Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Character Interview Blogfest!

Sangu Mandanna from Echoes of a Wayward Mind, is hosting a wonderful blogfest on getting to know our character better via interview. So, once upon a time, Harley had this awesome post on her blog and she gave me permission to use it--Harley, you ROCK!

The link to the post is found below. I hope you enjoy getting to know Moggie as much as I had interviewing the guy! ;)


Harley D. Palmer’s Epic Character Questionnaire


Part One: The Basics

1. What is your name? Morgan Taylor

2. Do you have any nicknames? If you do, who gave it to you and why? Yeah, Moggie. My baby brother couldn't pronounce it for the longest time and it just stuck.

3. How old are you now? 20, but my birthday is coming up.

4. When were you born? almost 21 years ago.

5. Where do you call home now? Rhoda's Bar and Grill. No, just kidding--my crib up in Beverly Hills.

6. To what social class do you belong? Are you kidding me?

7. What is your eye color? hazel--can't you see them?

8. What is your hair color? black

9. Do you have any distinguishing facial features? 'course I do--the groupies always tell me how chiseled I am.

10. Do you have any birthmarks? Where are they? do tatts count?

11. Do you have any scars? How did you get them? yeah, I've a big one right here when I killed my folks in the fire. points to heart

12. Do you have any tattoos or other markings? How and why did you get them? Yep. Cause I wanted to.

13. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? naw

14. Are you right or left handed? left

15. What does your voice sound like? I dunno, but when I sing--I can go pretty high.

16. How do you dress most of the time? the usual--black jeans and shirt.

17. How do you dress up? Are you kidding me?

18. How do you dress down? to nuthin, wanna see?

19. What do you wear when you go to sleep? snorts

20. Do you wear any jewelry? can't you see them? Okay, just kidding--just about anything that I can pierce.

21. What words and/or phrases do you use frequently? you want me to keep this G rated, don't you?

22. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? I don't think
this is weird or nothing, but Zag thinks I should stop chewing on my guitar pick--thinks I'll choke on it one of these days.
winks


23. Do you have any bad habits? If so, what are they and how do you plan to get rid of them? me? bad habits? Isn't that an opinion? Myrah thinks that bringing groupies and chicks home every night is a bad thing as well as my smoking and drinking and, oh, that's right. G-rated. nods with a stupid smile


24. Do you have a lifelong dream or aspiration? snorts I am living my dream, woman. reaches over and squeezes my chin

25. Do you own a car (or other form of transportation)? Why or why not? Describe it. 'course I do. What famous rock star wouldn't own a
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a Maserati, Saleen, Farrari, Lamborghini--private jet--do you still want me to go on?

26. What is your current state of mind? Uh, is this a trick question?





Thank you, Sangu, I had soooo much fun interviewing my guy!

(photos are of Michael Praed)

50 comments:

Amalia Dillin said...

I liked his response to the question about scars-- it's very telling, in contrast with the rest! Very interesting!

Andrew Rosenberg said...

Oh, come on, those were softball questions.
What's the worst thing he's ever done? Most ashamed about? Who was the "one who got away"?
Need more deets!

Pendragon Inman said...

so tempted to host one of these on my blog too. LOL but me thinks my MC wouldn't be as cooperative. :)

Anastasia V. Pergakis said...

When you mentioned my questionairre I thought you went all out with every question! I was thought "Oh my gosh! I don't care if it takes me hours, I must read the whole thing!"

Clara said...

That was so cool! A rock star! I feel like hugging hiiiim!

stu said...

The answers are mostly surface ones, but that probably fits quite well with the rockstar image.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

It's like pulling teeth to get some of those answers from him, isn't it? Ah well, difficult characters are the best!

Old Kitty said...

What a rock star!!!!!! I can almost see him trashing hotel rooms and throwing the telly out of the window! :-)

Great stuff - thank you!
Take care
x

Jaydee Morgan said...

Good job, Elizabeth! It really is fun to sit down and have a good one-on-one with our characters :)

Creepy Query Girl said...

Awesome! Sorry I missed this!

Sangu Mandanna said...

Hey Elizabeth! I'm so glad you enjoyed doing this! I loved reading it, I thought you did really well in using the questionnaire and having Moggie interpolate and completely show off his character. Ah, characters with minds of their own - best ever!

"hazel--can't you see them?" - loved that, it made me laugh out loud!

And how sexy is Michael Praed?

Kris n' Kels said...

Yay! Lol, that was fun. I love his snarky attitude. He seems like a pretty fun character to have around.

<3 Kelsey Leigh

melissa said...

I loved reading this post. How fun! I hope you keep posting more of these. :-D

Anonymous said...

Great post Elizabeth...loved his cheeky attitude. The smile never left my face. Enjoying your blog a lot.

Renae said...

Way cool interview. I just love your blog! So much that I'm giving you an award on mine tomorrow. Be sure to check it out!

Writer Junkie said...

I'm completely captivated by your character. Just from reading the interview alone you can't tell if he's a good guy or bad. You wanna root him on, but should you. Great way to tantalize the reader with just enough to make them want to know more! :)

Roland D. Yeomans said...

His character was revealed by what he didn't say and in the way in which he evaded any in-depth response. Sometimes what we refuse to say tells more about us than we understand.

His (your) answers kept me reading. And isn't that what we want to do with our writing? Bravo. Roland

Unknown said...

*grin* very cool. I like the way he responds to 'standardized' questions...especially the 'uh, is this a trick question' at the end!

I think I like him!

Mia Hayson said...

Ooooh, I like this :) Love the way he responded to eye colour questions etc, like we all would in an interview.

Also ZOMG he is VERY COOL ;)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

He's a rock star all right.

Jemi Fraser said...

