Building Character: A Writing Challenge

[Maid of Marvels]

We all know it when authors get characters to show their traits rather than tell you about them. Sure, they could say: "Belvedere Greene is a nervous sort". Wouldn't it be better if they showed you instead?

"Greene sat and dabbed at his face with the lavender scented handkerchief. Eyes darting around the room, he jumped like a kitten when the door to the inner office opened." Now you know he's nervous without being told.

Here's the challenge: Given three character traits and a genre, can you (without using the specific "trait" words) create a character who is nervous, irritable, sexy, all those sort of things and more - and yes, in ways appropriate to the genre in approximately 200 words? Sure you can.

At undetermined intervals we will give a specific genre along with three descriptive words. Your job, if you decide to accept, is to create a character within these parameters. Gender is your choice.

Give it a try?​

Chris & Maid



FIRST UP:
Genre: Fantasy/Non-Human
Traits: sensual, mysterious, seductive​

 

[chris2c4u]

Genre: Fantasy/Non-Human
Traits: sensual, mysterious, seductive

Glolorien strode towards the stream, his quiver pushed over his back. The elven knight walked into the bubbling water and smiled, feeling it against his leggings, drawing the air of the High Mountains into his lungs; the coldness a searing embrace deep into his gut.

Far below he glimpsed for the first time for months, since his quest began, the pastures of the world of men. There, somewhere the real quest began and he would have to hide his identity while he sought out those he was told could help him. A strange world indeed.

He continued onwards, driven by his need to serve the cause until he reached the village, the edge between the worlds. The Inn took his coin and he supped with the delivered hope of a bed that night. The human woman who kept his table tried more than once to ply him with alcohol and he had resisted, saying nothing of his purpose but still attracting her with his words, his ready smile.

Her knock at his door that night did not surprise him; he looked at her as he opened it and smiled. She pushed her small hand through the gap to touch his naked skin.

 

[Candywine]

Genre: Fantasy/Non-Human
Traits: Sensuous, Mysterious, Seductive

The vampiress sat at the bar looking out over the crowd. She was looking for one person in particular, and she was dressed to kill that night. She sat there with her legs crossed, and wearing her short leather mini, while under a hooded robe, where no one could tell that she was there. When she saw him, she sauntered up to him, and whispered into his ear that she wanted him, and that he should come up to her place." Then she walked away, swaying her hips and licked her lips.

 

[fukensploogin]

Genre: Fantasy/Non-Human
Traits: sensual, mysterious, seductive


Marcus Silverwing was a ranger in the forests below the High Mountains, guarding the ancient trees and woodland folk from the dark beasts that lurked beneath the Mountains. He had been patrolling these lands for many years. He knew every deer trail and every merchant path. He knew many of the caves that led into the underworld.

But he did not know this place. The sun could not penetrate the thick foliage. The soil was thick with magic, more powerful than anywhere else he had seen in the forest. There was an abundance of mushrooms and herbs, fruits and berries. Marcus could have sworn he saw faeries, half a dozen times, but they were never there when he took a better look.

And then he came upon a small clearing, a small spring-fed pool in the middle. There was a woman, with long thick silver hair that fell down her back, sitting with her back to him, her feet in the water. She leaned back a bit and shook out her hair, and he spied then her smooth, unblemished alabaster skin, and the gentle curve of her figure. Marcus' sharp eye then noticed the thin, near translucent wings that grew out of her back. She stretched her arms out, and the wings spread out as she did, and then she looked over her shoulder at Marcus and smiled and a giggle filled the forest around him.

Marcus looked around, confused by her giggle, but when he looked back to the pool, she was gone. He turned around, and there she was, and she had to stand on her toes to reach up and press a single finger to his lips. Their gaze was locked, and Marcus had already begun to forget about everything but this place, and this creature...

