1. CREATIVE WRITING Creating a character

2. Starter  Take a few minutes to imagine the relationships among the characters in the following painting. Assume the role of one of the pictured figures and write a dramatic monologue.  What do you understand that no one else does?  What will you do next?

4. iPod  Please get an iPod from the back of the room if you need one.

5. Character  Our objective is to understand some of the basic elements and understandings that go into creating a character.  By the end of class you will have created a character and will be able to answer many intimate details about that character.

6. Exercise 1  In order to understand the characters we will create, we must understand what makes the people we already know the people they are.  Recall three anecdotes you’ve heard about family members. Tell them to a partner and explain what each one captures about the personality of that relative.

7. Question:  Why was this exercise relevant to creating a character?

8. Exercise 2  With your group, log onto KLS and click on classifieds  Once there, pick the strangest item you can find (search no longer than 4 minutes).  2 people in the group will conjure up the character who placed the item on KSL and the story line that might have led him or her to do so.  The other half of your group will brainstorm a character that wants to buy the advertised object, along with that person’s motive.

9. Individually  Write up a scene of a meeting between the two characters

10. Question:  How might this exercise help in your understanding of building a character?

11. Building your character  Age  Gender  Race  Nationality  Marital status  Region  Education  Religion  Profession  Appearance  Family

12. Exercise 3  One of the most economical means of sketching a character is simply to show readers a personal space the character has created, be it a bedroom, locker, kitchen, hideout, office cubicle, or even the interior of a car.  Spend 10 minutes describing what makes up your newly created character’s personal space.

13. Question:  Why would describing a personal space of your character help readers understand who that character is?

14. Exercise 4  Personality test