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Character Sketch Handout

This character sketch is about a girl named Sarah who sits quietly in class and rarely speaks. She has dark, messy hair that seems protective and turned inward posture that acts as a defense. The writer is drawn to the mystery of who Sarah is based on her appearance and actions. A general impression is that Sarah is a pretty girl who doesn't believe in her own beauty, with her multi-colored hair and unconventional part suggesting a faint rebellious streak. When called on, Sarah speaks with a wavering voice and red cheeks showing her embarrassment, answering some questions but leaving more mysteries about her personality.

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George Kevin Tomas
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315 views4 pages

Character Sketch Handout

This character sketch is about a girl named Sarah who sits quietly in class and rarely speaks. She has dark, messy hair that seems protective and turned inward posture that acts as a defense. The writer is drawn to the mystery of who Sarah is based on her appearance and actions. A general impression is that Sarah is a pretty girl who doesn't believe in her own beauty, with her multi-colored hair and unconventional part suggesting a faint rebellious streak. When called on, Sarah speaks with a wavering voice and red cheeks showing her embarrassment, answering some questions but leaving more mysteries about her personality.

Uploaded by

George Kevin Tomas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Character Sketch

What is it? What are its possible


It is creating a colourful and
vivid picture of what someone
topics?
Someone you know
is like. A person in history
A story character

A good character
sketch…
Captures the personality and
appearance of a person and can
be part of almost any writing
genre, from poetry to fictional
narratives to biography to news
stories.

A successful character sketch should…


present a vivid picture of the personality and physical appearance of a person;
establish a dominant, or main, impression of the person;
reveal the writer’s response to the person;
include dialogue, mannerisms, description, and other devices that show rather than tell
what the character is like;
place the character in a context that contributes to the reader’s understanding of the
character; and
have a clear organizational structure and a strong conclusion

Creative Writing George Kevin N. Tomas


A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, and intensify scenes.
-Richard North Patterson

1. Prewriting Planning Your Character Sketch


Whom do you want to Explore your feelings. How do you feel about the
write about? person? What tone will you use to convey your feelings
You can choose —detached, admiring, humorous, serious?
someone you know well.
You might consider an Create mental images of the person. Mentally
interesting relative, a replay scenes in which your character speaks, moves,
special teacher, or a and interacts with others. Which details stand out?
remarkable friend.
You can also write about Place your character in a setting. Describe the
someone you have only person in a time and place that will reveal his or her
casually observed but personality. Which setting will best show how your
whose actions are character interacts with others? Which setting will
unusual or revealing. reveal your character’s inner self?

Create a dominant impression. What is the main


impression you want to give? What descriptions and
incidents involving the character will best create this
impression?

2. Drafting
The best part of writing a character sketch is that you can start anywhere. Just begin
drafting and let the person emerge as you write. You can rework the details when you
revise and edit.
Show rather than tell.
Good character sketches let readers draw conclusions. Use anecdotes, dialogue, or any
other device that will show rather than tell what your character is like.
Grab attention early but save the best for last.
Draw in your audience by starting with an interest tickler—a funny incident or a bizarre
detail about your character’s appearance, as you develop your character, save your
best for last.

Grab attention early but save the best for last.


Draw in your audience by starting with an interest tickler—a funny incident or a bizarre
detail about your character’s appearance. As you develop your character, save your
best for last.
Creative Writing George Kevin N. Tomas
3. Revising
TARGET SKILL
WORD CHOICE
In a character sketch, carefully chosen words add clarity and vigor to description.
Specific verbs can bring the action to life. Specific modifiers can paint vivid pictures of
how things look, smell, sound, taste, and feel.

4. Editing and Proofreading


TARGET SKILL
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Pronouns help present ideas clearly
and help prevent unnecessary
repetition. Make sure your pronouns
agree with their antecedents in
number (singular or plural) and gender
(masculine, feminine, or neuter) and
are the right case (nominative,
objective, or possessive).

Creative Writing George Kevin N. Tomas


CHARACTER SKETCH SAMPLE
Retrieved from https://www.deviantart.com/sarah3/art/Character-Sketch-of-Myself-118600277

Sarah sits quietly. Just by that, I already know her type; she’s one of those people. There’s at
least one of them in every class. They are the ones that just sit there during class and rarely say
a word. They act like it causes them great pain just to say a few words in class.

Her dark, messy hair acts as a thick brownish-red screen, almost as if protecting her from the
outside world. Her posture, which is turned somewhat inward, is on her list of defences as well.
What is she so afraid of? Is she afraid of sounding stupid, of getting hurt?

I’m drawn to the mystery of who Sarah is. Does she talk with an accent? Does she talk quietly or
loudly? How does she act outside of class? I find myself asking these questions, coming up with
more and more. I can’t seem to make myself focus on anything else except this strange girl
sitting in class.

Just by her looks I can get a general idea of what she is like. She’s a pretty girl, but by the way
she carries herself and hides, it’s apparent that she’s one of those girls who don’t believe that
they are pretty. Her hair, which is obviously multi-colored (a cross between black, brown and
red) and parted non-conventionally to the side, says that she doesn’t want to be like everyone
else. Apparently, she has a faint rebellious nature.

She looks like she has something to say, as she takes in a breath and open her mouth ever so
slightly. Dammit, someone beat her to it. Now it’s back to the silent treatment she is giving to
the rest of the class.

Eventually she is called upon. There is a split second of panic and utter dread that flash in her
eyes. If you had not been paying attention, you would have missed it. Gasp! She spoke! The
wavering of her voice and the slight tint of red on her cheeks show the whole class her
embarrassment of speaking in front of a group of relatively unknown people. Most of my
questions about her have been answered but wait I still have more! She seemed to have a sense
of empowerment by speaking. However, as it seems with Sarah, old habits die hard and she’s
back to being the nervous unknown girl. Who knows the next time we’ll hear her speak again.

Creative Writing George Kevin N. Tomas

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