Exercise One: Speed Reporting
Instructions:
With three classmates report on the following questions:
.What source are you expanding?
.What character are you developing and what is the character’s background?
.What makes this character stand out from other characters in that fictional world?
.What country, city, and/or environment are you taking into consideration as a context?
.Will your story be presenting a different narrative point of view from the original source or is it a spin-off (an expansion of the plot)?
Exercise Two: Getting to know your character, stepping into their shoes
Instructions:
In an index card answer these questions:
.What are the character’s goals and ambitions? What do they want to achieve within their context?
.What are the character’s strengths? How do these attributes impact their decisions and interactions with other characters in the story?
.What are the character’s fears, weaknesses, and insecurities? What makes them doubt themselves?
Exercise Three: Writing a paragraph in the character’s voice
Instructions:
Write a paragraph for your character that present their point of view on one of the central conflicts you are developing. It could be the first paragraph you write in their voice or you can continue working on your draft. As you write your paragraphs take into consideration the following questions about their interior life, quirks, and idiosyncrasies
.What are the character’s beliefs and values? What principles do they hold dear, and how do they justify them?
.What are the character’s secrets and hidden desires? What are they hiding from others, and what do they truly want at this particular moment in your fictional narrative?