[in Classroom Notes Plus. April 2002. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, p 5.]

Getting to Know Fictional Characters

I use this exercise with my sophomores in conjunction with a short-story unit, during which they are assigned a short story as a writing project. The short story that we read immediately after the character is created is Toni Cade Bambara's "Blues Ain't No Mockin Bird," which provides a marvelous rendering of a child's point of view.

Because this assignment requires that students create a character and spend time with him or her away from school, I usually assign it over our Thanksgiving break, but it could be assigned at another school break or even over a weekend.

Before the story is assigned, I read the following list of questions orally and ask students to answer them briefly in their writing journals.

1. Is your character male or female?
2. How old? How many are in his or her family?
3. Visualize your character in your mind's eye. Where do you see him or her?
4. Describe your character's hair color and hair style with more than one word.
5. Now think of a word or phrase for your character's eyes to describe them even more vividly (e.g., if blue, ice blue).
6. What is your character wearing in the scene? Dress him or her from head to toe.
7. Are there any aromas or smells in the scene you are visualizing?
8. Are there sounds or music?
9. How does your character walk? Does he or she strut, swagger, or shuffle?
10. How does your character greet people if he or she meets them in the hallway?
11. Describe your character's smile (e.g., a toothless grin for a first of second grader).
12. What is your character doing in the scene? Sleeping? Playing a game? Practicing an instrument? Working on a hobby?
    Describe the build of your character. Is he or she strong and sturdy? Thin and willowy?
13. What is your character's favorite place to shop?
14. What is your character's favorite food or favorite restaurant?
15. What is his or her favorite movie or TV show?
16. What is your character's most outstanding or unique personality trait or quirk?
17. What was the worst trouble your character ever got into or most serious mistake he or she ever made?
18. Was anyone hurt by this incident? If so, who and how?
19. Was your character punished? Was he or she changed by the incident?
20. Why did he do it? In other words, motivate your character.
    Describe how you and your character disagree on an issue.

These questions can be modified to your and your students' interests and backgrounds.

I tell students: "You will be living with your character for the next ____ days. Take him or her with you to your friend's house, Grandma's house, the mall, the movies, the grocery store, Florida, the Bahamas, or wherever else you go during this time period. You will keep a diary-type journal of his or her reactions to everything you do, approximately 100 words per day. Their daily journals are due when we return to class."

This exercise provides students valuable practice in understanding and adopting a character's point of view and provides pre-writing that often produces a well-rounded, well-motivated, consistent character to populate their short stories.

I look forward to the fun of reading these journals, and my students are usually enthusiastic about the assignment. They always seem to have fun designing this 'imaginary friend' and getting in touch with the taproot of their childhood creativity.

Susan Atland
Hershey High School
Hershey, Pennsylvania