Description Exercise

In this exercise you are going to describe a person. You can pick someone you know, someone you don't know but see around your neighbourhood or at your workplace, or you can choose a character from a piece of fiction that you are writing. Fix this person in your mind and then begin to describe them. Once you've got down their physical description, tell us how they move. Tell us what their voice sounds like. What are some of their favourite expressions? What do they say when they are angry? Can you describe this person in such a way that if I walked into a crowded room, I would recognize them right away?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lori,

For some reason I'm having difficulty with this one. I know the neighbor well. He's a great guy with a real good sense of humor, but I'm not sure that I could describe him well enough that you could pick him out as you walked into a room.

Mario

firstlinefiction said...

Try the exercise with someone you don't know as well and see how that makes a difference. (Forget for now what I said about being able to pick him out when I walk into a room - that might be causing your creativity to freeze.) Remember there is no right or wrong way to do this exercise. It is all about learning how to develop your own observation skills. Loosen up and have some fun with it. And thanks for your comment, Mario. As always you are teaching me, as well.

Take Care,
Lori

Anonymous said...

Lori,

I'm having breakfast out with a couple of guys tomorrow. I'll try with them. I think I'm going to try the other person a bit at a time. I can do an okay description now. I'll just add to it over the next month to make it distinctive, and try to get him to the immediate recognition point. I need the practice. All the characters in my stories are not that unique. They didn't need to be.

I did freeze a bit on how to make it that unique.

Mario

firstlinefiction said...

It's all practice. And learning how to observe - trust me, it is a skill that gets developed with time and patience. Good luck and have fun!

~ Lori