Character Meme (a.k.a. procrastination tool)

It's Nano month and I'm swamped with writing I should have done and beta reads I've committed to (that I swear I really, really want to do and am on my way to finishing up very soon)!

Time for some character meme fun!

Using my Nano WIP, I'll answer a few bizarre questions about my characters that I hope will give us all a clearer understanding of who they are. At least that's the excuse I'm giving myself for having some fun with my characters instead of writing. Hey, maybe this will help me understand where to take them next. 

Choose ten of your OCs, then answer the questions. (My MC, Azalea, is not listed here)

1) Gabriel Blake: the seventeen-year-old love interest/mission target

2) Natalie Blake: Gabriel's dramatic fourteen-year-old sister

3) Zinc: the mysterious, centuries older paranormal being who haunts my MC

4) Brody: Gabriel's BFF, the pervy Aca-Deca genius

5) Tabitha: the Seer and my MC's scary-powerful mentor

6) Garrett: jazz scenester with a volatile temper and sordid past

7) Mrs. Blake: slightly overweight housewife, member of an ancient secret society

8) Sara Cross: Gabriel's ex-girlfriend, fly girl cheerleader

9) The Kenzian Council: several powerful beings merged into one

10) Mrs. S: high school band teacher

1. 4 invites 3 and 8 to dinner at their house. What happens?

Brody would never invite Zinc to a dinner with Sara. He'd want to keep her all to himself, and Zinc is just too charming. So what probably happened was that Sara and Brody were on a date and Zinc crashed it for his own nefarious reasons. Sara's going all googly-eyed on him, and Brody's frantically trying to gain control of the conversation by listing his various academic accomplishments. Brody would call the night a disaster. Zinc would call it a lark, and Sara would call it a much-needed distraction.

2. 9 tries to get 5 to go to a strip club. What happens?

LOL. Okay, so the Kenzian Council is trying to get its Seer into a strip club... probably in an effort to acclimate the pure-hearted Tabitha to the seedier musical element of society. Perhaps they think her process would be improved in matching people with the most opportune callings. Tabitha will perform chakra cleanses every twenty seconds and then zap out. The Council will realize its error and spend the next century apologizing.

3. You need to stay at a friend's house for a night. Who do you choose: 1 or 6?

Hmm, it would have to be Gabriel. I'm a sucker for the softies. Garrett is too, umm, scary.

4. 2 and 7 are making out. 10 walks in. What is their reaction?

Okay, Natalie is making out with her mom... Mrs. S is calling social services. Yuck. Some of these just don't work.

5. 3 falls in love with 6. 8 is jealous. What happens?

Okay, Zinc and Garrett, huh? This one doesn't work either because of a sexual orientation problem. But Sara definitely would be jealous b/c WHO DOESN'T HAVE THE HOTS FOR ZINC? She'd just go off and sulk, though. Confrontation isn't her thing.

6. 4 jumps you in a dark alleyway. Who comes to your rescue: 10, 2, or 7?

Brody is totally creepy enough to jump me in a dark alleyway. Natalie would save me, though. She's a little firecracker who's never liked Brody and hates his guts for betraying her brother. She'd kick his butt all over southern California.

7. 1 decides to start a cooking show. Fifteen minutes later, what is happening?

Azalea is gently trying to explain to Gabriel that, while he is good at many things (surfing, car-restoration, grammar, jazz, and cuddling), cooking just isn't one of them. He's not horrible, mind you. But a cooking show would be a sad waste of his real talents. There are enough recipes for meatballs floating around, anyway.

8. 3 has to marry either 8, 4, or 9. Whom do they choose?

Oh, this is kinda funny, actually, but you won't get it unless you read my book (ha!)-- Zinc has to marry Sara Cross, the Kenzian Council, or grody Brody. While any other guy would totally go for the hot cheerleader, Zinc has only ever wanted one thing: power. He'd totally marry the Council.

9. 7 kidnaps 2 and demands something from 5 for 2's release. What is it?

Mrs. Blake would demand Azalea be bound and delivered to her. But since she has kidnapped her own daughter, she's not likely to get anything from Tabitha, especially not her prized pupil. Nobody would believe she'd hurt her own daughter.

10. Everyone gangs up on 3. Does 3 have a chance in hell?

Definitely. He's wily. But it would be tough if the Council and the Vanquishers teamed up to destroy him, especially if Azalea stopped kissing Gabe long enough to join the fight. In that case, there'd be no fight. Just Zinc zapping around till his light snuffs out.

11. Everyone is invited to 2 and 10's wedding except for 8. How do they react?

Another match that wouldn't happen, but Sara Cross wouldn't care she wasn't invited. Social status is the last thing on this cheerleader's mind. Her goals don't involve a lot of people--just her and her career.

12. Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Anybody would be afraid of Mrs. Blake. Sure, she seems sweet at first, until you find the collection of daggers in her hide-a-pantry.

13. 1 arrives late for 2 and 10's wedding. What happens, and why were they late?

Gabriel is protesting his kid sister's marriage to a much, much older woman (his band teacher, no less). All sorts of laws are being broken in this meme.

14. 5 and 9 get roaring drunk and end up at your house. What happens?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! After I stop laughing, I pull out the fire extinguishers. The Seer and the Council are angry drunks with absolutely no tolerance for alcohol.

15. 9 murders 2's best friend. What does 2 do to get back at them?

Natalie's going to join the Vanquishers, intent on destroying the Council, but not because she believes in their cause. It's totally personal.

16. 6 and 1 are in mortal peril and only one of them can survive. Does 6 save themself or 1?

Garrett always saves himself first. Not that Gabriel needs his help. Surfers are tough and resourceful.

17. 8 and 3 go camping. For some reason they forgot to bring along any food. What do they do?

Ha! Sara wishes Zinc would camp with her! Since Zinc doesn't need the same kind of fuel Sara does, he'll probably just ditch her and go look for Azalea. Sara's spunky. She'll survive.

18. 5 is in a car crash and is critically injured. What does 9 do?

What Tabitha is doing in a car when she can just zap around the world on a whim, I'm not sure. Perhaps she's pretending to be human... Even if her chi is thrown completely off balance in the crash, the Council could right her with a simple light-cleanse.

19. The quiz is over. Tag someone.

Some of that was weird, but most of it was really fun to think about. 

Are you plot-stuck during Nano? Maybe this meme will help. I'm not going to tag you officially, but if you need some character development or plot ideas ("ooh, maybe 3 and 7 SHOULD get married"), then give it a go. :) 

Right, then. Back to work, Katrina. I'm at 16,400 words on the Nano WIP.