That was fun - I enjoyed the scars comment - really revealing about his character.

amy said...

I liked how distinctive his voice was. It was like you were interviewing a real person.

Anonymous said...

Nice interview!

RaShelle Workman said...

This was great. He doesn't have an ego or anything does he? LOL Very well done.

The name is Ashelynn said...

Ooo, good one! I never thought about using Harley's questionnaire - that would've helped me with questions, lol!

I like. :)

Anonymous said...

Oooh, he's a bad boy, isn't he? I like! The Epic Character Questionnaire is a great idea.

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Thank you for your thoughts! I'm planning on using every Part of Harley's Epic Questionnaire. She did such an AWESOME job at them, they deserve to be shouted out!!! :D

I'll see about continuing the process every week!
:)

Unknown said...

Your blog is adorable, I love the background and I love coming on interview days! I'm glad I visited Bethany's blog today!!!

C Bailey said...

Interesting, I feel like I know him...

Kristie Cook said...

What a typical rock star. Nice job! Like others, the scars answer was particularly telling...along with what he didn't say in the rest of the answers. So even though he sounds (a little) egotistical, I want to get to know him because I think he's sweet under the surface.

Now I'm off to find Harley's questionnaire. I hope she has it posted!

Monica Marier said...

"Do tattoos count?" (bwahahaha!)
Well done. Captured the bad-boy essence very well. Love that he looks like Michael Praed. (drool).

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Jen, thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment! You're always welcome. I'm glad you like my blog! ;)

C Bailey, I'm glad! I'll come up with more interviews on him soon!

Kristie, thank you! You'll find Harley's questionnaire under the link in the post title, "Epic Character Questionnaire", I hope you find it!

Monica, Michael Praed! ;) Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

Ted Cross said...

I wanted to see some follow up on some of those. You let him off the hook!

Dawn Embers said...

Nice work. I completely forgot that I have Harley's questionnaire she posted for characters. I answered them all for the one I interviewed in the blogfest but don't have that notebook with me. Didn't even remember either. It is a useful tool.

The only downside is that the character's personality doesn't show as much with a questionnaire type post as opposed to how some people practically made their interviews into stories, being a part of the tale themselves. Some of the answers allow a bit of personality to shine through, at least.

Have you tried answering every single question for the character yet? It's daunting.

LARCHMONT said...

That is a great idea! I love the answers and the pictures. He does sound like a great character!

Lilah Pierce said...

I'm not actually here. :) I'm just dropping off the new address for my site. Its thoughtsbylilahpierce.blogspot.com

Charity Bradford said...

I thought the surface answers were perfect for the image I have of a rock star. ;)

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Ted, I know, I did, didn't I? The interview is quite epic, there's tons mere with this. I need to go over and see just how deep it goes!! I'll be posting those later using the same character.

Dawn, *gulp* I remember reviewing all the questions. I need to go over them again, it's been a loooong time. I'm determined to go through them, though! :D (Let me know if you ever post yours, I'd LOVE to read them!)

Samual, thank you very much!

Lilah--thank you for dropping by and leaving me your new address. I'm a follower now!! ((hugs))

Charity, thank you, I appreciate your thoughts. :D

Ju Dimello said...

Elizabeth.. wonderful blog and an awesome interview..

I love the part where he dresses down to ;) I think he is in for some rude awakening from the heroine for such an open offer ;)

Ah, I did try to use some questionnaire...but my character would have none of it. She is too quirky for her own good, like you saw :)

Nice to meet you Moggie ;)

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Hi Ju! Yes, I thought she was cute alright. ;)
Lol, I know...you're so cute, Moggie wiggled his brows at ya! ;)

Rigel said...

Haha. Morgan rocks -- well, of course he does, but you know what I mean. I thought #26 was funny, but #18 was just FTW! LOL

Morgan's the kind of guy I'd hang out with.

Bethany Elizabeth said...

This totally made me laugh, you did a fantastic job of showing his personality. Morgan is so someone I would faint over in a book. :) Not real life, probably, but definitely in a book. (I'm a little more timid in my choice of guys when real life is involved. :D)

SJ Stone said...

I'm reminded right away of Russell Brand's character in "Get Him to the Greek". I haven't seen that movie yet, but it's the same character from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". He was brilliant in that as a rock star!

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Rigel, I'm glad you liked him! I wish that we could bring our MCs to real life, you know? How awesome would that be? ;0)

Bethany, I know what you mean! Lol, thank you, I'm happy that you'd like him in my book! :)

Scott, wow, really? I'd have to get my grubby little hands on those and see! Thanks for mentioning them. :)

Drea said...

I like how while the questions were at first quite short, the character's personality comes out quite clearly over the length of the interview. Good use of action as well as word choice to convey your character's attitude :D

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Hello, Drea! Thank you so much! I'm relieved that you could taste his personality though the questions are a bit generic! :)

Angela McCallister said...

Well done! Morgan definitely has a distinct voice. What a bad boy, but it seems like he uses his bad boyness to protect himself. I'm interested in reading his story.

Thank you for coming by the blog. Sorry I couldn't get my interview posted (bad connection). I've actually missed two blogfest appointments because of it, darn it all :(

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Hello Angela! I really appreciate you picking up on his bad boyness. ;) I can't wait for this book to be published!

I'm sorry about your internet not working, that's so very frustrating... :( I understand, don't worry. ((Hugs))

Trisha said...

I love it!

Is this guy from a published work, or a WIP?

G Blechman said...

I love how you have him answer, (and not answer), some of the questions. The little snorts, nods, smiles, and gestures tell a lot about a character. From the interview, I have an image of the character, his mannerisms, his tone of voice, and his thought process. That's pretty impressive for a couple minute interview.

<3 Gina Blechman