character survey;
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Mary is a petite woman of about five-foot-two. She is slender, though not particularly curvy with a short torso and slim hips.
2. How old is she?
Twenty-nine years old.
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
She always carries herself in a dignified manner, her chin lifted and shoulder back. This is partly due to her upbringing and partly to make up for her height.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Mary tries to maintain her health by eating right and walking wherever she can. She is not much of a runner and runs out of breath quickly, but is working on her stamina, as she has just purchased a bicycle for herself. She also walks her dog every day.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
She would not call herself graceful, but she is not clumsy because she always pauses a moment to consider her movements and does not act impulsively. You could describe her movement as easy and almost rhythmic
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
Mary is quite attractive to look at because of her eyes. They are a bright blue-green and she considers them to be her loveliest feature. Her chin and jaw are quite angular, but she has the cutest upturned nose and a graceful neck. She finds herself to be a good-looking woman, though not the most beautiful.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Fair, clear, not a freckle in sight.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Mary's golden blonde curls are kept in a short bob, cut to her chin. Her hair is fine, but easy to manage since she has a good amount of it.
9. What color are her eyes?
Bluish green.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Nope.
11. What are her chief tension centers?
Mary clenches her jaw when frustrated and her brows knit at the center.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?
Mary dresses in many pastels, though she is particularly fond of pale greens and purples. Her clothing is always simple with a certain twist, whether it be kicky kitten heels or a patterned sweater or scarf. She owns a plaid swing coat that she wears in the fall and winter and often dons a denim blazer over one of her many dresses. She has a good variety of dresses and blouses and reuses her skirts and outerwear. She does not own too many clothes for nighttime activities.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
Because of her size, she makes sure her clothes fit her perfectly and often take them in or out herself. She is comfortable when she does so.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
The main differences between her work outfit and her casual outfit are the shoes and the sweater or jacket. (If in a relationship with a Watson, she has also taken to borrowing her boyfriend's jumpers at home.)
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Mary's knickers are often lace-trimmed or seamless, but generally sensible and also come in pastels and neutrals.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Mary has a chirpy voice, very bright and musical.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
She speaks in even tones and thinks before she speaks.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Mary has a proper accent that is common among people who attended more expensive schools around London. (Note: the writer is American and will willingly accept corrections. What she means here is that Mary has an educated way of speaking.)
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
Mary is fluent in English and has an above-average handle on French.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
No, she only speaks English unless with a French speaker or in France.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She is intelligent, but gives pause in more serious conversation.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
She rarely uses common contractions and only stammers when under pressure.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
She is book-smart and is well-read.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
She always, always plans ahead.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Mary is a practical woman, often with good intuition, but she will always weigh her options before making a decision.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
She had the best education England can offer an adolescent girl. Her University years were not as top-brow but still very good.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
Mary excels in literature, whether it be history or analysis. Her favorite era is Elizabethan and particularly Shakespeare, but can give a person a good, general runthrough of English literature in general. She also has decent knowledge of American and French literature, but is not as confident in those arenas.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Mary's feathers are difficult to ruffle, as people like Sherlock will find. She also has a cheerful disposition and is easy to please while eager to please others. Though never demanding of other people, if she sets a task to accomplish, she will stop at nothing until it is finished.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Mary is always friendly and eager to get to know a stranger, if introduced. If faced with a difficult situation, she isn't particularly cheerful, but optimistic.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
Mary will react briefly before acting.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
Fight.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Mary enjoys a person with wit, though cleverness isn't a priority. In fact, she will readily chuckle at the cheesiest puns.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
No.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
a) When her mother passed away as a child. Her death will always cast a shadow over her life.
b) When her father finally sent her away to finish schooling in England. This was when she truly realized that they will never be as close as she'd like, though this thought never stopped her from trying.
c) When Mary's University beau ended their relationship of two years. She hadn't even confessed that she loved him and regretted never telling him. It will take her several years before she can built up to the big "I love you."
d) Her father's disappearance.
e) Meeting John Watson.
14. What does she fear?
Abandonment.
