The Craft of Writing Subgroup Story Workshop Character Development Worksheet

Transcription

1 Cast of Characters Archetypes I ve never bought into any sort of hard and fast, this-box/that-box characterization. People are individuals. Yes, they may be expected to be a particular way. But that doesn t mean they re going to be that way. Margaret Atwood Jungian-based Archetypes Child Guardian Herald Hermit Hero Hunter Judge Mentor Sage Shadow Shaman Sidekick Trickster Wanderer Traits Innocence, youth Protector, obstacle Source of important information, signals events Recluse, loner, misanthrope Displays virtue, struggles against negative or evil forces Affinity with nature, knowledge of nature, pragmatism, information and knowledge exchange Law, order, judgement Teacher, guide, mastery Wisdom, age/maturity, experience Vice, the secret or surpressed self Spirituality, spiritual connectedness, life magic (healing, death), elemental magic (fire, air, earth, water) Friendship, trustworthiness, reliability Mischief, unpredictability Odyssey, seeker, discovery Page 1 of 7

2 Archetypal Orientations 1 1 Original source unknown retrieved from Page 2 of 7

3 Character Profiling A strong character wears his backstory heavily in his eyes, his gait, or on his sagging shoulders. It is sprinkled into his conversation, and that of his friends and enemies. Josie Brown EXERCISE #1 Character Facts Name and/or Nickname Character Trait Write (or Draw) Physical Features Facial Expressions Pet Peeves Quirks, Ticks, and Idiosyncrasies Family Composition and Ancestry Past Injuries (physical or emotional) Archetype Other (e.g., values, prized possessions, occupation): Page 3 of 7

4 Character Driven Story Characterization requires a constant back-and-forth between the exterior events of the story and the inner life of the character. David Corbett EXERCISE #2 (from Writers Store: Review the following character plot profile dimensions. Fill in the details on the following page according to your present understanding of your character. Leave any items blank for which you have no information. These dimensions should be applied to your protagonist (the character who is most changed by the dramatic action), any other major viewpoint characters and, if there is one, the character who represents the major antagonist for the protagonist. 1) Protagonist's overall story goal: 2) What stands in his/her way of achieving this goal: 3) What does he/she stand to lose, if not successful: 4) Flaw or greatest fault: 5) Greatest strength: 6) Hates: 7) Loves: 8) Fear: 9) Secret: 10) Dream: Page 4 of 7

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6 Character Driven Story EXERCISE #2 (from Writers Store: Results 1) Writers who filled out 1-3 with ease prefer writing Dramatic Action. 2) Writers who filled in 4-10 with ease prefer Character Emotional Development. 3) Writers who filled in everything with ease find both the Dramatic Action and the Character Emotional Development plotlines come easy. Analysis Without a firm understanding of points 1-3, you have no front story. The Dramatic Action plotline is what gets the reader turning the pages. Without it there is no excitement on the page. Without a firm understanding of points 4-10, you are more likely to line up the action pieces of your story, arrange them in a logical order and then draw conclusions. Yet, no matter how exciting the action, this presentation lacks the human element. Such an omission increases your chances of losing your audience's interest; readers read 70% for character. Plot Tips for Dramatic Action Plot Writers to Strengthen the Character Emotional Development Plotline 1) Try using your own flaw, fear, and/or Secret - we all have them. 2) What you filled out for #4-10 of the Character Emotional Development Profile is a mere skimming of the surface, like the first draft of any story. Even so, tack it up next to your computer. Over time, as you continue writing and come to know your characters better, the information will deepen. The longer you work, the deeper you will dig, the more significant your story will become. 3) Look for opportunities to incorporate more patterning, metaphors, and analogies into your writing. 4) Look for opportunities to role-play and use visual aides. 5) Stop writing periodically and move your body during your writing time. 6) Reread the information above that covers the less dominant side of your writing. 7) Writers with a strength in creating Dramatic Action usually think in sequence and are list makers. Since you have no trouble processing symbols, you actually enjoy making an advanced plan on a linear form such as a Plot Planner. Page 6 of 7

7 8) After plotting out the Dramatic Action, use a different color pen and plot out a Character Emotional Development plotline. To create logical conclusions, look for clues as to how the dramatic action causes changes in the character emotional development. For Character Emotional Development Plot Writers to Strengthen the Dramatic Action Plotline 1) Use goals of your own and insert them into the context of the story - to finish, what? To organize, what? To accomplish, what? 2) Writers who write about Character Emotional Development have a more random writing style and rebel at anything as structured as a Scene Tracker or Plot Planner. Yet, because you like things concrete and benefit from seeing, feeling, or touching the real object, you keep coming back to the idea of developing a Plot Planner. You know intuitively that a plan will keep you on track and help you survive to the end of a completed project 3) Because the right side of the brain is color sensitive, use one color to plot out the Character Emotional Development scenes and use a different color to show the Dramatic Action, and yet another to show the Thematic Significance. 4) Schedule a walk during your writing time and set the timer. Imagine yourself plotting out your scenes in sequence. The act of seeing yourself plotting will help you actually do it. 5) Start with the Climax of your story, and work backwards. Using your intuition, pay attention to coherence and meaning. Link Dramatic Action to the changes in your characters emotional development. 6) Since you like to back up everything visually, hang a Plot Planner and/or Scene Tracker on a wall near your computer. These will help you remember the sequence of your story as you rewrite and rewrite until your story shows the meaning you want it to convey. These are just some of the differences that exist between character-driven writers and action-driven writers, but you can see the pattern. Writers who lean more toward creating the Character Emotional Development plotline now know you can be flexible and adapt the Plot Planner to make such a structured approach work for you. Likewise, those of you who are predominantly left-brain know that it would be wise to use both sides of the brain and employ some right brain strategies. Page 7 of 7