forum Using music to create a side character.

Started June 08, 2020 by @Morosis group

tune

I'm going to do a writing exercise to help generate a side character in my story. I will have to somehow fit them into my world after they're created. I'm going to be using songs on my playlist to do this.
Here are the steps if you want to join in:

• Get a playlist of your choice (best if it's got varying genres) and put it on shuffle/random
• Create a list of 7 bullet points
• Each song is going to correlate with one bullet point

Song 1: What the character's personality will be like
Song 2: Character's relationship with family
Song 3: Character's relationship with friends
Song 4: Character's alignment (evil, chaotic neutral, lawful good, etc)
Song 5: Occupation/outlook on life
Song 6: What character will look like/dress like.
Song 7: Character's motivation or goal

Sometimes you get a really good list of songs and create a stable character. Other times, you get a mix of traits that contradict each other eg: Really sweet, timid personality but is chaotically evil. It is up to you how you'll somehow get those traits to work together…
It is also up to you to translate a songs "vibe" into a "motivation" (hence why this is a writing exercise)
From this, you can add other details like perhaps ethnicity, sexuality, etc

I would love to see the results of your playlist adventures! Share below!

The character I have created:

• Song 1: Mirage by Lindsey Stirling
  This gave me the impression of a character who's personality has to be rather mysterious, cunning, and yet timid in appearance. I sense some ruthlessness in her personality as well, but that could be from other sources. I also wrote down that they would be unpredictable since the song's melody changes a lot. This unpredictability also means they're unreliable and disloyal.
• Song 2: Words win Wars by Murray Gold (Dr who soundtrack)
  Talk about a difficult to interpret. Real swing here to an epic orchestral piece. Their family is a powerful one. Perhaps a royal one, one known for winning wars and holding up an empire. They respect their family and holds them highly yet their relationship lacks the intimate and gentle embrace others have. Their family sees them as another subject to rule over. Because of this, this character has a huge responsibility and duty rested on their shoulders. To continue on their family legacy. The pressure of it all can be overwhelming.
• Song 3: Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind, and Fire
  I'll tell you what, this was unexpected. Their relationship with their friends is the complete opposite of that of their frigid and powerful family. They are very close to their friends, intimate and mischievous together. All the childish endeavors this character could never show to her family are revealed here. They laugh a lot together, mess around, cause mischief, and care deeply for one and another. However, their friends sometimes get tired of the character's constant paranoia of needing to respect her family and get irritated. The character leads a double life here, an escape. Hence "wonderland"
• Song 4: Oh My My - Summer Kennedy
  Though their personality and family legacy are daunting, their method of ruling and outlook to life is that of a chaotic good. They know what they have to do, how to do it but it doesn't stop them from doing it with some flair and adding some fun to it. They want to have fun and sometimes end up causing a bit of mayhem.
• Song 5: Girls/Girls/Boys - P!ATD
  Their see life as rather difficult and restraining but it doesn't stop them from being optimistic and adventurous. They have the ability to fight back and sees life worth living. There's more to it than just legacy.
• Song 6: Dance Macabre - The Oh Hellos
  They have to dress dainty, modestly and quite traditionally. Maiden-like. However, deep down, it annoys them as it isn't how they want to express themselves. This changes, however, when they have to become more in their family empire and wear clothes which show power (representative of the song's final climax) and it causes them great anxiety as their not ready.
• Song 7: Lost - Detroit: Become Human soundtrack
  Their motivation is to run away, escape from this life of theirs. They're torn between respecting their family or giving into their deep desires of a free, fun, normal life. They're not ready to continue their family's legacy and therefore wishes to escape it all. They're "Lost"

This is really cool, I'm going to hop on soon.

Ooh, me too

this is very cool so i decided 2 give it a go :) i just shuffled my liked songs !