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
Mary hopes to raise a family and make sure that the family stays together so her future children can have that home base that Mary always lacked. She also hopes to reconcile with her father after a long estrangement.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
Mary is a generally open person. If anything, she would hesitate to outline the details of her relationship with her Uni boyfriend.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Estranged to nonexistent.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
She is an only child. Her father never remarried, though he tried to see other women.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
There is an aunt, a sister of her father's, who helped raise Mary, but she could never let herself grow close to the stern woman.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
The headmistress at the school where she works. She often acts as Mary's surrogate mother.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Growing up, Mary was often a lonely child and tried to make friends, though they never lasted. Her real best friend didn't come until she met her roommate at Uni with whom she lived for four years, on and off, and they have kept in touch ever since.
6. Does she have other close friends?
Mary considers her co-workers good friends and has started to befriend those close to John, like Lestrade and Molly. She is starting to see Ms. Hooper as someone she'd like to spend more time wtih.
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
Mary is much more sociable nowadays and loves meeting new people.
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
She believes that close friends can become your family and will love and protect those that find their way into her heart.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Mary is dating Dr. John Watson and has never been married.
(One Watson has proposed to her and they are preparing for their upcoming nuptials.)
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Does the question above answer that?
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Mary fancied a boy from a neighboring school when she was ten. She told her friends, who told him, but he pulled her braid and that was the end of that.
Mary will always fancy John Watson first but, under special circumstances, will find any (willing) Lestrade to be a handsome older gentleman.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
She prefers the men she dates to be older; because, though she is a very independent woman who mostly raised herself, she often seeks men with whom she finds comfort and protection. She only wants a good, upstanding man, not necessarily a perfect gentleman, who tries to do the right thing - and she has no fantasies involving any bad boy types. In fact, she finds dating one of them to be unappealing.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
No children, and yes, she does want them in the future.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
Not that she knows of, though someone could get to her to anger John and perhaps Sherlock.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
Mary is predominately heterosexual.
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
Mary does enjoy sex, though she doesn't place much importance on it.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
If anything, she will buy lacier underwear to excite her partner. She has not explore sex much, but if she was truly close to her partner and he wanted to try something different, she would take it into consideration.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
Mary fits many of Pisces good qualities:
- Compassionate
- Adaptable
- Accepting
- Devoted
She also is very empathetic and is inspired by the people and places around her. Pisces are also characterized by living in both the real world and their own imaginations, which Mary does not do, as she tends to be more sensible. The sign is also described as being self-pitying without the guidance of a stronger person; this is not completely true for Mary. Though she was quite self-pitying in her youth, she brought herself up to look past that, without the aid of another person. That said, she no longer wants to be alone and much prefers the company of others.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
Mary believes in God but is not a practicing Christian.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Mary's main policy is respect towards others and respecting herself. If she does not receive the same treatment, then the other person is not worth speaking to at all.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
She is tolerant, but is sometimes too curious if their beliefs are so far from her own.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
This isn't an exact prejudice, but she is often envious of people raised by a loving family, regardless of the number of parents.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Mary has saved money from her father over the years but is entirely self-sufficient, living under humble, but comfortable, means.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
Mary was raised in a posh environment but has settled into middle-class living. She much prefers this.
3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?
She lives in a second floor apartment of a walk-up. She shares this with her dog, Pepper.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
On weekends, she likes to go to the cinema and eat in restaurants. Twice a week, she may order takeaway.
5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?
Mary is a teacher and is well-liked in her place of work. She does enjoy it and finds it to be very rewarding.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Mary is an avid reader and you can find her reading everywhere around the city. She also goes for walks and bike rides with and without her dog. Sometimes, she will go out for drinks with her friends.
When with John, a lot of her free time is taken up somehow helping him and Sherlock with a case, if they need her.
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Mary is a big sandwich eater, fancy or simple. She can hold her alcohol tolerably well, but knows when to stop drinking.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Kelly green
2. Smell? Vanilla cinnamon
3. Time of day? Noon
4. Season? Spring
5. Book? Little Women
6. Music? Showtunes (likely because her PB is a stage actress)
7. Place? the countryside
8. Substance? Hair mousse ... ?
9. Plant? Daffodils
10. Animal? Bunny
END
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