writing about character place or object [compatibility mode]

8/22/2019 Writing About Character Place or Object [Compatibility Mode]

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WritingaboutCharacter,Placeor

ByL. Sue Stindt, Assoc. Prof. LL&A


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Buildingan EssayaboutPerson,PlaceorObject

Part1: ChoosingaSubject:FocusedBrainstormingActivities1a,1b,1c

Part2: WritingDescriptionActivities2a,2b,2c

Part

3:

Using

Anecdote

or

Remembered

StoryActivities3a,3b

Part4: WritingDialogueActivity4

Part5: AssemblingtheParts&SampleEssay

WorkshopReflection/EvaluationActivity5

Note: Allstudentwritingexamplesusedwithpermission.


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practiceforwritinganessayaboutaperson,placeorobject.The

strategiespresentedmaybeusedineitherareflectionorobservation

.

With

solid

organization,

a

theme

upon

which

to

build,

and

the

addition

of

, ,

piecesfromwhichtobuildapersonalessayaboutaperson,placeor

object.

PleaselabelyourActivities1a,1b,etc. Completionof

thisworkshopisworthtwoGPAWcredits.


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Afurthernote

, ,

thewritingyouproduceuponcompletionshouldbeusedwithattentiontoa

specificassignment.Therearemanywaystocreatebothreflectionand

.

Your

instructor

may

expect

you

demonstrate

certain

techniques

and

to

express

. ,

veryimportanttocarefullyfollowtheinstructionsorgradingcriteriafora

writingassignment. Awritermustlearntotailorhisorherwritingtofit

various ur osesandassi nments.

Usetheadviceintheworkshopaccordingly. Ifanactivityfitsanassigned

essa useit. Ifitdoesntthinkabouthow oucantailortheideas oucame

upwithtofit,ORusethemethodsandtechniquesthatyourinstructor

suggestsandsavetheseideasforfutureuse. Goodluck! Havefunwithit!


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Part1:ChoosingtheSubjectfor

Writingan

Observation

TheSubjectgenera tru sm nwr t ng st att emoret ewr tercaresa out sor ersu ectt e

better

the

writing

he

or

she

will

produce.

Plus,

its

more

interesting

and

fun

to

write

about

somethingorsomeoneyouhavestrongfeelingsabout(goodorbad). So,chooseacharacter

whomyouknowwell,someonewhoisorhasbeenasignificantpartofyourlife,someone

w o n uence w oyouare. ooseap aceyou now et e ac o your an . oosean

objectthathaspersonalinteresttoyouoraddsmeaningtoyourlife,somethingthatreveals

somethingaboutYOU,thewriter.

Ultimately,youressaymustbefocused,notsimplyonyoursubject,butonathemeamain

idea. Youmaynotknowwhatthatthemeisorwillbeuntilcompletingtheseandother

writingexercises. But,thinkaboutthepossibilitiesasyoucompletethewritingactivitiesin

thisworkshop.

Afterreadingyouressay,thereasontheperson,placeorobjectisimportantinyourlife

shouldbeobvious. Revealwhathaveyoulearnedaboutyourself,yourideas,valuesorlife,

becauseofthesubject. Shareinsightswithyourreaderssomethingyouknowbecauseof

yourexperiencewiththisperson,placeorobject.


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Reflectingonand/orobservinghelpsusunderstandthepeopleandplaces

aroun usan t eimpactt ey aveonus. I t esearesigni icant

(important)people,placesorobjects,aswriters,wemayalsocometo

betterunderstandourselves.

Asreaders,ourworldisexpandedandenrichedbyawritersinsights,

experiences

and

ideas.

Threewaysthatwritersengagereadersisbyofferingvividdetail,by

presentingafreshinterpretationoflifeexperiencesastoldinstoryform,

.

Thefirstactivityshouldgenerateideasaboutsubjectsimportanttoyou.


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Activity1asksyoutoworkwith(experimentwith)threesubjects:asignificantperson,animportantplaceandavaluedobject. Thesesubjectswillbeusedthroughoutthisworkshop,sopleasegiveyourchoicesseriousthought.

