Of course, that also makes it one of the most challenging parts of writing fiction. You’ve got to be able to describe for your readers what your characters look like and sound like.

More importantly, you’ve got to be able to describe what your characters are thinking, feeling and doing. That can be tough when you’re writing about a person that doesn’t really exist.

So to help me create fictional characters that seem real, I start with a basic profile:

• Name (first, middle and last)
• Age
• Birthday
• Height
• Eye Color
• Hair Style and Color
• Body Frame (thin, athletic, chubby, etc.)

Once I know my character’s name, how old he is and what he looks like, I start adding some personality by asking myself questions like:

• Is he outgoing or shy?
• What is she passionate about? Why?
• What does he not like to do? Why?
• What scares her? Why?
• Does he have any weird habits? Why?
• What talents does she have? Why?
• What are his biggest weaknesses? Why?
• How many brothers and sisters does she have?
• What is his favorite book? Why?
• What flavor of ice cream does she like? Why?

By answering these kinds of questions about your fictional characters, you get to know the people you write about. The better you know WHO your characters are, the easier it is to put them in the middle of a story situation and ‘watch’ them react.

But that’s a lesson for another day. For now, just create your character’s basic profile, then answer the questions listed above to help you get to know the person you’re writing about.

Have fun!

To your writing dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. I didn’t make as much progress on my novel last week as I wanted to because I fell into my old habit of thinking too much. I’ve been trying to get all the details just right when I need to just write whatever comes to mind in this first major draft. So that’s my goal this week: write fast and furious without letting the details slow me down.

P.P.S. Don’t misunderstand. The details are super important. That’s why I’ll be adding them in when I edit my story!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Ymara Ecrof Tency, best tv watcher. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

When we first met Ymara, she loved to watch TV on all six of her televisions in her room at once any time she wasn’t sleeping or in school. As a matter of fact, her big dream was to be ‘the best tv watcher ever.’

After completing the first 30 days of missions, though, she realized that wasn’t a very motivating dream. But she wasn’t sure what her new big dream was. Let’s check in with her on Day 60 of the game and see if she’s figured out what she wants.

*****

YMARA: Amazing news! I only have one TV in my room now. One! I’m like so much more calm now that my attention isn’t scattered all over the place. It’s kind of relaxing to focus on just one show at a time (when I’m not using the picture in picture feature and watching two shows at once…cause I still do that sometimes).

Bonnie Jean: What did you do with the extra tv’s?

YMARA: Check it out—I traded them with a dude down at the pawn shop for a video camera! I decided that I love tv so much I should make tv shows of my own. That’s my new big dream: create my own TV channel!

Bonnie Jean: Now that you have a new big dream, what’s your Day 90 goal?

YMARA: This is going to be so much fun. By Day 90, I want to create my first ten minute show and post it on my YouTube channel. I don’t know what I’m going to call my channel yet.  Or what the show’s going to be about. Or who’s going to write it. Or who’s going to act in it. But I know I’m going to record it and direct it!

*****

We’ll check back in with Ymara in several weeks to see if she’s able to find a way to make her dream of filming her own 10 minute show happen.

She does have a few weird quirks, but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Ymara’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Sally ‘Super Fit/Super Smart’ Safari, scientist-in-training. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

When we first met Sally before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she called herself ‘Super Fit’ because her big dream was to be a ‘personal trainer for dogs.’

But when we checked in with her on Day 30 of the game, she had changed her big dream to becoming a ‘Super Smart’ scientist who invented a way for humans to survive without sleep.

Let’s catch up with her on Day 60 to see if she was able to achieve her goal of staying awake for 30 straight days using her super secret strategy.

*****

SALLY: I am ready to answer your questions. You may begin. (See what I was doing there? I’m being Sally “Super Powerful” Safari. Cause that’s how powerful people talk.)

Bonnie Jean: What happened to being Sally ‘Super Smart’ Safari and your ‘stay awake’ experiment?

SALLY: (shrugs) It turns out that I’m really not all that smart. I tried all kinds of experiments to keep myself awake, but after 33 hours and 27 minutes, I…fell asleep…in school. My teachers and my parents got a little bit mad, and my mom told me I couldn’t do any more “weird” experiments. She let me keep playing The Champion Creator Game, though, and by working through the integrity and passion and focus missions, I came up with a new big dream.

