1. Actions
Actions are what characters do:
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
As Kevin moved down the street his feet made a steady echo sound against the pavement. He
whistled despite the loud rumble of the traffic and the car horns. When someone yelled out the window of
his or her car to watch where he was going, he just waved back like he was watching a best friend
heading home. He passed by the garbage on the sidewalk and the old woman pushing the shopping cart
filled with newspaper, and continued to smile as he headed toward Cindy’s house. Nothing could erase
that smile from his face, not even the coldness of the streets he called home.
2. Dialogue
Dialogue is what a character says and how he or she says it:
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
“I ain’t gonna leave you here, Ma’am . . . not with you needin’ help and all,” Jimmy said as he
walked back to his truck to get the jack. “I’d help anybody who needed it; my momma taught me better’en
to just leave people. The good Lord’ll make it up to me.”
“I don’t know . . .,” Linda stuttered. She had barely rolled down her window to hear Jimmy when
he had left his pick-up truck and offered help. “You know what they say about your kind . . .”
3. Physical Description
Physical Description is what a character looks like:
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
Other guys walking through the hallway were taller and even more handsome, but there was
something about Billy Belaire. His arms swung loose at his side and his dark hair was long and pulled
back behind his head, held by a rubber band. The dark jacket he wore was straight out of the local thrift
shop, she could tell, but the way he wore it suggested a sense of pride, or at least a lack of caring what
others thought about him.
4. Idiosyncrasies
Idiosyncrasies are the characteristics, habits, and mannerisms particular to a character:
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
Junior tapped his fingertips against the table and looked at his watch constantly. His leg bounced
up and down and he gulped the hot coffee as if it would hurry up his friend’s arrival.
5. Objects & Possessions
Objects & Possessions are the important things that belong to a character:
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
Michael touched the locket around his neck and rolled it between his fingers. His mother had
given him that locket, with her picture inside, when he had left to live with his father. What would she think
of him now?
6. Reactions
Reactions are the responses a character has to a person, place, or situation.
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
Tony’s words stung Laura. It wasn’t what she expected to hear. They had been dating for over a
month now, how could he do this to her? How could he break her heart? All three of their dates had been
fun; he had said so himself.
As Tony watched the floodgate of her eyes begin to open he looked at his watch. Jeez, I hope I can make
it to the gym on time.
7. Thoughts
Thoughts are the internal dialogues and memories that a character has.
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
He began to remember when he was a freshman in high school. The seniors really thought they
were something back then, always trying to play their little pranks on the ninth graders. He knew at that
moment he couldn’t be one of those kinds of people. He walked over to Jeff and Larry to tell them it was
time to stop.
8. Background Information
Background information is the history, back-story and exposition of a character.
<em><u>Example:</u></em>
Miles knew what it meant to be alone. When he was a child growing up his father had been in the
military. They had traveled from Florida, to Georgia, to California, to Kentucky. He had rarely had a friend
for very long. By the leap from California he had already decided having friends was a risk; the fewer the
friends, the easier it was to leave. This philosophy had made him a real outsider at Glenview High School.
In the six months he had been there he had not really made a single friend but as he stood there staring
at Sheila, he realized that just might have to change.