Activity1hasthreeparts:1aPerson;1bPlace;1cObject.Thesearefocusedbrainstormingexercises.Youranswerstothequestionsposedmaybephrasesand/orsentences.Themoreideasandconnectionsyoulist,theeasierconstructinganessayaboutyourchosensubjectwillbe.

HINT: Ifyouworkwiththesamesubjectthroughoutafterbrainstorminginthisfirstpart,youMAYendupwithTHE

.


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CharacterStudy .

Whatis

the

nature

of

your

relationship?

Whatthingsconnectyou,whathaveyoudonetogether?

Whatsmellsdoyouassociatewiththisperson?

Howdoyoufeelaboutthisperson?

Listoutstandin characteristics.

Whydoyoulikeordislikethisperson?

Whatdoyougetfromtherelationship?

Whatdoeshisorhervoicesoundlike?

Whatdo

you

know

about

yourself

because

of

this

person?

Howhashe/sheinfluencedyou?

Whatdoesthispersonmeantoyou?


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PlaceStudyIdentifyyourplace.

Howdid

you

come

to

know

this

place?

Whatdoyoulikeaboutit?a oyou s ea ou

Howdoesitmakeyoufeeltobethere?

Whatdoes

it

look

like?

Whatsoundsdoyouhear?Whogoestherewithyou?Whateventshaveha enedthere?

Whowent

there

before

you?

Whydoyougothere?Whatdoesitmeantoyou?


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ObjectStudyIdentifyyourobject.How

did

this

object

come

into

your

possession?

Whatdoyoulikeaboutit?Whatdoyoudislikeaboutit?Howdoyoufeelabouthavingit?

Whatdoes

it

look

like?

Whatsmellsdoyouassociatewithit?Whatsoundsdoyouassociatewithit?Whateventsdoyouassociatewithit?

Whohad

it

before

you?

Whydoyoukeepit?Whatdoesitmeanto ou?


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Comment

Hopefully,thefocusedbrainstormingyoujustcompleted

recordingyourhistoryandassociationswithasignificant

character,placeandobjectgave youanideaforanessay

andencoura ed outhinkabout oursub ectindetail.

Theactivitiesthatfollowaskyoutocontinueworkingwitht esesu ectstocreateot erp eceso apotent a essay.

,

detaileddescription.


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Effectivedescriptioncapturestheessenceofthesubject

themostimportantelementsofaperson,placeorobjectbycreatin anim ressionforreaders.

*choosingwordscarefully

*includingonlythemostimportantdetails


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PhysicalDetailsadescriptionofacharacterslookscan

revealtraits,habitsandstyleofacharacter. Effective

descriptionnot

only

creates

apicture

to

help

the

reader

brin thecharacter laceorob ect tolife butinthedetails

thewriterrevealshowhe/shefeelsaboutthesubject.

*Choosewords

that

reflect

your

impressions

and

feelings.

*Focusontheimportantdetailsthathelpcreatethe

im ression ouwanttoconve tothereader.

*Usesensorydetailssight,sound,touch,smell,tastezeroin

ona yoursenses.


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CreateIma eswithWords

InhisbookAftertheEnd:TeachingandLearningCreative

Revision,awellknownwritin rofessor,Barr Lane,sa sthat

detailsarenotjustextrawords. Writersactuallycreate

(form)

images

and

impressions

(of

people,

places

and

objects)

.

Paintapicture

in

words


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Brandidentification

creates

images

in

your

readers

minds.

Itseasytoconjureupimagesof

The McDonalds Golden ArchesA can of Coca-colaA light blue 73 Volkswagen Beetle

An iPodA Blackberry (instead of cell phone)

A J ack Russell Terrier (rather than dog)


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TheexcerptandexamplebelowarefromLanesbook After the End: Teaching and

Learnin Creative Revision ( a e).

Heresablurrysentence.IwalkedintotheMcDonaldsandtherewerepeople

everywhere. Youvebeentherebefore.AllMcDonaldsarethesameright?

