Creating a portrait with words . . .

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Creating a portrait with words . . . From Reading
to Writing Mary Oliver captures the nature of a
person in her poem The Journey. In the story
Powder, Tobias Wolff draws a more leisurely
portrait of a man in his forty-eighth year,
rumpled, kind, bankrupt of honor, flushed with
certainty.
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Creating a portrait with words . . . A good
character sketch captures the personality and
appearance of a person and can be part of almost
any writing genre, from poetry to fictional
narratives to biography to news stories.
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B a s i c s i n a B o x
Character Sketch at a Glance
Standards for Writing
A successful character sketch should
physical description
persons action and speech
mannerisms of person

• present a vivid picture of the personality and
  physical appearance of a person
• establish a dominant, or main, impression of the
  person
• reveal the writers response to the person
• include dialogue, mannerisms, description, and
  other devices that show rather than tell what the
  character is like
• place the character in a context that contributes
  to the readers understanding of the character
• have a clear organizational structure and a
  strong conclusion

MAIN IMPRESSION OF SUBJECT
writers feelings about the person
other peoples reactions to the person
surroundings
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Writing Your Character Sketch
A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim
writing, intensify scenes. Richard North
Patterson
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Writing Your Character Sketch
Whom do you want to write about?

• You can choose someone you know well.
• You might consider an interesting relative, a
  special teacher, or a remarkable friend.
• You can also write about someone you have only
  casually observed but whose actions are unusual
  or revealing.

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Planning Your Character Sketch
1. Explore your feelings. How do you feel about
the person? What tone will you use to convey your
feelingsdetached, admiring, humorous, serious?
2. Create mental images of the person. Mentally
replay scenes in which your character speaks,
moves, and interacts with others. Which details
stand out?
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Planning Your Character Sketch
3. Place your character in a setting. Describe
the person in a time and place that will reveal
his or her personality. Which setting will best
show how your character interacts with others?
Which setting will reveal your characters inner
self? 4. Create a dominant impression. What is
the main impression you want to give? What
descriptions and incidents involving the
character will best create this impression?
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Writing Your Character Sketch
The best part of writing a character sketch is
that you can start anywhere. Just begin drafting
and let the person emerge as you write. You can
rework the details when you revise and edit.
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Writing Your Character Sketch
Show rather than tell. Good character sketches
let readers draw conclusions. Use anecdotes,
dialogue, or any other device that will show
rather than tell what your character is like.
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Writing Your Character Sketch
Grab attention early but save the best for
last. Draw in your audience by starting with an
interest ticklera funny incident or a bizarre
detail about your characters appearance. As you
develop your character, save your best for last.
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Writing Your Character Sketch
Revising
TARGET SKILL WORD CHOICE In a character sketch,
carefully chosen words add clarity and vigor to
description. Specific verbs can bring the action
to life. Specific modifiers can paint vivid
pictures of how things look, smell, sound, taste,
and feel.
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Writing Your Character Sketch
Editing and Proofreading
TARGET SKILL PERSONAL PRONOUNS Pronouns help
present ideas clearly and help prevent
unnecessary repetition. Make sure your pronouns
agree with their antecedents in number (singular
or plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, or
neuter) and are the right case (nominative,
objective, or possessive).