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» Hatrack River Writers Workshop » Forums » Writing Class » A Character Challenge/Exercise (Page 1)

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Author Topic: A Character Challenge/Exercise
mikemunsil
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I challenge you to write one sentence that strongly characterizes a person, real or fictitious. Let's see if we tend to characterize by physical appearance or by character. Let's see if a single descriptive sentence taken out of context is effective, or not.
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HSO
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Hmmm... only one?

After Johnny said, "I'm not cheating on you, sweetheart," I kicked the lying bastard in the nuts... twice.


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mikemunsil
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(and no, this is not an entry)
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Paul-girtbooks
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It was the resigned look in her haunted, hazel eyes, and the way the corner of her mouth turned down in that cute frown of hers, that really broke my heart and not the words she spoke next.
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Robert Nowall
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"He's so cheap that it takes him six months to go through a roll of toilet paper."
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Robyn_Hood
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Then this fiery little red-head walked up to me and declared she was going to fly!
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MG
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Eleonor, our scientific advisor, always had something to say; if you saw her pushing her glasses closer to the bridge of her cute, button-like nose and leaning forward on her chair, you'd better go to the bathroom first and *then* listen.

A bit on the longish side :0

MG


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Spaceman
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The flappy jowels and protruding nose stood in testiment to his conservative outlook and win-at-all-costs attitude.


Who does this describe?


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NMgal
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She popped one hip out to the side, tilted her head, and gave him the high wattage smile that helped her win the 1999 Ms. Texas Pageant.

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KevinMcGowan
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When his eyes began to glaze and his head started to list, it was obvious we had passed the point of comprehension.
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Constipatron
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Her caterwaul penetrated us with dread as her sunken, hungry eyes sparked with insatiable fury; enough for her to exert her hypnotic piles of flab.
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Susannaj4
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He spent most of his life being perfectly pompous and unattentive to the world around him.
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Ted Galacci
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I notice a lot of people are telling and not showing. Also, most of the characters are not sympathetic. Here's my effort:

The rain poured down on Johnny, but not on the kittens in his coat.

[This message has been edited by Ted Galacci (edited March 05, 2006).]


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Saint Fu
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Agnes hated her name and the Saint it belonged to, and above all she hated her mother who chose it.
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hoptoad
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Paulie Phfink ducked out of the street and into the nearest shop desperate to avoid his schoolmates and sweating as he watched them through the window.

[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited March 23, 2006).]


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hoptoad
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Or:
Paulie Phfink was as round and bland as a boarding-house pudding.


[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited March 27, 2006).]


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Mr.Confused
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She had ocean blue eyes and lips like crimson, but it was her voice that had awakened his heart.
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Willster328
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For some reason he'd never been able to frown, even when his facial muscles were relaxed, his lips would somehow still curve upward slightly, and if that wasn't noticeable, it always looked like his eyes were smiling anyways.


hahah can anyone guess how I've characterized this character to be?


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Aalanya
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In her younger years she had been smooth like an apple, both in look and manner, but now that she was old the apple had rotted, and in all ways she was poison to those around her.
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Ray
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Janet finished her salad, and when the waiter reached for her plate, she belched loud enough that half the restaurant turned their heads toward her.
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hoptoad
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I like that one, Ray.
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FastCat
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Augie Phipps sighed heavily and took his third look at his watch since his wife's funeral began.
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Po
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He looked to her as alive and lively as the vivid tapestries that adorned the walls of the palace.
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Po
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And this one doesn't exactly describe one person, rather a group of people. I apologize in advance for the strong language...

In their wifebeaters and chinos with their hair slicked back or shaved, with their slutty girlfriends hanging on them, they seemed to forget that they were only teenage boys playing at being grown men.


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oldhippie
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Farrell drew himself up to his full six-foot-one and answered her, saying, "Hell no, I didn't invest in your business; I invest in people and not things."
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Wusong101
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As the tea leaves fell into the hot water they writhed like tormented souls and he sighed at how they seemed to define him.
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hoptoad
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I like your entry OldHippie.
I get a very clear image of this bloke.

