For Sale: Baby shoes, Never Worn.

1. For Sale: Baby shoes, Never Worn. —Ernest Hemingway

2. Famous Six Word Stories • Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
- William Shatner • Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer?
- Eileen Gunn • Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margaret Atwood • With bloody hands I say good-bye.
- Frank Miller

3. Famous Six Word Stories • Epitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth.
- VernorVinge • It’s behind you! Hurry before it
- Rockne S. O’Bannon • Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.
- Richard Powers • The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.
- Orson Scott Card • We went solar; sun went nova.
- Ken MacLeod

4. Famous Six Word Stories • TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there …
- Harry Harrison • Tick tock tick tock tick tick.
- Neal Stephenson • New genes demand expression -- third eye.
- Greg Bear • whorl. Help! I'm caught in a time
- Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel • Bang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot.
- David Brin

5. Famous Six Word Stories • I saw, darling, but do lie.
- Orson Scott Card • Time traveler's thought: "What's the password?"
- Steven Meretzky • Steve ignores editor's word limit and
- Steven Meretzky • Dorothy: "Fuck it, I'll stay here."
- Steven Meretzky

6. 6 minutes for a 6 word story 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7. Slam please 5 minutes

8. I, Me, Myself 15 minutes

9. Character Assassination

10. Knock! Knock! 10 min

11. A scream from the bedroom 10 min

12. Bell rings! Lion at the door 10 mins

13. You did it! No we did.

14. Character Development 17thMeetup – 7th January 2012 By Rohin Bhargava

15. Ram Pi Patel Cinderella Tom & Jerry Devdas Anand Molly Bloom Gandalf Moby Dick Jason Bourne Joey Don Corleone Alex Krishna Tom Swayer David Copperfield Dorthy Emma Neo Yossarian Edward Scissorhands Voldermort Forrest Gump Peter Pan Kabuliwallah Charles Foster Kane Harry Potter Robert Langdon Humbert Humbert Mad Hatter Sherlock Holmes Howard Roark Jughead Wolverine Tintin Erin Brockovich Frodo Raj Holden Caulfield Lolita James Bond Jason Bourne Gollum

16. Character Sketch When you write a character sketch, you are trying to introduce the reader to someone. You want the reader to have a strong mental image of the person, to know how the person talks, to know the person's characteristic ways of doing things, to know something about the person's value system. Character sketches only give snap shots of people; therefore, you should not try to write a history of the person. A good way to write a character sketch is to tell a little story about one encounter you had with him or her. If you do that, you could describe a place briefly, hopefully a place that belongs to the person you are describing, focusing on things in the scene that are somehow representative of the person you are describing. Describe how the person is dressed. Then simply tell what happened as you spent time together. From time to time, describe the person's gestures or facial expressions. It is important to put words into the person's mouth in direct quotations. As you work on this paper, you should decide what kind of emotional reaction you want the reader to have in relationship to this person. What kind of details can you select to create that emotional reaction? Avoid making broad characterizing statements; instead, let the details you give suggest general characteristics. Let the reader draw her own conclusions.

17. Types of Characters Protagonist The terms protagonist, main character and hero are variously defined and, depending on the source, may denote different concepts. In fiction, the story of the protagonist may be told from the perspective of a different character (who may also, but not necessarily, be the narrator). Often, the protagonist in a narrative is also the same person as the focal character, though the two terms are distinct. Excitement and intrigue alone is what the audience feels toward a focal character, while a sense of empathy about the character's objectives and emotions is what the audience feels toward the protagonist. Although the protagonist is often referred to as the "good guy", it is entirely possible for a story's protagonist to be the clear villain, or antihero, of the piece.

18. Types of Characters Antagonist Antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend. In other words, 'A person, or a group of people who oppose the main character, or the main characters.’ In the classic style of story wherein the action consists of a hero fighting a villain, the two can be regarded as protagonist and antagonist, respectively. The antagonist may also represent a major threat or obstacle to the main character by their very existence, without necessarily deliberately targeting him or her.

19. Types of Characters Focal Character The focal character is the the focal character is the character on whom the audience is meant to place the majority of their interest and attention. He or she is almost always also the protagonist of the story; however, in cases where the "focal character" and "protagonist" are separate, the focal character's emotions and ambitions are not meant to be empathized with by the audience to as high an extent as the protagonist (this is the main difference between the two character terms). The focal character is mostly created to simply be the "excitement" of the story, though not necessarily the main character about whom the audience is emotionally concerned. The focal character is, more than anyone else, "the person on whom the spotlight focuses; the center of attention; the man whose reactions dominate the screen."

20. Types of Characters Narrator A narrator is, within any story is the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for story-telling of any kind. The others are the author and the audience; the latter called the "reader" when referring specifically to literature. The author and the audience both inhabit the real world. It is the author's function to create the universe, people, and events within the story. It is the audience's function to understand and interpret the story. The narrator only exists within the world of the story (and only there—although in non-fiction the narrator and the author can share the same persona, since the real world and the world of the story may be the same) and present it in a way the audience can comprehend. A narrator may tell the story from his own point of view (as a fictive entity) or from the point of view of one of the characters in the story.

