Characters are the heart of a great story. Without great characters and great character development, "The Great Gatsby" can be seen as just another weepy romance and Holden Caulfield as merely a maladjusted teen. Pushcart Prize-winning author Josip Novakovich lends us two exercises from his book "Fiction Writer's Workshop" that will help you develop your characters.
Objective: To learn how to look at evidence of character in the whole body, not just the face. The body expresses the mind.
Describe a character by the shape, posture and gait of his body. Don't describe his head and don't tell us that the character is lazy or happy. Show these traits through body language.
Check: Do we see enough of the body's shape and motion? For a nervous patient in a hospital, did you mention his feet wrapped around a chair's leg like the emblem of medicine?
Objective: To create heroes from people you admire. Admiration for others is a writer's best friend (unlike self-admiration). As you admire a person, you naturally select traits and details that present the person in a heroic light. So you already know how to make heroes! With this capability, you are ready to become a fiction writer.
Describe a remarkable person you admire--a teacher, minister, carpenter, doctor. What makes the person unique? Avoid sentiment statements (e.g. "I know Mother will always be there for me"). Can you make us see her? Hear her? >
Check: Have you given us the person? If not, go back and show us your character struggling with problem.
Learn more about "Fiction Writer's Workshop" ($15.99), at: http://www.writersdigest.com/store/booksdisplay.asp?id=48033
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment