Wednesday Writing Workout: Characterization (Encore Presentation)

As a follow-up to last Friday's Guest TeachingAuthor Interview with Sherry Shahan, I'm repeating the Wednesday Writing Workout she shared with us in July 2014. After reading this post, I'm sure you'll want to enter for a chance to win a copy of Sherry's Skin and Bones (A. Whitman), if you haven't already entered the contest.

Sherry's young adult novel is a quirky story set in an eating disorder unit of a metropolitan hospital. The main character “Bones” is a male teen with anorexia. He falls desperately in love with an aspiring ballerina who becomes his next deadly addiction.

The novel was inspired by a short story Sherry wrote years ago, “Iris and Jim.” It appeared in print eight times worldwide. Her agent kept encouraging her to expand “Iris and Jim” into a novel. Easy for her to say!

                                                               *          *           *

Wednesday Writing Workout 

Tell It Sideways

by Sherry Shahan

During the first draft of Skin and Bones I stumbled over a number of unexpected obstacles. How could I give a character an idiosyncratic tone without sounding flippant? Eating disorders are serious, and in too many instances, life-threatening. 

Sometimes I sprinkled facts into farcical narration. Other times statistics emerged through dialogue between prominent characters—either in an argument or by using humor. Either way, creating quirky characters felt more organic when their traits were slipped in sideways instead of straight on.

There are endless ways to introduce a character, such as telling the reader about personality:

"Mrs. Freeman could never be brought to admit herself wrong on any point." —      Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People."

Or by detailing a character’s appearance:

"The baker wore a white apron that looked like a smock. Straps cut under his arms, went around in back and then to the front again, where they were secured under his heavy waist ."   —Raymond Carver "A Small, Good Thing"

The art of creating fully realized characters is often a challenge to new writers of fiction. As a longtime teacher I’ve noticed:

1.) Writers who use short cuts, such a clichés, which produce cardboard or stereotypical characters.

2.) Writers who stubbornly pattern the main character after themselves in a way that’s unrealistic.

3.) Writers who are so involved in working out a complicated plot that their characters don’t receive enough attention.

In Skin and Bones I let readers get to know my characters though humorous dialogue. This technique works best when characters have opposing viewpoints. 

Consider the following scene. (Note: Lard is a compulsive over-eater; Bones is anorexic.)

“I’ll never buy food shot up with hormones when I own a restaurant,” Lard said. “Chicken nuggets sound healthy enough, but they have more than three dozen ingredients—not a lot of chicken in a nugget.”

Bones put on rubber gloves in case he’d have to touch something with calories. “Can’t we talk about something else?”

“That’s the wrong attitude, man. Don’t you want to get over this shit?”

“Not at this particular moment, since it’s almost lunch and my jaw still hurts from breakfast.”

Lard shook his head. “I’m glad I don’t live inside your skin.”

“It’d be a little crowded.”

Exercise #1: Choose a scene from a work-in-progress where a new character is introduced. (Or choose one from an existing novel.) Write a paragraph about the character without using physical descriptions. Repeat for a secondary character.

Exercise #2: Give each character a strong opinion about a subject. Do Nice Girls Really Finish Last? Should Fried Food Come With a Warning? Make sure your characters have opposing positions. Next, write a paragraph from each person’s viewpoint.

Exercise #3: Using the differing viewpoints, compose a scene with humorous dialogue. Try not to be funny just for humor’s sake. See if you can weave in a piece 

of factual information (Lard’s stats. about Chicken Nuggets), along with a unique character trait (Bones wearing gloves to keep from absorbing calories through his skin.)

I hope these exercises help you think about characterization in a less conventional way. Thanks for letting me stop by!
Sherry
www.SherryShahan.com

Readers, if you haven't already done so, head on over to Friday's post and enter for a chance to win your own autographed copy of  Skin and Bones (A. Whitman).

Good luck and Happy writing!
Carmela

Wednesday Writing Workout: Finding the Best Beginning, Courtesy of Lenore Look

Hi Everyone,
The clock is ticking! If you haven't entered for a chance to win a copy of the 2015 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (CWIM) yet, see the link at the end of this post. The giveaway ends on Friday!

We're hosting the 2015 CWIM giveaway this month to celebrate the publication of my article in it: "Writing for Boys (and other 'Reluctant Readers')." The article contains advice and insights from four award-winning authors known for writing books that appeal to reluctant readers: Matt de la Peña, Lenore Look, David Lubar, and Steve Sheinkin. Today, I'm pleased to share a guest Wednesday Writing Workout from one of those authors: Lenore Look!

