If you don't want to know anything about me, Do Not Read This Post.
I haven't been writing about writing much, lately, but I still write fiction. I just don't always want to write ABOUT writing fiction. But one of the things that can be helpful with writing fiction, sometimes, is to create Character Profiles, so for my birthday post I'm going to offer up a character profile of myself. I'll try to be as objective as possible? We'll see how that goes.
I'm using the format from How to Create a Character Profile. There are bunches of different formats to be found online, but this one was at the top when I did my search.
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Basic Statistics
Name: Nayad Monroe
Age: 45 as of today!
Nationality: American, with ancestry mostly from Scotland and Scandinavia
Socioeconomic Level as a child: Never went hungry, always had utilities on, wore lots of hand-me-downs, had pets, took ballet and piano classes, family had one car. We lived in, but did not own, houses. My impression was that money was tight, and credit was used, but boy did we ever not talk about the details of money.
Socioeconomic Level as an adult: More comfortable than my childhood. I own my house (no mortgage), and I'm not in debt.
Hometown: I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and I lived in a lot of other places, so it's hard for me to pinpoint a "hometown." Early childhood was in Indiana, middle childhood was in Ontario, teen years were in Illinois--the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
Current Residence: Near Madison, Wisconsin
Occupation: Writer
Talents/Skills: writing, drawing, painting, singing
Birth order: First!
Siblings (describe relationship): I have one brother who is six years younger than me, and he is great. We get along very well.
Spouse (describe relationship): Amicably separated.
Children (describe relationship): I have three sons, who are currently 15, 13, and 10. They're all very smart, geeky guys who like video games and science fiction, and aside from some typical sibling bickering and homework avoidance they hardly give me any trouble. 10/10, definitely worth spending 27 months of my life to create.
Grandparents (describe relationship): None of them are alive.
Grandchildren (describe relationship): I don't have any.
Significant Others (describe relationship): One boyfriend, who is lovely! And humble. He's going to hate reading this. :)
Relationship skills: This is a hard one to be objective about, so I'm going to skip it.
Physical Characteristics:
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 148 lbs.
Race: White
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Started off medium brown, but is being invaded by increasing hordes of silver strands, but I sometimes dye it unnatural colors like purple or burgundy.
Glasses or contact lenses? I wear glasses at home, and contacts when I go out.
Skin color: Pinky-beigey
Shape of Face: Squarish oval
Distinguishing features: Large eyes, full lips, two tattoos
How does he/she dress? Goth-tinted casual, most of the time, with some jewel tones thrown in
Mannerisms: Lamentable knuckle-cracking
Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.) No smoking, but I do like drinks. Not daily, though.
Health: Pretty good! (knocks all the wood everywhere)
Hobbies: Currently, knitting a lot (as I mentioned yesterday), but also making digital images with my phone, and I've just started occasionally messing around with making electronic songs out of loops using Studio One Prime (which is free, btw!)
Favorite Sayings: "Awesome!" delivered sometimes in earnest, sometimes with sarcasm.
Speech patterns: Child-of-the-80s use of the word "like" all over the place within my sentences
Disabilities: None
Style (Elegant, shabby etc.): Casual-ish, with occasional bouts of playing dress-up
Greatest flaw: Distractability
Best quality: Caring about other people's feelings
Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes
Educational Background: Some college
Intelligence Level: High
Any Mental Illnesses? No, but I took antidepressants for about 6 months in 2007/8.
Learning Experiences: Everything, every day.
Character's short-term goals in life: Write the first draft of a whole novel by the end of May, 2017
Character's long-term goals in life: Stay alive and well and mentally functional until at least the age of 100, and keep on learning new things for the whole time
How does Character see himself/herself? Amusing underachiever, never bored, good at learning how to do new things, bad at perseverance, consistently adequate mom with moments of being a really good mom.
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? Well, people always seem happy to see me when I show up at a convention, and I've been told that I'm funny and smart, and I think (I really hope) I'm regarded as trustworthy and a good listener. Um, maybe now I'm also perceived as having low self-esteem. I don't know! I don't want this post to come across like a humble-brag, for fuck's sake.
How self-confident is the character? As we've seen in recent answers, a bit of a mix. But I don't get anxious about throwing myself into a room full of people and conversing with whoever I happen to meet. I feel like people usually like me.
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? A combination, but with more emotion than logic.
What would most embarrass this character? Making a big mistake in front of lots of people I respect.
Emotional Characteristics
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strengths: independent, empathetic, supportive. Weaknesses: impatient, easily overwhelmed when making decisions
Introvert or Extrovert? Ambivert! I love spending time alone, but I also love going to conventions where I talk to people all weekend. I don't seek out company much when I'm at home because there's so much that I want to do that I enjoy doing by myself, but when I go out to be with people I thoroughly enjoy it and feel energized by it.
How does the character deal with anger? I try to stifle it AT FIRST, because I want to think my reactions through and then talk about the way I feel after I calm down and decide whether or not I'm being reasonable. But I also try to communicate about it after that.
With sadness? Sobbing it out, usually off by myself.
With conflict? I try to neither avoid it nor seek it out. I grew up in a very conflict-avoidant family, and I think we overdid the avoidance.
With change? I'm pretty comfortable with change, and I get bored if nothing changes.
With loss? See "sadness."
What does the character want out of life? Creativity, interesting friends, knowledge, mental challenges, love, art, music, a comfortable place to live (I have all of these things at this time)
What would the character like to change in his/her life? I'd like to be more productive, and to participate in progressive politics in a more useful way, and to share more of what I make, do, and think with other people (thus the recent uptick in blogging)
What motivates this character? Boredom avoidance and the need to love, nurture, and create.
What frightens this character? Aggression, violence, cruelty, rejection, loss of loved ones, heights, cockroaches
What makes this character happy? Fun times with good conversationalists, humor, the moment when I finish writing a story and feel that it's right, reading a speculative novel or story with really satisfying weirdness in it, drawing a picture that turns out well, my loved ones being happy, spending time in a beautiful city with delicious food and sights, singing along with my favorite songs, listening to electronic music that makes me move with it, taking a walk in lovely weather (especially the first days when it's warming up in spring), holiday lights, and so many other things!
Is the character judgmental of others? Sometimes, but I try not to be
Is the character generous or stingy? I love being generous when I can.
Is the character generally polite or rude? Polite, except when it's impossible.
Spiritual Characteristics
Does the character believe in God? No.
What are the character's spiritual beliefs? Secular Buddhism, pretty much. No reincarnation.
Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life? Not huge, but there are some challenging aspects of being an atheist in a mostly-Christian country and extended family. I'm the inexplicable rebel who doesn't get it about religion, in my family, so that can get weird.
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