I’ve fallen behind on blog tags again, so it’s time to play catch-up (again). This tag is a brand new one from Brianna daSilva at Story Port. (Thank you, Brianna!)
The Six-Question Character Challenge offers six questions that you have to answer for three of your WIP’s characters. You can choose whichever characters you want. The point is to introduce these characters to your readers if you haven’t yet, and to see how they’re similar or different.
Before we get started, let’s start with…
A Quick Explanation of the Challenge Questions
In Brianna’s own words, from her Challenge post:
The first prompt asks for a “contradiction.” In case you start wondering what this means, it’s basically this: every important character in your story should have something contradictory or seemingly inconsistent about their personality. We see this with people in real life, and it’s the mark of a rounded, three-dimensional character.
Note that this is probably the hardest of the prompts, so don’t worry if it takes some deep thinking. But please consider: if you can’t find any contradiction at all in your character’s personality, it’s probably a sign you need to develop him/her a little more. So, it’s a good exercise to do, no matter what. 🙂
The second prompt asks for a Meyers-Briggs personality type. If you’re unsure what type your character is, you can take the test on their behalf here.
Also, the fourth prompt asks how your character would slay a dragon. This is purely hypothetical; there are no dragons in my book, for example, so the prompt can be applied to any genre you want!
My Answers to the Six-Question Character Challenge for Three Characters from The Keeper’s Curse
Since I’m still editing TKC, it makes sense to pose this Challenge to the three “top-tier” characters from that story. I’ll also include links to past character interviews or Beautiful People posts if you’d like to learn more about each one.
So, without further ado…
1. Isonyeva (a.k.a. Eva)
Who is she? A 17-year-old Feiri, and the protagonist of TKC
Contradiction: She empathizes with people who have gone through tough childhoods like she has. But in other situations, she’s not very tactful and isn’t afraid to speak her mind.
MBTI Personality Type: ISTP (The “Craftsman” or “Virtuoso”)
Favorite color(s): Brown, green, white
How would she slay a dragon? Dragons don’t exist in TKC’s world, so first Eva would wonder, “What in Tovana’s name is that?” She’d also have a hunch that the dragon was created by Mother Nature; and since she practices nature worship, she’d rather watch it to see if it’s a threat. If it is, she’d sneak up behind it while they’re both in flight, figure out its weak spots, and shoot arrows accordingly to bring it down. But if the dragon isn’t a threat, she’d ride it Targaryen-style!
Her darkest secret: Eva’s parents were killed by Mountain Folk when she was 5 years old – and now she wants to avenge their deaths by murdering any Mountain Folk she meets.
Where does she see herself in 10 years? This question terrifies Eva. She’s a “here and now” character, and she has no idea what she wants to do after she retires from the Council when she turns 25. It doesn’t help that most of the Fei view Eva unfavorably after she joined the Council of Selanaan 3 years ago, too. She’s close only to her fellow Councilors and her adopted family, and Fei boys refuse to court her. So, she’d rather not think about her future right now.
Read more about Eva: Blogoversary Character Interview / Beautiful People – Solo / Beautiful People – Valentine Edition (with Aurek) / Beautiful People – Friendship Edition (with Gidion)
2. Aurek Kolsteg
Who is he? A 23-year-old Mountain Man, and the leader of Eva’s travel party in TKC
Contradiction: Bred as a warrior, but deep down he values harmony and compassion
MBTI Personality Type: INFJ (The “Counselor” or “Advocate”)
Favorite color(s): Blue, grey
How would he slay a dragon? Like Eva, he’d be too amazed by the creature to kill it right away. He’d try to approach the dragon first and make peace with it. If that doesn’t work, his warrior side would kick in and he’d go after the beast’s neck.
His darkest secret: That’s a HUGE spoiler for TKC, so unfortunately I can’t tell you. 😉
Where does he see himself in 10 years? Married, hopefully. And perhaps a father, if his gods bless him and his wife. I can’t be specific about his other goals (again, SPOILERS!). But if they don’t pan out, Aurek hopes to continue climbing through the ranks of Suderland’s Queensguard and be a good leader / lord of the Mountain Folk’s Sumanhi Clan.
