Character Archetypes and Narrative Writing. Background We’re going through a unit on writing for gifted students. This series is based around the generalization “Structure increases creativity” and includes depth and complexity as well as content imperatives. The type of structure we’re incorporating into today’s lesson is character archetypes. An archetype, according to Wikipedia, is “an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated.” Character archetypes, like plot structure and themes, are a sophisticated tool that I use to push my students beyond setting, plot, and the main characters. This tool will benefit both their writing and literary analysis skills. Objective Students will identify character types based on the pattern of archetypes using a variety of stories from films, novels, and video games. Instruction To promote creativity and constructive learning, I’m going to utilize an inductive thinking model (as developed by Hilda Taba).
Encourage Categorization Hero. How to Use Archetypes in Literature When Creating Characters. As writers we are often concerned with creating characters: characters that seem realistic, characters that are likeable or that readers can at least relate to and understand their motivations. But creating characters isn’t easy. There’s a lot to consider: how they talk, how they look, how they act. A tool that can help you as you think about all of these aspects is the character archetype.
What are character archetypes? Character archetypes are basically character profiles that outline the motivations and behaviors of different types of characters. Different kinds of archetypes Archetypal characters can be based on different things from personality profiles to archetypes in literature that exemplify different types of heroic journeys or character arcs. There are some great resources available to help you use archetypes to create characters for story.
You might also like: No Related Posts. Dialogue Dos and Don’ts. By Erin In the post Show, Don’t Tell, I mentioned dialogue as one of the ways you can “show” your reader what’s happening in a scene. Effective dialogue is an essential part of both fiction and creative nonfiction writing. Good dialogue can be tricky.
It needs to move the story forward and reveal important character information without seeming artificial. It needs to seem realistic without actually being realistic. Confused? Let’s break it down. It should follow some simple grammatical rules. And here are a few dialogue don’ts: Don’t get too crazy with dialogue tags. To give you an example of what dialogue should look like here’s the opening of a short story I wrote, titled Me: “What do we do now?” The words exchanged between Kristy and Heather let us know something about their respective moods and character traits.
So how can you improve your dialogue? Read. You’ll be writing dialogue like a pro before you know it! Subscribe to Receive our Articles and Exercises via Email. Creating Archetypal Characters. By Glen C. Strathy* The process of creating archetypal characters who perform specific dramatic functions in your novel is the least understood aspect of characterization. Fortunately, it is also an area where Dramatica Theory offers the most profound help.
It is important that each of your major characters plays fulfills an important dramatic function -- a function that is common and vital to most stories. Many writers don't understand the importance of dramatic functions, or the usefulness of archetypal characters. Of course, the downside is that you can grow very attached to your characters before your plot has gelled. Other writers start with a topic or issue they want to explore. If you use either of these methods, you may not choose a main character or Story Goal until fairly late in the development process. We think you can save yourself a lot of time by working out character functions early on. Here's how this approach works ... An orphaned boy. A powerless uncle. Creating Archetypal Characters. Character archetypes | Listology. Fake Name Generator - StumbleUpon.
Character Chart. FAVORITES Color: Music: Food: Literature: Expressions: Book: Quote: Expletive(s) (swears): Mode of transportation: HABITS Smokes: What? How often? Drinks: What? How often? Worst bad habit? Quirks: BACKGROUND Hometown: Type of childhood: First memory: Most important childhood event that still affects him/her: Why? Lower education: Higher education: Booksmart or streetsmart? SELF-PERCEPTION One word character would use to describe self: One paragraph description of how character would describe self: What does character consider best physical characteristic? Immediate goal(s): Long range goal(s): How does character plan to accomplish goal(s)? How character react in a crisis (calm/panic/etc.)? Jewelry? Owns a computer? © (c ) copyright 1990-2011 Rebecca Sinclair ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Authors Note: I worked hard on this.
Character Chart. If you're a fiction writer -- whether you're working on a novel, short story, screenplay, television series, play, web series, webserial, or blog-based fiction -- your characters should come alive for your reader or audience. The highly detailed chart below will help writers develop fictional characters who are believable, captivating, and unique. Print this page to complete the form for each main character you create. IMPORTANT: Note that all fields are optional and should be used simply as a guide; character charts should inspire you to think about your character in new ways, rather than constrain your writing.
Fill in only as much info as you choose. Have fun getting to know your character! If this character chart is helpful, please let us know! To join our community, which focuses on online writing, visit -- and feel free to show off your character charts. Looking for more character questionnaires / charts? 16 Personality Factors. The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (or 16PF),[1] is a multiple-choice personality questionnaire which was developed over several decades of research by Raymond B. Cattell, Maurice Tatsuoka and Herbert Eber. Beginning in the 1940s, Cattell used the new techniques of factor analysis (based on the correlation coefficient) in an attempt to try to discover and measure the source traits of human personality (Cattell, 1946)(Nevid, 2009).[2][3] The questionnaire measures the 16 primary traits, and the Big Five secondary traits,[4][5] which have become popularized by other authors in recent years.