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Snowden
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Caleb reached up with a callused hand and pulled the cap down, protecting his eyes from the rising sun.
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wyrd1
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Butte's eyes didn't flinch under the grey ballcap, he didn't cry or even curse the fool who had fumbled the beam that had torn the six inch gash across his thickly muscled torso.

[This message has been edited by wyrd1 (edited April 20, 2006).]


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Laralynzy
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The engaging green of his eyes went cold and flat as he allowed his war face to emerge, the killer stare that indicated he had detached from his emotions and had sighted his target.
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Hygge
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The boy's father remained standing, his back as straight as a redwood tree, and fought back tears as he heard the story of his son's tragic death at the hands of his friends.

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GodSpoken
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Sighing, she settles onto the floor and watches as the kindling flares and bursts into a tiny inferno that will rapidly burn itself to cinder - without the least impact on the chill - if she fails to feed it further.
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Bionic Fuzz
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Agatha closed the door with a smile, tossed the the unopened box of 'Thin Mints' in the trash and headed back down to the basement.

[This message has been edited by Bionic Fuzz (edited May 03, 2006).]

[This message has been edited by Bionic Fuzz (edited May 03, 2006).]


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giggles
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Martha waggled her head and said, "writing isn't a horrible career; it is the degradation of individualism, suppressing visionaries from achieving prominence in a society of traditionalists, which is glory I wish to obtain."

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RantNRave
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As Phil lowered the rifle, he wiped away the tear that was falling down his cheek and wondered if it was the result of either witnessing the horror of seeing such a magnificant animal lose its life so quickly and effortlessly, or from the relief that it wasn't his bullet that took it, or from the realization that none of his buddies saw his failure and he wouldn't have to explain why.
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CarolynNicita
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During the unit on the female reproductive system in biology class, 6'5" Mr. Koenig, also the track coach, would hold the life-sized diagram in front of his own torso with a confidently-heterosexual swagger which made the class laugh so hard they drowned out the co-instructor's lesson.
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wetwilly
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She was a really strong character.
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MightyCow
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Lacy poked one finger through the hole in her left sock, pulled it off of her foot, and kneeling on Ray's chest, mopped it across the thick stream of blood that dribbled from the hole in his neck on its way toward the bathroom door.
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mikemunsil
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I love reading these.
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teddyrux
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“I enjoy seeing the face of my victims as I kill them, but this time I’ll make an exception.”


This is spoken by the main character in my current WIP.


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Ellepepper
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I miss red, its such a vibrant color, but it reminds me of my other me; the killer.

Spoken by one of my characters in a WIP.


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Kilgore__Trout
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"This is not my life", she thought as she kneeled hunched over letting her head press into the carpet and tears stream out the swelling eye and down her forehead.

[This message has been edited by Kilgore__Trout (edited July 01, 2006).]


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TMan1969
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Phil looked menacingly at his partner, his strong hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel. His partner watched as Phil's jaw clenched and he wondered why he was so unforgiving.
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TMan1969
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Ethan's face went white when he saw George, the neighbors dog. He wrung his hands nervously and plotted a safe route to get his father.
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TMan1969
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A wide grin spread across his face as he anxiously tore at the wrapping paper of his gift. Anger knotted his face when he saw its true contents, a wool knitted sweater with dancing deer. His Grandamother smiled at him and his mother nudged him, Jorge looked up with a forced smile, "Wow, thanks Grandma this is a beautiful sweater"
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Tom_Shandruk
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Though they all knew that he did not understand, but there he was, sitting there with that distant, comprehensive stare that he was known for.

[This message has been edited by Tom_Shandruk (edited July 22, 2006).]


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Hygge
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John’s own world defined by three items, worthless to the rest of the world but priceless to him.
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Hygge
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Patiently Elaine waited in line, doing the things one does when their time is being robbed by the incompentence of others.
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DeathtotheSwiss
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Joshua fell down a lot these days.
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Giskard
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Trying to ignore the ringing phone, he hugged his knees and started flipping through the channels with the remote
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