Read more about Aurek: Character Interview / Beautiful People – Solo / Beautiful People – Valentine Edition (with Eva) / Beautiful People – Siblings Edition (with Drasten)
3. Gidion
Who is he? A 21-year-old Feiri, Eva’s cousin / best friend, and the Captain of the Council of Selanaan (which means he’s also Eva’s “boss”)
Contradiction: Excellent at diplomacy and giving advice, but can be indecisive when choosing between the lesser of two evils
MBTI Personality Type: ENFJ (The “Teacher” or “Protagonist”)
Favorite color(s): Yellow, orange
How would he slay a dragon? His method would be somewhere between Eva’s and Aurek’s. He wouldn’t kill the dragon for religious reasons unless he has a good reason, and he’d prefer to be a peacemaker over fighting. Regardless, out of the three characters shown, Gidion’s the one who’d most likely get himself killed. (*eek*)
His darkest secret: Gidion doesn’t really have secrets. He’s an open, happy character who’s not ashamed of anything he’s done. The only secret is the origins of his name. His ryenar (name-giver) named him after a Human man who had rescued his parents after they married (they and other Fei were kidnapped by pirates), but his parents don’t talk about what happened. So, Gidion doesn’t know much about the Giddeon he’s named after.
Where does he see himself in 10 years? Retired from the Council of Selanaan, and working in his dream job as an advisor to the King of Fei. He also sees himself married and a father to one or two fledglings (Fei children).
Read more about Gidion: Beautiful People – Solo / Beautiful People – Friendship Edition (with Eva)
My Nominees for the Six-Question Character Challenge
Since there are six questions, I’ll nominate six writers for the challenge. As always, you’re welcome to accept and join in on the fun, or pass if it’s not your thing. Just know that I’d love to get to know your characters a little more – and perhaps your readers might, too!
- Alina @ Writer Alina
- E.E. Rawls @ Rawls E. Fantasy
- Jeneca @ Jeniqua Writes
- Rae Oestreich @ The Wallflower
- Sarah J. Higbee @ Brainfluff
- YOU – basically, anyone else who would like to participate 😉
What do you think of Eva, Aurek, and Gidion now that you know more about them? Do you share any of their MBTI personality types? How would you answer any of these questions for your characters?
NOTE: A larger version of the banner’s original image appears here.
Sara Letourneau 
Ooh, I loved this post. The questions were creative, and I loved getting to know your characters. I share Aurek’s personality type, which is pretty cool. =D And that contradiction question—it’s making me look at my own characters and consider what my answer to that for them would be. It’s a good challenge.
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Thanks, Abby! 🙂 Do you think you might give the Challenge a try?
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What a great opportunity to find out more about your characters! I just love Eva’s full name! It sounds so magical and whimsical 🙂 Each of these characters comes across as so unique and endearing!
Thanks for sharing ❤
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*blushes* Thank you, Faith. Is there any one character in particular who stands out to you most? Or one whom you click with immediately, based on what you’ve read here?
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Probably Eva, because she reminds me a lot of Keira. They have very similar backstories. But Aurek’s compassionate side and Gidion’s ambitions resonate with me as well 🙂
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I really liked this post. And how amusing it is that you can learn so much about them from how they’d slay a dragon even if dragons don’t exist in their world. 🙂
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I may swipe this because it would be absolutely perfect for Starbloods. I really like your three main characters. Aurek and I both are INFJ. Squee. ^ ^ I like their contradictions as well. That’s a really good question for a character.
storitorigrace.blogspot.com
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Go right ahead! I’d be interested in seeing how you answer these for your Starbloods characters. 😉
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What a creative tag. Love the question about contradictions. I’ll really have to think about that. It’s so true that s character should have that and I never really thought about it. I know I have them myself.
Thanks for sharing and thanks for the tag. This will be fun. 😀
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You’re welcome! I look forward to reading your answers. 😉
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Sara, this was awesome! I loved getting to read more about your main cast, and this tag itself is fabulous. Thanks for tagging everyone, btw. Now that I have a blog over on my author website (kristenakieffer.com), I decided to give it a go. I interviewed the MCs from all of my WIPs and had SO MUCH FUN.
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I saw your link earlier! I’ll try to respond to it tonight, since I’ll be MIA from the blogosphere for a few days due to traveling.
If you had to pick, which character did you relate to most off the bat? Or struck your interest most?
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I like this new tag based on answering questions for our characters! I will definitely do this some time this year! Thank you for tagging me, Sara. 🙂 I really like the dragon question and how each of your characters had a different response to it. Especially Eva’s, since it’s close to how I myself would approach that situation.
