Characterization

Use the following format to create your own character. No cheating. Do not simply fill in the blanks by
describing yourself or someone you know. Instead, fill in the blanks describing someone you’d find it
interesting to know. Then, remembering that conflict is the essence of all dramatic writing, repeat the
process by imagining a character whose value, attitudes, etc. would likely put them in opposition to the
first character you invented.

Full Name:
Nicknames:
Sex:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Hair:
Eyes:
Skin:
Posture:
Appearance:
Health:
Birthmark:
Abnormalities:
Heritage:
Where born:
Where live:
Favorite food:
Favorite subject in school:
Favorite game as child:
Best memory:
Worst memory:
Smoke/Drink/Drugs Profile:
Favorite section of newspaper:
Favorite type of music:
Last book read:
Last movie seen:
Morning or night person:
Introvert/Extrovert:
Indoor or outdoor person:
Greatest fear:
Closest friend:
Dearest possession:
Favorite season:
Class:
Occupation:
Education:
Family:
Home Life:
IQ:
Religion:
Community:
Political Affiliation:
Amusements/Hobbies:
Reading Interests:
Sex Life:
Morality:
Ambition:
Frustration:
Temperament:
Attitude:
Psychological Complexes:
Superstitions:
Imagination

Recollections

Write some memoirs about a favorite teacher..

Reinvention

Write about an incident in your past that you would like a chance to relive and do differently.

Explorations

A. Write a paragraph or story about noise.

B. Make a list: Start each phrase with “It would be crazy to. . . ” Go until you run out of sentences. Then,
write the other side of the coin: Start each phrase with “It would be perfectly sane to. . . .”

C. Explore the differences of the two lists – either in an essay or poem or put two characters in a
dangerous situation together where one is more likely to have said the “it would be crazy” statements
and the other would be more likely to say their opposite.

D. Put on a piece of music and write where it takes you.

E. Comment on a newspaper or T.V. clip.

F. Imagine yourself as a child, looking at your mother’s wallet. What do you see? How do you feel? Tell a
story from this child’s perspective.

New Perspectives

A. Write a story about a person turning eighty.

B. Write a dialogue between two people who have to share a seat on a plane and who are attracted to
one another. Introduce an obstacle to the smooth sailing of this attraction.

C. Write about an ugly moment between two people, but don’t label it. Make the reader experience it
without you telling them what is going on.

E. Choose one aspect of the natural world that you feel has something to teach you. What specific
quality does it express that speaks to you about your own life? Cluster your thoughts and shape them
into a poem. (From Poetic Medicine by John Fox).

F. Write about a birthday.

G. Write the saddest thing you know about friendship.

H. Go back to one of the exercises you’ve done since the beginning of class and edit it with an eye to
new ideas, different approaches, clearer sentences. Add a sustaining metaphor or an apt simile.
Approach it creatively.

Highlighting Details

A. Start a story with a word that starts with the letter B – any B, any word.

B. Pick a particular time of day and a particular window. Spend 10 minutes each day for three days
describing what you see out of the window.

C. Write about what you hate most about writing.

D. Create a lovable character with one disappointing flaw. Put that character in the same room as you
and a very favorite small child in such a way that the disappointing flaw is evident. What happens?

E. Remember haiku? Those 5-7-5 syllable poems that have a touch of nature and a hint of epiphany in
them? Try writing one every day this week. Or try your hand at a sonnet!
Memory Walk

Go on a walk around a place you know well, maybe it's your home, your neighborhood, or a specific park
or building. As you're walking, make mental note of places that trigger certain memories from your past.
Then, when you get back from your walk, write about the most vivid memory you recollected.

Enemies and Friends

Write two profile pieces, one about a person you really love and one about someone you really don't
like. Which is easier to write? Consider why one is easier for you to write than the other. When you're
writing, try to keep two objectives in mind: paint a well-rounded portrait of the person you're writing
about, and at the same time, see if you can persuade your reader to feel the same way about this
person as you do.