Write a quick list of your chosen person's main characteristics.

Next, do 10 minutes of free writing about your person, referring to one or more of the characteristics on your list.

Conclude with a brief physical description of your character. (If you already included a physical description in your free writing then you are done!)

Think of details that make your individual unique - hairstyle, glasses, eyes, eye brows, face, complexion, scars, way of walking and talking, clothing, hats, and so on.

Free writing means you write freely about your person without stopping, without making corrections, without rewriting. For now, no need to worry about spelling! You don't have to be organized. If you skip from one characteristic about your person to another characteristic and then another, that's fine. Just keep writing and put down whatever comes to mind. If you remember a dialogue, you can scribble that into your free writing! Some writers actually set a kitchen timer and write as fast as they can until the bell rings.

After completing this Write a two-page character sketch based on the journal entry you just completed about your "Most Unforgettable Person" and post it to the discussion forum as an attached Word document.

Here is a suggested approach. (Feel free to come up with your own approach - or work out a new approach with your instructor.)
Present your person by putting yourself into the sketch. In other words, use the approach that Palmer Hall uses in the first two paragraphs of Boatmen's Dreams. (Only the first two paragraphs!) Example: "One day when my father took me fishing way out past the island into the deeper waters of Appalachicola Bay." Palmer then goes on to show his father in action. That's what you can do with your character.

As you write the sketch, go to your journal and sift through the writing to find material for your sketch, especially from your 10 minutes of "free writing." If you described the person's physical traits and personality in your journal, use that too.

Your whole sketch could revolve around a single memorable incident - or maybe around a time of your life.

When you are finished, go back and reread and make corrections. Ask someone else to read your sketch and, as needed, insert their suggestions. Apply the checklist from your textbook to the sketch. (The checklist is in the section, "Interviewing Skills.")

After you post your character sketch (as an attached Word document), click open and read the character sketch of one other student. Comment on the following:

How do the physical description, actions, and dialogue bring out the person's personality?