For all you fiction writers out there, pull up a Google tab and type in "Proust Character Questionnaire." Do you want to get to know your characters better? You want to discover new and wonderful things about them (and maybe yourself)? Take the questionnaire from the perspective of your newest characters and see what you learn! Below are two of my new characters. I realized something--they're both pretty funny.
It's worth mentioning that the characters I've developed are from a high fantasy series that I'm currently planning. Therefore, I will try to place them in our world in regards to what they may or may not like if they existed here on earth (which they don't in accordance to the story).
Olyvette Ilavolte (female, 21)
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
- Being bested in a verbal joust. I hate losing in general.
- Where would you like to live?
- Satorini, Greece. The sea lures me like a moth to a flame.
- What is your idea of earthly happiness?
- Ruling wisely and bringing my Court to prosper.
- To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
- Allowing my temper to get the best of me, though I would never admit to it aloud.
- Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
- I cherish Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
- Who are your favorite characters in history?
- Joan of Arc, Neferusobek, Madame Curie
- Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
- My grandmother is a point of interest for me. Ferocious but tender-hearted. I can't say my mother or I share this quality.
- Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
- Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Eyre, Katniss Everdeen
- Your favorite painter?
- Claude Monet. He has a gentle hand and a cryptic eye.
- Your favorite musician?
- It's a tie between Michael Buble and Colbie Caillat.
- The quality you most admire in a man?
- I typically ignore them, I'm so busy. I would say gentility, however.
- The quality you most admire in a woman?
- Tenacity--no, honesty. No, tenacity. Yes, tenacity.
- Your favorite virtue?
- Honesty. It's rare in my world
- Your favorite occupation?
- I would be a florist if I didn't have a Court to run.
- Who would you have liked to be?
- Nobody but me. I was born to be who I am.
- Your most marked characteristic?
- My immovable opinions. It irritates people--namely those who disagree with me.
- What do you most value in your friends?
- Friends? Hm, I should probably look into that venture.
- What is your principle defect?
- I have slight webbing on two of my toes if that counts...
- What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
- The falling of my family as the principle power in the Springlands.
- What would you like to be?
- A powerful and just Louvilli Nia (Queen) like my mother and grandmother before me.
- What is your favorite color?
- Iridescent gold, it brings out the gold and amber in my hair.
- What is your favorite flower?
- Oriental Poppies
- What is your favorite bird?
- Trumpeter Swan
- Who are your favorite prose writers?
- Jane Austen, David Sedaris, Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Who are your favorite poets
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Maya Angelou
- Who are your heroes in real life?
- Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Condoleezza Rice
- Who are your favorite heroines of history?
- Didn't I just answer that question?
- What are your favorite names?
- I like names that start with "P": Penelope, Pyper, Paisley, Peter.
- What is it you most dislike?
- Being disrespected.
- What historical figures do you most despise?
- Nero, Caligula, Hitler...maybe more women should have led nations.
- What event in military history do you most admire?
- Queen Boadicea's rebellious victory over a Roman Legion in A.D. 60-61
- What natural gift would you most like to possess?
- Feminine softness and gentility (don't tell anyone)
- How would you like to die?
- Gently, in bed with my extended family around me.
- What is your present state of mind?
- Fortified. Bring any onslaught. I'm ready.
- What is your motto?
- I am iron-jawed. I am steel-toed. I am stone. Try and move me.
Zacarys Stygian (male, 24)
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
- Being forced to do anything I don't feel ready to do.
- Where would you like to live?
- High in the Rocky Mountains, away from, well, everyone.
- What is your idea of earthly happiness?
- Living the life I choose, which is solitary and quiet.
- To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
- I can be a bit childish. I let fear control me more than I ought to.
- Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
- I loved Robb Stark in Game of Thrones. Then, whoops, he died. If that's not ironic I don't know what is.
- Who are your favorite characters in history?
- I'm not much of a historian, or bookworm really. I guess George Washington. Freedom and what not.
- Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
- Amelia Earhart.
- Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
- Although she always irritated me to no end, Hermione Granger.
- Your favorite painter?
- Who's the guy that cut his ear off?
- Your favorite musician?
- Tie between ACDC and Theory of a Deadman
- The quality you most admire in a man?
- Strength both in physical matters and social situations.
- The quality you most admire in a woman?
- Fierce loyalty to her family.
- Your favorite virtue?
- Doing what's right, regardless of who's watching.
- Your favorite occupation?
- Blacksmith.
- Who would you have liked to be?
- Just about anybody but me.
- Your most marked characteristic?
- Unlike my four siblings, I have dark blue eyes. People always say I'm the one kid that has my father's eyes--a quality I hate.
- What do you most value in your friends?
- Loyalty--oh, and ability to drink.
- What is your principle defect?
- I don't have the emotional intelligence to admit I'm depressed and/or can dig myself out of my depression.
- What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
- Becoming High Lord of the Winterlands.
- What would you like to be?
- A drifter. I'd like to be able to do what I want when I want.
- What is your favorite color?
- There are three colors in the Winterlands: black, white and some mixture of the two. I guess black?
- What is your favorite flower?
- Flowers can't grow where I'm from. Are there any black ones?
- What is your favorite bird?
- Finally! A question I can answer with confidence. The Red-Tailed Hawk.
- Who are your favorite prose writers?
- Erm. My mother used to read me the Harry Potter books, so I guess J.K. Rowling.
- Who are your favorite poets
- Poetry? Seriously?
- Who are your heroes in real life?
- My mother was my hero. She protected me and my siblings (as much as she could) from the tirades of my father.
- Who are your favorite heroines of history?
- I always liked Egyptian history--Queens like Cleopatra and Nefertiti always seemed pretty fierce to me.
- What are your favorite names?
- Who thinks about stuff like that? I mean, I guess I like mine.
- What is it you most dislike?
- Being alone. Wait, I'm confused...I like being alone...but hate being lonely.
- What historical figures do you most despise?
- Anyone who had it "altogether." They just remind me I have no idea what I'm doing.
- What event in military history do you most admire?
- Victory of Arminius over the Roman Legions (9 CE) Arminius was smart enough to study Roman tactics and use them against his enemies.
- What natural gift would you most like to possess?
- Leadership.
- How would you like to die?
- Preferably gloriously in battle.
- What is your present state of mind?
- Conflicted. I don't know what's going with...anything in my life.
- What is your motto?
- This quiz has a lot of hard questions on it.