Bonnie Jean: So what’s your big dream as Sally ‘Super Powerful’ Safari?

SALLY: I’m going to be the Super Powerful President of the United States of America. That’s like years and years away, though, so I’m going to start by being the Super Powerful Class President in school.

That’s my Day 90 goal: to be elected class President. I’ve already started working on my campaign posters and my campaign speech and dreaming about all the Super Powerful stuff I get to do once I get elected.

*****

We’ll check back in with Sally in several weeks to see if she sticks with her ‘super powerful’ dream and reaches her Day 90 target to be elected class president. She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Sally’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Randaru Rebnitch, sun photographer. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

When we first met Randaru, we learned her big dream is to be a ‘sun photographer.’ Before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she had never actually taken a picture of any sunrises or sunsets like she dreamed of doing.

Her Day 30 target was to finally take a picture of a sunrise, and she did! Now let’s check in with her on Day 60 to see if she hit her target to take a picture of a sunset.

*****

RANDARU: Oh. Hey! Glad to be back for my Day 60 update. I just gotta say…the last 30 days have been awesome!

Bonnie Jean: Have you been playing The Champion Creator Game?

RANDARU: Uh…yeah. I’m having so much fun with the missions that I can’t imagine not doing them now. I mean, my brothers and sisters used to not take me seriously because I would just talk about my dream of taking pictures of sunrises and sunsets but not actually do anything about my dream.

Now that I’ve hit my Champion targets and taken pictures of 12 sunrises and 12 sunsets, they respect my dream more. I’ve even started a collection of all my pictures!

Bonnie Jean: How do you want to end the Rookie Season? What’s your Day 90 target?

RANDARU: My goal is to take a picture of a sunrise and a sunset on the same day, print them both out on my picture printer, frame them side by side and give it to my dentist to hang in his office.

I’m gonna have to earn some money to buy the frame, and I’m gonna have to wait for a super cool and colorful sunrise and sunset to happen on the same day, but I’ve got 30 days.

If I keep doing the champion missions and stay focused like I’m learning about, I believe I can make it happen. I just hope my dentist will want to hang the picture in his office.

*****

We’ll check back in with Randaru in several weeks to see if she’s able to hit her Day 90 goal. She does have a few weird quirks, but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Randaru’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features lulilulelindia verickent, grammarnotarian. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

When we chatted with Luli on Day 30 of the game, she realized she wasn’t passionate about her big dream to be a ‘travel around the world person.’ So she was hoping to find a big dream she could be passionate about. Before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she was a Grammarnotarian who didn’t believe in capitalization or punctuation.

Let’s check in with her on Day 60 of the game and see if she’s learned anything about how to live her dreams. Remember, she doesn’t like punctuation or capitalization, so her quotes might look a little strange…

*****

lulilulelindia ive seriously got great news today i’m so seriously super excited to share my new big dream with you i figured it out by playing the champion creator game you know with those missions that seriously helped me tap into my passion ready okay remember how my old big dream was to be a travel around the world person well ill still get to travel whenever i want because im seriously going to make lots of money being a hair and makeup specialist

Bonnie Jean: Why did you choose to become a hair and makeup specialist?

lulilulelindia since im a grammarnotarian i seriously dont want to do anything that makes me have to use correct grammar thats why i seriously love dealing with makeup and hair. i get to seriously help other girls like me seriously find their own special style so they can seriously stand out and express who they really are

Bonnie Jean: How are you going to make your big dream come true?

lulilulelindia im seriously going to keep playing the champion creator game its helping me break down my big dream into smaller simple seriously easy to do goals that way i seriously dont feel overwhelmed and my dream seriously seems possible i seriously just have to do one little thing every day thats related to my big dream all these little things are going to add up and one day ill seriously be the best expert ever at like styling peoples hair how seriously awesome is that

Bonnie Jean: How do you want to end the Rookie Season? What’s your Day 90 target?

lulilulelindia thats easy i want to give one of my friends a seriously cool makeover so i can practice living my big dream i seriously cant wait because thats going to be so much fun seriously

*****

We’ll check back in with Luli in several weeks to see if she’s able to hit her Day 90 target. She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Luli’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Zikrintember Onthom, no big dream yet. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

We met Zikrintember a few weeks ago and learned she doesn’t know what her big dream is yet. Remember, she is a little shy. After all, she does have 11 older brothers and sisters and 43 cousins who all live on the same street as her family.

