Carefully chosen details can reveal character in fascinating and different ways. Details allow you to "show" your reader something about the character, rather than "tell" about the character.
You've written 5-10 lines about your character being "the sort of person who..." Now...
Post your TWO best phrases here on the forum.
Some student examples from the book What If:
** He wears ear plugs to bed even when it's sex night.
** He is the type of person who once a month calls a travel agency and finds out the prices of flights to places like Tanzania, New Guinea, Bangladesh.
** Will Greene is the sort of person who always has to be the better looking one in a relationship.
** Mary is the sort of person who gets cast as a tree with two lines, and becomes the most interesting part of the play.
** Marlene was the sort of person who would pick up the novel on my bedside table while I was in the shower and read me the entire last page before I knew what was going on.
Writes quotes on her mirror
Writes quotes on her mirror in dry erase marker never lipstick
Remembers your birthday and silently judges you by the characteristics of your astrological sign
katy
Nice! Good details - I like the dry erase marker, and the silent judging. And these convey a lot.
Elizabeth
Nice characterizations; Elizabeth, yours is intriguing because on the one hand she seems to be all about honesty in interacting with others, and then she cares what they think about her watching Wheel of Fortune. Could be a useful contradiction, or it might be an inconsistency - something to think abou8t.
James is the sort of person who...
1. Looks like a bum that has been wondering the streets but when you talk to him for 5 minutes you realize the guy is brilliant and he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.
2.Likes to relax in very crowded places.
You know, I just met one of
You know, I just met one of those guys the other day. It was amazing. I looked at him and thought he had been strung out for at least a decade or two, but I stuck up a conversation with him and found out to my amazement, had left his old job and home to wander the country as a hobo. I like the way he's looking.
yessika
Nice - especially like the last one, which is so short and yet such an effective characterization. This too intrigues me and makes me want to hear more about him!
I really like the idea of
I really like the idea of your first line - you could really play with that, and have your character reveal himself differently to a number of different people.
He is the sort of person
He is the sort of person that would never forget Mothers Day.
OK...
But if this is the same guy, we're not seeing any of the anger here. Nor why Mother's Day is important. It doesn't have to be a simple sentence; maybe what he does on mother's day, why, something additional would help to characterize him more effectively.
Steven
I like your first one; the second one seems a little too obvious as a characterization - there are more interesting ways you could find to show us that he has anger issues. Try finding another one!
Katy
Yours explain a lot; try rewriting them with less explanation, and only one sentence: "she is the sort of person who..." Try to show with the details you're giving us, instead of telling us or explaining to us what we see.
He is the sort of person
He is the sort of person that sleeps with a gun under his pillow.
He is the sort of person that you would see at anger management.
Jack Nicholson?
Jack Nicholson?
James Bond?
James Bond?
Angel
Angel, yours really remind me of a housemate I used to have. Very well characterized, and I like the juxtaposition of clean/messy - that indicates a lot about this character. Our contradictions are certainly interesting places to begin!
Jamison Wieting
He tries to look at the world through a rose tented magnifying glass, inspecting the details; the devil’s in the detail and to him perfection will forever be unattainable.
He is on a continuous quest for happiness, because he can never find it, at least not in one place.
Jamison
That's interesting I always thought that obsesive compulsive people were always looking for things that are wrong... so they weren't really looking for happiness
I also like the descriptions in your 1st line
jamison
These are pretty broad strokes, big picture things. Try to do something that involves showing rather than telling. Show us what he does, not what he is thinking as he does it. You can convey this information by showing instead of telling.
Katy Wilson
Wakes up according to how the weather makes her feel. If it is beautiful she gets up early not wanting the rest of the world to pass her, but if it is gloomy she will sleep a few extra hours convincing herself that they are doing just the same.
You should never ask for an honest opinion because if she thinks that the truth will hurt your feelings, then your going to get a lie. The hard part is that her lie will be believable, so you will most likely leave the room wearing that dress that makes you look fat. Her heart is why she can’t tell you the truth, not because she finds humor in it.
Hi
I like both of yours because they reveal how much your character depends on other people to define her actions and feelings.
I like how your character is
I like how your character is ruled, in a way, by her emotions and her heart, which gives her a true sense of realness and personality. Even now, I feel as if she is a dynamic character that would be interesting to follow throughout a story.
I like how your character is
I like how your character is ruled, in a way, by her emotions and her heart, which gives her a true sense of realness and personality. Even now, I feel as if she is a dynamic character that would be interesting to follow throughout a story.