Wrong.Nowtakeoutyourbinocularsandturnthatlittleknob.Youturntheknob

byaskingquestions.Questionsthatfocusyourownbinocularsonallyour

senses?

Here

Ill

show

you...

Theworkmenleanedonthestainlesssteelcounters,belliesburstingoutof

stainedteeshirts.Anoldmaninthecornerheldanaluminumcaneinonehand

andarolledu news a erintheother.Heswattedatfliesastheworkers

scurriedbehind

the

counters,

stuffing

bags

with

greasy

burgers,

rushing

to

the

beepingfryloaderstoscoopthegoldengreasypotatosticks,slingingsteaming

robotfoodintocardboardtraysandpaperbags.Thesmellofsizzlingfathungin

ea ran cou as eswa owan ges a am urger e ore eyoungg r

couldsay,Haveaniceday!


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--Make use of metaphors to describe

Metaphorical thinking may producesurprising connections and offbeatun ers an ngs (Tom Romano, Writing with Passion 117).

(www.tremainsmith.com/ LayersofMeaning.html)

Slide from Writing with Meaning GPAW


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Writing Description--continued

Using Metaphors to Describe

Merriam-Websters Online Dictionary defines metaphor as a figure ofspeech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind ofobject oridea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy

We use metaphors quite often in our speech to express moods

between them. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphor

. .Sunshine can be a metaphor for a bright and cheerful disposition.Metaphors as explained above may also be extended or

. , ,and come to splits in the road, etc. This reference to life as a

journey has become clich, of course. As a writer, you want yourmeta hors to be fresh and ori inal.

Slide from Writing with Meaning GPAW


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Writin

Descri tion

EXAMPLEThe following is an excerpt--an excellent example of description and reflection-- from a student essay

,

Back in the day, my grandmother stood only five foot three inches tall, with fiery red hair and thin, black horn-rimmedglasses that rode deep on her nose so that she could look over the top of them in disapproval if the need arose. Shestruggled with a thyroid condition from birth, leaving her a mere 96 pounds soaking wet with clothes on,

. ,width of her chicken skin covered neck. She had smokers lips, pursed from years of taking long, exhilarating draws,with cracks and lines all around them that allowed the bright red lipstick she always wore to bleed up into the tinycobwebs around her mouth. Her skin was like leather, tan and rough to the touch, with scars covering every inch that

could be seen. The smell of smoke, coffee and sickeningly sweet cheap perfume assaulted my senses every time Idrew near to her. To me, this assaulting aroma was comforting.

I remember Granny had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard, she danced around every day singing gospel hymnsat the top of her lungs and clapping her hands, eyes twinkling with adoration for the Lord. Recently, she sounded morelike a giant bullfrog, croaking out orders in disdain and disapproval.

e process o agng s a uman an na ura ng, now, ye some ow seems a crue an unusua puns men.

Most people work hard their whole lives to provide a safe, comfortable place for their families; they try to take care ofthemselves, practice an active faith and play by the general rules of life, yet in their golden years theiraccomplishments seem to be forgotten. Our culture has somehow lost its sense of respect for the elderly. We arequick to deem them useless to society and stick them in nursing homes so as not to be burdened by them. I, too, had

.


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Activity2hasthreeparts:a,b&c.

Choosetwoofthesubjectstheperson,placeorobjectthat.

Youwillneedaphotographofthesubject(ortheobjectitself,ifthatisyourchoice)forActivity2b.

descriptionfrommemory(parta)andfromaphotograph(partb),andthentoreflectonwhichmethodworkedbestfor

.


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characteristics,. Take

a

minute

to

think

about

your

subjectandthendescribethephysicalcharacteristics

andatthesametime capturetheessenceofyour

place,

the

purpose

or

function

of

your

object,

or

the

c arac ero yourperson. ons eryourwor s

carefully.

Chooseeithertheperson,placeorobjectyou

identifiedinActivity1andwriteadetailed

descriptionofyoursubject. (150200words)


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Finda hoto ra hofeitherthe erson laceorob ect ou

identified

in

Activity

1.

