By Lanee’ Blunt
 |
| Write a character sketch-- lupoianfla |
Character development is
important when writing a short story.
You must know your characters to make your story convincing. Writing a
character sketch will help you, but most new writers hate this preliminary
work. They want to dive right in and
start writing the story, which is fine, but having the character sketch saves
you from feeling lost and not knowing how your character will react in a
certain situation.
When a character sketch is
done correctly it helps you understand your characters by digging into their
background, you’ll feel that you know them better than you do your own
friends. According to Robert J. Ray’s
book, The Weekend Novelist, “You do
character sketches to practice pulling useful traits from the real world onto
the page, where you combine them with character qualities from your reading
experience.
What is Included in a Character Sketch
A character sketch is an
outline on each of your major characters.
You ask questions and answer them.
What does your character want?
What drives him? How does he handle the obstacles in his path? When he has a problem how does he handle it? What does he do too much of? How did he spend last week before the story
opened? This seems silly at first, but you will be surprised just how this will
lead you into character development.
Background Information Leads to Motivation
Don’t worry about getting
your sentences perfect or if you have used the right grammar. The sketch is a place for your imagination. Think about your character as a real person
where did she go to school? What kind of
student was she? What are her early
childhood experiences? What is her
occupation? What year was she born?
Background information leads to motivation because early experiences may
have forced her to do what she is doing.
Sketch the Personality
Is she honest? Is she
stingy, generous, or what? Is she
happily married or does she cheat on her husband? Is she a flirt? Your answers don’t have to be long they can
be short. For example, Robert Jones
never wanted to be married so when he was forced into marriage, by Joanna
getting pregnant, it made him a bitter man.
Sketch the Physical
Describe the characters
physical appearance in the character sketch, so when you are ready to write the
story you already know what she looks like.
How tall is she? How old? What
color is her hair? What does she look like?
When writing a character
sketch you don’t have to write the answers like you are writing an essay. Just a few notes; in outline form, will be
fine.
Reference:
Robert J. Ray; The Weekend
Novelist; Dell
Read This Next
