Activity 3 — Character Descriptions

Teacher's Notes

Activity 3 has two parts.

First, since we're trying to get a draft of a story, think in your mind about what is going to happen in this story. You may change it later, but MAKE A MENTAL PLAN about what is going to happen, and ADD MORE.

Second, go back into what you've already written, and find a place to add some description of PEOPLE (or other creatures) in the story. The best thing about using a computer is that you can put this right in the middle of what you've already written. If you wrote, " 'Hello,' said Georgia," change it to " 'Hello,' said Georgia, a thirteen-year-old girl with long greasy hair and a squeaky voice."

Remember: Just as you can use all your senses describing a place, you can use ALMOST all of them to describe a person. We don't generally TASTE people, but we do SMELL their after-shave or cigarette smoke. We FEEL their handshake, notice the TEXTURE of their hair and clothes, HEAR all kinds of things in their voices.

For example, instead of saying, "I saw this man, and he scared me," it is much more vivid to write, "I saw a man who was tall and had red hair and a red beard, and he shouted in a harsh voice that sounded like he was half choking. He reached out one rough-skinned hand toward me, and I tried to move away, but I smelled liquor on his breath, and . . ."

But that's another story!

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