He’s not quite finished, but these are some of the basic details:
Character Four – Franz Carter
Main relation to story: protagonist’s neighbour, good friend
PART I. PHYSICAL
Full name – Franz Lucas Carter
Date of Birth/Age – 81
Address – neighbour to Madelyn
Race/Ethnic Background/Nationality – German (mother) and English (father)
Height – average
Weight/Body Build – average, with a little bit of a tummy, still looks strong in his age, wide, strong shoulders
Hair – white with small amounts of silver still remaining
Eyes – bright twinkly blue, round and expressive
Peculiar Physical Traits – rosy cheeks, deep laugh lines, eyebrows always raised up with interest,
Glasses/Contacts – reading glasses, old school large frames, keeps in shirt pocket,
Smokes – trying to quit, uses patches
Distinguishing Marks – bushy eyebrows, burn marks on arms and hands,
Health – arthritis in hands, tries to be active and walks a lot,
Smell – musky cologne
Voice – tosses head back and touches stomach to accompany hearty laugh, throaty voice, tends lean forward and speak quietly, esp. for important conversation,
Usual Walking Style – average pace, tends to get distracted when he’s around the neighbourhood
Mannerisms, Nervous Habits, eating habits – nods and uses hands to speak, repeats himself, points at people when he talks to them, punches air to get his point across, eats large portions, loves barbecuing ,
What type of clothes/shoes/accessories does he/she wear? – loafers even in house, tucked in striped button down t-shirts, wristwatch at all times,
PART II. GENERAL
Occupation/Social Class – middle class, retired independent business owner (carpentry)
Views on Money/Spending Habits – frugal, spends money only on ‘good food’
Education/Intelligence – didn’t complete high school, no college, self made man
Marital Status – recently separated, wife left him for a richer, “man about town”, misses her terribly and wants to get her back
Birth Order – third of four boys and 2 girls
Political Party/Views –
Religious Beliefs/Strength of Beliefs – once catholic, since son’s passing, now atheist until his faith in God is renewed
Sexual Orientation/Values – straight, strong family values, doesn’t believe in superficiality,
What is his/her usual disposition? –
Optimist/Pessimist? – depends
Introvert/Extrovert? – friendly introvert
Confident/Self-conscious? –
How does he/she feel about his/her appearance? – appearance has no value to him,
Type of car – grey, rusted car, old but reliable, velvety burgundy seats repaired in a haphazard manner,
Most important possession – his wedding ring
Hobbies/Recreations/Sports – likes to feed birds, learning French to impress his wife (to be more ‘sophisticated’ and ‘worldly’), enjoys karaoke at the local pub,
Talents – used to be carpentry
What is a normal day like for this character? –
Greatest Fear – never getting his wife back, losing everything
Major Goals –
PART III. RELATIONSHIPS
Significant Other/Relationship – separated wife, Ellen,
Who does he/she live with? – alone
Who does he/she spend the most time with? – Madelyn
Father/Relationship with him/Occupation – father was hard on him, he passed away, resentful
Mother/Relationship with her/Occupation – mother died in a childhood (fire ->burns, saved sisters, not mother)
Siblings/Relationships – eldest brother died as soldier, second oldest brother died from alcoholism, other brother and one sister died of old age, youngest sister alive and living in France,
Children/Ages – One son, Eric, died on duty as a police officer (age 38), driving him to alcoholism, estranged daughter Sophia (now 55)
Best Friend – Ted, bartender from the karaoke pub
Other Important Friends – Madelyn
Feelings toward animals – likes any animal that doesn’t destroy furniture
How does he/she view his family? – misses them terribly and regrets many of his decisions
How does he/she view his friends? -
How does he/she view his boss/co-workers/employees? -
How does his family view him? – frustrated and resentful towards him,
How do his friends view him? – kindest, most gentle soul ever, hard to see him as being angry or violent like in his past
How do his boss/co-workers/employees view him? -
Who is his hero? – his oldest brother
Other comments: had the same ficus plant for ten years, takes good care of it -> represents his ten years of sobriety, recovering alcoholic (after son’s passing), hard worker, compassionate, regretful, *almost relapses
