Robert Newton Peck is a highly published author of young adult books but I won’t dwell on those. I’m going to write about something I found in his book Fiction is Folks published in 1983. One of his assertions is that fiction writing is all about characters and that most of these come from the author or people the author knows. Peck contends that since an author uses her or himself as the basis for his or her characters then that author should really know themself! So he sets this exercise starting with five sheets of paper to come up with five lists:
- What I like
- What I dislike
- What I want
- What I don’t want
- Who I am
After completing these you’ll have lots of material that you’ve had a whole lifetime of experience with on which you can base or give depth to your characters.
I think this is a great workout for author’s to be. Really gets you thinking.
I recommend the book too!
2008-08-11 at 9:08 pm |
i like eggs and sushi