Fun with Characterization - Fiction Writing Only - at PerfettoWritingRoom(c) - and Free Ideas. . .

Hi everyone, as Nathan Lane said in The Bird Cage, one does need a hint of color! In honor of good writing (and heck, why not, great movies too!) Here is the pin from my latest characterization product...it is the "Characterization Glossary" a portion of "THE Characterization Master Course" - for those who need greater flexibility and don't really want all parts in the 82 page unit.

Now that the beautiful 82-behemoth is behind me resting on its virtual shelf at
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Characterization-Master-Course-CCSS-With-Analytical-Essay-Grades-9-12-1140265



I figured I could give all of you GRAND LIST OF IDEAS for characterization - So here they are to get you inspired.

These are ideas that I have employed in the large 82-page monster unit, followed by some I just couldn't fit in there. Please feel free to stop by and see what I've done, or, use one of these in your home as a writer or in your classroom as a teacher or professor. Characterization or setting really is the FIRST place to start when discussing story, and I'm happy I'm here with you at the start of our journey together.

Some ideas for you to ponder:

1. While I make sure, as you would that you or students understand the difference between direct and indirect characterization and showing versus telling. I also offer in my Characterization Master Unit definitions with guidelines on the eight ways to indirectly characterize....AFTER this is quite clear, I have four prompts deliberately given in frank "direct characterization" language.  The beauty is they can be revisited up to four times.

The goal is not merely to rewrite these as indirect sentences or even as paragraphs, but to create a character scene in which the direct telling statement is absolutely shown, and no words from the original statement are used. One example is "Lucinda was a daredevil who craved danger and excitement." As this is completely direct and telling, none of this except her name can be in the scene. All of it must be shown.

2. Stock characters are always debased and kicked around for their flat and stereotypical nature. Let students prove how many they can come up with and then, choose one, and break that mold by surprising the class with a nuanced and round UN-stock character.

3. Create a character scene by doing your own "visualization." YES. I know, it sounds very "a la artsy fartsy" but if you have a person do it for you, if you do it yourself like a guided meditation, OR, if you do it for students, the results are overwhelmingly positive. CHOOSE four or five places where people congregate and where you or students might like. "The talk" as we call it goes from vague to more specific, and really, there should be a lot of waiting, as the person imagines in their mind. Too much talking is distracting. First choose the place out of the four or five, then focus on the scene, the setting, the activity, then focus on the people, then find THE PERSON. Take it from there observing and taking it details using all five senses. Make your own script. This is the basis for a full character scene.

4. After you have done at least three of these (I have more of course) and you or students have a character that they like, use "Character Data Sheets" - these are unbelievably helpful because they can drive you nuts with inane and useless information - so hey, don't fill those parts out - and then, POW, it actually is the basis for an inspiration.  We included three pages in our Master Unit - so yes, it seems like a lot, but remember there are lines for writing in.

Lastly, I am now working to ONLY include the creative writing prompts for characterization with definitions, and am excising the quizzes and Analysis section. This means a unique fiction-writing only product and even more reasonably priced. And as always, feel free to use the ideas posted here, 'cause that's how we roll at the PerfettoWritingRoom (c)

The Characterization Master Course is DONE! And, "Name as Characterization" FREEBIE?

And yes, it is now available for purchase at teacherspayteachers.com


     http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Characterization-Master-Course-CCSS-With-Analytical-Essay-Grades-9-12-1140265


    Have you ever felt wrung out? Well, eighty pages later, that's how I feel. I think I MAY take a break for a few days!!


          but before I do, I want to leave you with a fun, easy to do and gosh, do I DARE do it again. . . FREE item for you that is inside my "Characterization Master Course."  It's fair to say it would be better if you could "grab it" as you go on other sites. Believe me I'm working on it! And if anyone has any ideas??? You are welcome to contact me at ThePerfettoWritingRoom@yahoo.com


This is my business email. You tell me how to post Freebies, and I'll start doing it! In the meantime, you can look below, or wait until it is posted on the store. I'll let you know when it's up for grabs.




The Sweet Spot in Names and Characterization

In the meantime. . . I was thinking about the agony and ecstasy of names, product marketing, and its relationship to characterization. Sadly, naming your character "Slim" because he's skinny is usually as unhelpful as calling him Dave.
    The key in my opinion is to do as Emily Dickinson suggestion. Tell the truth but tell it slant. Instead of naming someone ironically or literally. . .

Chose words that inspire the imagination but, as Dickinson suggested, are indeed slant.

