Lesson Three for "Reeling in the Readers

Character Profile Worksheet

Basic Statistics/ 19

Name: Bea Mayer
Age: 35 / might change if it does not work
Nationality: Born in USA
Socioeconomic Level as a child: upper middle class
Socioeconomic Level as an adult: upper middle class
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa. or lower Pennsylvania
Current Residence: rural outskirts of a town
Occupation: Horse master
Income: 75,000 per year
Talents/Skills: Reads, trains horses and dogs / collects old animal manuals on health and training
Salary: depends on economics of her business
Birth order: Oldest of two children
Siblings (describe relationship): Brother, Two years younger--good relationship--do not live in same place
Spouse (describe relationship): none
Children (describe relationship): none
Grandparents (describe relationship): deceased
Grandchildren (describe relationship): deceased
Significant Others (describe relationship): friendships with Megan and Andrew
Relationship skills: Excellent / but on the cautious side


Physical Characteristics: 23

Height: 5’3”
Weight: 125 lb.
Race: white
Eye Color: blue
Hair Color: dishwater blonde
Glasses or contact lenses? none /sunglasses
Skin color: fair
Shape of Face: heart shaped
Distinguishing features: long hair, athletic build, carries her weight in muscle
How does he/she dress? Her favorite clothing is t-shirts and sweat pants around home. She layers her clothing in the winter.
A. She wears blue jeans or breeches in the barn depending on the work she is doing.
B. Her feet will be clothed in hiking boots, barn boots, riding boots, tennis shoes/ slacks or dresses for shopping/ movies, etc.
Mannerisms: good reflexes, quick thinking around machines
Habits: works out at gym, rides horses,
Health: excellent
Hobbies: cooks health recipes
Favorite Sayings: “Where is that rider headed”
Speech patterns: quiet/ makes slow judgments/ speaks clearly/ no accents
Disabilities: lives in a specialized society
Style (Elegant, shabby etc.): Tom boyish/ relaxed mentally
Greatest flaw: does not take enough time for relaxation
Best quality: Always alert


Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes /10

Educational Background: College and horse master college
Intelligence Level: Over the moon.
Any Mental Illnesses? Depends on who thinks this lifestyle is a mental illness
Learning Experiences: Internships at other horse residences as well as race track experience as a groom
Character's short-term goals in life: Keep the stable running on a daily basis
Character's long-term goals in life: Put away money for retirement--build a stable for a rescue group
How does Character see himself/herself? Energetic/ works hard/ likes other people
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? Because of her specialty the reactions of others can be based on how they perceive her./ Some good and some bad views/ children often awed by people who work with horses
How self-confident is the character? Self confident enough to build a business.
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? Ruled by logic ( I hope)/ some emotion involved
What would most embarrass this character? Over attention from a man.


Emotional Characteristics /14

Strengths/Weaknesses:
Introvert or Extrovert? Extrovert when it comes to her business/ introvert because of lifestyle build
How does the character deal with anger? Works through it when confronted by looking at facts and ways to combat problems./ if it is legal tries to get help
With sadness? Not often sad/ very busy lifestyle
With conflict? Arises as with any business/ arises within relationships/ fair minded but also stubbornly willing to continue on set path.
With change? Has to deal with this to be in business.
With loss? May turn off the problem depends on what the loss is.
What does the character want out of life? A successful business/a steady income/
What would the character like to change in his/her life? Maybe wants a relationship with Andrew?
What motivates this character? Her lifestyle/ ideals/ weather/
What frightens this character? Loss of income due to downturn in economy/ her income depends on people being able to afford to ride and keep mounts.
What makes this character happy? Success of her students/ some types of recreation other than the stable/ her pets/ her mothers continued health
Is the character judgmental of others? No but has real issues against unhealthy lifestyles
Is the character generous or stingy? Generous within reason
Is the character generally polite or rude? Polite and inquiring


Spiritual Characteristics /5

Does the character believe in God? yes
What are the character's spiritual beliefs? This is yet to be decided however there could be a conflict between her and fundamentalist who believe horse back riding is a sin.
Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life? Yes
If so, what role does it play? I Have not mapped that out yet but conflict may occur or I may not write about it at all, still undecided.


How the Character is Involved in the Story /6

Character's role in the novel (main character? hero? heroine? Romantic interest? etc.): Main character
Scene where character first appears: first scene
Relationships with other characters:
1. Character's Name: -- Megan, her friend, business partner, confidant.
2. Character's Name: -- Mollie, Bea’s mother.(might change her name?)
3. Character's Name: -- Andrew, friend, customer in stable, .
4. Character's Name: -- Dell, stable hand, jack of all trades handles the equipment not hired yet.

Additional Notes on This Character: Bea’s relationship with her mother, Megan, and Andrew also need more in-depth mapping. In the show ring -- equestrian classes - stature or body build can make a difference in the ribbon any rider may win. In riding ability, this does not count as much, as the way a rider handles their horse or relates to their horse. Bea is a horse master not just another trainer.

Lesson three: writing assignment:

Bea’s stride across the arena was purposeful. Her long hair was braided and hung in one long straight line down the middle of her back to the bottom of her shoulder blades. The brown riding boots she wore came up the back of her calf to the knee joint. The accent of Brown boots against tan breeches gave her the bearing of being taller than she actually was.Her muscular structure added to her stature as she walked.

She felt the sun beating on her sun screen coated cheeks. She could feel the sweat on her legs. The children were lined up on ponies before her. A new class of kids was always excited and nervous. Bea began to move from student to student. She greeted each child individually, as she checked pony girths, tightened straps on hard hats, and showed each child how to hold reigns and push down with their heels.

Bea knew the confidence a child would take home with them if they had a successful first lesson. She cheerfully guided them to signal their mounts and ride in a small circle around her. The ponies were stable mounts and were used to the numb, efforts of the newly mounted children.

Under Bea’s guidance the children would learn to love their ponies. They would learn to ride and groom and even play games with the horses. Each class became its own little social club; learning to play horse games, enjoy stable camp outs, children helping each other grow in knowledge as a group.

After the class Bea talked to the children who were excited to have survived the first lesson. They ran off, when the ponies had been returned to their stalls. They were excited to tell their adventure to parents, who waited on the sidelines.

Megan came over and said, “That little tiny girl on dancer looks small to even be on a pony, doesn’t she?”

Bea laughed, “That’s what my teacher told my Mom after my first lesson.”

“O.K,” said Megan, “I guess I won’t worry about size of the rider any more.”

Megan knew Bea’s expert qualifications and knowledge were behind the success of the riding stable.

The two young women were good friends and worked hard to keep the business running smoothly. Bea had started the enterprise. After her college years she had worked one year at a race track as a groom then 4 other years as assistant riding instructor and general assistant of everything for other riding schools.

Finally, her mother had encouraged her to start out on her own. As a real estate agent, Mom found the property. It was an abandoned riding school near Blairtown, Pennsylvania with lots of local interest in horses.

After awhile, Megan showed up with a dressage horse named Bert. Megan jumped into the work at the stable like a long lost sister. The two women laughed and struggled with the immense amount of work. They put all their days into cleaning barns, mowing trails, painting buildings, and every little need.

Soon the stable did not look old or abandoned any more. Customers came, horses moved in, and they were on their way to a business that made sense.