 

[The_gladiator]

genre: fantasy non-human
words: sentual mysterious, seductive

Out of the blackness of the night, and into the firelight he came. He wore a cloak of shadows that moved and caressed his skin as he walked. He spoke not a word to the sleeping woman, wrapped in the folds of her blanket. He simply crouched at her side, one ebony skinned hand gently brushing back the locks of her hair. Slowly the dark skinned elf withdrew his hood to reveal a face that so often struck fear into the hearts of men. The firelight caught his white hair, reflecting off its surface. Despite his obvious heritage, the silent dark elf exuded not cruelty, as again he gently touched the sleeping beauty’s shoulder. He bent and began to kiss her cheek, her neck and her ear, even as his hands moved gently over her shoulders and back. The woman slowly came round and began to respond to his kisses and gentle touches. Not a word had been exchanged, but both knew what the other wanted, what they needed…

 

[The_gladiator]

ooc: This submission was not written by me,
My girlfriend asked me to submit this for her
call her, Lady Gladiator

Genre: Fantasy/non-human
words: sentual, mysterious, seductive

Dark eyes watched the door with the quiet intensity of a hunter on the prowl. Nobody went through that arch without the piercing scrutiny of that raptor
gaze. Long fingernails tapped absently on the table's rough wooden surface as she waited. It had been too long, she decided, taking a sip of heady wine.
It sparkled in the glass, matching her berry-red satin robes with striking exactness. It was an unusual color for her----the half-elven mage preferred
shades of blue----but tonight it fit.
Her attention was quickly drawn back from her drink when the door opened in a flurry of snow. A man entered, stamping the ice from his boots and brushing
the powdery cold from his clothes. Tall, dark and handsome----just the way she liked them.
Aeya stirred her wine with the nail of one pinky, calculating how long he would last in her bed. A grin split her face and her typically pale cheeks flushed
in excitement. The passerby would think her incredibly drunk. Actually, she wasn't drunk in the least---this was her first glass and she hadn't even finished
half. She licked her lips, stained red from the sweet elven wine. He wouldn't last long at all.

 

[DJ_Wordplay]

"Did you 'ear?" The voice of the fishwife Agnes rang high pitched and insistent. It was a voice that was only distinguishable from the gulls that dotted the docks by those with a familiarity with the language. Stephios, a young sailor and the hero of our tale(although more on that later), had merely a passing familiarity with the language and replied to her as one would a gull.

"Hear what, madam?" Stephios asked. The young sailor was not ordinarily interested in the goings on of the town but he had noticed that there seemed to be a general air of excitement abounding.

"The Silver Knight. Chosen his missus he did" Agnes said this as if it should mean something to John. The confused look on Stephios' face, however, clearly showed him to be as confused as he was. He'd only been in the Kingdom for a few months now and local customs still seemed strange.

"Cor, thas right. You wouldn't know about the Knight, would you."

Stephios merely shrugged his shoulders and stared out to see, wistfully. As accustomed as Stephios had become to being on land, being at the docks simply reminded him of his time at sea. The smell of the salt water and it's fragrance on the air were enough for him to curse the ground beneath his feet. Agnes, however, continued speaking, undeterred as she always was by the lack of interest from her conversational companion.

"There's a noble from up in the hills of Moriaddoc, dreadful place if you ask me, calls himself the Silver Knight. Whenever he's seen ridin' around he's wearing a shiny silver armor. Completely covers his face, it does. Makes it so no one can say for sure which nobleman it is."

"Anyways, each year, about this time The Silver Knight comes charging through the town and the surroundin's and picks himself a wife, he does. Always young, always pretty. Betrothed, newlywed, don't matter to him. He simply chooses a girl and the two ride off together."

Stephios turned his head slightly towards Agnes' stall. There was a similar tale of a silver clad warrior in his homeland. A tale he was very familiar with.