–> personality
paranoia - liza anne
they r a weary n tired person who has been let down a lot by other ppl in their life. they r very stressed n is rough around the edges n hesitant 2 trust bc of it. being hurt often by others n by their own actions/mistakes makes it hard for them 2 open up n they r in their own head a lot, overthinking. a gentle, patient, n compassionate presence is rlly what they need

–> relationship w/ family
a to b - sales
strained, possibly estranged from some. doesnt want 2 disappoint family around them but struggles 2 keep promises n be responsible 4 them. parents experienced hardship n so they feel a lot of pressure 2 not fall into the same pit, but doesnt accept help from them either n doesnt realize how it pushes them away

–> relationship w/ friends
nasty grrls - childbirth
they have maybe 1-3 friends who r maybe not the best of influences..but supportive of each other. a tight group of friends that r not without their fights/disagreements n questionable choices

–> alignment
i've wasted so much time - enjoy
true neutral; wants 2 be a better person but struggles 2 make right decisions sometimes

–> occupation
pizza monster - cherry glazerr
underpaid pizza delivery man

–> looks/dress
scrambled inside - pinc louds
a little messy n slapped-together looking, but cozy n warm :) hand me down/oversized clothes but rugged/ripped/torn/grass stains..fuzzy sock w/ a hole in the toe kind of vibes. wardrobe is surprisingly colorful, but not bright. probably has tattoos

–> motivation/goals
city looks pretty - courtney barnett
just wants things 2 be alright n better 4 their sake n the ppl around them..struggles 2 motivate sometimes n this can end up pushing them backwards so 2 speak..

I listen to bands other than Cavetown and Twenty one pilots, I swear. The playlist was just set to random, I have 459 songs on the playlist…. I really don't know.

Personality:
Song (1) This is home by Cavetown
Easily over stimulated, Quiet, Get's sick a lot. Feeling like it all up to them to keep everything together, though they don;t know how. Feels like their world is always falling apart. After their failed suicide attempt they shaved off their whole head, though missing some places in the back, they hadn't warned anyone or said anything about it.

Relationship with family:
Song (2) Pigeon by Cavetown
They used to live with someone they could tell everything to and connected with, that someone past a long time ago, they wish they could go back. though they know it's impossible. they just try to keep together the bit of family that't left. they often get left home to make sure the younger of the family don't get hurt or run off. no one in the family really knows what they went through, well, except the one who died.

Relationship with friends:
Song (3) Congratulations you survived your suicide by Sycamore Smith
They never had friends growing up, they still don't. though when they were about to take their own life a voice spoke to them not so softly. telling them how they couldn't do it. tell them what a good job they did being unable to accomplish the goal, so instead they should just take a break and calm down. after that they grew some kind of bond with the voice in their head, though, slowly the voice became more. in the dark they could almost see the that voice, but it wasn't just a voice, it was a whole someone. Body and all. They started spending so much time "alone" in the dark. Drifting away from the bright, fast noisy world outside. for a long time, once others in the house, er family started to notice. they were taken to therapy.

Alignment:
Song (4) Trees by Twenty one pilots
true Neutral who feels obligated to be a neutral good. They sink further into their own world. wanting to know who the voice is. wanting to feel known.

Outlook on life:
Song (5) Smithereens by Twenty one pilots
Their role in life is to keep the family together, they feel they have to help the ones "close" to them , they stand in corners watching, making sure every member of the family is okay.. on the outside at least. they'd kill for the family, if they had to.

Physical description:
Song (6) Petrify by Cavetown
Pastels. Soft clothes. nothing that would hurt their fragile eyes. they always have an extra set of clothing just in case. they hate the rain, once your wet from rain you won't dry, they hate getting dirty too, sticky or muddy clothes hurt to wear.

Motivation:
Song (7) Holding on to you by Twenty one pilots
They just want to stay in their world, with their friend. they don;t want to join the world built far to fast for them, they just want to feel nothing at all, they just want their head to stop hurting. They just want to stay exactly the same forever.

That's quite a sad and troubled character there, makes me feel very bad for them :(