That Bit Extra - Collaborative Planning Project - Fleshing Out Our Love Interests (Patreon)

So we have a very basic idea of a couple of our love interests!

But now it’s time to flesh them out and give them, well, some flesh, lol.

How creators approach this can vary so much, even I vary in my own methods

sometimes!

But something that I know works for so many people, as well as myself, is getting

inspiration from images!

I’m a very visual writer, and I often sketch out ideas and scenes and characters to

help solidify my idea of them as they form.

If you’re struggling with personality, sometimes something random in an image might

pop out at you and give you an idea!

Pinterest is always a great resource to look at for inspiration.

For example, let’s say we want to start to thinking about our matchmaker.

Now, we could look at face claims and things, but I don’t tend to go that way.

I like to think about aspects of a character and form ideas of who they could be from

there.

So, let’s think about our matchmaker. Where are they from? What’s their job actually

entail? What environment are they in?

We know they’re part of the royal court, so already we have a lavish, rich setting. So

I started my search there.

And already we have an amazing set of pictures to give us some inspiration!

We have gemstones, castles, precious metals…I adore the earrings and multiple

rings. The rings have gemstones in them that are more rough cut rather than

smooth.

Well…now there’s an idea. How about a diamond-in-the-rough type character?

How about someone who dresses in riches and fineries of the court because they

didn’t used to be able to? Or perhaps they use gems and finery to disguise

something they want to keep hidden?

And from just two images, we’ve already formed an interesting idea about the

personality and possible motivations of our character!

So now let’s work on that. We’ll type in some words around the idea we’ve formed

and see what else we get.

Ohhh! Well, immediately I’m looking at that image of the forest with the sun coming

through it. Those colours are stunning! I’m definitely thinking that is a possible colour

palette for our character to dress in: gold, deep navy blue, dove greys, and greens.

Those rays of sunshine coming through the trees, illuminating unseen shadows fits

exactly with the theme we were already thinking of above with having hidden

secrets.

Ok, so now how about we explore the other idea of the diamond in the rough…

Wow, what a contrast! Here we have glittering clear gems and silvers. Instead of

things being shadowed and hidden, everything is bright, exposed, and sparkling.

I also love the quote about the charcoal turning into diamond. That already gives

some thought to what type of personality our matchmaker could be- someone who

handles stress very well, or the stress of their job has shaped them into someone

sharper and refined.

There’s also the advert for the engagement rings, which suits with the court

matchmaker idea. Perhaps they are someone who is proud of all the happy couples

they have brought together over the years! Someone with a natural sixth-sense…or

maybe not a sixth sense at all but something more. Something magical.

This is the Echo World, after all. Everyone is a supernatural.

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After just a quick search, we came up with two very distinctive personality ideas for

our matchmaker!

Images really can inspire so much, but sometimes it’s more fun to look for the less

obvious things than say face claims or outfits…though those can be just as much

fun, hehe! :D

Seeing as I love what came up for this matchmaker character, I’ll put out a poll for

you guys to see which personality you prefer for them too!

Can’t wait to see you in the next episode :D