How to write a character sketch and more important elements of a narrative
Now, narratives, whether fiction or non-fiction, need characters, conflict, setting, and plot. For Project #3, you are required to write an original narrative which contains all of these elements. You may feel overwhelmed about the process. Here is some insight on how to begin.
How to build a convincing character?
For this project, you must build ORIGINAL characters, which means new characters. Beginning writers can very easily slip into writing caricatures or stereotypes. These are called Flat Characters or Two-Dimensional characters. According to EM Forster in his book Aspects of the Novel, he claimed that Flat Characters are easily recognized, can be summed up in a phrase, and never change. The Super Villain, the Suffering Hero, the Good Girl, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the Toxic Male: these are standard fare in bad narratives and, honestly, really boring. You want to create a character which can not be so easily categorized or dismissed. For example, consider The Rock's character in the film Central Intelligence.
The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, is known for playing tough action heroes who always do the right thing. However, in Central Intelligence, he plays a goofy, unicorn wearing, romcom loving secret agent with a serious man-crush on Kevin Hart. His character Bob Stone is interesting in that movie because he subverted the viewer's expectations about what an action hero should be and left the viewer wondering if he was as good as he was presenting himself to be. Forster said that round characters are those who are "capable of surprising in a convincing way." Roundness is what creates the "realness" that readers feel when they are absorbed in a novel. "It is real when the novelist knows everything about it." Think about the great character os Fiction and how are they surprising? What are their flaws?
Before you begin crafting your scenes, give yourself some space to understand the people you are writing about. Create for yourself a character chart.
For your P3 Short Assignment #2, you are expected to write a character sketch. I want you to use the questions below and in a minimum of 200 words, tell me everything you know about the primary character. Feel free to add more questions as you think of them. Name of character. ______________________________ Is the character a Primary or Secondary Character? ____________________ What does your character look like? (Do not say average. There is no average) Hair _________________ Eye color _________________ body type ________________ Age? _____ Gender _______________ Sexual orientation ___________________ Where does your character live? ______________________ Where did you character grow up? ____________________ Who are (were) their parents? ________________________ What does this person do when they are nervous? _______________________ What embarrasses them? ________________________ What do they love? _____________________________ What music do they listen to? ______________________ What do they like to eat?____________________________ What is their goal/motivation in this story? ______________________________
You have to be able to predict what your character would do in any situation. Characters are neither all good or all bad, just like humans are neither all good or all bad. Don't fall into the trap of trying to create a complete hero or a complete villain. (I would also add to this list, the ALL AWESOME CHARACTER, who is perhaps an ideal version of oneself.) The most interesting characters are nuanced. Stephen King, in On Writing, explains that, "It is important to remember that no one is 'the bad guy' or 'the best friend' or 'the whore with the heart of gold' in real life; in real life we each of us regard ourselves as the main character, the protagonist, the big cheese; the camera is on us, baby. If you can bring this attitude into your fiction, you may not find it easier to create brilliant characters, but it will be harder for you to create the one-dimensional dopes which popular so much pop fiction." The best way to do this is to allow yourself to embody each of your characters, even the ones who will be creating the most conflict. Those antagonistic characters have motivations and rationalizations for their behavior. Allow yourself to understand where they are coming from as much as your primary character.
What is the conflict? Something needs to happen in your story. You might be tempted, once you have created an excellent character, to create a "day in the life" story, which is reporting the events of this sparkling character's journey from sun up to sun down. This is not engaging. Your characters need to have problems, issues, challenges, and forces which are working against them, otherwise why would anyone bother reading it? Conflict does not need to be super-dramatic, but conflict must exist. This is where an outline, or a diagram of events can be helpful. Some writers use note cards, notebook paper, white boards, etc, when mapping out the events of their story. However, the one which resonates with me is from Robert McKee's Story. He explains that a character (protagonist) is essentially trying to get from where they are to the object they desire (this is their motivation). The conflict is the thing which gets between the character and their desire. He explains that this is a gap between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. This is not necessarily an external conflict. Sometimes it is a combination of external factors and internal conflicts.
