>And some of us find even HW and 100 words and/or lists
>too structured....
>
>No doubt others have been here before me. But I hate
>finding situations like these:
>
>"I've only written 98 words: let me think about it for
>a bit and see if I can't squash two more adjectives in
>there."
>
>"I've got 101 words! Argh! Should I drop 'sure-footed'
>or 'clever'?"
>
>"I'd like to describe the tragic deaths of his family,
>but if I do, I won't have room for any skills"
Well the latter belongs in the backstory rather than the character description. I usually seem to write rather more than 100 words and then split it into character description and backstory. I then fill out the character description with extra possessions and skills while ruthlessly cutting repetition and waffle. As a narrator I wouldn't bother too much about exactly 100 and would expect to have to help a new player separate out the backstory.
For pre-adult characters I would expect the description to be mostly about relationships rather than possessions or experiences. E.g. if the character is planning to follow Issaries then they should have a relationship with the clan trader - what is it and what benefits does that bring? After all these are potential heros so there should be notable things about them - even if only precocious brat.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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