20 Questions - Jake Gatsley

OK, the story is due in less than a week. So time to get my butt in gear. I am going to stay true to what I have done so far and continue my Brainstorming here. I have no clue of what I am doing so we'll see where this goes. First the hard part. 20 questions about Jake.

1. Pretend you are walking down a street, and you see your character for the first time. Describe them in one word. No matter how far fetched or illogical this initial impact may be, it may prove invaluable. Use clippings from newspapers or magazines as illustrations of how you envisage your character by their ‘looks’.

Unless he was engaging me, then I probably wouldn't notice him at all. When Jake want's his presence known, it is usually very obvious that he is there.

2. Take physical impressions next. The posture, stance, the stride and rhythm of movement. Possibly some body gestures, as well as bulk and density of physical build, as these will give some clues to their character as well.

Jake is of average build with wild brown hair and large brown eyes and has unusually pale skin. Not very swift, he lumbers around like a person of much larger stature, tending to blend into his surroundings in appearance.

3. Are you reminded of an animal or object? However, be careful of clichés.

If he were to be compared to an animal it would have to be a cat due to his accepting attention on his own terms. If it weren't for his personality he might be a very forgettable person.

4. Can you sense or see a color to the character? Are they a bright person, or do they blend in with their surroundings?

if anything Jake is devoid of color in appearance. He tends to like cool earth tones if there is any color to his appearance at all.

5. What kind of clothes does the character wear? This is usually a key to psyche and social status.

Like all the other children, Jake will usually be seen in the school issued uniform. He usually has pants that are a couple sizes too big for him, giving them a baggy appearance though and his tie will usually be untied or loosened.

6. The person’s voice. Tone and quality. Do they speak with an accent? What sort of words do they use? How do they say something, and what do they prefer to leave unsaid?

For an American, Jake would have no particular accent. And he will usually be talking about himself or about something negative about others. He will constantly turn conversations away from his family.

7. Where does the character live during the story? How does this affect them?

At the Singleton School for Boys. This is the center of the story and moreover most of the story takes place in his dorm room where Bawlz TV is taped.

8. Where and when were they born? What about their childhood? How does their background shape their personality?

Jake was born in New York, but has been in boarding schools since he started school. He knows very little of his family except what memories he chooses to remember and what he has made up to establish various reasons for their abandonment over the past couple of years.

9. Early influences? i.e. Parents/teacher/first love/hero? These can be a key to personality.

Jake worships his father, who is apparently a Linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ironic actually because he has seen him more when watching his games on TV than he has seen in in real life.

10. Decade. Does the one your character lives in influence them? Shape them or their style i.e. 60s. Do they accept the standard of their time, or rebel?

Yes, 100%. He is a child of the 21st century. As such he is never seen without his iPod and has created Bawlz TV for YouTube as well uses his cell phone to keep constant updates to other such sites as Twitter and FaceBook.

11. What is the most important thing to the character? What do they want more than anything else? Do they daydream or fantasize at all?

Jake lives in the moment never taking the future into consideration. He does not give himself the luxury of daydreaming as there is always something to do to keep his mind off of the reality that he is alone.

12. What is their conflict? Is their conflict imposed by circumstances? Or have they created them? And who will settle them?

Jake's Conflict is his longing to be just like all the other kids and have a real relationship with his family. His friends have become his family and no matter how he treats them he would give his life in a heart beat for any one of them. His conflict defines and shapes who he is throughout life and will not be settled until he much older with a family of his own.

13. How far will they go to get what they want? i.e. steal or commit a crime? This may hook the reader by this ploy too.

Jake is very used to getting what he wants and is not above stealing to get it. he has a knack for justifying just about anything to get his way. In a way it is each moment of happiness that he strives for to keep the void filled.

14. What does the character fear most? Will it keep them from achieving their ends?

A fear so deep that he himself does not really even realize it. That is the fear of realizing that his parents have all but abandoned him. In the past couple of years they have stopped sending letters and have even stopped having him down for the holidays.

15. More revealing areas: Gambling/alcohol/money/love how do they handle competition?

Jake lives for competition. It is always a chance for him to rise above others. He is very adept at meeting challenges. This will follow him as he grows, excelling at everything he does. It will not be until he has kids of his own that he will realize that this is the same neurotic drive that his father had and cause him to break the chain in a sense.

16. How do they react to children, old people, foreigners and the sick?

This is a hard one as he really only knows the small world around him. The outside world is only known to him through the Internet and seen as a source of amusement.

17. How does the character shape the plot?  How does the plot shape the character?

Jake is the center of the show. He would be the one defining the bigger plot if this ever goes beyond a short.

18. How does the character interact with other members of the cast? Who acts as their foil? Who contrasts or compliments them? And, who threatens them?

Jake usually gets his way and is usually pretty intolerant otherwise unless it his immediate friends. They are the only ones who can get away with poking fun at him, others would usually end up being a part of the show in the most embarrassing ways. His foil would invariably be Cooper. He is usually the blunt of Jake's jokes and has a knack for bringing out the worst in Jake.

19. Do YOU like or hate this character? What is desirable or negative about them? What are their faults? Mix and match light with dark, in much the same way a painter would.

The viewer should love to hate this character because he often says what is on his mind and should make the audience laugh even though they know they should be upset about what just happened.

20. Finally, what is there to make the reader care about what happens to them?

There should be an underlying theme of growing up idolizing parents that are never there for him. Although Cooper is often his foil on the show, it is Kaz that will bring out the true Jake and show that he really is just a scarred and lonely kid trying to cope with his feeling of abandonment.

Wheshew. That was rough.  I hope that makes sense, but really I did it just to get me to start thinking about Jake some more. I am hopping it will help not only in the character interactions, but to help drive the story as well. But now it's time for Kaz.