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Yay! 🙂 It’s been fun seeing this tag continue after Brianna started it, so I look forward to reading your answers and learning more about your characters. 🙂
Isn’t the dragon question fascinating? It was hard to answer at first, but I’m confident that I captured how Eva, Aurek, and Gidion would handle the situation accurately. And it reveals a lot about themselves, too.
“I really like the dragon question and how each of your characters had a different response to it. Especially Eva’s, since it’s close to how I myself would approach that situation.”
Knowing me, I would probably hide in the bushes until the dragon flew away. O_O XD
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The dragon question is such a fascinating way to delve into characters, or even ourselves and friends. We all have different approaches to it and I think it says a lot about who we are. I’m going to have fun answering that one for my characters! 🙂
Lol, if I was a smart person I should hide in the bushes too! I’d actually probably be so fascinated by it that I’d try to follow it the whole day and just stare at how cool and beautiful it was. XD Then the dragon would notice me and I’d have to run for my life.
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Oooh – these are fascinating questions! I love the depth they reveal in such a short time. And I second everyone on the dragon question – super fun, yet rather revealing. (FYI, I think I would be somewhere between Eva and Gidion – I’d probably feel terrible about the idea of killing it, yet depending on where it was/what it’s intentions were, I’d prepare myself for conflict, which would probably result in me being eaten. However, if we could be friends, I’d be dragon riding asap)
I love the variation in your character’s responses. I probably related the most to Eva, overall – her response to the dragon, her contradiction, and her 10 years . . . yeah . . . *raises hand.*
As for how I felt about them – I already liked them all, but this gave me a little more insight 😉
A few of my characters responses to the dragon –
Melora (ISTP) would love it, and want to make friends. She would be extremely hesitant to hurt or kill it.
Orlando (ENFP) would respond very similarly to Melora, but he’d be open to killing the dragon if it seemed like the wisest course of action.
Mads (ENTJ) wouldn’t care about it unless it directly threatened her. Then she would find a way to end it as efficiently as possible.
Luc (ENTP?) would befriend it whether it intended harm or not. They’d probably move in together.
Sull (INTJ-ish) would be like *whatever*, but he’d secretly be fascinated by the dragon, and decide he’d want to be one. He’d never dream of killing it though. He’d rather be eaten by it.
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Aren’t they great questions? 🙂 I’m glad the answers gave you more insight into each character and gave you more reasons to like them!
I’ve actually started answering these questions for other characters in TKC (in my character profile documents, not in a blog post), just because I was curious. Here’s how some of them would answer the dragon-slaying question:
– Like Eva, Vandar (ISTJ) would assess the dragon carefully and determine the best way to take it down. But unlike Eva, he’d go straight for the kill.
– Remi’s (INTJ) approach would be similar to Vandar’s, except he’d analyze every plan to the nth degree and the dragon would fly away before he’d get the chance to attack it.
– Keli (ESFP) would have way too much fun as a dragon-slayer. Seriously. He’d turn it into a game. XD Or he’d ride the beast like Eva would.
– Doni (ESFJ) and Aunt Maji (ENFP) wouldn’t want to kill the dragon.
– Uncle Lusan (ISTJ) also wouldn’t kill the dragon because his bad back would act up and make it physically impossible for him to do it. But in theory, his method would be similar to Vandar’s.
– Drasten (ESTJ) would ensure that a plan is in place to kill the dragon (doesn’t matter if he or someone else came up with said plan), then lead the charge against it. He’d turn the operation into a huge production.
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Ah LOVE LOVE love. Reading this made me smile. I really enjoy each of these characters. And as a side note, I love your style for naming things in your world. 😀 The “Council of Selanaan” flows really well; it feels clean, not pretentious, but still lyrical enough to be classic high fantasy. As does all the other names I’ve read so far. Just wanted you to know that! ^_^
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Thanks, Brianna! And your comment on the names made me smile. Consistent naming schemes are a huge part of world-building, IMO. I’ve read some fantasies where it feels like names were pulled out of a hat, and don’t match the character’s language, culture, etc. So that’s something I paid very close attention to in TKC, and will continue to do for future books. 😉
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What an incredible chance to discover more about your characters! I simply love Eva’s full name! It sounds so supernatural and unconventional 🙂 Each of these characters seems to be so special and charming! thanks for sharing.
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Thanks! 🙂
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Amazing! I truly appreciate each of these characters. Also, as a side note, I adore your style for naming things in your reality.Thanks for sharing.
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