4.21.16

Map Assignment due.

We kept working on the creative writing we started last class, focusing directly on character detail and dialogue. Here are notes and an exercise we work on around character detail:

Character Detail: Characters: What types of characters do we see in the world? What makes characters “come to life” for you?

Physical: details about a character’s physical appearance: > > > > > > >
 *  hair
 *  eyes color
 *  height
 *  weight
 *  smell
 *  touch
 *  voice quality

Material: details about the material items that belong to, or represent them: > > >
 *  clothing
 *  possessions
 *  appearance in the world based on material items

Emotional: details about the character’s emotion/emotional state(s): > > > > >
 *  their typical reactions to situations
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;"> their outward emotional states
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;"> their private vs. public personas
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;"> quirks
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Speech patterns/sayings

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Creating Character Detail: helpful structure

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Emily was the sort of person who was practical in situations where most people were sentimental: When someone died, she arrived with toilet paper, paper cups, and a three-pound can of coffee.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">He/she/they was the sort of person who always had to be the better-looking one in a relationship.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">She/he/they is the type of person who talks during a movie.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">He’s/she's/they are the type of guy who buys new socks instead of doing laundry.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">He’s/she's/they is the type of person who would tell you he’s listening to Drake, when, in reality, his I-phone’s full of Taylor Swift.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">She/he/they is the sort of person who never eats a meal sitting down.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">He’s/she's/they is the kind of person who gets cast as a tree with two lines, and becomes the most interesting part of the play.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">They’re the type of couple who has dinner together but spend the whole time on texting other people.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">She’s/he's/they is the kind of person who leaves a 7% tip at a restaurant.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">They were the type of friends that could have a conversation with just eyebrow raises.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">J: He/She/They is the type of person who…

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Create at least 2 examples of this type of character detail. Make sure to have at least one example of physical, material, and emotional detail in the mix.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dialogue Rules: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">The main rules we focused on were: Ex: "No!" he yelled. She glared at him before hissing, "Yes." Ex: Good: "No!" he yelled. Bad: "No!" He yelled.
 * Creating a new paragraph and indenting each time you have a new speaker. You might write a lot of detail before your first character speaks, which is fine. But, as soon as you have a new speaker, they get a new paragraph.
 * Adding dialogue tags to help clarify who is speaking at what time. A dialogue tag is the tagged on "he said" or "she said" element.
 * Don't capitalize the "he" or "she" in a dialogue tag if it comes after the dialogue.

Summary of Book 13

HW: Continue writing on your creative piece. I should be a page in length, double spaced (typed) or two pages double spaced (handwritten). It can be more. It needs to include at least one example of "he or she is the type of person who..." structure, and it needs to have at least one exchange of dialogue. Other than that, I'm leaving it up to you to creatively explore the idea of a time when you or someone you know demonstrated (or did not) one of the Seven Greek Virtues we talked about last class.