Lecture 6: Characters—Round and Flat, Major and Minor
- Using a story you like or a completed draft of one of your own stories,
OLVWDOOWKHFKDUDFWHUVDQGGHVFULEHZKDWHDFKFKDUDFWHUZDQWVDVEULHÀ\
as possible. Using only what the story itself says about the character,
\RXVKRXOGEHDEOHWRGHWHUPLQHTXLFNO\ZKRLVÀDWYHUVXVURXQGDQG
who is major versus minor. Sherlock Holmes’s entry might say, “He
wants to solve the crime and impress everyone with his brilliance.”
Anna Karenina’s entry might say, “She wants the sort of passion from
another man that she’s never had from her husband, but in truth, she
GRHVQ¶WUHDOO\NQRZZKDWVKHZDQWV ́,I\RX¿QG\RXUVHOISDXVLQJ
over one of your own characters and wondering what he or she wants
to do, you may discover that you have some additional work to do in
character development.
Writing Exercise