1. Who do they think they are?
Characterization
Who do they think they are?

2. Character
Categories
Protagonist: The main character whom the plot revolves around. The protagonist is often faced with a conflict.
Example: Stanley Yelnats in Holes
Antagonist: The person who causes the conflict--usually labeled as the villain or bad guy.
Example: Scar in the Lion King
Major: Important characters directly connected to the protagonist
Minor: Nonessential characters who are “extras” in the plot

3. Character
Types
Dynamic OR Round : a character who develops, grows, or changes in personality and/or attitude during the story. This person is usually the protagonist.
Static OR Flat: a character who remains the same during the story

4. What kind of major characters do good short stories have?
A Character that is likeable and believable.
A Character that must overcome a real problem.
A Character that solves the problem on his/her own. (This is where we learn a lot about what the character is thinking and feeling.)

5. Character
Techniques Writers Use to Develop Characters (Also known as Characterization)
Appearance: physical description and body language (movement/gestures)
Action/Behavior: what a character does
Speech/Interaction: what a character says and how he/she says it
Thoughts/Feelings: personal thoughts and emotions a character has
Other’s Viewpoint: what do other characters say or think about the character

6. Text Examples
“He studied Mr. Smith. The man was hard to describe. He looked as though he’d been manufactured to fit his name. Average height, brownish hair, pale white skin, medium build. Middle age. He was the sort of person you began to forget the minute you met him. Even his clothes had no particular style. They merely covered his body.” From “Future Tense”

7. Text Examples
“Calpurnia was something else again. She was all angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard. She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn’t behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn’t ready to come. Our battles were epic and one-sided. Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side. She had been with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember.”
From “To Kill a Mockingbird”

8. Character Map/Web Speech/Dialogue Appearance Character’s Name
Action/Behavior
What others think
about the
character
Thoughts
&
Feelings

9. Summary Types Categories Dynamic OR Round Static OR Flat Protagonist
Antagonist
Major Characters
Minor Characters

10. Techniques Writers Use:
Summary
Good short stories have characters that are:
Likable
Trying to Overcome a Real Problem
Able to Solve the Problem on his/her own.
Techniques Writers Use:
Appearance
Action
Speech/Interaction
Thoughts/Feelings