Character, Plot and Setting Aims and objectives: Top understand the ingredients/characteristics of narrative devices: Story: Character, Plot structure and Setting. The Hero’s Journey: what is it and how does it work What make a good character? How does this affect the style of writing and choice of narrative? Character questions to ask yourself and character Setting: place you love and hate Setting questions Show and don’t tell. To: Demonstrate an understanding of how to build a character and how this effects the style of writing. Write in any form exploring a character, setting and plot: short story, script for film or theatre or radio, beginning of novel, poem or journalistic (non-fiction) article.

Character’s NEED! Most important ingredient in any story is character/s We need to understand what a character needs. This drives the story Your job is to make attaining this need as difficult as possible by introducing conflicts and drama into the story At the end of a story the need is either fulfilled or denied. The character needs to have changed from the state they begun the story in. This is the character arc. Think of some characters that you have read/viewed and their character arc

What make a good character? Discuss! How does this affect the style of writing and choice of narrative? Perspective, tone, word choice and genre. Make notes from discussion.

Your characters and stories After a series of exercises you will be able to write a convincing story with convincing three-dimensional characters. But how do we achieve this? Discuss. Write down your own thoughts. Analyse the three extracts: Dicken Hornby Dewar Which do you prefer and why? How do these three extracts differ? How are the difference reflected in factors such as the choice of language, punctuation and grammar? What may have influenced each writer’s choice?

Exercise: Answer the questions from the character study. Interview another person in character. Collate information and use this character study to write a story. You can write in any form or medium.

Plot Plot is driven by the characters need. Once you know the characters need you aim towards making this as difficult to attain. The need is either met or denied. But on the way to this you need to explore all the possibilities Make sure every character in your novel wants something and actively works towards it . Plot each scene’s purpose before you start Plot characters, story events and settings with equal care Plot and prepare, but also be prepared to change and adapt. Plot s are like life, they change. TAKE THE CHATRACTER STUDY ANSWERS AND BEGIN TO WRITE A SHORT STORY.

Setting Think about a place that you love to go. What does it mean to you? Why do you love it? What do you do there? How does it make you feel? Start free writing about it non-stop for five minutes and then share ideas Think of a place you do not like to go to, perhaps somewhere you feel frightened or uneasy. Why don’t you like to be there? How do you feel when you are there? What is it about that place that makes you feel this way? Again, write non-stop for five minutes.

Show and Don’t Tell Although there is a place for both showing and not telling, the general rule in creative writing is Show don’t Tell Why do you think this is? Discuss and write you ideas down. Why do readers read books/stories? Discuss? Write your thoughts down.

Why do readers read books? Readers want to get involved in a story. They want to experience emotion through the lives and adventures of fictional characters. They want to get swept up in other people’s dramas. And to immerse ourselves in the experiences of those characters, we need to feel them as the characters themselves feel them – which is real time, minute by minute.

Show and Don’t Tell Telling Is factual. Is brief. Is an efficient way to communicate data. Prefers to avoid detail, and is happy to convey broad overarching messages. (“It was cold.”) Is not necessarily human-centred, and as a result . . . Does not, in general, stir the heart. Showing Is human-centred (usually, though sometimes only by implication). Is a slower, richer, more expansive way to communicate. Is not efficient – quite the reverse! Loves detail Tends to place the human subject right at the centre of things, and as a consequence . . Can often stir the heart.

Dramatise! “Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” ― Anton Chekhov Another way of thinking about showing is that you are dramatizing. Dramatise, Dramatise, Dramatise! How can we do this: 1 | Write your scenes so that they take place in real time. Use description, action, and/or dialogue to put your reader in the story, but be careful to give just enough detail to trigger their imagination. Avoid telling your readers about your characters’ emotions. Instead, show what they feel. And be careful not to repeat what’s already shown in dialogue and action. If done well, the reader will get the point without reiteration.

The Difference Between Showing vs. Telling When you tell rather than show, you simply inform your reader of information rather than allowing him to deduce anything. You’re supplying information by simply stating it. You might report that a character is “tall,” or “angry,” or “cold,” or “tired.” That’s telling. Showing would paint a picture the reader could see in her mind’s eye. If your character is tall, your reader can deduce that because you mention others looking up when they talk with him. Or he has to duck to get through a door. Or when posing for a photo, he has to bend his knees to keep his head in proximity of others. Rather than telling that your character is angry, show it by describing his face flushing, his throat tightening, his voice rising, his slamming a fist on the table. When you show, you don’t have to tell. Cold? Don’t tell me; show me. Your character pulls her collar up, tightens her scarf, shoves her hands deep into her pockets, turns her face away from the biting wind. Tired? He can yawn, groan, stretch. His eyes can look puffy. His shoulders could slump. Another character might say, “Didn’t you sleep last night? You look shot.” When you show rather than tell, you make the reader part of the experience. Rather than having everything simply imparted to him, he sees it in his mind and comes to the conclusions you want. What could be better than engaging your reader—giving him an active role in the storytelling—or should I say the story-showing?

Show and Don’t tell: get us in the scene Telling: Suzie was blind. Showing: Suzie felt for the bench with a white cane.   Telling: It was late fall. Showing: Leaves crunched beneath his feet. Exercise: Develop these from telling to Showing Johnny was a good musician Sally was happy. He was angry. It was hot. Agnes was impatient

Telling Three days later… There is a place for telling To move plot on quickly – to get to the drama without boring the reader A year went by…

Last exercise: Go back through all the writing today and see if you can use the show and not tell rule to develop your work. Remember there is a place for non-dramatic moments in stories