Character Sketch ~ King Torvald

I wanted to blog today. I did.
I forgot that my Internet turns off at 10:00.
So here is my flurried, hurried, flustered attempt at Torvald's sketch. It'll probably be terrible. I'll probably completely rewrite it tomorrow.

Torvald, son of Tybald, son of Torgny, son of Stolt. High King of Ellyion. Master over the regions of Verta, Byrn, and many others. Kingdoms pay tribute to him, his own country loves him. He is kind, generous, and fair.
What more can you say of a king than that?
Apparently, the Count of ___ (c'mon guys, I really need a name!!!) thinks there is more. He's determined to dig up every inch of dirt and muck that he can concerning Torvald's past. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Torvald is strong and true, but he has one cardinal flaw. He trusts too easily. Many of us can trust a person simply because we've known them all our life. Perhaps we have grown close to them. Perhaps, we know them inside and out.
A king doesn't have this luxury. Countless plots against his life and his throne have been attempted by countless people, many of which come from his own court. Countless times, nobles have risen up against their sovereign. Many, perhaps, of whom he knew well.

Character Sketch ~ Queen Ina

Coming up in today's edition of Character Sketches: Ina is being haughty, the faculty of Let's Find Character Reference Photos is grossly understaffed,  and I lose my mind!!

Let me explain.

As was aforementioned (several times, probably) I abhor loathe detest dislike stereotypes. I'm sure we're all aware of the stereotypical queen mother in stories like this. She's prim, proper, and always completely disapproving of her daughter, who is always the protagonist, shown to be completely innocent of everything except following her heart. Which of course, is always the right thing to do.
deep breath, Maggie. Don't get too uptight.
But you see my problem. I want to avoid this stereotype. I want Ina to be unique, awesome, wonderful, her own person in every way. For those of you who have read Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief series, I envision Ina as a combination of Attolia and Eddis. She's firm, she's diligent and noble, yet she's kind and caring.
The problem isn't defining the character, the problem is writing her. It's a delicate balance that would ruin the character should I lean too far one way or the other.

Character Sketch ~ Ella

I was mad. I'm still mad.

Lela is a PERFECTLY good name and it sums up her character exACTLY.

But, turns out if you rearrange the letters of Lela, you get Ella. (yes, I too have read Ella Enchanted. It was my favorite book for about 67.5 years)
Why did I change her name? Well, the L name was already called. A writing principle of mine. If you don't want to remember one at the mention of the other, don't use names beginning with the same letter or ones that have the same ending. Comedic writers use this to their advantage sometimes, but unless you're doing that kind of work, (I never will) it's probably best to avoid it.

I promise this is not a post on writing technique. I just had to get that out of my system.
Right, on to business.

Ella is just exactly the kind of character who I can write for fun and not have to worry much about weighty emotions or intense inner conflict. She is just as she appears, honest, transparent, flighty, impulsive. She is gossipy and coquettish, with a general lack of ambition. Candid and kind, she has a way with people, and charms everyone she meets. Were it not for her status as a servant, she would be the belle of every ball. She has classic beauty, blonde and blue-eyed. Her sole goal in life is to enjoy herself and live comfortably. Obviously, with a cushy job at the palace, she manages both quite nicely.

Character Sketch - Vyrrn

Today is a fun day because I get to talk about one of my favorite characters I’ve ever had the pleasure to write.

I admit, as much as I dislike stereotypes, (or rather, hate with a burning passion) Vyrrn is rather the perfect hero. He’s brave. He’s been unjustly accused. He wants to clear his name because he’s noble and loyal and true. But guys, these characters are so fun to write x)

My goal in writing this character was to take the stereotypical knight in shining armor and give it a twist. Like Ashley recently posted on her blog, every character needs a few quirks, something that makes them their own person.

So, who is Vyrrn?

He is a man of few words. He was born at court and lived there for many years, yet he feels much more at home within the endlessness of the Forest Verta. Maybe one day I’ll make a map of the kingdom so you can see where everything fits. But that’s off topic.

Vyrrn is courteous to all and harsh to none. He believes in chivalry and the courtly manners he was raised with. He is a true gentleman.

Character Sketch - Lorelei

By popular demand, I decided to begin a series of character sketches, beginning with the protagonist of Lorelei: Lorelei x) (but seriously, if you guys come up with any better names or ideas, I'm so sick of not having an actual title)

Before I wrote this, I got on Scrivener to look at the character template I already had for Lorelei there. I found it to be disgustingly brief.

 Role in story: protagonist

Occupation: princess

Physical description: rather short, with auburn hair that seems to always be tousled

Personality: outgoing, bright, doesn't seem to be suited to the life of royalty, yet she cares very much for her people.