From early in his research, Cattell found that the structure of personality was multi-level and hierarchical, with a structure of interdependent primary and secondary level traits (Cattell, 1946, 1957).[2][6] The sixteen primary factors were a result of factor-analyzing hundreds of measures of everyday behaviors to find the fundamental traits behind them. Outline of Test[edit] Creating A Character Profile. When you get an idea for a short story or a novel you probably get the basic idea of the characters with it. But in order to build believable characters you need more than just a basic idea of them. You need to really them. The easiest way to flesh out a character is with a character profile, so get out a blank sheet of paper and follow the sample profile below. NAME: Put your characters full name - first, last, and any nicknames that he goes by.
BIOGRAPHY: Write a description of your character's life; past and present. AGE: If you don't know the exact age of your character then you can put it's approximation, such as late thirties, mid-twenties etc. HEIGHT: How tall is your character? WEIGHT: You probably won't know your character's exact weight, but I'm sure you can guess its approximate one.
BODY TYPE: Is he wiry and agile, or does he work out and his body is the proof? FACE TYPE: Is your character baby faced, or does he have a sharp, chiseled bone structure? Character Trait Chart. Character Trait Chart and Personality Components It can sometimes be helpful to make a Trait Chart for each character. This is especially helpful during the early stages of character development, before the character becomes as real to you as your mother. There are several charts of this sort available, some extremely detailed and some containing only facts and figures. I've tried to make one that includes the most important traits to help you visualize your character, both physically and emotionally. To use this chart, print it out and make a copy for each of your characters. If you can't get it to print nicely, email me and ask me to send you a Word Document containing the Character Chart. Full name - a character's name is very important.
Besides the character's official name, we also need to know what he is called (and, perhaps, what he prefers to be called). Date of Birth/Age - we should carefully consider assigning our character a birthday. Height - this doesn't need to be specific. The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do.
Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Think of your laptop as a machine like the one at the gym where you open and close your inner thighs in front of everyone, exposing both your insecurities and your genitals. Because that is what writing is all about. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” Finding a really good muse these days isn’t easy, so plan on going through quite a few before landing on a winner. There are two things more difficult than writing. It’s no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer.
Words of Wisdom: 101 Tips from the World's Most Famous Authors » Online College Search. If you've ever wanted to sit down with your favorite writer and ask advice, then you should take a look at these tips from some of the most famous authors in the world. These valuable bits of information provide guidance on strengthening your writing skills, becoming a better fiction writer or poet, learning to tap into your creativity, advice on education and school, and even a few suggestions on success and living a meaningful life. Of course, another excellent way of improving your writing is through traditional or online master’s degrees in creative writing. General Writing Tips Improve any type of writing you do with these solid tips from successful writers themselves.
Ernest Hemingway. Use short sentences and short first paragraphs. These rules were two of four given to Hemingway in his early days as a reporter–and words he lived by.Mark Twain. Tips for Beginning Writers Stephen King. Fiction Tips Kurt Vonnegut. Poetry Robert Frost. Tips for Creativity Annie Dillard. Lifelong Learning. How to Plot and Write a Novel: Plan Your Novel Writing with the Snowflake Method.
Many novelists mull over story ideas, letting them ripen and develop over time. When the story is ready to be told, instead of just sitting down and starting to type, try the Snowflake Method. This step-by-step way to write a novel begins with essential elements and becomes more detailed with each step. Essential Elements for Novel Structure Snowflakes have a structure which begins with a simple form and adds more elements to create complex patterns. Novelist and physicist Randy Ingermanson created the Snowflake Method to break novel-writing into steps that build on each other in the same way. 1. 2. 3. The time-saving factor for novelists here is that at this point, a writer knows whether or not the story has problems. Expand on the Beginning Novel-Writing Steps 4. 5. 6. Plot problems will arise and new insights and ideas will appear through these steps. Revise and Expand into Scenes 7. 8. 9. 10.
Ingermanson stresses that the Snowflake Method is not to be hurried. Not for All Writers. English 50 Exercises for Story Writers. English 50 – Intro to Creative Writing: Exercises for Story Writers Basic Theory: What is a short story? As soon as someone delivers a definition, some good writer will write a story that proves the theory wrong. About the only thing we can say for sure is that short stories are short and that they are written in what we call prose.
Some attributes, however, seem to show up more often than not. Short stories have a narrator; that is, someone tells the story; have at least one character in them; have some action occur (or perhaps fails to occur); take place somewhere; that is, there is a setting for the action; and someone either learns something or fails to learn something (theme).With these five characteristics in mind, we can create an almost endless supply of exercises to help sharpen our techniques of story telling. Narrative Voice Twenty or so years ago, voice was the "rite of passage" into a successful writing career.
If you've written a story in third person, try it in first. Writing. Character Profile Templates. Character Motivation Goal. Chara sheets. Fiction Writing.