“Good Enough” – Charlie Intro

Main Character…

Name: Charlotte Woods

Alias: Charlie

Age: 27

Nationality: Korean-America

Socioeconomic Level as a child: Middle Class

Socioeconomic Level as an adult: Poor

Hometown: Itaewon-dong

Current Residence: Fictional city suburb

Occupation: Web design and web sales department of a marketing firm

Income: decent. But paying off debt and school, so living modestly

Talents/Skills: Strategic. Good with her hands. Likes to build computers and play around with electronics. 

Siblings: None

Parents:

Dad: Robert Woods. U.S. Army Ranger. Stationed in Korea. Retired.

Mom: Ji-Yu Cha-Woods (first name means rich and wise. Last name means Chariot). School teacher. Still teaching.

Grandparents (describe relationship): Good. Ji-Yu’s mom lives with them. Robert and his parents use to travel every few years to each other. They now use technology to keep in touch.

Significant Others (describe relationship): Ex-fiance Nathan Cole was verbally and emotionally abusive. They met in high school when she was feeling her most uncomfortable with her body. As they grew up, he grew cruel. They went to the same college, but due to different course studies, were never around each other. Insistent on having their own apartment, but being unable to work because of his education, Charlie worked hard while taking classes. He used this as a way to separate their lives. Very charming and social, he was always at “study group”. He never hosted at their apartment and he never introduced her to his friends. Seeing some beautiful girls fawn over him at school and speaking up, their relationship took a darker turn toward physical abuse.

Her computer science teacher, Professor Ram, had loved Charlie’s skill and felt a connection to take her under her wing. She had noticed Charlie losing weight, blemishes on her skin more often, dark circles around her eyes. She had tried to discuss her physical health with Charlie, but she would always change the conversation. But when Nathan raped Charlie, she decided to end things for good. Charlie’s parents gave her what money they could afford to help Charlie leave, but it wouldn’t be quite enough. Professor Ram, having no children of her own, gladly handed Charlie the funds and helped her find a small apartment away from the school and helped convert her to online classes. Charlie, wanting to cut ties and move on, left while Nathan was in classes. She left enough money to get him though 1 month on his own and a note that said “don’t contact me or my family or I’ll tell everyone what you’ve been doing. I have proof.” She had taken pictures of her bruises and before the last incident. She wanted to leave and was afraid things would get worse before she left, and that no one would believe her, so she set up a secret camera in the apartment. She caught the violent on camera. She kept the footage secured. If he ever found her and wouldn’t leave, she wanted it as leverage. 

Our story 2 years after her leaving him and 1 year after her BS is complete.

Relationship skills: Awkward. Trust issues. Abandonment issues. Yet hopeless romantic. Head and heart fight a lot.

Physical Characteristics:

Height: 5’5″

Weight: 210

Race: Korean-American

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Dark blonde

Glasses or contact lenses? No

Skin color: Pale

Shape of Face: Rounded

Distinguishing features: freckles across her nose and cheeks. Eyes are bright green

How does he/she dress? Modestly. Loose fitting clothes.

Mannerisms: she bites her lip a lot. She has a hard time making eye contact. 

Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.)

Health: Average. She doesn’t necessarily take care of herself, but she doesn’t eat a lot of unhealthy things. Naturally thick.

Hobbies: Video games. Reading. Modifying computers.

Favorite Sayings: 

Speech patterns: 

Disabilities: None

Style (Elegant, shabby etc.): Shabby chic. Cute, not filthy.

Greatest flaw: 

Best quality: Loyal

Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes

Educational Background: B.S. in computer science

Intelligence Level: not quite a “genius”, but smart.

Any Mental Illnesses? Anxiety. Trauma.

Learning Experiences: see Significant Other

Character’s short-term goals in life: Pay off debt. Move into nicer apartment.

Character’s long-term goals in life: 

How does Character see himself/herself? She lacks self-confidence, so when she does think she’s cute, she often gets uncomfortable. 

How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? They see that she’s cute.

How self-confident is the character? Not at all

Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? More logic.

What would most embarrass this character? To be vulnerable. For others to know that she let a man do what Nathan did to her.

Emotional Characteristics

Strengths/Weaknesses:

Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert

How does the character deal with anger? Shuts down. Hides.

With sadness? 

With conflict?

With change? Adaptable.

With loss? Does not take the necessary steps to grieve. Would be too focused on the logistics of the situation. 

What does the character want out of life? To be financially stable and confident in herself.

What would the character like to change in his/her life? She would like to love herself. She would like to finish paying off the remaining debt to finally get rid of Nathan.

What motivates this character? Money 

What frightens this character? Men. Money. Loneliness. Failure.

What makes this character happy? Video games. Cats. Food. Friends and family.

Is the character judgmental of others? No.

Is the character generous or stingy? Stingy, but will help others

Is the character generally polite or rude? Polite 

Spiritual Characteristics

Does the character believe in God? No

What are the character’s spiritual beliefs? Atheist

Is religion or spirituality a part of this character’s life?

If so, what role does it play?

How the Character is Involved in the Story

Character’s role in the novel (main character? hero? heroine? Romantic interest? etc.): main character. 

Scene where character first appears: listening to music, working on a client’s website

Relationships with other characters: 

1. Character’s Name (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel): Misha. Wealthy best friend. Loyal. Loves men and Charlie. She sees Charlie as a smart, capable, beautiful woman and has no problem telling her. Misha helps pull Charlie out of her shell. Misha is Charlie’s only friend, Charlie is Misha’s favorite friend.

2. Character’s Name (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel): Caleb. Love interest. She’s ever changing around him. She’s shy, but speaks her mind. She lets herself be vulnerable around him, but does not let him into her past.

How character is different at the end of the novel from when the novel began: Confident. Loved. 

Additional Notes on This Character: