2. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert Slide Show Directions: To go to the next slide, click on the scroll bar. If you see a sound speaker ( ), click on it to hear a brief audio message. When asked questions, try to answer them before going further.

3. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert Character Sketches Getting to Know Your Characters

4. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert How To Get to Know People By asking questions Spending time with them Learning about their past Listening to their goals

5. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert Get to Know Characters NamesPersonalityMotivations GoalsHistoryPresent FriendsFamilyStruggles

6. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert How Much Should You Know You should know more than your reader will ever know about your character. You should know more than your editor will ever know about your character. You should know your character as if s/he was your very best friend.

7. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert What does this look like? You can answer the questions in your textbook to come up with a character sketch for your protagonist and antagonist. The photo to your right is how one of my character sketches looked:

8. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert You can add Photos Once you answer all the questions, find an old magazine and tear out a picture of how your character might look.

9. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert Here’s What I Do When you have completed a character sketch, you can do what I do. I tape magazine photos to the wall by my desk and include each piece of information that I have included on each page or chapter about these characters.

10. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert Here’s What I Do I also list the alphabet so I can tell if I’ve overused a letter regarding character names and setting locations. EXAMPLE: A – Annette B – Black C – D – E – Eunice; Elton F – G – H – Hattie (etc.)

11. (c) 2004 by Sheila Seifert If you do the necessary prep work, you will make the writing process easier on yourself. So now, it’s time to write your character sketches!