Character Sequencing

Taylor

English 120

CHARACTER SEQUENCING

·  List Some People

Free write a list of people you know very well, who for whatever reason, are/have/might be important to you.

·  Choose One or Two & Isolate One

-Make a list of nouns, preferably concrete, things/objects you associate with this person

-Make a list of verbs, actions you associate with this person

·  Ask Questions (Samples)

-Who?

-is/was/will be this person, to you, to someone else?

-who would this person say they are? Who would other people?

does this person like, hate, act like

-What?

-does this person do usually, rarely, never?

-does this person look, sound, feel, taste, smell like?

-is this person like? If this person were an animal, building, plant, planet,

food, flower, piece of furniture, disease, or number, which would they be

and why?

Fill in this sentence as many times as you can about that character.

“He/She is the sort of person who ______.”

Vary the length and detail used each time.

-Where?

-does this person do or not do any of the above?

-do you/did you find this person?

Describe some of these places.

-When?

-what time of the year, or season, or time of the day or of your life do you associate with this person?

-when are you likely to see them again?

Where and why?

-Why?

-does this person do what they do?

-why are they what they are?

-what has made them that way?

What stories do you associate with this person, either that they told, or

were told about them?

·  Some Other Things to Do with this Character

-Write some part of your character’s daily routine – getting up, going to bed, walking the dog, driving to work – the more mundane the better, as seen by a disinterested, objective third person. Try as hard as you can not to tell the reader what you want them to know as much as show them.

-The same as above but as observed by a person who wants the reader to like or to dislike your character. Try as hard as you can not to tell the reader what you want them to know as much as show them.

-The same as above but as observed by a person who wants the reader not to trust your character. Try as hard as you can not to tell the reader what you want them to know as much as show them.

-The same as above but from your own point of view which reflects a particular state of mind – happiness or depression, joy, boredom, etc. etc. Try as hard as you can not to tell the reader what you want them to know as much as show them.

-How has this character’s life been complicated by some problem or by his/her outlook on life and/or other people. Write something which records your impression of that person – how he/she looked or felt, how you or other people reacted to him/her. Include details of setting, remembered conversations, events – anything which may be of interest or relevance.

-Select one preferably small moment in your character’s past that changed or might have changed their life. What was the event? What were they like before it and afterwards? Why?

-Write a short scene in which a belief your character would hold passionately and profoundly would prove to be untrue.

-Write a short scene in which the setting or situation, or an interaction with someone else, would cause your character to act uncharacteristically.

·  Why not try all of this all over again, using yourself as the “character”?