Week Three Writing

1. Consider whether or not you agree with these ideas. How you respond to these statements may give you a clue as to how you'll write character.

- Character isn't a static thing; who we are is revealed through the way in which we respond to people and things. (agree)

- We can't escape who we are: strong characters are based on patterns of predictable behaviour we all exhibit, and a story may choose to disturb those character habits with dramatic effect. (disagree)

- Character is something that evolves, and not a given set of qualities. (agree)

- Indeed, we may spend most of our time performing a version of ourselves, to the exclusion of other sides of our character. (agree)

- Does character even exist? (of course)

2. One thing is certain, people very rarely sit down and talk about deep and personal feeling. Think about how the tension between what someone feels and what they express about those feelings may be used to create interesting characters. Concealment may be as telling as disclosure.

3. What other devices do writers use to create character other than physical appearance? It's rarer these days that a writer will depend on a description of a character's physical appearance as a way of defining character. Why?

- It’s what’s on the inside that matters more than what’s on the outside. The way a character talks can reveal a lot about them. Show not tell who they are.

4. What part do age, social background, place, economic status and memory play in defining character in stories?

- There are always stereotypes of different characteristics such as age and social status which people accept, and a writer can steer into those stereotypes if they want to.

5. EXERCISE: In the light of the above, make some clear decisions about your character and then place them in either a supermarket, a swimming pool, on the beach or some other location outside their home where they will encounter other people. Use either the first person point-of-view or third person free-indirect style (where the narrator adopts the point of view of the character). Write between 300-500 words.

Autumn drifted in and with it the season of romance. Some people said summer was the season of love, but as far as Zoe could see, autumn was the season where everywhere you looked there was a couple holding hands. Maybe she just noticed it more as she’d never had anyone to hold hands with.

She supposed that no one really wanted to be alone, especially at this time of year. As the weather got colder, everyone naturally wanted someone to keep warm with.

Evidence of which was practically everyone she knew signing up for Tinder. Part of Zoe was tempted to join them, but the other part knew that she’d never find any meaningful kind of relationship on there. After being a sworn romantic for most of her life, Zoe wanted true love and

Also, there wouldn’t be anyone the pack would approve of on there. And of course the pack would have to approve. As the last girl of her name without a mate, every member of her pack felt as if her love life was all their business. Zoe had always been told it was disrespect of the elders to disagree.

She was lucky really; most young wolves wouldn’t have been allowed to come so far from home.

There was definitely a belief that the closer to the ancestors and the watchful eye of the alpha you were, the safer you would be. Truly, Zoe thought it was merely a way to keep control over the more unruly members of the pack.

Which she had never been. Zoe kept to the rules without fail. She sought to always be approved of and kind to everyone she met. The lower profile that nature gifted her helped her keep her true nature to herself; people hardly ever asked questions of the girl who sat on the sidelines minding her own business.

The only time Zoe truly let herself go, or was allowed to let herself go, was on the full moon.

Back home, that meant freedom to go wherever she wanted. It meant the sensuous feeling of turning under the light of the moon, shaking herself off and bounding off into the half-darkness. The fields surrounding her father’s property were vast, and the other wolves often used the time to race each other, but Zoe never bothered to join them.

When in wolf form, Zoe liked being on her own. There was something electric about the solitude; it made every fibre of her being feel more alive. As if it was so still that she could hear the tiniest pin drop. As if her heart rate dropped so low it almost stopped. As if the whole world stopped turning on its axis for that precious moment.