     In the carefully organized "Characterization Master Course," every detail is considered, the methods or ways in which to indirectly characterize, for example. One of the lesser explored methods is through the naming of characters.
      I once wen tot a doctor named - don't we WISH we could make this - Dr. Lambert Woolley. I was not actually working on a character for a story, nor even working on a name worksheet at the time. And drats for that. But how rich, how silly, or fun, or interesting, to the extent that it gives the finder of such a name (in particular me) IDEAS for character!!! Now THAT's a great a day at the doctor's office.
      A FREE suggestion is complimentary for my readers. Please no reselling or sharing. This is for you along as a writer, or as a teacher for use in your classroom only! Very soon, I will figure out how to attach (Does blogger have this ability?) If any reader knows, let me know. Otherwise I'll come back and give you all the address for the free download!

Using fiction writing as a springboard into analysis -

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/PerfettoWritingRoom


Please visit for free items and reasonably priced items that make your life easier.


And now. . .


My characterization master unit will be launched in several days. So it a perfect day to broach a heavy subject. Is creative writing, writing prompts, all of these fiction writing classes or courses just a bunch of useless fun, or do they serve a purpose? I avow that fiction writing in many aspects MORE difficult than most of the essays set in our school systems, for one simple reason: a scene or story is often an unchartered territory with guideposts but no formula or template. Write in and remind me who said this, or something like this:  "the question is never 'how do I write a story?' but, 'how do write this story?'"




Championing Fiction Writing in Order to Underscore its Relevance in the Classroom
Every time a person approaches fiction, the degree of critical and analytical thinking necessary to "successfully complete" is staggering. In fact, many people do NOT "successfully complete." The writings are attempts. They are worked on, occasionally at length, and eventually abandoned. I have had the honor of studying under a Pulitzer-prize winner author who regaled us with a story of his many failed short stories, and even novels. Please believe me, the difficulty level, and therefore the degree to which writing "story" challenges a writer, is beyond that of a typical compare contrast. IF THIS IS THE CASE, what skills are they learning in fiction writing and how can students use these skills when going back to the essay form.


1. Elements a writer must contend with - (setting mood, character, plot, point of view, where to begin and end, diction, plus order, grammar, mechanics, style, support of ideas); Some are the same. During this time, students are mastering the same key skills they need to master in traditional essay writing. Even supporting ideas; while nonfiction writing may need the use of quotes, both fiction and nonfiction will need details in order make the reader believe what the writer, or in the case of fiction writing, narrator, is saying.


2. Critical Thinking - Often times, students of fiction need to think ahead in time to figure out a viable path for an interaction between two characters. Writers need to use logic either to explain how a scenario unfolded or to arrange scenes, demonstrate causality through their writing, develop arguments as seen in dialogue between characters, supply pertinent details in order to portray characters believably.


3. When Paired with the Appropriate Nonfiction Essay. . . MAGIC HAPPENS. I am not quite finished with my Master Characterization Unit. However, I think what is very important, whether people buy it, or whether folks just take away the IDEA of it, is that teaching the exhaustive ins and outs of characterization makes it INFINITELY easier for students to then write an analytical essay about the characterization in a fiction story. It is rather simple to choose three to five examples, allocate one paragraph to each example, stating whether each example is direct or indirect, and then analyzing whether the example was successful and why. Students by now are very familiar with making paragraphs. They usually struggle, even in high school and in grade 13 (yes, that's college) with analysis and making sound arguments. If you have spent good time writing and studying characterization, writing a nonfiction essay on a public domain short story and analyzing the effectiveness of its characterization is a fantastic culmination.


4. To close Point #3 after writing your own scene and studying characterization, a student is uniquely suited to then writing an essay about the topic. In short, fiction and nonfiction are two peas in a pod, sorry for the cliché.
Please know that I will be done soon. But feel free to stop by my store anytime. I have freebies and reasonably priced goods. All you have to do is write, or teach! and in a few days we are having a sale!!http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Perfettowritingroom

Why the "Show Don't Tell" Mantra WORKS for Nonfiction and Essay Writing Too!

Ok, maybe I'm getting a little crazy with giving away all my good ideas. But karma is a great thing. In the spirit of forwarding creative writing, I've got something to say about "Show don't Tell." Many of these ideas are available in my upcoming product on teachers pay teachers, "Characterization Master Course: Fiction and Nonfiction Writing and Analysis with CCSS"


In this upcoming super master course, I separate Direct and Indirect Characterization from the "Show don't Tell" rule. They are different, in that the latter is really a guideline that teachers offer up as a reminder, or, that often attempts to describe the difference between indirect and direct characterization.