Wei
Wei - your first one especially makes me want to hear more - what was he collecting the stones for? what did he do with them after recess? were his pockets always full of stones? Getting your readers intrigued is always good, and you clearly have done that!
1. She is the sort of person
1. She is the sort of person who irons her sheets but leaves a cup of apple juice a quarter of the way filled on the corner of her desk until it falls over or starts to mold.
2. She is the sort of person who stares at your purchases in the grocery store and wonders if "long lasting" or "twice as soft" toilet paper is the better buy.
i really like your first
i really like your first one, because it is a contradiction that i'm still wondering about... clean sheets/moldy juice... very interesting
-
Wow, that's me. Also, I've finally decided, 'twice as soft' is twice as nice...
wei
He is the sort of person who collected the gravel stones in the playgrounds during recess.
She is the sort of person who ran into the bayou looking for frogs and turtles, and comes back with weeds and a grasshopper in a jar.
agree
I definitely agree with Miriam. Your character interests me to the point where really I want to hear more. He seems like he would get himself into trouble or humorous situations.
Hi
I like your second one a lot. It makes me wonder whether or not she is satisfied with her findings or disappointed that she didn't find what she had originally intended to.
Kelly Mc
Nice - those lines indicate someone ill at ease with the world around him; the constant brushing of teeth is a really nice touch!
She is the type of person
She is the type of person who would never admit she loves watching The Wheel of Fortune and shouting out the letters. But she does.
She is the type of person who as a rule will never ask someone how he is doing if she really doesn’t care.
i really like your first one
i really like your first one because it made me laugh.
and also because it makes me excited to see how your character is going to be fleshed out and what other little quirks will be developed.
He is the type of person who
He is the type of person who will save the blue M&M's for last because they taste the best.
He is the type of person that waits until they are down to their last shirt to do laundry
claire
Claire, nice, I like the character's insistence that m&m's have different flavors. That's a nice detail that can tell us a lot.
HEY! Stop writing about me!!
HEY! Stop writing about me!!
Hello
I really like your first one because it shows your character is still relatively young at heart. I used to do that when I was a little kid.
Kelly Y & Jessica
Kelly Y, those do definitely reveal quite a bit about your character - nicely done!
Jessica, yours give me a sense of what she is like on a somewhat more superficial level - who is she when no one's around? what makes her unusual?
Kelly Mc.
1.He is the sort of person who brushes his teeth after every meal and flosses twice a day; he is vaguely discomforted everytime he realizes that other people do not.
2. He is the sort of person who thinks culture is inevitably declining.
Teeth-brushing!
I like this one, because I'm the same way - completely anal about brushing my teeth after every meal.
Nice!
Nicely done John & Erin - I think both your second lines are great!
Cameran is the sort of person who...
Cameran is the sort of person who would rather spend any day watching a game of football then go on a shopping spree.
She is the sort of person who would never skip a meal, snacks all day long, sits and spends three hours a day watching tv, and does not work out regularly and still is rail thin
Your character sounds
Your character sounds similar to my best friend, and I found it funny because she is here visiting U.T. with me today.
Cameran!! The Perfect girl??
Cameran!! The Perfect girl?? Maybe?
Christian Myers
Christian is the type of person who buys two meals when he dines at a restaurant, just so he can take get one to-go and save the trouble of deciding what to eat later.
Christian is the type of person who would rather give 10 bucks to a bum asking for a beer than a bum asking for food, because he automatically assumes the one asking for food is lying, and there is nothing he values more than honesty.
10 dollars is a lot of money
10 dollars is a lot of money to give to abum- christian seems like a very charitable person, regardless
Hi
I like your first one because its funny, and could mean a lot of different things about your character
I have a feeling I like this
I have a feeling I like this guy. Those two lines say a lot to me about your character, mainly because I relate to them so much, well the second one more than the first, but they both bare a eerie resemblence to my own traits. Because I relate to these, and I assume other readers will also, I find Christian a very interesting charcter that definitely intrigues me.
Ashley is the sort of person who...
She is the sort of person who feels sorry for people who she knows aren’t saved.
She is the sort of person who is in class on senior skip day.
Erin Konarik
1. She is the sort of person who “knows” she is destined to be alone and live with an abundance of cats.
2. She is the sort of person who wears her heart on her sleeve but quickly sticks it in her pocket when someone good comes along.
I think your first line is
I think your first line is hilarious, because my friends always tell me that's how I'm going to end up - only with dogs, because I'm allergic to cats.