Placing

the

actual

object

in

front

of

youwouldbefine,too.

Writeadetaileddescriptionofwhatyousee. Remember

yourreader

can

not

see

the

photo

and

knows

nothing

about

yoursubject.

essenceof

the

image

in

words.

(150200words)


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Afteryouhavecompletedbothpartsofthedescribingassignmentdescribing

frommemoryanddescribingfromaphotograph answerthefollowing

questions:1)Whichtaskdidyoufindeasier,describingwhatyousawinthephotographor

thoughtfulexplanationforyouranswer.

2)Did outhinkthatfindin exactl theri htdescri tivewordswaseasierinone

taskortheother? Pleaseexplain.

3)Whichofyourdescriptiveparagraphsusestherichestandmostdescriptive

,

Explainwhyyouthinkthisistrue.

explanation.


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Part3:UsingAnecdotetoDevelop

Character,Place

and

Object

,

butfornow,thinkofanecdotesasbriefstories.

Wearestorytellersbynatureandreaderslove

stories. Stories hel us understand and conve

meaningthroughactionsandevents,reactionsand

responses.

Ananecdotemaybearememberedstorywiththespecific

purposeofdevelopingyoursubject.


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AnecdotecontinuedWikipediaDefinition

Ananecdote isabrieftalenarratingan

.

An

anecdote

is

always

based

on

real

life,

an

nc ent nvo v ngactua persons,w et er

famousornot,inrealplaces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdote


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Writing.comdescribesananecdoteasfollows:

Ananecdote isashortnarrative,astoryofpersonalexperience.

Theanecdotemusthaveaconclusion. Anecdotesusuallybeginwithnarrativeri ht awa with little or no introduction.

Ananecdoteis"bottomup;"itbeginswithparticularexperienceandworks

towards

a

general

conclusion.

Thereaderdiscoversthemeaningoftheexperienceattheend.

http://ielpjohn.home.att.net/anecdote.htm

Inessays,anecdotesarealsobuiltfromthetopdown. Thewritermaymakeaclaimandthentellastorytodefendtheclaim. Seeexampleonthenextslide.


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Mysister,

Kim,

was

afunny

little

kid. Onceherclothesweredirty,she

refusedtotouchthemexcepttotakethemoffandcastthemtothefloor.

,

insistedthatwetakeourdirtyclothesdownstairstothelaundrybasket.

WhenKimwasthreeorfour, myparentsandIburstintolaughteralmost

thetipofthepenciltopickupheroncewornpanties. Withherhead

turnedsidewaysandtiltedupwardindisgust,sheparadedthroughthe

housetowardthelaundr roomdan lin theli htl soiledclothin fromthe

tipofthepencilholdingitasfarfromherbodyasshecould. Whenshe

chosetobeoverlydramatic,sheusedherotherhandtoplughernose.

ote: e rstsentence st e c a m. estorysupportst ec a m.


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Exampleofabottomupanecdote:Fromlittleon,Kimm ho edtoberichandtraveltheworld.Asa oun entre reneur,she

startedmakingmoneyaroundagefiveandsavedeverypenny. Shecollectedold

newspapers,weekly,fromneighborsupanddowntheblock,pilingthestacksohighshe

couldbarelypullherRedFlyerwagonhome. Inthosedays,themid60s,companiesbought

news a ersforrec clin for ustseveral ennies er ound. But,those enniesaddedu .

KimandIcollectedpopbottlesandreturnedthemforcoinsatMilesMarket,thefamily

ownedcornerstore. Ispentmineonbaseballcards;shesavedhers. Kimmyranerrands,

pickingupgroceriesforMr.Breidenbach,thewidoweracrossthestreet. ShehelpedMrs.

