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Write-on Prep and Business Letter Part A: Defining Characterization Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. Characterization is revealed through direct characterization and indirect characterization. Direct Characterization tells the audience what the personality of the character is.

Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.” Explanation: The author is directly telling the audience the personality of these two children. The boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet.”

Ebony And Ivory...2. In developing fictional characters, remember that very few people, if any, are totally

good or evil. We all have good and bad in us. Don't be afraid to show a few warts in

your main character, or a little bit of good in the "bad guys."

Just The Facts, Ma'am 3. Be descriptive about the personality traits of your fictional characters. It helps the

reader to understand the motives and character of your main character in particular if

they have a description of the physical characteristics of the fictional character.

What's In A Name?4. Pay special attention to the names of your fictional characters. As the saying goes,

there is a lot in a name. Having characters named John Smith or something extremely

common, for instance is too forgettable. Choose some unusual names, but don't give all

your characters a name like Channing Higginbotham or something along those lines.

Save Us From Ourselves5. Last, but not least, be careful in developing your main fictional character not to

make the person a carbon copy of yourself. It's fine to incorporate yourself up to a

point, but if you make the person yourself, you lose all objectivity. Objectivity to me is

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an important part of writing, as the more objectivity a writer has, the more interesting

their writing is to the reader.

If you abide by these 5 tips for developing fictional characters, you just might enjoy

your writing more and hopefully transfer that enjoyment to the reader. Enjoy your

writing and I hope these tips for developing fictional characters have been helpful!

Character Interview

Character name:

Character age:

Character ethnicity:

Character gender:

Hobbies:

Favourite foods/drinks:

Favourite Colours:

Habitual Expressions:

Habitual Mannerisms:

Most important thing to know about the character:

What kind of sports does the character like?

What taste in music, art, books, TV?

Best character trait?:

Worst character trait/ flaw?

Why is this character worth writing about?

Part B: Basics: Dialogueby Terry W. Ervin IIDialogue is an essential part of most short stories and novels. It is always better to

show or have happen than to explain or to describe. Character conversation, or dialogue, is one way to accomplish this. This article reviews some of the basic structural and punctuation issues of conventional

dialogue.

1.  Dialogue is set apart or identified with quotation marks. “Words spoken.”

2.  Words spoken by a character in a story do not have to be in complete sentences.

   3.  People in conversations do not always speak in complete sentences or use proper grammar.

    4.  In a story, make sure your dialogue sounds like what a person would say in conversation.

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Make sure all of your characters don’t speak the same. A disgruntled teen skateboarder should not come across the same as a senior citizen on the lamb from a nursing home.

You should identify who is doing the speaking or make it readily apparent to the reader.

a.   Examples of common dialogue tags include:

I said            She said        Fred said               Mark commented    Sallie yelled       muttered Janice     said Max       asked William

b.   If it is unclear or ambiguous who is speaking it is necessary to add who uttered the words with a dialogue tag before, in the middle of, or after each bit of dialogue.

c.   It is not necessary to explicitly state with a dialogue tag if it is reasonable to expect the reader to know.

“Mom, do I need to eat my liver?”

“Yes, you do. I had to when I was a kid. Ask your grandma.”

“Is that true?” asked Max. “Did she have to eat this stuff when she was my age?”

"Yes, Little Max. She did, just like you should.”

d.   In a paragraph where a character is identified taking action, it is not necessary to directly identify which character is speaking with a dialogue tag.

4.         Generally speaking, each time a new character speaks it is considered a new paragraph.

a.         This assists the reader in following a switch from one character to another in a conversation.

5.  Watch punctuation and capitalization with dialogue tags.

a.         Comma after dialogue tag:

John said, “I am happy.”

b.         Comma before dialogue tag:

“I am happy,” said John.

c.         If a dialogue tag is in the middle of a character’s statement, the first word after the tag is not capitalized unless the proper noun or personal pronoun requires it:

“Beyond that,” she said, “who knows?”

"Even if you get it," she said, "John won't."

d.         If end punctuation is an exclamation point or a question mark, the following word in the tag is still not capitalized:

“I am happy!” said John.

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e.         Note proper capitalization. If the dialogue tag follows the closed quote of the dialogue, the next word is capitalized if it is a proper noun:

            “I am happy,” John said.

f.          When using action to identify the source of dialogue, each sentence stands alone with its punctuation:

John jumped up and down three times. “I am happy!”

6.  Watch comma use when adding action or information to a dialogue tag:

“I am happy,” said John, jumping up and down.

“I am happy,” said John as he jumped up and down.

Below are brief examples showing the various dialogue structures used in combination.

Example 1:

Sally said, “John, don’t eat too much cake!”

Her fiancé dashed to the front door. “You should’ve told me sooner.” He opened it just in time, making a mess on the front porch.