The fact is....and here is where you might want to take some notes, folks...


Show don't tell at its worst can be damaging to students who then go on to over explain and guild every sentence with one hundred adjectives, embracing the spirit though missing the goal entirely of what this guideline implies. At its best, "Show don't tell" ALSO offers up simple rules that CAN when used PROPERLY - this being the key word - help fiction writers and NONFICTION writers be stronger, more engaging writers.


Some General Rules People Attribute to "Show, Don't Tell"
One of the guidelines writers have offered up regarding "Show don't Tell" have to do with the use of verbs and adverbs. Many of the rules are tailored for fiction writing. The takeaway is that some of the rules in practice are useful in essay writing. For example:
    - active over passive
    - avoid "to be" verbs
    - use adverbs when necessary, otherwise, again, use a stronger verb
    - It is better to write in simple tenses (present or past) rather than the progressives (ing),
      or with the "As" construction ("As I knocked on the door, I readied my suitcase and calling
      card.")


There are more. The crux is the by applying these rules to writing, whether it be a story or an essay will yield a stronger product, and by doing this repeatedly over time will result in a stronger writer. As you se below, this is an example of the standard "overwriting" students do in an attempt to be scholarly. The first example is too long and uses unnecessary phrases. The second uses strong verbs.


Nonfiction essay writing example:
analysis of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein


First Attempt: In the novel, as Dr. Frankenstein views the creature for the first time, he's horrified
             by the monster he had created.
After: Victor refused the monster he had toiled to create.




Next time... more discussions and freebie ideas leading up to the major launch.


All the best, and until then,
Happy writing, reading and teaching,
Gina
PerfettoWritingRoom




  


                                     

The Characterization Master Class & Nonfiction Writing With Freebie Ideas

 

 

 

 

Now that I am working, day and night on A Characterization Master Unit – It occurs to me that a lot of . . .

FREE information can be passed along to readers, writers, and teachers. Of course there have been some puzzles along the way too.

Is there a difference between Showing vs. Telling, and Indirect vs. Direct Characterization?

It has occurred to me that there aren’t many definitions out there for showing versus telling, or for that matter, direct versus indirect characterization, only a lot of explanation and writing, with many examples that take up PAGES. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized these three truths:

1. Showing versus Telling is a “golden rule” that describes the difference between indirect and direct characterization. However, in some respects, it goes beyond the realm of character because showing involves setting as well.

2. As a result, direct and indirect characterization aren’t exactly the same as the “Showing vs. Telling” mantra. There is some overlap however. Direct and Indirect characterization, which I will speak about a little later, each have guidelines, and yes, a definition. “Showing vs. Telling” oddly enough, over time has turned into a broader definition for STRONGER more visual writing which serves in fiction writing as well as nonfiction and essay writing.

3. Contrary to even the idea of “Show don’t Tell,” direct characterization (or telling) is often needed and can be indispensable to writing fiction. Simply put, you can’t write a novel of 400 pages with pure indirect characterization. Sometimes, you must directly state. The art comes with knowing when to show, and when to tell.

Today’s Discussion – So What is Direct Characterization and Indirect Characterization? Clarified!

Direct- When the writer states or reports information about the characters to the reader, resulting in distance between the reader and the characters. The reader feels this way because the strongest voice is that of the writer/narrator who is delivering information directly and who in a sense stands between the reader and the character. The information may be the same as that given in indirect characterization (appearance, physical description, mood, even speech) but it is reported by the narrator,  and not shown visually. As a result, it is told a lot quicker. It's benefits are that it can pick up the pace of a slow story, can advance the story and help readers read past the less important characters and differentiate major from minor players.

Indirect Characterization – unlike direct characterization where the writer or narrator directly provides information to the reader about a character, in indirect characterization, the writer “tricks” the reader into feeling that the information is coming from the character, which results in a deep connection with the character.

This includes dialogue in which the reader can pick up accent, opinion, and attitude; movement, including physical ailment or energy; responses, actions or reactions to a major event a discussion or comment, whether it be a large body movement or even a small facial expression; physical description, which may indicate something interesting, ordinary or ominous; Thoughts, feelings, dreams or even daydreams, which provide a close intimacy with the character that people do not have with others in real life; name, an optional indirect characterization move that offers information about a character; responses of other characters, through their dialogue or body language; character choices; and friendships.

I hope that helps….

More tomorrow, and always feel free to pop into my store for reasonably priced writing goods as well as free stuff.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Perfettowritingroom