I had just two hours to create all the characters for The First Draft! Whilst I normally take weeks and months thinking about interesting protagonists, I had to use a few hacks to get everything done. First I used a character template to start gathering some insight into their personality, and then cast actors in the role of the characters to save me time working out what they looked like.
Of course, one of the fun things about writing is that you can do loads of great planning and then decide to change things on page 1 of your first draft. That may happen here! I wanted the names of my characters on the medieval world to seem quite normal to try and ground my world at the beginning. But they seem a little too normal and I may go into something a bit more “fantasy” sounding. Also, as I explained, I want my characters to have names that start with different letters to aid the reader…. and David and Drummond both begin with D.
I’ll be adding a proper hub including character bios as things go along but scroll below for a video of the Livestream, and the character notes. We start writing chapter 1 today at 3pm (UK Time) over on Twitch.
Pre-Season: Plot | Worldbuilding | Characters
Notes
Characters
Protagonists (4 or 5).
Person From Advanced Civilisation
Lords?
Big Bad
Big Bad ‘Queen’
Name: Gina
Nickname / Aliases:
Positive Attributes: Bubbly, Quirky, Body positive. Self-Aware.
Negative Attributes: Always hungry. Comfort eats. Shallow.
Age: Mid 20s
Description / Actor: Jenny Ryan (Chase)
Dreams: Joining a travelling circus as a bard.
Most Important Thing:
Reaction To Defeat: Can’t handle defeat. Needs comforting
Secret?:
USP: Plus-sized character
Magic: Yes, Mutant Magic
Why thrown out of serfdom: Stole for Jaxxon
Name: Drummond
Nickname / Aliases:
Positive Attributes: Determined
Negative Attributes: No sense of humor
Age: late 30s
Description / Actor: John Bernthal
Dreams: Prove themselves as a warrior
Most Important Thing: Their word
Reaction To Defeat: Tactical
Secret?: Used to be a soldier
USP: Swordsman, Warrior
Magic: Yes, Mutant magic.
Why thrown out of serfdom: Choice. Refuses to serve anyone
Name: Jackson / Jaxxon
Nickname / Aliases: Jacks
Positive Attributes: Always upbeat, Optimist
Negative Attributes: pulls pranks. talks a lot. Annoying.
Age: 19
Description / Actor: Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Dreams: Wants to be a jester
Most Important Thing: Making people happy.
Reaction To Defeat:
Secret?:
USP: Joker
Magic:
Why thrown out of serfdom: Prank went wrong
Name: David
Nickname / Aliases:
Positive Attributes: Hard worker. Noble. Believes doing the right thing.
Negative Attributes: Hot temper. Gets frustrated
Age: 30s
Description / Actor: Netflix Luke Cage. Lost hand in farming incident
Dreams:
Most Important Thing:
Reaction To Defeat: Stands tall.
Secret?:
USP: Disabled.
Magic: Yes. Mutant magic
Why thrown out of serfdom: Couldn’t get work as disabled.
Name: Mary
Nickname / Aliases:
Positive Attributes: Tough. Quirky Sense of humour. Leader of the minorities.
Negative Attributes: She hates authority. Distrusts people.
Age: 24
Description / Actor: Zendaya
Dreams: For minorities to be properly represented. Her father accept her.
Most Important Thing: Item from her mother.
Reaction To Defeat: Takes a moment before she can get herself back up.
Secret?: She is the illegitimate daughter of Lord Quentin
USP: Natural Leader
Magic: Yes. Mutant magic
Why thrown out of serfdom: Illegitimate Child
Name: Ugaliax
Nickname / Aliases: Professor Brennen
Positive Attributes: Kind, intelligent, Thinks of best people
Negative Attributes: Willing for sacrifice for his causes, ignorant of people’s negative behaviour. Thinks of best people. Bit mercenary in his approach. The ends justify the means.
Age: 45
Description / Actor: Jared Harris
Dreams: Re-establish the old civilisation through finding artefacts
Most Important Thing: Is not opening wormholes / rifts
Reaction To Defeat: Sink. Do what’s necessary
Secret?: He’s from the advanced civilisation
USP: They create the First Draft
Magic: No
Name: Lord Quentin
Nickname / Aliases: Lord Quentin
Positive Attributes: As lords go, pretty good. fair their serfs. Plenty of food
Negative Attributes: Motivated by wealth, aloof. Bored
Age: 50s
Description / Actor: John Malkovich
Dreams: Big Duchy
Most Important Thing: Influence (which comes from money & Power)
Reaction To Defeat: Inaction
Secret?: Has illegitimate child
USP: They represent person in charge in medieval world
Magic: No
Name: Kal’assia
Nickname / Aliases: The Drove…. the clack
Positive Attributes: Effective, Large Numbers
Negative Attributes: Mindless, Need to be instructed
Age: —
Description / Actor: Crab meets insect. multiple legs. No head. Pincers
Dreams: No
Most Important Thing: Consume
Reaction To Defeat: Sacrifice is worthy
Secret?: No
USP: look.
Magic: No
Name: Jai’assia
Nickname / Aliases: The spiders
Positive Attributes: Intelligent, Cunning, Know how to manipulate people
Negative Attributes:
Age:
Description / Actor: Spider body, human torso, Demonic Head (horns, fanned skull)
Diablo, Legend, Alien Queen. Humunoid
Dreams: A world without need, a new intelligent drove
Most Important Thing: Is gather resources
Reaction To Defeat: Surprised. Redouble their efforts.
Secret?:
USP: Don’t have traditional needs
Magic:
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