Meet My People- Part One: Carter

Welcome one, welcome all, to my new Wednesday Special series titled Meet My People! Today, I am happy to introduce to you my current Male Main Character (abbreviated MMC), Carter Jess Jones. He is from the novel Into The Woods, the novel I am currently editing (see more). These characters are all so complex and detailed that it is going to be really hard to break them down into a whole bunch of different pieces ad put them all into just one post but...oh well.

Here we go....

Introduction

In my current novel (Into The Woods) I have two main characters. One is this person, here, Carter. And the second is a female character named Robin. I've always liked to think Carter as the character with the bigger part in the story, he's the one with the skin that can kill things (see more here), and the one that Robin has to save (long story, like, 93k words long. oh goodness...). Carter's part in this story comes around the very beginning, in chapter three. He is the funny comic relief, the relatable humor, and the defiant 19-year-old who only wants to be normal, to be like everyone else. Welcome to his story.

Face Claims

This is more what I imagined Carter would look like, but he doesn't have dimples, he has blue eyes, and he SHOULD BE WEARING A SHIRT!!!

This is pretty good, but the background isn't so good. He should be in the middle of a forest and he doesn't wear necklaces. XD

Part In The Story/Who Are They In The Novel?

Carter is the first POV in my dual POV book. He takes the role of leader, decision-maker (though he boasts he can make good decisions, he...yeah, well...he tries his best), and friend. He is the son of a biochemist that accidentally makes his skin lethal to the touch during a fluke chemical explosion (this happened during one of his mom's science experiments) that also killed his father and two brothers. Whatever he touches, if it is living (Plants, animals, humans, etc. etc.), it will die. He spends his days hiding in the woods in the corner of his wooden, hand-built house hiding from the people he could hurt. Carter was left by his scientist mother at age nine for ten years out in the wilderness after she spent months trying to make him better. She (obviously or we wouldn't be having this conversation) failed.

Basic Appearances, Attitude, Character Traits, Personality, And More...

He's got dark brown hair, sea-blue eyes, and I imagine some sort of athletic build. After all, he does enjoy bough-walking, which I will get to later (here). He's the joker, using it to hide his grief. He also likes to smile and his nervous habit is to brush his hair with his hands. Over all personality? Bubbly when happy. Cold-shouldered when angry. Content when alone. Determined when there is something to be determined about (keeping someone safe from him, making sure wildlife doesn't maul anybody [don't worry, everyone is safe], and so on). His greatest fear is losing more that he's already lost.

How Does He Interact With The Other Characters?

Carter can be both apprehensive, naughty, sassy, and even compassionate when it comes to talking to new people. To Robin (I'll do a post on her next), he's often interested, funny, and less mature than he should be. To the cops that come through the forest, he is protective of Robin, suspicious, and sometimes even a little hostile (hint hint). I haven't had a lot of interactions with him in the real world since the majority of the story is set in the middle of an uninhabited forest.

Age???

Around 19 or 20. He was 8 when his skin was turned vile and his mom (I guess I should call her by her name.... Taliah, her name is Taliah.) tried to fix him for a year, then he was left in the woods for another whole decade. When Robin finds him he's about 19, but by the end of the story (the epilogue) many months have passed so he's probably 20 by then.

Home/Living Situation (Beginning Vs. End)

Hehe. So this is funny because at the beginning of the story, Carter is living alone in the middle of the forest between two small towns in the wooden house he helped his dad build when he was 7 or 8. But, at the end of the story, he...I shouldn't say it.... oh fine. He burns the house and the treehouse that was made around the same time. So, as you can imagine, his living situation is very different. He's probably living in the city by then. I mean....no, he lives in a fox den int he middle of nowhere built into the dirt with only spruce branches to keep him warm. Obviously.

Favorite Outfit and Favorite Food

Carter, after living in the woods for ten years has an exceptionally small wardrobe. I usually have him wear jeans, flannel, and (of course) his characteristic black leather gloves. These gloves keep his killer skin from accidentally touching things that he doesn't want to die.

Favorite food? Well, he eats squirrel and rabbit over the fire a lot. But if he could eat any real world-food, I think he'd like a good hamburger. Grilled. With barbeque sauce.

Character Arch

Carter starts as the mysterious boy fighting grief and loss in the middle of the woods. But, at the end of the story, he's become a much less heavy person. He lives somewhere away from the memories and therefore is able to heal a little more. Carter's personality doesn't become any more lax or protective, but I assume he becomes a little more...grown up.

Like he finally had to face reality.

Biggest Winning Trait and Biggest Flex

He can throw knives.

He can throw knives.

Fun Fact

Carter still whistles the song that his mom--Sorry, Taliah--hummed to him every night when he was young. He still remembers the bed time stories she told him before everything went wrong.

Theme Song

Everybody Talks by Neon Trees

Quotes That Should Be Famous

'The grieved never die.' -- Somewhere near the end of the story.

And his personal best: 'Robin, would you mind pointing that gun somewhere less handsome? Surely you'd hate it if you messed up this pretty face.' -- I cut this one and I have yet to add it back in....

What They Wanted To Be When They Grew Up VS. Who They Are Now

In Part Two, Carter wrestles with this question. He wanted to be a writer, for people to know him, to be married and fall in love. He never imagined he'd be...here, sitting in the middle of the woods, alone, no love in sight, too afraid to leave because he doesn't want to hurt anyone else.

Hopes And Dreams

Carter wants to be normal again. He wants to find a way to change his skin back to how it was before, to make it normal.

How Easy Were They To Write On A Scale Of One To Ten

I'd say 7. It was not easy (which I would have labeled 10), but I could get past some of the harder pieces in his journey with minimal resistance. Who he is when he gets mad, say, is still easy to write and blend into who he is when he isn't.

Hobbies

Writing, Engineering, Walking through the forest. This is the bough-walking I was talking about. See, Carter lives in a very dense forest full of strong oaks and wide-branched pine trees. He can easily climb the trees and walk from one to the other by their branches. This, you could say, is a small hobby of his.

Random Cool Things They Can Do

Climb trees, kill things with his skin, shoot a gun (though I'm gonna have to add in that he had a gun to practice on...I'm gonna make a note of that), fight a bear, attack a police officer...I just realized that all these things have to do with his strong-headed and stubborn Carter is. Like, dude! You attacked a bear!!! What?

(He lived, don't worry about that)

Conclusion

If you have read this far, I admire that. I am super excited to be able to talk about my characters with you.

If you want to, write a comment asking Carter a question and I'll reply roleplaying as the danger-to-society himself and answer.

You guys have a good rest of your week!!!!!

The End,