Thriller Writing Course

Week One: Assignment One

Assignment One: Main characters

Writing Assignment: ▼

1. Write a few sentences about the Main Characters and their personalities.

Discussions: ▼

1. What kind of personality does your character have?

Dax is a very bubbly person. She is Easy-going, Sociable, and carefree. She uses these qualities to gain information on whatever case she is working. She is also very cautious. She doesn't take people at face value. She feels that she has to be perfect in solving the case. It is the only way she can redeem herself.

Kaleb is deceitful. He is self-educated in personality temperaments. He is also aware of the doctors' diagnosis. He changed his name and broke parole. He'll come across as sociable, friendly, easy-going, and extremely helpful. He does this to get what he wants and to hide his BPD with Sadistic traits, and the way he satisfies his desires.


2. How do you bring your Main Character to life?

Dakota - Through her body language, conversations, and her interactions with other characters.

Kaleb - Through his thoughts, body language, conversations, and his interactions with Dax and other characters.

Reading Assignment: ▼

Main Character Descriptions and Personalities
https://killzoneblog.com/2012/01/how-do-you-describe-your-main-character.html

Main Character # One:

Name: Dakota Beth Barrett (Dax to her co-workers and friends)

Age: 27

Location: Jackson Hole, Wyoming at the base of The Grand Teton Mountains

Role in Story: Dakota is a Special Agent Detective and is employed by The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations based in Cheyenne.
Dax is the Main Character (protagonist) of the story. She loves closing cold cases.

Goal: To find out who the body parts belonged to and how they ended up in Lake Aniwaya and to find out if her sister is among the dead.

Physical Description: Dak is 5'6" and slender built. She has long, brown hair with Auburn streaks, which she prefers to be loose and wild. Her eyes are chocolate brown and oval-shaped. She bears a thin, white scar over her left eyebrow that she received as a child during one of her many fights. On her left upper arm, she has a Lakota armband of a round war shield with buffalo horns tattoo. Her style of dress is comfort; a cowboy hat, jeans, and sleeveless tank tops and/or t-shirts.

Personality: Dax has a Sanguine type temperament. She is easy-going, sociable, and contented however, she does not trust people. She is very cautious about accepting people at their face value. This stems from her mother dying at the age of 9 and being sexually abused by her stepfather.

Occupation: She has worked as Special Agent for the DCI for the past 5 years. Her background as a Police Detective for the SFPD helped her land this position.

Habits/Mannerisms: Dax is energetic, ambitious, and friendly. She can be stubborn and hard-headed. Once she gets an idea, she becomes like a dog with a bone and won't give up. She smokes Marlboro and enjoys Budlight beer,however, she does have a weakness for Jack Daniels and wine. She uses it as an excuse to make her feel better and an excuse for coping with her past. When deep in thought or stressed out, she rubs the scar over her left eyebrow and plays with the ends of her hair.

Background: Dax was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She worked as a detective for the SFPD for two years before being fired for personal reasons. She accepted the position at the DCI and relocated to Cheyenne, Wyoming. She was sexually abused by her stepfather following her mother's death at the age of 9. Now, at the age of 27, she is working undercover at Moca Jo's Bar and Grill for her job. She does this to gain information on the people disappearing in the Grand Teton Mountains and the body parts that have been found by both tourists and local fishermen at Lake Aniwaya.

Internal Conflicts: Dax is adventurous and enjoys living on the wild side of life. She loves her job but also wants to settle down. She is attracted to the sheriff of Jackson Hole, but she is not sure he is who he says he is, and she has a love interest in Cheyenne. A larger more pressing issue with her is that she knows this case could be the case of her career but she is afraid of not being able to measure up based on her experience with the SFPD.

External Conflicts Sheriff Townsend. He knows who Dak is and why she is there. He resents her presence and the probing of his private life. He is a very likable person and no one would ever believe he is behind the disappearances.

Dax's Lie If she does everything right and solves this case, she will be rewarded. She will get the recognition and respect that she desperately wants for being such a wonderful contributor to society. Something that her step-father wished for, but never obtained. If she succeeds she will have redeemed herself and her self-worth.

Pets
Sal - A thoroughbred Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse. She is a solid dark chocolate in color. Her tail and mane are several shades lighter. She is a good mountain horse, sure-footed, and has a four-beat smooth gait. She stands 16 hands. Dakota found her for sale for $2,000. A good bargain.

Boez - A purebred Redbone Coon Hound. He is a quick and accurate tracker and trees his prey with no problems. Dax found him as a pup in the middle of the road tied up in a paper bag. He is devoted to Dax and is an excellent company for her. Dax trained his skills in tracking and hand signals.