"He keednaps them?" Stephios said, his hard accent masking a true curiosity

"Nah, that's the funny thing, idn't it. A friend of mine, Ol' Missus Aberfine lived next door to a girl he took a good 10 years ago. Said he just looked at the girl and stroked her hair, mumbling somethin'. Girl dropped all she was carryin' and climbed up onto the 'orse with him like a girl on her weddin' night."

"Some say he ensorcers the young lasses, although those who say that 'ave probably had a taste too much of the brown if you ask me. Ain't been a sorcerer in these parts since the old ages. Some just say he's got a voice so warm and soft he could talk a shark away from your leg. Me, I just think 'alf the girls in this town would be willin' to ride off with him. Lord knows I would. Get me away from 'arold for a fortnight at least"

She said this disdainfully towards the sleeping figure of her husband, the portly fishmonger who was currently sitting in his favourite rocking chair, snoring loudly.

"What does he do with these weemen?"

Agnes shook her head ruefully.

"No one knows. Women all come back a year later, not a 'air out of place, as pretty and 'ealthy as the day they left. Didn't 'ear it from me, mind, but ol' Doctor Airle told me 'imself that all the ones he examined 'ad birthed a child in their year with the knight. No sign of the child though and none of the women willing to speak a word of their time away. Like it never 'appened"

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Genre: Fantasy/Non-Human
Traits: sensual, mysterious, seductive​

Zoya breathed in deeply as the mirror in her office rippled, like the surface of water when someone skipped a stone across it. She could feel the energy. Smell it. Taste it. She drew the fragrance in, allowing it to swirl around her like feathery wisps of smoke, permeating her very essence. She revelled in it. Hungered for it.

In her early to mid-twenties, Zoya's raven hair shone like obsidian against her translucent ivory skin, and her eyes... her eyes were as dark as bottomless pools of black water, compelling one to drown in them. As many had and many more would.

Zoya was tall and well-formed, her breasts large in proportion to the slimness of her body. Her nipples jutted proudly through the silk of her blouse. She was aroused, as she was every night when she needed to feed.

"Foarte curând." Her voice was deep, and husky with desire as she murmured to herself, opening the office door and stepping out into the undulating mass of people in the club. "Soon. Very soon."

 

[sierrahughes]

OOC: You can call this writing class - one that quite a few players on this board needs unfortunately. On the flip side, none of those who posted here fall into that category. (Ok sensual, mysterious, seductive on my next post)

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Hi, Sierra!

I like to think of it as a challenge in imagination and creativity, and it's really interesting to note the disparate styles of each writer who has contributed so far. Great stuff!

One of us will probably put a new challenge up weekly - new genre and three new character traits - but feel free to jump in on any previous ones as we move along. I'm really looking forward to meeting more characters as we go along.

The current challenge is:

Genre: Fantasy/Non-human
Traits: Sensual, mysterious, seductive

Thanks for playing.

 

[Kousotu]

I would be doing these, but for 1 I don't know what Sensul means and 2 psp has a hars limit, it would take 2-3 posts.

and no one say "use a pc" I can't afford one yet

 

[The_gladiator]

I would be doing these, but for 1 I don't know what Sensul means and 2 psp has a hars limit, it would take 2-3 posts.

and no one say "use a pc" I can't afford one yet

not to sound ignorant but what's a psp?
lol

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Kousotu,

Please don't let your text limit stop you from playing if you want to. (Just number your posts or PM each section to me and I'll post in its entirety if you prefer.) Come on. You know you want to.

By the way, sensual means: relating to or consisting in the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of appetite. I think you get the idea.

~Maid

 

[Kousotu]

not to sound ignorant but what's a psp?
lol

http://www.us.playstation.com/psp

unless the link's changed.

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Here's the challenge: Given three character traits and a genre, can you (without using the specific "trait" words) create a character who is nervous, irritable, sexy, all those sort of things and more - and yes, in ways appropriate to the genre in approximately 200 words? Sure you can.

The first challenge is:
Genre: Fantasy/Non-human
Traits: Sensual, mysterious, seductive