I did this character sketch for Nora from Inherited Magic, a dark, cozy fantasy similar to Dresden Files and ParaNorman vibes. It’s about a middle-aged Irish woman who inherits magic from her grandmother when she passes away, which allows her to see the dead. She has to learn how to use the magic and help solve her grandmother’s murder, along with learning about her connections and ancestry connected to Celtic mythology, as she’s a direct descendant of Macha, the Morrigan’s sister.
1—Physical Description—She’s of average height and weight. She’s getting a little overweight, though. She’s in her early 30s. She has light brown wavy hair that goes past her shoulders, with a few blonde highlights to cover up a few white streaks of hair. She has a kind face, blue eyes that sometimes are violet, and natural rosebud lips. She prefers the casual look and is not one to spend excessive time on her looks unless necessary and she really wants to be noticed or make a good impression. She has long legs, her feet are a bit on the large size, and the weight she’s gaining is mostly in her stomach and some in her thighs and her backside, where middle-aged and older women often gain weight as they get older. She’s Caucasian and usually walks as if she’s never in a hurry.
2—Personality—She’s content, though sometimes she gets stressed and fidgets. She also sometimes twirls her hair and hates it when she bites or chews her fingernails, so she always tries to keep them short. She tries to be kind to everyone and gives everyone a chance if they need her help. She’s ambitious, compassionate, and very into being as honest as possible. She really doesn’t like to lie or steal or anything like that. She believes every day is a new day to start over and try to improve. She loves puzzles and trying to solve and figure things out. She always wants to help others, especially with death and finding answers for the dead.
3-Family History—Nora has magic in her blood, though she isn’t entirely sure where it comes from. She wants to learn more about the magic in her ancestry, but the only one who can help her is her grandma, who’s dead. She does know that some of her ancestry has to do with banshees, but she also wonders what other death magic is tied to her because she thinks she’s got something else besides the tie to banshees, like a tie to the Morrighan or the Sidhe, like the Leanan Sidhe. She is finishing getting her Bachelor’s degree and trying to learn all she can about Celtic and Irish folklore and mythology to fill in the blanks about her family history.
4. Personal Conflicts—She can see the dead, which she thinks comes from her ties to Banshees and other magic/magical beings from Celtic mythology, etc. She doesn’t always like that she can see the dead because of how others look at her because of that and because only sometimes do they believe her. She is conflicted about this ability on and off because of how it affects her. Still, she is also interested because she likes to help others and has been learning about her family history. She is trying to decide how to proceed with her life with either continuing to study, doing her own thing, which she’s not 100% sure of, or taking a big step toward fully embracing her talent and family history, etc., and taking over her grandma’s business, where she would help similar to a detective using her skill to help find the dead and solve their deaths. She’s also had conflict with figuring out where she fits, as she’s not been close to her family and just lost her grandma, and her grandma was her only real close family. Her ability is on the fritz, being affected by her grief and everything, while she keeps trying to force it to work to see her grandma.
Character Sketch Questions—1. Who is she closest to? Her grandma, who just died, a couple of cousins she’ll meet; and a best friend, a fairy in disguise, Sasha. 2-What is her biggest fear? Being alone and unloved, not finding herself, and figuring out everything. She told her Grandma and hinted at it with her best friend. She wouldn’t tell her own family, specifically her own mother. After all, her mother is the one who has instilled this fear in her because she was hurt by her mother so much growing up, by being/feeling neglected and looked down on because she wasn’t as “good” as her brother. 3-It’s Saturday at noon. Nora is relaxing in a comfy, oversized reading chair by a fireplace, watching a show about mythology, a story from a book she’s read, or reading a book. She’s also drinking some hot cider and flavored water and eating breakfast and a bit of lunch together. She also has a large, soft, fuzzy blanket she’s curled up in.
Nora’s attribute that can contribute to and be used in the story is her ability to see the dead. It can develop by her learning more about it and how to use it on demand instead of waiting for something to happen randomly. She can decide to accept it and perhaps something like a sink-or-swim attitude, figuring it out. Her ability will push her to face things like her fears and take a determined approach to finding her answers, and having to learn and use it to help a recently deceased cousin of hers can lead to other answers.
She can exercise and learn her skill so she can connect with her Grandma and her cousin, who have both died, to find the common thread leading back to her answers. It will also lead her to more questions that she can face later that will help her find who she really is, how she’s connected to the magic from the Celts and Irish, and give her another piece of the puzzle in solving what she finds about how her Grandma died. She could also tap into new magic and learn more about herself by using her skill with the dead and helping them.