Before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she felt overshadowed and invisible and unsure of what she wants.

Let’s check in with her on Day 30 of the game and see if she’s learned anything about who she is and what she wants.

*****

ZIKRINTEMBER: Ummmmm….hi.

Bonnie Jean: Has playing The Champion Creator Game helped you figure out what you’re passionate about?

ZIKRINTEMBER: Uh huh.

Bonnie Jean: Will you tell us?

ZIKRINTEMBER: Oh. Okay. Well…I learned I like to investigate stuff. I like to follow clues to solve mysteries…or do experiments to figure out how things work. So my big dream is to be a police detective, an FBI Agent or a scientist. I still haven’t decided.

Bonnie Jean: Why will you keep playing The Champion Creator Game?

ZIKRINTEMBER: I like belonging to the Dream Doer League. Nobody laughs at me even though I get nervous when I have to talk to people.

I also want to learn how to be a good goal setter now that I actually have things I want. This makes setting goals fun and easy.

You might find this silly…but my goal for Day 60 is to set a goal for Day 90…I’m done talking now. Can I go?

*****

We’ll check back in with Zikrintember in several weeks to see if she’s able to hit her Day 60 target. She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Zikrintember’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Ymara Ecrof Tency, best tv watcher. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

We met Ymara a few weeks ago and learned her big dream (if you can call it that) is to be ‘the best tv watcher ever.’ Before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she watched television on all six of her tvs anytime she was not eating, sleeping or in school.

Let’s check in with her on Day 30 of the game and see if she’s learned anything about who she is and what she wants.

*****

YMARA: I didn’t think The Champion Creator Game was going to be any fun at all. Having to do a mission everyday that made me read and write answers to questions sounded like too much work. I wanted to poof, be a champion as soon as my parents bought the game for me. I didn’t want to, you know, put any effort into it. I only started playing because my parents made me.

I’m glad they did. I’m learning I’m a more interesting person than a lot of people I watch on TV.

Bonnie Jean: Are you living your dream of being the best tv watcher ever?

YMARA: I am a good tv watcher, but being the best tv watcher ever doesn’t really give me a chance to be passionate about something. I’m not even sure what my passions are because I’ve been so busy watching tv that I haven’t had a chance to think about my dreams and what my strengths are and Dream Doer stuff like that.

My goal for Day 30 was to give away one of my tvs. But I gave away two instead. My neighbors were really happy. By Day 60, I want to give away two more, so I’ll only have two left.

Bonnie Jean: Why will you keep playing The Champion Creator Game?

YMARA: I have to learn how to be more focused and more active. And I can’t wait to find out what my big dream really is. If you need help figuring out what your big dream is or figuring how to live your big dream, you should totally play the game, too.

*****

We’ll check back in with Ymara in several weeks to see if she’s able to hit her Day 60 target. She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Ymara’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Sally ‘Super Fit’ Safari, personal trainer for dogs. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

We met Sally a few weeks ago and learned her big dream is to be a ‘personal trainer for dogs.’ Before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she got easily distracted and struggled to follow through with her dreams.

Let’s check in with her on Day 30 of the game and see if she’s learned anything about how to live her dreams.

*****

SALLY: Playing The Champion Creator Game is AWESOME! It’s also super intense. You get to complete a mission everyday that’s all about you—what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling, what you’re doing; what you want, what you don’t want, what keeps you from getting what you want.

And there’s this enemy fighting against you that you can’t even see. His name’s Normalcy, and he uses obstacles like fear and doubt and distractions to keep you from doing what you dream. But if you learn how to be honest and passionate and focused, you can beat him and live your dreams. It’s so much fun.

Bonnie Jean: Are you living your dream of being a personal trainer for dogs?

SALLY: I was. But now I’m not. That’s not my big dream anymore. After playing The Champion Creator Game for 30 days, I realized that’s not really what I want to do, especially when my dog kept running away from me.

That’s the cool thing about playing the game. I get to change my mind if what I thought I wanted isn’t really what I do want.

