I just ran. We all did, all of us that made it back.”
The command tent was completely silent. None of them could ever remember a time when well-trained Sentothi soldiers were routed that badly.
“Where are the rest? There must be more than four hundred survivors,” Martok said.
“There were others, but...” Lutang shuddered. “Some just wandered off in the woods. I've never seen a man look so... broken. A few killed themselves in shame. Others kept running, not regrouping with us. But most...” he trailed off.
“Get the colonel a doctor,” Martok ordered a major before turning to another colonel. “No one is to question Lutang further until I allow it. Keep his survivors separate from the rest of the troops. No one is permitted to speak with them. I want scouts sent out to collect any other stragglers, and I want them separated, too.” Turning toward his staff as a whole, he said, “None of you will speak of this until I allow it. Break camp; we are returning to Fort Trafalgar. I want to see this for myself.”
If given the choice, would your MC rather die, or be exiled for the rest of his/her/its natural life?
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Morgan would choose exile, as long as Jolly came with her she could make a home anywhere. And Jolly would come with her.
Hyarou would rather die. Being exiled from her tribe is just shy of a death sentence, anyway.
Would your MC rather go down in history, with all the pain that comes with it, or would they rather live a normal, boring life?
Interesting question. Neither of them really wants to go down in history (though I suspect they will), conversely neither can live a life that is "boring" -- there is always something new to see, to explore. However, if either scenario meant losing each other then all bets are off.
Your MC finds his-her/self (or themselves) in a library filled with all the books from our own world. But they can only choose one book. Which book do they choose and why?
Your MC finds his-her/self (or themselves) in a library filled with all the books from our own world. But they can only choose one book. Which book do they choose and why?