Fantasy Setting & Character Sketch Exercises

Please turn in your homework ?'s in my inbox today.

During class today, please complete the following assignments:

TASK #1: Writing Lab Task: Setting Exercise: 
Setting Description Exercise: 

Choose one of the following pictures below and use it as inspiration to describe a specific setting. You are not necessarily writing a story; instead, you are describing a place in detail using imagery: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, temperature, weather, etc.

Consider:

• Sight/Visual Imagery: What does the eye see? What is most obvious about the setting visually? What are some of the small visual details (objects, places, etc.)
• Sound/Aural Imagery: What does the ear hear? What sounds might we hear in this environment (consider time of day as well...)
• Smell/Olfactory Imagery: What does the nose smell? Ex. wood smoke, brimstone, methane gas, rot, sweat, decay, mildew, earth, clay, blossoms, incense, manure, garbage, hay, cooking food or meat, flowers, cut grass, etc. Olfactory imagery is created by the mention of the smell. Usually smells linger on the air, or contrasting smells compete with one another to be most noticeable. See gustatory imagery below. Smells are often described as cloying or overwhelming--and there's always a source of the smell (whether it can be seen or heard or touched). 
• Touch/Kinesthetic Imagery: What does the body feel? How hot/cold is the wind? What does the foot or boot feel as it travels? How humid or dry is the air? What do objects held feel like? Ex. slimy, coarse, rough, prickly, smooth, bumpy, soft, hard, wet, dry, cool, hot, etc.
• Taste/Gustatory Imagery: What does the tongue taste? Similar to olfactory imagery, what might a person taste in the air, from the breeze, as a result of traveling through this area or location? Blood, by the way, tastes metallic--some say like a penny or copper. Ex. sweet, sour, slimy, fishy, rancid, succulent, bitter, acrid, etc.

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Write a descriptive paragraph or two detailing the setting of one of these places. Turn in your description to my inbox by the end of class today. Then move on to our next writing task:

TASK #2:

A character sketch is a detailed description of your main character(s) in a story. Often writers will sketch out their protagonist first, before writing a story about that character. Try this today.

Create a hero. Fantasy stories, just like realistic stories, usually focus on a protagonist who needs to accomplish an important or life-changing task, or deal with a terrible situation in order to solve it or make it right.

After completing your paragraph(s) describing a fantasy setting, create a character by answering these simple questions; You may use the graphic organizer/handout to assist you in creating your character sketch.

1. Describe your character physically. What physical strengths and weaknesses does this character possess? Consider: height, weight, body type, gender, race, etc.
2. Describe your character's personality. What mental/behavioral traits, mannerisms, habits, philosophy, beliefs, and personality weaknesses or flaws does the character possess?
3. Describe your character's life situation and/or family. What occupation or trade or skills does your character possess? How rich or poor is your character? What is the most prized possession that your character owns, for example. Why is this object so important to him/her? 
4. What is your character's background (what important events happened to him/her that might be important or helped shape his/her personality or worldly outlook/philosophy?)
5. Describe what is most interesting about your character that is different or unique from other characters?
6. Describe your character's motivation. What does your character want (right now or in the near future)? Why is this goal important to your character?

You may use the graphic handout to help you answer some of these questions before you begin your character sketch. 

If you finish your character sketch before the end of class, please turn it in. If you did not complete the character sketch, please complete it as homework for Wednesday. 

If you didn't take notes last class or need to review the following, please do so now:

Spotlight on Heroic or High Fantasy Fiction:

• What makes a hero (short video)
• This subgenre of fantasy is devoted to heroes. A hero is a character who possesses a strength, skill, or talent that ordinary people lack. A hero is often tested by facing adversity or problems--most life-threatening--so that he/she can prove his/her worth, strength, or talent as a hero.
• All heroes in stories act as role models for us (see the: benefits of reading video above). They teach us how to behave, how to be the best that we can be, how to react when faced with adversity.
• The hero will usually "go on an adventure" in this subgenre of heroic fantasy--sometimes for self-gain, sometimes to save others or to test one's heroic quality/talents.
• The hero will usually go through part or all of the following pattern:
• The Hero Archetype's Call to Adventure:
• Status Quo
• Call to adventure
• Assistance
• Departure
• Trials
• Approach
• Crisis
• Treasure
• Result
• Return 
• New Life
• Resolution/Status quo
• As we continue this unit, look for how this pattern repeats itself in the stories we read. 
• Description and detail helps paint a picture (activates neurons) in our imagination. Take a look at the video and think about how this applies to the writing that we do.

HOMEWORK: Complete "Homecoming" by Ray Bradbury. This is an example of contemporary fantasy--fantasy stories set in our present day or in the real world, but with fantastic fantasy characters as protagonists. Harry Potter, for example, would be another good example of this kind of subgenre. This story inspired Charles Adams to create his famous "The Adams Family" series. Learn more about Charles Addams here.

Complete the character sketch if you did not complete it during class.