Now I think I want to be a scientist. That’s why I’m Sally “Super Smart” Safari now. I’m going to invent a way for humans to survive without sleep because I hate getting tired and going to bed. My goal is to stay awake for 30 straight days using my super secret strategy starting…now.

See you again on Day 60!

*****

We’ll check back in with Sally in several weeks to see if she’s able to stay awake for 30 straight days using her super secret stay-awake experiment. She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Sally’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features Randaru Rebnitch, sun photographer. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

We met Randaru a few weeks ago and learned her big dream is to be a ‘sun photographer.’ Before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she had never actually taken a picture of any sunrises or sunsets like she dreamed of doing.

Let’s check in with her on Day 30 of the game and see if she’s learned anything about how to live her dreams.

*****

RANDARU: Check it out. I just took a picture. A real picture. Cause I do that now. I take actual pictures with my actual camera. I took of the sunrise this morning. Taking a real picture of a sunrise was my Day 30 goal for the Rookie Season, and I hit my goal!

Bonnie Jean: Day 30? Rookie Season? What are you talking about?

RANDARU: Oh, I’m talking about The Champion Creator Game. The Rookie Season takes 90 days to play, and you start by setting goals for the things you want to do by day 30, day 60 and day 90. My day 30 goal was to take a picture of a sunrise. And I did! My day 60 goal is to take a picture of a sunset.

Bonnie Jean: Why are you going to keep playing The Champion Creator Game?

RANDARU: It’s fun! It does take 15 minutes a day to play the missions, but by exploring my passion, I’m learning how to believe in myself and my dreams. I used to just dream about being a sun photographer because I didn’t believe I could be good at taking pictures of sunrises and sunsets. Now I’m actually taking pictures because it’s what I love to do!

*****

We’ll check back in with Randaru in several weeks to see if she’s able to hit her Day 60 goal. She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Randaru’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!

Welcome to another wacky, totally fictional interview of a ‘Weirdo Friend.’ Today’s story features lulilulelindia verickent, grammarnotarian. (Video of this interview is coming soon…)

We met Luli a few weeks ago and learned her big dream is to be a ‘travel around the world person.’ Before she started playing The Champion Creator Game, she was a Grammarnotarian who didn’t believe in capitalization or punctuation.

Let’s check in with her on Day 30 of the game and see if she’s learned anything about how to live her dreams. Remember, she doesn’t like punctuation or capitalization, so her quotes might look a little strange…

*****

lulilulelindia hey there lulilulelindia verickent again remember me im a grammarnotarian but not capitalizing words and not using punctuation seriously hasnt gotten in the way of me playing the champion creator game

Bonnie Jean: But don’t you have to write down answers to questions to complete the missions?

lulilulelindia yeah duh the missions are seriously all about answering questions that help you develop champion traits of integrity and passion and focus seriously but since i get to choose to do the missions on my own and nobodys telling me I have to or grading me on my work I can seriously choose to answer the questions however I want

Bonnie Jean: Why do you think developing the Champion Traits are important?

lulilulelindia seriously youre asking me cool okay here goes when you learn how to be honest and to express your passion and to stay focused you learn to believe in yourself and your dreams

Bonnie Jean: Do you honestly believe your big dream is possible?

lulilulelindia since ive been developing integrity i honestly have to say no thats only because im not passionate about my big dream of being a travel around the world person i seriously have to figure out what i am passionate about

which is why im seriously going to keep playing the champion creator game the missions will help me find a dream i can believe in thats based on stuff im seriously great at i mean i seriously didnt even realize i had stuff im great at until i started playing this game

hey are you playing the game yet you seriously should youll have fun learning how to be a really cool person

*****

We’ll check back in with Lulilulelindia in a few weeks to see if she’s able to figure out what her big dream is.

She does have a few weird quirks (which you’ll be able to see in the video of the interview that’s coming soon), but as long as she follows through with the missions, she’ll be able to find a way to do what she dreams.

Weird quirks or not, you can find a way to do what you dream, too. Life is really much more fun when you set goals and take action to make them happen. So…

Join the Dream Doer League. Play The Champion Creator Game. And DO what you DREAM!

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Stay tuned for details about how you can play The Champion Creator Game. (‘Luli’ may be made up, but the game is REAL!) Until then, enjoy listening to the entire bestselling young adult novel The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets by clicking here!