Character Development: It's the Little Details (and a Contest!)

-

Contest!

This week's post comes with a giveaway.  Read the post to learn more about it.

_______________________________________________

It's All In the Details

"I wanted to know what kind of jeans she was wearing."

I received this feedback during a workshop I participated in last October.

Unlike me, the other participants had MFAs and considered themselves literary writers. I don't consider myself literary, but I do believe I can learn from all genres, so I attended the workshop.

At first the question baffled me. Afterall, I'd said she pulled on and old pair of jeans and a T-shirt. To me, that fit the situation--cleaning out a house--and nothing else should matter. So I asked, "Why?"

The answer I received made perfect sense

Is she wearing Levi's or Lucky or maybe even Wrangler? Each one of these brands tells me something about the character. Lucky jeans imply a level of income and social or fashion status for my character.  Wrangler, on the other hand, are serviceable jeans. Nothing fancy. You can buy them at WalMart. Someone who buys Wrangler jeans sees them as working jeans or doesn't believe their jeans should make a fashion statement or can't afford anything more. If she wears Levi's, she probably likes jeans and wears them often, but she doesn't spend a fortune on them. They probably aren't a fashion statement, but they do hint at her income and practicalities.

I gave my character Levi's. I, also, gave her a pink "Save the Ta Ta's" T-shirt.

With a few extra details, I managed to develop my character more.

Now It's Your Turn

Can you take a sentence in your writing and add a small detail that expands on character development?  In this post's comments, type your original sentence and your revised one with an extra detail or two.

One lucky winner will receive:
  • Writer's Editing and Critiquing Tips pdf (based on several of my blog posts)
  • 25% discount on a manuscript edit or proofread or a free 50 page edit*
  • An issue of moonShine review featuring my short story, "Just Me"

Every one who enters will receive a pdf of the 10 Grammar Rules Every Writer Should Know and a few other grammar goodies.

Next week, I'll post the best entries, and let my readers vote on their favorite.

Here's What You Do

  1. Pick your sentence.
  2. Add a detail or two that adds character development to your story.
  3. Post it in the blog's comments by midnight (EST) on Monday, April 10 .  (Do not post your comment on Facebook. It must be in the blog's comments.)
  4. Post a second comment (that I will not publish) that provides your name and email address.
  5. Return to the blog between April 11 and April 17 to vote for your favorite entry.

I promise I won't publish your contact information for the world to see. All comments need my approval before they appear.

What are you waiting for? Get writing!

*Fine print:
Manuscript must be double-spaced, 12 point font, one inch margins. 
A single manuscript of up to 200 pages or up to 50 pages for free.
 Pages in excess of 200 will be billed at full price.
Editing offer expires June 30, 2017.

Comments

Rose said…
"The sleeves were rolled up to show off the patterned tattoo on my right arm."

"The sleeves were rolled up to show off the tattoo on my right arm, a pair of angel wings sprouting from a cross."

Tbh when I wrote the first draft I hadn't even decided on what his tat should be but EY this is much nicer already.
April 4, 2017 at 9:50 PM
Valerie Keiser Norris said…
)Historical novel)
“Supper’s leftovers,” Millie Wentworth said from her place at the head of the table. She still looked barely presentable.

“Supper’s leftovers,” Millie Wentworth said from her place at the head of the table. She still looked barely presentable, with top buttons still undone and her bun in disarray.
April 5, 2017 at 12:09 PM
Monet Jones said…
(Scifi novel)
He carried Erica to the far side of the rock formation and laid her between two large boulders.

He carried Erica's limp body to the far side of the rock formation and laid her between two large boulders.
April 9, 2017 at 2:41 PM
Arisia said…
Joel skipped and bumped his way over to the Commander, too excited to fly straight.

Too excited to fly straight, Joel held his iridescent wings folded tightly against his slender frame and skittered over to the Commander.
April 9, 2017 at 5:47 PM
Emily said…
"She was alone in a rental car, single, and with one suitcase to her name."

"She was alone in the car. It was a rental, bluetooth, back-up cameras, all the bells and whistles, and also a Black Chrysler Voyager which was the biggest and most unnecessary car available on the lot to give to a single female with one suitcase."
April 9, 2017 at 6:03 PM
Bob Strother said…
She had frizzy, shoulder-length red hair.

She had a fright of crinkly red hair that cascaded haphazardly past her face and stopped just short of her shoulders.
April 10, 2017 at 10:19 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skin Tone: Describing Your Characters

-
Image
When you write about character's of different races, how do you describe their skin tone? If you've never thought about this, then consider this question: How do the authors you read described persons of color? A few months ago, I attended a webinar about writing diverse characters. The guest was Eliana West of Writers for Diversity . The information she shared felt fresh and valuable, especially related to describing a character's skin tone. I get really tired of seeing African-descended characters described in terms of the goods that drove, and still drive the slave trade--coffee, chocolate, brown sugar. There's some weird psychosocial baggage attached to that.    -- N. K. Jemisin As this quote from author, N. K . Jemisin , indicates, historically, writers have described people of color using food-related descriptors. Many people of color find this offensive. This surprised me, at first, but she has a point, especially when you view it through the quote above. My fir...
Read more

Character Development: Using the Johari Window

-
Image
In my last post, Character Development: the Johari Window , I introduced the Johari Window as a tool for developing your characters. It's important that your character not know everything about their situation. These unknowns can lead to an intriguing story and create possibilities for conflict within the story. How do you use the Johari Window? In this post, I thought I'd provide a simple example of the Johari Window with a character most people know:  Harry Potter. Below, I have filled out the Johari Window as it might appear within the first few pages of book 1, Harry Potter and The Sorceror's Stone . The Johari Window based on Harry Potter and The Sorceror's Stone Three of the quadrants in this window reveal what Harry doesn't know about who he truly is and what happened to his parents. I could add a lot to the quadrants representing what he doesn't know, but I hope this gives you an idea on how a Johari Window might be used. What do you d...
Read more

He Said, She Said, Who Said? Punctuating Dialogue

-
Image
Courtesy of Morguefile.com I've been focusing my posts on workshops and panels I taught or participated on at the Imaginarium Convention. Although this serves as a poor substitute for the real thing, I can share some highlights. This week, we're going to explore dialogue punctuation. The first thing writers need to learn is how to properly punctuate dialogue. I've discovered, over the years, that many don't know how. Notice in the first example below, the dialogue starts at the beginning of the sentence, and the speaking tag (he said, she said, Paul said, etc.) follows it.  A few points to notice: The first letter of the quotation is capitalized. What the person says is a sentence, so it must be capitalized. A comma comes directly after the quote and INSIDE the quotation marks. You can, also, have a question mark or exclamation point here. There is a space AFTER the closing quotation mark followed by the speaking tag and a period at the end of the sentence. In the next ...
Read more