Get to Know Your Antagonist Writing Exercise
Go through magazines until you find a
picture of your antagonist. Post the picture above your computer.
Spend at least five minutes three times
a week with your antagonist while writing your short story or novel. Ask
questions and let him answer.
Write one or all of the following scenes
in your antagonist’s point of view, whether or not you plan to use his viewpoint
in the story:
·
love
scene
·
action
scene
·
flashback
scene from childhood
Choose a prop (piece of clothing,
object, music, etc.) that will enable you to slip into your antagonist’s voice
at will. When you write from your antagonist’s POV, wear or use this prop.
Pretend you’re your antagonist, put a CD
on, and dance in your living room.
Pretend you’re your antagonist and write
an essay titled “What I did last summer.”
Create a timeline for your antagonist’s
life. Fill it in in detail.
Just as an actor must get into his
character, spend one day as much as you can in your antagonist’s head, thinking
his thoughts, holding his attitudes, being with his feelings.
Create a collage of all of your
antagonist’s favorite things.
Choose a movie star that most reminds
you of your antagonist and watch all of this star’s movies-in a row, if you
can.
This
creative exercise came from the course Creating Dynamic Characters
Every
fiction writer will tell you—and every fiction reader instinctively knows—that
compelling characters are at the heart of all good fiction. Creating believable
characters and bringing them to life on the page requires observation,
understanding, imagination and skill in the techniques of character development
and characterization.
You
will learn:
·
Techniques
of character development and characterization
·
How
to apply these skills to specific fictional characters of your own choosing
Comments