21. Types of Characters Supporting Character A supporting character is a character of a book, play, video game, movie, television or radio show or other form of storytelling usually used to give added dimension to a main character, by adding a relationship with this character. Sometimes supporting characters may develop a complexity of their own, but this is usually in relation to the main character, rather than entirely independently. In some cases, especially in ongoing material such as comic books and television series, supporting characters themselves may become main characters in a spin-off if they are sufficiently popular with fans. Supporting characters help the plot of a story and enhance the plot

22. Types of Characters Foil Characters In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character (usually the antagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character. A foil's complementary role may be emphasized by physical characteristics. A foil usually differs drastically. Popular fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, is tall and lean; his right-hand man Doctor Watson, meanwhile, is often described as "middle-sized, strongly built." The "straight man" in a comedy duo is a comic foil. While the straight man portrays a reasonable and serious character, the other portrays a funny, dumb, or simply unorthodox one.

23. Types of Characters Dynamic Characters A dynamic, or round, character is a major character in a work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it. Dynamic characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction, they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life. Static Characters Static characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as "two-dimensional characters" or "flat characters," they play a supporting role to the main character, who as a rule should be round, or complex.

24. Types of Characters Flat Characters A flat character is a minor character in a work of fiction who does not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as "two-dimensional characters" or "static characters," flat characters play a supporting role to the main character, who as a rule should be round. Round Characters A round character is a major character in a work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it. Round characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction, they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life. This is a good sign that they are round characters. A writer employs a number of tools or elements to develop a character, making him or her round, including description and dialogue. A character's responses to conflict and his or her internal dialogue are also revelatory.

25. Types of Characters Stock Characters A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined. Stock characters are a key component of genre fiction, providing relationships and interactions that people familiar with the genre will recognize immediately. Stock characters make easy targets for parody, which will likely exaggerate any stereotypes associated with these characters.

26. Part of Character Development • Facts • Physical Description • Attitude • Dialogue • Thoughts • Reactions • Events / Incidents • Environment

27. FACTS

28. Physical Description The most common way of describing a character. Identifies anything physical about the character. Includes height, skin, hair and eye color, short/tall, skinny/fat, wear glasses?, how he/she walks/stands, anything physical about the character.

29. Example He was a very tall, thin man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between two keen, grey eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was clad in a professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock coat was dingy and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long back was already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his head and a general air of peering benevolence. --The Hound of the Baskervilles (A. Conan Doyle)

30. Attitude • This method of characterization is the readers description of the character’s attitude. • The character’s attitude is how the character appears to feel about what is happening to him/her in the story. • Similar to how you may describe your attitude if you were in a similar situation. Example “She suffered constantly, feeling that all the attributes of a gracious life, every luxury, should rightly have been hers.” – “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. In this quote from the popular short story we learn that the main character’s attitude is one of resentment, feeling that she deserves a better life.

31. Dialogue • Dialogue is the way in which a character talk • Dialogue includes the characters choice of words and syntax. • It also includes the tone and diction of the character when he/she speaks. • Is the character serious? Sarcastic? Shy? Obnoxious? Ignorant? Etc…all these qualities can be conveyed through the characters dialogue. Example “Come, we will go back; you health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible.” “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe

32. Thoughts • The thoughts of a character can only be analyzed if we are inside the head of the character. • This means that you can only include an analysis of a character’s thoughts if you are told what the character is thinking.

33. Example of Thoughts Anyway, I was sitting on the washbowl next to where Stradlater was shaving, sort of turning the water on and off. I still had my red hunting hat on, with the peak around to the back and all. I really got a bang out of that hat. "Hey," Stradlater said. "Wanna do me a big favor?" "What?" I said. Not too enthusiastic. He was always asking you to do him a big favor. You take a very handsome guy, or a guy that thinks he's a real hot-shot, and they're always asking you to do them a big favor. Just because they're crazy about themself, they think you're crazy about them, too, and that you're just dying to do them a favor. It's sort of funny, in a way.

34. Reactions • When analyzing the reactions of others you are looking closely at how other characters in the story react to or treat the character that you are characterizing. • Reactions include verbal responses and physical or emotional treatment. • Character reactions can tell you if the character you are analyzing is liked or disliked, popular, honest, trust-worthy etc… Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is rife with the effects of one character’s actions on others. When Lydia decides to run off with the charlatan Wickham, she puts the whole family’s reputation, as well has her own, at risk, and even involves those outside her family, like Darcy.

35. Action or Incident • A character can be analyzed by looking at an action or incident and how it affected them or how they reacted to it. • What action did the character take when confronted with a certain situation. • Is there and incident in the characters past that has shaped them as a character and affected the way they look at their life. • The action or incident determines the way the character develops as the story goes on • In the novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton we learn that the narrator lost his parents in a car accident when he was young. This accident happened before the story began and is affecting the development of the main character. In a character description you could explain how this incident affects the characters development and give examples of its effect.

36. Physical or Emotional Setting • The setting of a story affects the characters’ development as well as the plot. • The physical setting of a story is where the story is actually taking place and can effect the way a character develops. • The emotional setting of a story is the series of emotions that the character deals with throughout the story.

37. Character Wall

38. Resources • http://hollylisle.com/how-to-create-a-character/ • http://www.enotes.com/topics/how-write-character-analysis • http://foremostpress.com/authors/articles/3D_characters.html • http://creative-writing-course.thecraftywriter.com/writing-characters/ • http://www.creative-writing-now.com/writing-character-profiles.html • http://www.autocrit.com/websitepublisher/articles/128/1/Creating-A-Character-Wall/Page1.html • http://www.eclectics.com/articles/character.html • http://similarminds.com/jung.html • http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-100-favourite-fictional-characters-as-chosen-by-100-literary-luminaries-526971.html • http://www.epiguide.com/ep101/index.htm