Beautiful People: Valentine's Day Edition

I'm joining in the Beautiful People linkup hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In. This month, because of Valentine's Day being right around the corner, it's about our fictional couples. Therefore, I get to talk to you guys about Carson and Aaron, the couple from the novel I'm currently plotting and hope to start writing in March. :D

Alright, now let's get started, shall we? (Oh, and just to clarify, this is based off of their relationship at the end of the novel; otherwise several of these questions wouldn't apply.)

1. How long have they been a couple?

They've been best friends for five years, but they've only just started to kind of sort of become a couple throughout the book. They sort of become a slightly "official" couple at the end of the book. 

2. How did they first meet?

Carson's family moved to the town that Aaron lives in in sixth grade. On her first day at her new school, she did something that got her in trouble that I haven't figured out yet, and that led to her and Aaron becoming friends. Also, she and Aaron are neighbors.

3. What were their first thoughts of each other? (Love at first sight or "you're freakishly annoying"?)

They met when they were in middle school, so it was more of just "hey, you're cool, let's be friends" type of thing.

4. What do they do that most annoys each other?

At times, Carson's kind of annoyed by Aaron rationalizing everything and trying to make logical sense out of every little thing. Aaron's sometimes annoyed by Carson just throwing caution to the wind.

5. Are their personalities opposite or similar?

Their personalities are more similar than they are different. Carson's definitely more impulsive and Aaron more logical. Also, Carson's more rebellious, and while Aaron doesn't really like being confined to a strict set of rules, he also doesn't like breaking the rules... He's just full of contradictions like that. XD

6. How would their lives be different without each other?

Carson would be much more wild. Aaron kind of speaks some sense into her at times and keeps her feet (slightly) planted on the ground. Sure, Carson still manages to do crazy stuff and sometimes drags Aaron along with her, but it'd be much worse if she didn't have Aaron around. And I think Carson kind of forces Aaron out of his shell. He'd be much quieter and less adventurous if Carson wasn't around. They complement each other.

7. Are they ever embarrassed of each other?

Not really. Carson doesn't really get embarrassed easily, and Aaron doesn't care enough about what people think of him to be embarrassed that much.

8. Does anyone disapprove of their relationship?

Ha! If anyone did, Carson would be extra sure to make sure they knew that they were staying together in spite of their foolish opinions.Yeah... Carson's rebellious like that... But anyways, Aaron's dad isn't too thrilled with the relationship, but he isn't too awful about it. He's fine with Aaron and Carson being friends, but he'd rather they stay just that, and Aaron be with someone else, who's less... well... Carson... Hehehe XD

9. Do they see their relationship as long-term/leading to marriage?

Neither one of them really thinks that far ahead. Whatever happens, happens.

10. If they could plan the "perfect outing" together, where would they go?

Aaron would like to go to a museum or a historical site. Carson would like to do something adventurous or daring. So, they'd probably compromise (Ha! Yeah, right. XD) and go paragliding and then have a campfire on the beach.

What Characters Am I Most Like?

I'm participating for the first time in the Teens Can Write Too blog chain! If you don't know what that is, check out that link. :D The question for this month is: What characters are you most like?

Hmmm.... That's kind of a hard question. I'm going to make a list because, as I've said before, I like lists.

Tris from Divergent
Okay, let's just get this out there right now. I'm short, blonde, and look younger than I am. Ring a bell? That's because Tris was described just as that! Of course, I'm talking about the book version; the movie version of Tris didn't even have blonde hair. *sigh*

Iko from The Lunar Chronicles
I'm a very enthusiastic person. I get excited, and when I get excited, everyone within a two mile radius of me (okay, okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration :P) knows about it. I like to fangirl about things, much like Iko! Yes, I realize Iko is an android, and I'm not (or am I? Dun dun dun! <<Just kidding! I'm perfectly human XD) but personality-wise, we're pretty similar.

Christy from the Christy Miller series
Christy is a very organized girl who likes to have everything planned. That part of her personality *shakes head* is not very much like me at all. Yeah, sure, I like to make plans. I just don't really like to always stick with them. Secondly, if you could see my desk right now- wait! I can take a picture!- you'll see below that it's very disorganized.

You see that clear space in front of the laptop? Yeah, that's only there because that's where my arms go when I'm on the computer. XD Okay, now it's out there. I'm a disorganized person. That's definitely something I want to work on, and I plan to do so this school year. I mean, being organized is definitely an important quality to have. Anyways, by now you're probably wondering why in the world Christy is even on this list. Well, that's because I'm a worry-wart like Christy. When it comes to school especially, I worry about things sooo much, and I relate to Christy in that sense. 

Katie from the Christy Miller series

Okay, now here's a character that I'm more like. Katie is spontaneous, enthusiastic, and a little bit crazy. I'm all of the above. Yeah, sure in some instances, I'm definitely more like Christy, but in others, I'm a lot like Katie. 

Now for a question for you guys: What are some characters that y'all are most like? 

Schedule for the rest of the blog chain:

Prompt: “What characters are you most like?” 

5th – http:// semilegacy.blogspot.com/

6th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

7th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

8th – http://sammitalk.wordpress.com/

9th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

10th – http://irisbloomsblog.wordpress.com/

11th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

12th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

13th – http://uniquelyanonymous.wordpress.com/

14th – http://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

15th – http://novelexemplar.wordpress.com/

16th – http://nutfreenerd.wordpress.com/

17th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

18th – http://writers-place-for-you.blogspot.de/

19th – http://roomble.wordpress.com/

20th – https://taratherese.wordpress.com/

21st – http://thependanttrilogy.wordpress.com/

22nd – http://freeasagirlwithwings.wordpress.com/

23rd – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

24th – http://theweirdystation.wordpress.com/

25th – http://teenageink.wordpress.com/

26th – http://www.adventuringthroughpages.wordpress.com/

27th – http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com/

28th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

29th – http://dynamicramblings.wordpress.com/

and http://thelonglifeofalifelongfangirl.wordpress.com/

30th – http://fantasiesofapockethuman.blogspot.com/

and http://www.turtlesinmysoup.blogspot.com/

31st – http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/

and http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)

Getting to Know My Characters

I think one of the most important parts of the brainstorming/planning process for a novel is getting to know my characters. Now, I can't stand filling out those questionnaires that ask you for things like eye color, hair color, height, biggest fear, etc. Filling out that stuff like that just doesn't work for me. It doesn't feel right. Stephanie Morrill from Go Teen Writers has a method for getting to know characters that she talked about here. Once I read this post, I decided to try it, and I love it.

Basically, what she does is ask a character a question, one that you might hear in an interview. Then she writes the answer from her character's point of view. For her, the answer is usually pages long. (By the way, if you have the chance, you should definitely go check out that post! It's a lot better at talking about this process- after all, it is the original! :-) Now, for me, the answers are typically shorter. I also have a tendency to ask more of the "quick answer" type questions, like "beach or mountains?" and "dog or cat?"

I also like taking personality tests for my characters. Answering those questions helps me get a feel for their personality, and what types of things they like and don't like. Also, the answer, if I agree with it, can give me a good, quick archetype to refer to. Another thing that helps with these is when the answer you get is something that you feel doesn't quite fit your character because then you start thinking about why it doesn't fit and how your character is different.

For a short story I just started writing, I didn't know anything about my main character other than the fact that she was the daughter of an inventor and a journalist. So I decided to start interviewing her. Once I started answering the questions from her point of view, her personality came to life. It helped a ton!

And now I'm off to go take personality tests for that character! :D