Here's Lenore's bio, as it appears in the 2015 CWIM:
Lenore Look recently released the sixth book in her award-winning (and boy-friendly) Alvin Ho chapter book series: Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions (Schwartz & Wade). She is also the author of the Ruby Lu series (Atheneum) and several acclaimed picture books, including Henry’s First-Moon Birthday (Simon & Schuster), Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding (Atheneum), and, her newest, Brush of the Gods (Random House), a historical fiction account of the life of Wu Daozi, China’s most famous painter. Lenore taught creative writing at Drew University and St. Elizabeth College in New Jersey, and frequently speaks in schools in the United States and Asia. She has also co-presented the Highlights Foundation workshop "Writing for Boys" with Bruce Coville and Rich Wallace. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, and blogs frequently at lenorelook.wordpress.com.

I'm a big fan of Lenore's Alvin Ho books, which is why I approached her about participating in the CWIM article. I haven't read Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions yet, so I'll share the blurb for it that appears on Indiebound:

Here’s the sixth book in the beloved and hilarious Alvin Ho chapter book series, which has been compared to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and is perfect for both beginning and reluctant readers. 
Alvin, an Asian American second grader who’s afraid of everything, is taking his fears to a whole new level—or should we say, continent. On a trip to introduce brand-new baby Ho to relatives in China, Alvin’s anxiety is at fever pitch. First there’s the harrowing 16-hour plane ride; then there’s a whole slew of cultural differences to contend with: eating lunch food for breakfast, kung fu lessons, and acupuncture treatment (yikes!). Not to mention the crowds that make it easy for a small boy to get lost.
From Lenore Look and New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham comes a drop-dead-funny and touching series with a truly unforgettable character.

Sounds like a fun read! J

For today's WWW, Lenore shares a great exercise in beginnings.

Wednesday Writing Workout:
Finding the Best Beginning
by Lenore Look

When I worked as a newspaper reporter, the first thing I learned was how important the “lede” or beginning of the story is. The first sentence is crucial. It’s called the “hook” because it snags your reader and reels them into your story. Without a strong hook, your reader will get away before you can tell them the five Ws and H – who, where, what, when, why and how.

When writing fiction, your hook is not just the best way to snag your reader, but it’s the place from which you will hang the rest of your story. It’s THAT important. For me, the beginning is the hardest part of the book to write. I’m faced with all my research, my characters, what I want to say, and a few ideas for scenes. It’s overwhelming. Where do I start? I pick something and have a go at it. It’s a mis-start, or a scrub, as they call it at NASA when a launch is aborted. I have many scrubs. When I find the spark that will finally launch my rocket, there’s more trouble.  Often I will agonize over the first sentence for days, re-writing it, tweaking it, throwing it out, starting it over, again and again. But when I finally get it right, it’s blast-off! And the rest of the book seems to write itself.

Here’s my top-secret recipe for finding the strongest beginning, and I hope it helps you find yours.

How to Find the Strongest Beginning to Any Piece of Writing.
1. Sit down.
2. Open your writer’s notebook.
3. Ask the following questions:
            a. Who’s your character?
            b. What’s your setting?
            c. What does your character want?
            d. What are the obstacles in her way?
4. Summarize the story you’re telling in one sentence.
5. Write your summary sentence in the center of a blank page.
6. Now surround your summary sentence with your answers to the questions from #3. Some people call this “clustering,” – if you draw circles around each of your sentences/ideas, it begins to look like a cluster of grapes. I don’t bother with the circles, instead I make lists, and surround my summary sentence with lists that answer the questions.
7. Add your research as they fit under the different questions in #3.
8. Step away.
9. Eat some ice cream.
10. Stare at the sunset.
11. Call a friend.
12. It’s important to start the next part with fresh eyes.

How to Find the Strongest Beginning, Part II
1. Look at your messy page(s).
2. Find the smallest, most simple detail that captures your entire story.
3. What you’re looking for is the KEY to your house. Keys are small. A small detail will open the door to the rest of the house, which is your story. All the rooms in your house are the different scenes that make up the story.
4. Study carefully the beginnings to books you like.
5. Using the detail you found in #2, and the inspiration you found from #4, write the most compelling beginning you can.
6. Let it lead you into the first room of your story.
7. Finish off the ice cream.
8. Stare at the sunset.
9. It may be the last sunset you see for a while.
10. Writing a book takes a long time.
11. Cry.
12. Cry your eyes out. It’s only the beginning. You still have the middle and the end to tackle!

            Writing Exercise Text © Lenore Look 2014, All rights reserved

Thanks, Lenore, for this terrific exercise! Readers, if any of you try today's WWW, do let us know how it works for you.

And don't forget to enter for a chance to win your own copy of the 2015 CWIM, where you'll be able to read additional helpful tips from Lenore. See my last blog post for details. The giveaway ends October 31.

