WriChal #3 - That sort of person

[Moonlit Naiad]

(Adapted from What If? Second Edition: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers, Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter, c.2004, Pearson Longman Publishing (pp. 61~63 ex 24 "Oh!... That Sort of Person" // text in green is a direct quote from this source.)

Part A:

Often, little details about a character can tell us far more about him or her than any amount of exposition or dialogue possible can. Little things, seemingly mentioned in passing, can greatly shape the readers' (and writer's) perception of the character. The exercise this is adapted from cites a vivid character from The Great Gatsby by the name of Meyer Wolfsheim who brings [a character's] attention to his cuff buttons and boasts, "Finest specimens of human molars." Clearly, Wolfsheim means to impress his listener, but instead of charming [the character] (or the reader), this detail has the opposite effect.

The exercise is to develop a character (the book suggests working with a story you've already written and/or are working on, and selecting a character that needs development) by taking the below sentence and finishing it, as relevant to the character.

He (or she) is the sort of person who ___________.

For example: Meyer Wolfsheim is the sort of person who boasts of wearing human molars for cuff links.

There are a few ways of doing this exercise. One is to fill in the sentence several (3~5) times or a single character. The other way is to do separate characters for each sentence.

Write three to ten sentences, each with a different sort of detail.

Side note: Future exercises may draw on this one, so it is recommended to do. For example, I may have a future WriChal say something akin to "using one of the characters you developed in WriChal #3 (or a new character, if you haven't done the exercise), create a scene showing how he or she would react to one of the following situation:"

Part B (optional):
Taking (at least) one of the sentences from Part A, write a scene (or work it into the writing from which it came) that makes use of the detail, without coming right out and saying "he/she is the sort of person who _____." See the citation from The Great Gatsby, above.

// Because this exercise is relatively short (excluding Part B, above), expect another relatively short one later this week (Wed/Thur).

[Moonlit Naiad]

Harriet is the sort of person who can't sell ice to an Eskimo, but she can make them feel bad about not buying.

Benjamin is the sort of person whose whole philosophy on life is summed up by four letters: WWGD - What would Gandalf do?

Tobin is the sort of person who'd try to order lasagna at a burger joint, and then complain all day that he was 'oppressed by the fast food system.'

Noelle is the sort of person who makes Santa look both skinny and grumpy.

Ken is the sort of person who can cite, by heart, every rule in the Dungeon Master's Guide, yet can never remember what his character's stats and skills are.

Nathan is the sort of person who pretends to be a teenage girl roleplaying a middle-aged man pretending to be a teenaged girl.

Briana is the sort of person who would never be satisfied with just the birds and the bees, but wanted the whole menagerie as well.

Jonathan is the sort of person who practices pick-up lines on his teenaged daughter.

Travis is the sort of person who boasts of the number of marriages he has ruined.

Mieka is the sort of person who wouldn't be satisfied with merely ruling the world.