October Novel Prep Challenge

Fancy, sometimes examples help. Here is the dramatis personae from the Shakespeare play, Hamlet:

Claudius, King of Denmark
Hamlet, son to the late, and nephew to the present king
Polonius, Lord Chamberlain
Horatio, friend to Hamlet
Laertes, son to Polonius
Voltimand, Cornelius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Osric, A Gentleman, courtiers
A Priest
Marcellus, Barnardo, officers
Francisco, a soldier
Reynaldo, servant to Polonius
Players
Two Clowns, grave-diggers
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway
A Captain
English Ambassadors
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet
Ophelia, daughter to Polonius
Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, and other Attendants
Ghost of Hamlet's Father

It's just a list of all the characters appearing in the play, and a brief description of who each one is. For your Character Inventory, create a brief list of all your characters. You'll revise this list several times during the Prep, so you can add or delete characters as you make new decisions throughout the month.

A Character Profile is a detailed description of one particular character. It includes a physical description, occupation, relationships with other characters, background, etc. You can't get to know Hamlet inside and out on the description "son to the late, and nephew to the present king." What is his personality? What quirks about his will crop up during the story? What are the back stories between Hamlet and his father, Hamlet and his uncle, Hamlet and Ophelia, Hamlet and Polonius - that ultimately colors the way he interacts with those characters in the play? You're delving much deeper on this character.

There's no "right" way to profile. You can make a list of attributes, you can write back stories, or you can write a fictional description told from the point of view of another character. If I asked Ophelia or Claudius to tell me about Hamlet, to describe everything about him, what would they say?


Regards,
Michelle