Consider the series Stranger Things. The characters Dustin, Mike and Lucas take their bikes into the woods to look for their missing friend Will. (That is the first action). The expectation is they will find Will or a clue which will lead them to Will. Instead, they locate Eleven. This is the GAP between expectation and reality, and the next action that group makes is determined by their personal character traits. Lucas says they should have left her in the woods, Dustin wants to take Eleven to the police or tell their parents, however, Mike decides she will spend the night and the next morning she can knock on the door and pretend she is a lost kid, and they can get back to the primary objective which is to find Will. If you watch the series closely, you can map out the actions, the gap, and secondary actions which occurs as this trio of friends continue to pursue their primary objective of locating Will Byers. When you thinking about your story, ask yourself what is the primary objective and what are the gaps which get in the way.
Where is this happening? Where does your story take place? Many times beginning writers will say MODERN TIMES and think that answers everything. As the composer, you should know the specific date that your story takes place. Readers like to know where they are in a story, even if it is an unknown or unusual place. The opening of the novel The Handmaid's Tale takes place in an abandoned high school gym. Margaret Atwood introduces the reader to a place which is familiar but in a way where the reader knows something unusual has occurred. Look at the first sentences from the novel. "We slept in what had once been the gymnasium. The floor was of varnished wood, with stripes and circles painted on it, for the games that were formerly played there; the hoops for the basketball nets were still in place, though the nets were gone." Who is the we? Why would anyone be sleeping in a gymnasium? Where did the nets go? She is specific and the images she selects create the ominous anxiety which the reader feels throughout the novel. Your reader needs to experience the setting of your story. This is where specifics come into play. Your job as a composer is to allow your reader to experience something through your words. Don't tell them what is happening, show them what is happening. Use as vivid language as possible. Use specific and active verbs. What does the room smell like? What is the temperature? Activate as much sensory language as possible so the reader feels like they are in the same space as the character. Regardless of which point of view you chose to write your story, your reader can only experience it through the words on the page. Don't assume that your reader knows what your character is viewing. Basically, you will be envisioning what your character sees and transcribing it to your reader. What is helpful is imagining where the camera is pointing. If you are writing from first person point of view, your reader should only be able to see what your character sees. If you are writing from 3rd person point of view, where is the camera? Is it wide, taking in the whole room or close up on the character's faces. Some writers find storyboarding helpful when they are envisioning their scenes. Check out this blog on Storyboarding if you need more assistance.
What is plot? The word plot is often considered "what happens" in the story, but actually plot is about why something happens. Any story can leave the reader wanting to know "and then?" anticipating the next events. Even bad stories, the reader will hang on just to see how it eventually turns out. However, a story with a good plot will leave the reader wondering why these events are occurring and why the characters are making the choices they do. The story of the television series Mad Men is Don Draper hiding his true identity from his friends and family and the fall out when others discover this. But that's the story. The plot to Mad Men is why Don Draper would assume another person's identity? The entire series is peppered with nuances about his background, thought process, influences, and psyche to understand why. The same thing can be said about Grey's Anatomy. Meredith Grey's story is not whether or not she survives the bomb in the body cavity but why she would put her hand in the body which contains a bomb in the first place. You don't have to tell your reader this immediately. Beginning writers sometimes like to begin a story by writing "Character X was a troubled, anxious, jealous, or other adjective person" instead of letting the reader learn this as the story progresses. You can offer clues to this why as the story goes along to provide some insight to the reader. You as composer and crafter of character needs to know this early on, but the reader doesn't need to know it yet. Stephen King encourages beginning writers to read as much as possible. I want you to locate a reference text for this project. If you are writing a short story, go find a novel or short story to look at so you will know how to format dialogue. If you are writing a short film or narrative podcast, locate a script.
I am also going to encourage you to watch more Netflix. I am not encouraging you to binge at the detriment of your assignments, but as you are watching your favorite programs, observe how the composer has put together the elements of the story and learn from their techniques.
Don't Forget:
Extra Credit blogs should be posted before 11:59 pm on FRIDAY, NOV 8 - There is no Canvas spot for this. I would suggest posting on your Twitter that you've launched a Reading Blog on your Class Wix.
P2 Draft 3 is due before 11:59 pm on SUNDAY, NOV 10
P3SA1: Narrative Proposal is due before 11:59 pm on MONDAY, NOV 11.
P2 Reflection is due MONDAY, NOV 18
P3SA2: Character Sketch is due before 11:59 pm on WEDNESDAY, NOV 13