She shook her head and frowned. “I shouldn’t have to tell you such things.”

“Right,” he said and wiped his mouth on his flannel sleeve

“You bet I’m right. And you’re better clean off my new welcome mat.”

Example 2:

“Oh, no!” cried Sally, “John, I think I’m going to be late!”

“What? Has your watch stopped again?”

Sally shook her wrist before examining the timepiece. “Again!” She tore it off and threw it on the floor. “This is the third time this week.”

"Don’t leave it there. Why don’t you take it back and get a refund?”

“Because, I lost the receipt.”

“You don’t always need one,” said her boyfriend after retrieving it from the green shag carpet.

With her left eyebrow arched, she asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.” He winked, handing it back to her. “As long as it’s not all broken up.”

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The above guidelines and examples should enable beginning writers to successfully incorporate varied and effective dialogue into their short stories and novels. Practice using conventional structures, and an attentive eye while reading established authors, will enable dedicated writers to improve their writing by flexing their dialogue muscle beyond the basics.

  © Copyright 2004 Terry W. Ervin II. All rights reserved

How to Write DialogueHere are 5 great ways to make sure your dialogue sounds convincing:

1. Never use dialogue as an information dump. Too many writers rely on dialogue for story exposition—that is to say that they relay details about plot or backstory through the things their characters say. The result? Writing that sounds completely fake or is what is often referred to as “on the nose dialogue.” Like this: “As you know,” Dr. Constance said, “I’m a forensic specialist, trained by the FBI in DNA analysis, so I’ll take this sample back to the lab for testing. (For more about writing realistic dialogue that doesn’t sound stilted like the previous example, I recommend this free article from Jeff Gerke [excerpted from his book The First 50 Pages: Engage Agents, Editors, and Readers, and Set Up Your Novel for Success.])

2. Use simple dialogue tags. Fancy dialogue tags like she denounced or he proclaimed might seem like a good way to show off your writer’s vocabulary, but in truth they draw attention away from your dialogue. She said or he said is almost always your best choice. Let the characters’ words speak for themselves.

3. Use dialogue beats to help with story pacing and to convey information or emotion. Dialogue beats are brief depictions of character action inserted in between dialogue that help bring the scene to life. Like this: “Nah, I don’t mind,” Dan shrugged his shoulders and grinned as he wiped a dirty bandana across his forehead, “Let’s do this thing.”

4. Remember that often less is more. When you write dialogue look back and see if there are words you can leave out or there is a shorter way to say what you just wrote. People often say things the shortest way possible in real life.

5. Be careful when writing dialect. Many writers think that giving a character an accent or a drawl is a great way to make the character come to life—and it can be. But if done in a way that is too heavy handed it can turn your character into a stereotype or a joke. Or even worse, you can offend or annoy readers. So, keep in mind that when it comes to dialect, a little goes a long way.

Activity: Discover 2 different ways authors incorporate text in the books around the classroom. Make 2 notes each on what they do.

Part C: Questions to ask yourself when writing a short story:

What point of view am I writing from?

What language techniques am I going to use? Foreshadowing, symbolism, simile, metaphor.

Part D: Writing a “Hook”Activity 1: Writing a “hook” to start off the story- analyze some from Sightlines and decipher if they are proper “hooks” or not.

Activity 2: Write “hooks” for the following scenarios:

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- A story about a girl or boy flying on an airplane alone for the first time.

- A story about a valuable ring that has been stolen and must be found.

- A story about an alien visiting Earth and making friends with a human.

-A story about two best friends who got in a fight but want to fix their friendship

'Tanglewreck'

Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson, paperback, 416 pages

"At six forty-five one summer morning, a red

London bus was crossing Waterloo Bridge."

'Each Little Bird That Sings'

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles, paperback, 276 pages

"I come from a family with a lot of dead people.”

'Wemberly Worried'

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes, hardcover, 32 pages

"Wemberly worried about everything”

'Ragweed'

Ragweed by Avi, paperback, 224 pages

"Ma, a mouse has to do what a mouse has to do

'Stormbreaker'

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Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, paperback, 256 pages"When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it's never good news."

'Feed'

Feed by M.T. Anderson, paperback, 320 pages

"We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon

turned out to completely suck."

'The Teacher's Funeral'

The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck, paperback, 224 pages

"If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad

time of year for it."

'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'

The Voyage of the Dawn Treaderby C. S. Lewis, paperback, 256 pages

"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence

Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Advice for Short Story Writing:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character that he or she can root for.3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.4. Every sentence must do one of two things – reveal character or advance the action.5. Start as close to the end as possible.6. Be a sadist – no matter how sweet or innocent your leading character, make awful

things happen to them in order that the audience may see what they are made of.7. Write to please just one person.8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible.

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Practice:

Fill out the following chart for Write-On practice in your notes:

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