Monday 18 July 2016

The Tag of Description

As I promised, here is another tag! The Describe Tag, where you basically describe a bunch/five of your characters. Fun!

Hey look, I actually used the proper picture for once! :)

Here are the rules: oh wait. There are no rules. But just so you guys all know what I'm doing, I'll write out the assumed rules in a ruley sounding way (and proceed to break half a dozen of them).


1. Choose five (or more) characters of your creation to participate
2. Answer the questions about them
3. Tag one person per character*
(*Cool optional: choose a person who you think is similar to the character)
4. I think that's basically it now
5. It took me so long to think up all that
6. I hope you appreciate it
7. This is the last rule
8. Just kidding

There, I've got two rules I'll actually follow and half a dozen to break. All set to go then!

So I picked five characters from my current WIP Monsieur Scattlocke: Will Scattlocke, Emir Salib/Ben Kit, Alexis Kit, Allan Adell and General Somethingorother (No seriously. His name is General Somethingorother. I haven't thought up anything better yet).

Here goes. Will first.



Monsieur Will Scattlocke 
(more widely known in the Great Federation as the outlaw William Escarlate)


Is the character magical?

No, I wouldn't really say that. Unless you call surviving for seven years as a world-wide outlaw magical. Aside from that, none of these guys are magic.


Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.?

I'd say he was more reserved than the other options. He's a good leader (hence he becomes the leader of the Sherwood outlaws) and a good run-away-from-the-Great-Federation-er. He's had plenty of practice with that.


Is the character the main character of the book it's in?

Eh...yes. Hence the title Monsieur Scattlocke. It's kinda his famous cover name. (heh, get it. cover name. No? Never mind then.)


What hair colour (if applicable) does the character have? 

Can I just point out the 'if applicable'? I mean, were they going to have no hair? Actually...I don't think I've ever had a character with no hair...but that's kinda beside the point.

Will's hair is dark brown. Like, really dark brown, almost black.


What is your character? Human or other?

He's a superhero! Er, nope. Not actually. He's just your ordinary young mastermind escape artist. He's also been an outlaw for seven years. Ever since he stole a loaf of stale bread for his starving sister, got conscripted into the army, ran away, got caught again, ran away again...and so on. He had a happy childhood as you can tell.


Good or bad?

I would hope the main character was good...So yes. He's good.


My description: 

Erm...come to think of it. I don't think I've ever described him in words before...Always a first time! I'll do it from Merian Fitzwalter's (she's the maid Marian kind of person) point of view, just to make it interesting.



Something tapped against the window. Merian jolted awake, confused for a moment to find herself slumped at the writing desk.

The window slid up with a scrape, allowing a gust of cold wind into the room.

A dark figure vaulted through the open window, landing lithely on the floor. The outlaw had kept his promise after all.

Straightening, the slim man stepped forward into the flickering light of the lantern. A black mask covered the top half of his face, matching the rest of his raiment. Dark hair fell across his forehead, not quite concealing the eyes – bright in the candlelight.

Overall, he looked just like what he was: the leader of the infamous band of outlaws.

Monsieur Scattlocke himself.


Emir Salib 
(otherwise know as AusIntel Agent Benjamin Kit)


Is the character magical?

Well...let's see. Again, it really depends on your idea of magical...If you count dashing charm and boyish good looks...? Not to mention a brilliant sense of humour, an amazing talent at getting lost (I mean, he was sent to the Middle East and he ended up in Britain. Go figure), and not too bad a shot with his gun.


Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.?

He's hilariously funny of course. An awkward, quirky kind of person, I'd call him.


Is the character the main character of the book it's in?

Well...about that. He's also in the sequel to Monsieur Scattlocke and is the main character then so...it counts as a yes. It's actually only in the sequel that you discover who he really is (and that his name is actually Benjamin Kit not Emir) and all that. You guys are all getting the spoilers. :)


What hair colour (if applicable) does the character have?

Brown. Lightish brown and...that's about it.


What is your character? Human or other?

Definitely human. But Australian, which, with the circumstances in the world, is basically as strange as a random elf hanging around.


Good or bad?

Good. Although some of his jokes are undoubtedly bad. A good deal are good though.


My description:

Again, I don't think I do much straight out describing of the characters in the book. I prefer to just put in little details here and there so people know what he looks like but aren't blinded by the blindingly obvious descriptions. I'll stick in a scene between Emir/Ben and his older sister Alexis (Ben calls her Lexi, just so you know) so you can get a kinda idea of them. Personality-wise, rather than physical. 



Voices. There were a lot of voices. They sounded strangely familiar, particularly the one just next to his…bed? Where was he anyway? Ben pushed aside the fog of nothingness and cracked open his eyes.

“He’s awake,” someone said. “Maybe.”

Ben blinked again, scanning the room. Two people stood by the door, a doctor at the foot of his bed, and then he saw Lexi. She knelt by his bed, eyes anxiously watching him.

“Lexi?” he groaned hopefully.

Relief flooded his sister’s stormy eyes, a smile breaking out. “Oh Ben,” she said, then sat back, her relief instantly traded for criticism. “Britain?” she began. “You are sent to the Middle East to gather information and you end up in Britain?

“I got lost,” Ben protested lamely.

“You can say that again,” Lexi rolled her eyes.

“I got—” the words were cut off as she put her hand over his mouth.

“I can't believe you could be such an idiot,” she started, then broke. “But you’re alive.” Diving forward she wrapped Ben in a hug.

He ignored the pain, hugging her back. “I missed you,” he murmured into her hair.

