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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Adding Character Depth With The Zodiac

At a loss for character traits? Feel like all of your characters are too similar or too blah? What better way to add a little depth and variety to your manuscript's cast than by checking out the friendly neighborhood zodiac.

Get’em right here, folks! Built-in traits for up to 12, count’em 12 gorgeous, three-dimensional characters.

Is your character a ...

Capricorn: Practical, ambitious, humorous BUT pessimistic, miserly, and rigid

Aquarius: Friendly, honest, original BUT unpredictable and detached

Pisces: Imaginative, selfless, sensitive BUT escapist, secretive, easily led

Aries: Adventurous, courageous, confident BUT quick-tempered, impatient, impulsive

Taurus: Patient, warmhearted, reliable BUT jealous, inflexible, self-indulgent

Gemini: Adaptable, eloquent, lively BUT nervous, inconsistent, cunning

Cancer: Loving, protective, imaginative BUT moody, clinging, overemotional

Leo: Generous, creative, faithful BUT dogmatic, bossy, patronizing

Virgo: Modest, meticulous, practical BUT worrier, overcritical, perfectionist

Libra: Diplomatic, romantic, socialable BUT indecisive, gullible, self-indulgent

Scorpio: Determined, passionate, exciting BUT jealous, compulsive, secretive

Sagittarius: Optimistic, good-humored, intellectual BUT careless, irresponsible, tactless

If you look closely, you might just recognize a character of yours or one from a well-known book! Apparently Ron Weasley from Harry Potter is a Pisces and Hermione is a Virgo (according to JK Rowling).

*By the way, the descriptions for zodiac signs do vary, so please don't be offended if you check yours and it isn't spot on! I know mine makes me sound like kind of a meanie, and I'm not :) These particular traits are from AstrologyZodiacSigns.com~ click the chart for full descriptions from the website.

Happy Writing!

28 comments:

  1. I've also been looking up the Chinese zodiac! Love this idea.

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  2. I love that each of these have something good and something negative. I need to copy this! Oh, and cancer totally fits me. And virgo definitely defines Hermione's character.

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  3. It's said in HP that Tom Riddle was born on January 1st- making him a Capricorn. Snape was born on January 9th, so he's also a Capricorn.

    All good villains are Capricorns. (Guess what I am)

    On that note, my villain is a Gemini. I know all the horoscopes for my characters, though I didn't plan it that way. It was more through their actions that I realized what they were. It ever comes into play in my book, but as the author, it's just a fun tidbit of back-story I like to know.

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  4. Lindz~ awesome info! That's really cool that you know all of your characters' horoscopes :)

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  5. I agree with Lindz - all good villians are Capricorns and Gemini!

    Cracking up as the signs for my daughters and husband are SO RIGHT ON! But my sign is Aquarius, and these descriptions seem a little off. I usually see sensitive, introverted, artistic for Aquarius. Definitely not PERVERSE! Yikes!!! But detached is right on (though only until you get through my outer shell!) GRIN

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  6. This is really interesting. I'm a Scorpio, not sure what that says about me or my characters! Everything listed under my sign makes for good characters, but not necessarily good people! Yikes! ;)

    xoxo -- Hilary

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  7. Ooh, that's fun! I'm a Scorpio myself, and that description sounds a bit frightening to me LOL! Eek!

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  8. Hey, I don't remember seeing your bio or writing pages before - are they new? What fun! I love your blurb about Tripplehorn Parker, debate team and the hippos! You've also reminded me I need to get signed up for the Rocky Mountain chapter of the SCWI too (I'm missing a letter. I never get that acronym right).

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  9. What an excellent idea to keep characters developed!

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  10. Lindsay C and Hilary W.:

    I don't think Scorpios seem bad at all (though I did originally think it fit Lord Voldemort before Lindz pointed out that he's a Capricorn--but that's only because I couldn't think of where else he might fit it)!! They've got great traits--passion and determination are essential for being a writer, right? :)

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  11. I have a Birthday book that supposedly gives traits for each day of the year! I used it to help develop one of my characters (a Cancer).

    Oh, and I'm a Scorpio too. Is there a trend here?

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  12. And I have to ask you -- how do you know Voldemort is a Capricorn?

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  13. Beth~ if you check out Lindz's comment above, she notes that Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort) was born on January 1 :)

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  14. Oh, this sounds like fun! I don't always think of personality when I think about my character's birthdays. Great idea. It reminds me of building characters in the game Sims.

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  15. This is awesome! I'm going to link it on my Friday post.

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  16. Heeey, interesting list! Now I will have to figure that out for my MC. Trouble is, now that I'm revising, I have to move her birthday from Nov. 20 to sometime in December! Thus, her sign will probably change. ;o)

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  17. I never would have thought of this as a way to flesh out characters--it's awesome! Also, tremendous fun. :D

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  18. LOL Well mine (sag) definitely describes me. :D

    I love this idea.

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  19. Love the idea--gonna' file it away for my character sketches coming up for next WIP. Thanks for passing this on...!

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  20. Love this! Could even be a clever solution for writer's block? Haha!

    BTW... new follower alert!

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  21. Wow, mine is fairly spot on, actually.

    Also, what a cool way to get over characterization hurdles!

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  22. Apparently the zodiac signs changed a bit ago. People born 2009 and later have a different zodiac than people born the same day as them before.
    I love this idea for digging into characters, it's really helpful to get ideas about traits and what strengths/weaknesses naturally go together.

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  23. This is different and helpful! Thanks.

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