This Week's Practice Exercise~

Characterization (v. 3)

Prepared by: Florence Cardinal
Reposted, revised, on: Sun, 4 May 2008



Exercise: In 300 words or less, describe one of your characters so we can see him or her. We don't want things like "he had red hair," or "he was a tall man." Don't tell us she's beautiful or ugly. Make us see "red" and "tall," "beautiful" or "ugly."

Think about the character's place in the world, his or her goals, whatever will let us see an individual, full of life. Use whatever you need--description, satire, exaggeration. Dialogue's fine, too. Think of "show, don't tell." Don't try to tell a whole story; simply create a character. Use any other characters you may need to show us your creation. If a story begins in the process, that's fine, but it's not necessary.

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These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writing Workshop.