Lexi drew back. “You missed me?” she asked, her voice rising with incredulity. “You missed me? I thought you were dead.”

Ben started to reply but she held up a hand. “And you were actually taking a holiday in Britain and breaking the Great Federation’s most wanted outlaw out of jail. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they take your badge.”

“They’re not planning to, are they?” Ben asked in alarm.

“You’d better come up with some good excuses, moron,” she said, eyes meeting his lovingly.

“What about ‘I am a moron’?” Ben suggested.

“No need to state the obvious,” she retorted with a smile.


Alexis Lilianna Kit


Is the character magical?

Nope. She's nice, but not magic.


Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.?

She's a reasonably reserved and quiet person, (as in, not crazy hyper) although for Ben she can be the bossy big sister. And then with her job with the AusIntel (Australian Intelligence) she has to order people around a bit at least, and she's pretty good at that.


Is the character the main character of the book it's in?

Nah, but I have considered that if I can think up the idea for a third book she could take her turn at the main-character-ing. But that's all still a while away and my brain will explode if I think too hard about writing a trilogy. A far too terrifying thought.


What hair colour (if applicable) does the character have?

Erm, brown. Dark brown this time, but not as dark as Will's.


What is your character? Human or other?

Last I checked she was human.


Good or bad?

Good. Yeah, Lexi's definitely good. Good at a lot of things. Like calling her brother a moron.


My description:

I'm just going to make something up this time: She's amusing at times, not as much as Ben naturally. She is medium height and build, 19, and engaged to someone I haven't named yet. She looks a bit like the picture:





Allan Adell
(the Monsieur Scattlocke version of Alan-a-Dale)


Is the character magical?

Again. Nope. Maybe I should've just gotten rid of this question. He's reasonably good at playing his lute, and can probably play something that sounds magical.


Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.?

Reserved, I reckon. He was with Robin Hood (who is a complete idiot, by the way, that's why Will eventually took over the leading of the outlaws) for quite a while but never got brave enough to actually protest about anything. He's a follower sort of guy.

And he's quite amusing when he starts falling in love with Avice the shepherdess.


Is the character the main character of the book it's in?

No, but he's Will's second-in-command kind of person. A bit like what Will Scarlet is normally to Robin Hood in the slightly less unusual retellings.


What hair colour (if applicable) does the character have?

Redish brown, but I can't say my picture of him is terribly clear. (very annoying) I'm getting it slowly.


What is your character? Human or other?

He's an outlaw minstrel who ain't that bad at archery. Assuredly human.


Good or bad?

Guess what? Allan's good too. Don't worry, the next one won't be. 


My description:

The picture isn't quite right. I imagine his hair a little browner and less orange. I'm also thinking he's a bit older than it looks in the picture, but it's the best I've got. Allan's about twenty-something, a minstrel, is Will's good friend from as soon as he joins the gang. He meets Avice in a raid on the Sheriff's tax wagons and they get married by Friar Tuck after some amount of time that I haven't worked out yet. You can really see how much of this book is planned out, can't you?





General Somethingorother 
(the leader of the Great Federation and the dude who has no name)


Is the character magical?

Heh. No. Evil. Grumpy. Likes imagining smashing people's faces into walls (and probably does it from time to time). But not magical.


Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.?

As I said, he likes imagining smashing peoples faces into walls (particularly his IT-expert who is the one person who can get away with annoying him).


Is the character the main character of the book it's in?

General Somethingorother is the Big Bad Villain Dude. Absolutely not the main character. He mostly comes into play in book two (which I should say, is called Agent Kit at this stage) when he really kicks into his evilness.


What hair colour (if applicable) does the character have?

I haven't really spent much time imagining this guy. He's hair's black, and always slicked back perfectly. And looks evil. There. I just thought that up off the top of my head, hopefully it'll be okay.


What is your character? Human or other?

Evil villain dude, and luckily human. Though his IT-expert (Milson) helps him work out some stuff that could be considered slightly inhuman.


Good or bad?

BAD. Mwahahahahaha!


My description:

I don't even have a picture for this guy. Just do your best to imagine a grumpy villain who killed his own dad to get his position, the leader of literally half the world, person who generally kills the people who annoy him (except for Milson 'cause no one else is as good as him), and a bunch of other evil stuff.

Not to mention the fact that he wants to execute Will and make Ben die a slow and painful death for interfering with those plans of execution.



So there we go. The tag of Description. And I only did rule one and two so I actually did break half a dozen. I sadly don't know that many bloggers, and certainly none who are like General Somethingorother (phew). For Ben I'd have to tag myself (heheh) and Will...I have no clue. Lexi and Allan likewise. 

I hope you enjoyed this rather long tag of characters. If you wanna do it, sure, go ahead! I'd love to see your answers. 

Fair Winds!


Jane Maree

6 comments:

  1. I loved this tag! It was so much fun learning about some characters from Monsieur Scarlotte! Your rules cracked me up XD.

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    1. Thanks so much for tagging me! I had so much fun doing ti! :D

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  2. Things always end up bad when your cover name becomes famous...

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    1. Yeah, but that's what books are all about! Bad things. :D

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  3. Ohh this was great fun! And I'm loving the sound of Will Scattlocke the outlaw. He seems nefarious and intriguing. ;) Also I think it's awesome that you sprinkle descriptions about the story and don't info-dump it! Excellent writing advice honestly. ;)

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    1. Thanks Cait! Now that I'm actually working on the story for Camp NaNo I'm really discovering that I actually didn't know much about Will before, but I'm really loving working out who he really is. :D

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