Focus on ... character A character is a person who appears in a story.
As in real life, we form opinions of characters based on their actions and behaviour. When creating characters, you can say a lot about their appearance and personality by describing how they act.
When describing characters you should remember to show, not tell. It is more interesting when you fi gure things out about characters yourself, without being told by the author.
Look at this description of a character from the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men
This room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs. His body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine, and his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity. His lean face was lined with deep black wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face.
Discuss
1. Why do you think people called Crooks by that name? 2. Do you know anyone with a nickname? Why do they have this nickname? 3. Can you think of any fi ctional characters who are known by their nickname?