Meyers,anelderlywomanwholivedaroundthecorner,withchores. Theneighborspaidher

adimehere,anickelthere,forherhelp.Shesockeditaway. Duringcollege,Kimmyworked

asatellerinabank,whichseemedliketheperfectjobforher. Aftergraduatingfromcollege

withamathdegree,shejoinedthemilitary,ashocktousall thiswasthelittlegirlwho

wouldnttouchherunderwear. ShewenttoOfficersTrainingSchoolandbecameaFirst

Lieutenant

in

the

US

Air

Force

and

later

an

aerospace

engineer

in

civilian

life.

She

is

rich

by

manypeoplesstandardsandhastraveledallovertheworld,toGreenland,Africa,Russia,

NorthandSouthAmerica,Bhutan,andmanyotherexoticplaces. Shehadadreamandshe

workedforit. Now,shelivesit.

Note:Thelasttwosentencesmakeuptheconclusionoftheanecdotethemeaningofthestory.


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Activity3a:WriteanAnecdotefrom

theTopDown

Chooseoneofyourthreesubjects.

Beginwithaclaim.

Supportyourclaimwithashortstory.(150+words)

Thestory

may

reveal

something

about

character,

aboutthenatureofaplace,oritmayexplainthe

ee ingyougeta outsomet ing.


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Activity3b:WriteanAnecdote

fromtheBottomUp

Chooseoneofyourthreesubjects.

Writeananecdote,arememberedstory,that

reveals

something

you

want

readers

to

know

aboutyoursubject.

Theconclusionofyourstoryshouldcontainor

clarifyyourmainpointyourclaim.(150+words)


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Part4:WritingDialogue:CapturingVoice

Conversat on

Dialogue

directly

quoting

what

characters

say

is

a

key

element

in

many

essays.

Dialoguecanbeusedtodevelopcharacter(s) revealpersonalitytraits,

quirks,

reactions,

unique

ways

of

saying

things,

or

to

give

a

character

voice.

Dialoguecanalsohelpdevelopideasaboutplacesandobjectsbycapturing

whatcharactersthinksayabouttheplaceorobjectbywhatthecharacters

say.

Dialoguemayalsobeeffectivelyusedtoadvancetheplot.


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Remember:Noteveryconversationisimportant. Infact,some

are or ngan ana . e o ow ngwou en ancea

characteror

plot.

Hello,ImumbledasIpickedupthephone.

Hey,itsme,myfriendPatsaid.

Whatsup?

Oh,nothin,justthoughtIdgiveyoucall.

Cool.Whachyadoin?

Dishes.

Yah,Igottadothat,too.Sinksfull.

Whatelse?

Oh,nothin. Lifesprettydullaroundhere.

Samehere. Wherearethekids?Iasked,wonderingaboutPatstwoteenagedaughters.

Atwork,Ithink,saidPat,seeminglyconfusedaboutherdaughterswhereabouts.

Choosewiselywhenusingdialogue.Dialogueshouldbeinformative,develop

character,

or

advance

the

plot.


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Noticehowthewritersfollowconventions(punctuation,spacing,orderof

hrases for resentin dialo ue suchasbe innin anew ara ra hforeach

speakerandusingquotationmarkstodistinguishthespokenwordfromthe

writersown

description

of

the

speakers.

Payattentiontohowconversationsdevelopinreallife. Reviewsomeofthe

essaysinyourtextandexaminehowdialogueisusedinstoriesandessays.

Noticehowwriterscommentonwhatcharacterssayandthemannerinwhich

theysaytheirwords. Ageneralruleofthumbistoplacethewordsinquotation

marksBEFOREtheremarksaboutthespeaker.

Oftenwriters

show

or

describe

acharacters

actions

or

facial

expressions

as

they

talk.Thesecommentsrevealtone,intent,and,sometimes,attributesofthe

character.


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,

andrecallitquiteclearly,withoraboutoneofyourthreesub ects,recreatethatconversationforthe

activitythatfollowsandskipthefirstinstructionon

the

next

slide.

Please

remember

the

criteria

for

gooddialoguediscussedinthepreviousslides.

you

can

t n

o

a

re evant

conversat on

w t

oraboutyoursubject,followthefirstinstructionon

.


