The Cambridge introduction to creative writing
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Harry G. Broadman - Africa\'s Silk Road China and India\'s New Economic Frontier (2007, World Bank Publications) - libgen.li
| Writing Game B E LIE VI N GIN CHARACTER Write a short portrait of 600 words on an imaginary character. Do not bother to use plot or dialogue rely entirely on a description of the person, their setting and their mood, as if you were capturing them on camera and they could not see you. Although you know what the character is feeling, do not mention this in your writing. Attempt to convey their emotions by personal details, their appearance, and their setting. A I M To show a character honestly and without authorial prodding requires precise and sometimes uncomfortable observation. Use this mode of observing real people within your notebooks, as you go searching for characters. It is a silent rule that you never tell your reader what a character is feeling. Detail conveys this information with subtlety, surprise and force. The practice of fiction 167 Finding characters Where do you find your characters As a first-time writer you would do best, as always, to start with yourself by fictionalising your own character or creating a character from an aspect of your own personality, and you will now be used to the habit of keeping such observational notes in your notebook. Your characters can also be assembled from various elements of observed (but real) people. For example, during fieldwork, when you spy somebody who interests you, make observational notes and try to interpret their appearance and possessions as aspects of character, but also ask yourself what the person’s story is. How did they get to this moment in their lives, and where are they heading next In other words, try to read them. I would warn you not to use people to whom you are professionally close (for example, within your workshop group. Go wary of caricaturing somebody real. Do not copy complete people but create composites from several, not out of moral discretion, but out of artistic cunning. Absolute reality writes fiction badly. The Oxford English Dictionary defines fiction as that which is feigned or invented invention as opposed to fact. Fiction creates parallel universes to the actual the relative closeness to reality enthralls us. Save actual reality for writing creative nonfiction. Finally, characters can simply be invented, but you will also find with practice that characters arrive in your imagination as you work on a piece. Character history We have discussed the importance of rewriting in Chapter Five . However, more than any other genre, prewriting is essential to create believable fictional characters. Prewriting allows you to get inside them. Before you even know the storyline, you should create grids of information about not only who your characters are, but also what they do, and what they value and feel. These issues will say a great deal about them to the reader and to you, the writer, for they will push your story in unexpected ways, and your characters will even begin to spring surprises on you – more so than in life, character is destiny in fiction. As the epigraph of this chapter from Eudora Welty reminds us, You can’t start with how people look and speak and behave and come to know how they feel. You must know exactly what’s in their hearts and minds before they ever set visible foot on the stage Your characters will only surprise you if you know them inside out. How do you do that Create a character history for everyone of them in your notebook – a dossier. Take each character and write about their type, gender, 168 Creative writing age, name, their relation to other characters, appearance, mannerisms, speech patterns, personality, background, private and professional life, strengths and weaknesses. What are their passions, professions, obsessions Where do they live Who do they live with What family did they come from Are they happy? Why not What is their nickname, pet name, or street-name, and what are the reasons and meanings behind them The character history should also include the details of life physical appearance, clothes, speech, likes, dislikes, body language and personal habits. Adapt your style of writing to the subject matter of this information that islet your character lead the way. No amount of information is going to jolt your Frankenstein monster into sudden life on the page. It is important, however, for you to know this information. Most of it will never appear on the page at all it is the invisible part of the iceberg to a work we discussed in Chapter One Download 2.89 Mb. Share with your friends:
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