Motivation To catch the killer before he strikes again.

Missing Basic Human Need Self-esteem and self-recognition - When working for the SFPD, Dakota was stripped of her accomplishments when she was fired as a result of poor judgment and professional misconduct. She views this job and especially this case as a way to redeem herself and the esteem of others.

Notes: Dax drives a Cherry Red 2006 Ford F350 Lariat Pickup truck
Specifics on external conflicts to be worked out.


Main Character # Two

Name: Kaleb Townsend

Age: 32

Location: Jackson Hole, Wyoming - Base of the Grand Teton Mountains

Role in Story: Kaleb is the antagonist of the story. He is the Sheriff of Jackson Hole. He is in the middle of his first term. He plans on running for office again in 2 years. He enjoys the respect he receives, but not so much the attention, however, his position makes it easy for him to pick and choose his victims without drawing suspicion.

Goal: Is not to get caught. He knows who Dax is and why she is in Jackson Hole. He will do whatever it takes to keep her from finding him out, and not to return to prison. all he wants is to continue living his life as he views it to be comfortable and rewarding.

Physical Description: Kaleb stands 6'0". He has an oval-shaped head with a long good-looking face. His eyebrows are black and thick, and evenly arched over his dark brown almond-shaped eyes. His wavy hair is collar length, jet black, and thick. He wears a short black beard and a light mustache. His nose is narrow and aristocratic. He bears no markings on his dark-tanned skin except for the thin scar that runs the length of his lower left arm that he sustained from a fight with another inmate. he has a nice pleasant smile that occurs frequently. His brown eyes would smile along with his mouth. A set of bright straight teeth would reveal themselves with his smile, and hide what was actually going on within him. His looks and smile often gave the impression that he was highly encouraged by a situation when he was sizing it up first. He was a deliberate sort that thought it out first before taking a definite step forward. The disappearance of his smile indicated that he had made up his mind.
His dress code is blue jeans long sleeve shirts, a cowboy hat, and his coveted St. Christopher metal. He never wears short-sleeved shirts of any kind because that would expose his self-mutilation tendencies.

Personality: Kaleb has Borderline Personality Disorder with Sadistic traits. He is self-schooled in different personality temperaments and hides his true personality behind a Sanguine temperament when in public. When in public he comes off as playful, easy-going, sociable, and carefree. When in private or alone with a victim, he reverts back to his BPD with sadistic traits. He doesn't trust people, yet he has an incredible fear of being alone or abandoned.

Occupation: Sheriff of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Kaleb arrived in Jackson Hole 3 years ago. After making himself known and fooling the influential people he was elected Sheriff. He wanted this position because he felt that he could live the way he wanted and it would help him to keep tabs on what was being reported to the law. He lives and wraps himself in the motto "Everybody Trusts The Sheriff."

Habits/Mannerisms: Kaleb is always running his fingers through his hair and wiping his nose with his right fist. He constantly whistles "Strawberry Wine." He is very astute and is constantly surveying his surroundings.

Background: Kaleb, birth name - Eugene Harrison Banks, was born and raised in The Pico Union Community of Los Angeles. His parents divorced when he was 15. Prior to that, he suffered frequent beatings from an alcoholic father. His mother literally disappeared. He lived a double life as an adult: the outwardly respectable self-made contractor and a divorced man who entertained hospitalized children with a clown routine. He was arrested for assault and Battery and spent 2 years in Pelican Bay State Prison. Since was a "wobbler" the LA County Prosecutor filed it as a misdemeanor. While there he gained the nickname "Cooks." He was tagged "Cooks" while working in the prison kitchen. He had mastered the ability to make anything edible into a feast. A trick he picked up from his mother from having to depend upon the disgusting and barely sustainable hand-outs from the food bank.

Internal Conflict: Fear of abandonment, feeling chronically bored, irritable, restless, and empty. Feeling that someone in his office suspects him.

External Conflicts: Being followed by one of his deputies, the DCI coming to town to investigate the disappearances of some people. Dax.

Kaleb's Lie He is invincible and will never be caught, he is too smart for that.

Pets: Kaleb had a dog and a cat when he was a child. He tortured and mutilated them both.

Motivation: To get rid of the DCI.

Missing Basic Human Need: Kaleb cannot fulfill the needs of Love & Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. The Basic needs of life he can. Because of his mental disorder, he doesn't feel the importance of those needs for a balanced life.

Notes: Kaleb drives a 1998 Canary Yellow Ford F-150 XLT pickup. It has a 5x8 Southern Confederate Flag Sticker on the right lower corner of the rear window.