Today’s Prompt

•Character Prompt: Describe a character using just the items in his/her desk drawer.  Example: important items, mix tapes, photographs, etc.

Types of Characters

Definition• Characters: the people in the story

• Characterization: the process by which the writer makes the character seem real to the reader

Character Types: Flat and Round

• Flat character Embodies 1 or 2 qualities, easily

summarized; Not psychologically complex and

thus easily accessible to the reader;

Can be stock or stereotype a character who possesses the

expected traits of a group rather than being an individual

Character Types:Flat and Round • Round characters--

Complex and multi-dimensional

Inconsistent and unpredictable

Hard to summarize and understand

Display internal conflicts found in real people

Character Presentation• Direct (telling)

The writer tells what kind of person the character is.

• Indirect (showing) The writer presents the character in action and allows the reader to

infer what kind of person the character is.

Character Behavior—Do They Change or Not?

• Static character Doesn’t change as a result of what happens to him in the story;

The reader’s knowledge of him does not grow.

•Dynamic character Undergoes some kind of change as a result of action in the plot;

Must be a substantive change rather than a mood change.

Change or No Change. . .•A character must be Motivated

Reader is offered reasons for how the characters behave, what they say, and what decisions they make;

PlausibleAction by a character that seems reasonable, given the motivations presented

Characterization•The method used by a writer to develop a characterShow the character’s appearanceDisplay the character’s actionsReveal the character’s thoughtsLet the character speakGet the reactions of others

The Catbird Seat by James Thurber

•As we read, think about how the character is revealed.

Character Swap Activity• Take a sheet of notebook paper and tear it into six pieces.

• On three of those pieces, write down physical traits that a person might possess (examples: peg leg, pot belly, balding, tall & skinny, athletic build, crazy eyes, etc.). Be as unique and specific as possible – this activity won’t be any fun if people write generalities such as “blue eyes” or “short.”

• On the other three pieces of paper, write down personality traits (such as kleptomaniac, obsessed with “Grey’s Anatomy,” or superiority complex).

Character Sketches• Make two piles: one for their collective physical traits, and one

for their collective personality traits. One person should shuffle each pile.

• Then draw three sheets from each pile, so that they will all end up with three physical characteristics and three personality traits.

• Create a character sketch based on these traits. You must write a paragraph describing the person who would hold all six of their traits. They should include more details about the traits themselves, and then add information they think would go with a person who has those traits. (For example, if someone has an eye patch, WHY do they have it?)