Happy Writing!
Carmela

Wednesday Writing Workout from Alexis O'Neill--and a Thanku!

.
Howdy, Campers!
Teaching Authors are in the middle of our annual Two Weeks of Thanks-Giving.  It began in 2011 with Esther’s post which launched her new form, the Thanku (with the same syllable count as a haiku--5-7-5, it thanks someone).  As JoAnn so nicely wrote, it "charted the path to Thanksgiving through poetry".

This year we’re each posting about someone who makes a difference in ensuring others receive a quality education. We invite you to join us by posting your own poems, which can take the form of a Thanku. We’ll include a round-up of links to participating blog posts on November 29.

It's my turn, and I'd like to thank the amazing teachers whose classes I've taken through UCLA Extension's Writers Program, where I now teach.  This is "the largest open-enrollment creative writing and screenwriting program in the nation." I appreciate all those TeachingAuthors who set aside their own work and made time to teach me in my writing infancy. Those teachers include Ruth Lercher Bornstein, Susan Rubin, Myra Cohn Livingston, Sonia Levitin, and many, many others.

Actually, I'd like to include all the TeachingAuthors who visit our blog, too--each of them takes more time then you may realize to answer our interview questions and offer writing exercises. Thank you to

Authors who hold a
light and slow their pace so we
may walk beside you.

from morguefile.com     http://mrg.bz/v2aE2o

And speaking of authors who light the way, it's time for our TeachingAuthors'...

Today's exercise is from author and energizer bunny Alexis O'Neill (whose newest book, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations was just launched to wide acclaim) and who sat down with me here for an interview recently.  Take it away, Alexis!
 

The Writer’s Edge--Wondering and Finding Evidence
© AlexisO’Neill. All rights reserved 

BACKGROUND: Writers begin as observers. Writers are curious about the world around them, both past and present. Photographs and paintings are gateways to information and emotion, two powerful tools in a writer’s toolbox for writing either fiction or nonfiction or creating other works of art.

GOAL: To give students practice in supporting their conclusions with evidence.

OBJECTIVE: Using a photograph or painting as a stimulus, students will generate a list of “wonder questions” (“I wonder who . . . what, when, where, why, how, if”) related to the image, express those questions to the group, and then attempt to answer as many of those questions using evidence found in the image. They will also express how the image makes them feel.

MATERIALS

• Paper
• Pen or pencil
• A projected photo or painting of a wild mammal, reptile or bird, or children from another era or culture in a setting (not just a portrait)
• Timer

PROCEDURE

• Ask the students for a list of words that can follow the phrase, “I wonder . . .” (i.e. who, what when where why, how, if) Have them write these words on paper as a guide.
• Ask students to put their pens down and look at an image for exactly one one minute.  Tell them that the only thing they have to do during that one minute is look at the image and “wonder” about it. Use a timer to keep this accurate.
• Make the image go dark. Tell the students to pick up their pens. Give them one minute to write at least one, but as many as possible, “wonder” questions that came to them when they looked at the image. Tell them that what they write is just for themselves and will not be collected.
• Bring the image back to the screen and begin timing.
• At the end of one minute, have them put pens down and share their wonder questions. When they share, they must begin with the phrase, “I wonder . . .”
• As each student expresses their “wonder” question out loud, just repeat it, but do not comment on it.
• After collecting “wonder” questions, begin having them find answers in the image itself.  For example, you might say, “Jamie said, ‘I wonder where this is?’” Then you might invite Jamie to take a guess, but say, “Be sure to tell me what you see that makes you say that.” Each time a student guesses an answer to his or her “wonder” question, say, “What do you see that makes you say that?”
• It might be helpful to make a Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, If chart and put their guesses and the evidence they see under appropriate columns.
• Give students a chance to express any feelings the image might generate.

Not all questions will be answered by the visual evidence alone. But the chart will provide an outline for questions that students can answer through further research.

I wonder what's up there...

EXTENSION: Writing begins with observations of real life and curiosity about unanswered questions. Students will use unanswered questions about the image in this exercise as a springboard for further research. After a period of research students can pool their answers and identify where they found the information. Discuss the kinds of writing decisions they can make to express what they have learned and what connection they make to it. They can do this through, for example, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, a persuasive letter, or a work of art or music.

Thank you, Alexis!  Readers, I wonder...what you and/or your students will write? And I wonder...will some of you send us your Thankus? 

We TeachingAuthors hope your Thanksgiving--large or small, formal or in flip-flops--is yummy and loving.

 from morguefile.com     http://mrg.bz/qZyl1r

Posted by April Halprin Wayland