While this characterization idea fits into the “writing activity” category in the sense that it is a prescribed writing experience, it also serves a very practical function in terms of helping to create believable characters. Authors rarely copy a character exactly from life, but likewise do we rarely pull a character completely from the ether. It is a balance and that balance takes practice. We draw on people we know or observe, melding personality, looks, values, etc. from various people to create someone entirely different and unrecognizable. This activity has you create several characters, so when you are done you might really be inclined to use one for a story, or maybe if you are really on your game…all three!
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You may have read my father’s recent post discussing his favorite authors. I can easily relate to the experience of being asked about favorite authors and books, especially in my profession as an English Literature teacher. And yet, although I spend my days in the company of some of the greatest writers of all time, it may come as a bit of a surprise to know that when students ask that question I find myself somewhat at a loss for how to accurately answer them. My struggle for an immediate and concise answer to the “favorite author” or the “favorite book” question is rooted in the slightly fractured construct of (as I explain it to my students) the battle between what I call Capital “L” Literature (or the literature of the accepted literary Canon) and the common pulp fiction of the lowercase “L” variety that populates the majority of bookstore shelves. Now, before any of you take offense, these classifications are not simply mine but are, and have been, the realm of academics for generations. We can debate these classifications, but we cannot wish them away. So, the problem I am faced with whenever a student poses that query is…do I answer as Ms. Gorham Literature Teacher, or as Wendy Gorham Reader and Writer of books? |
Wendy Picard GorhamWendy lives and works in the midst of words everyday--English teacher by profession, and writer by passion! Archives
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