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Recreate writethedialo ue arecentim ortantor

memorable

conversation,

or

one

that

reveals

character

(yoursortheotherspeakers)youvehadwithsomeone.

Donotuseoneyouvealreadywrittenorusedinan

essayorassignment.OR,betteryet,writeasegmentof

a ogue orposs euse nacurren essay.

pagelongbutnotmorethanapage.

Seedetailedinstructionsonthefollowingslide.


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Useproperconventions(punctuationandorderofphrases). Usetheessaysinyourtextandthebrief

.

correctly. Ifyourenotsureabouttheconventions,lookuptheproperwaytoformatandpunctuatea

sentencewhenyoudontknowhow. Findasentencesimilartoyoursinyourtextbooksampleessays

andmodelthetechniques.

Introduceyourcharactersandthesituationwithinthedialogueitself.

Makeyourdialoguesoundreal.

, .

Idontwannago,mysisterwhined.(real)

Usecommentstocreateanimageofthespeaker(s)anddescriptors(adverbsandadjectives)tocapture

.

youfeeling,thinking,observing?

Useinterestingverbswheneverpossibletodescribehowthespeakersaidsomethingexplained,

, , , , , , , , .

said.


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Wow! Ifyouvebeenworkingwithoneprimarysubject,

younow avemanyi eas oran pieceso anessay.

1 Anal zethe iecesanddecideonthet eof

essayyouwanttowrite(reflectionorobservation)areflectionontheimpact

asignificantpersonorplacehashadonyou;aportraitofanimportantperson

inyourlife;anobservationofameaningfulplacethatexplainswhyplaceis

importantinourlives.

Readersshouldunderstandfromthe iecesthemselvesthedescri tion,

anecdotes

and

dialogue

whythe

person,

place

or

object

is

important

to

you,

butyoumustalsodiscussmeaningandimportanceandofferinsights

throughout.


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2) Buildyouressayaroundacentralthemeoridea.

throughout,supportingitwithdetail, description,anecdote,

conversations,etc.

3) Organizeyourideassothattheyunfoldinstoryformwithabeginning,

middleandend.Decideonthesequenceofthepieces. Whichpiece

couldbe ourhook? Considerlinearstor tellin vs.usin flashbacks.

Developcharacter,createtension,experimentwithmanagingtime

explodingimportantmomentslikethepeakandshrinkingperiodsthat

arenotacrucialtoyourstory.

4) Reviseandeditwithcarefulwordchoiceinmind. Yourwordsandtone

shouldmirroryourattitudesandfeelingsaboutyoursubject.


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,

noteofhowtheauthor,astudent,Nathan

, .

description,anecdote(rememberstoryinthis

,

beautifulportraitofhisgrandfather.

Usethisessayasamodeltopiecetogether

.


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I returned from my memories to the graveyard. I looked down at my militaryuniform and I realized how much impact Grandpa had on me. All my lifes choices weremade in the hope that Grandpa would be proud of me. I had joined the military so that Icou e e m. owe a t at ave ac eve n my e to m. owe every va ue t atI hold dear to him. He gave me things that I will never be able to repay.

The funeral service ended and Grandpa was lowered into the ground. I stood nextto the casket and looked down at the rows of medals on my chest. I had earned thesemedals because of Grand as uidance. He was is and alwa s will be m teacher.With trembling hands I removed my most treasured medal of all, the National Defensemedal, and I placed it on his casket. I stood at attention and saluted as his friends fromthe American Legion fired a twenty-one gun salute in his honor. I said goodbye to

Grandpa that day, but I benefit from his influence everyday.

See final slide for Activity 5Workshop Reflection/Evaluation

A ti it 5 W k h


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Activity5:Workshop

Reflection Evaluation

Now that you have spent some time in this workshop, answer the following questions:

What new ideas were presented or what ideas were useful reminders?

What information or strategies did you find most helpful and why?

What do you want to learn more about?

,or revise your essays?

activity in this workshop and turn in to your writing instructoras proof of completion.

writing about character place or object [compatibility mode]

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