Author’s Craft

Day Three:

In a recent School Library Journal article, Holding History in My Hands: Authors, Illustrators and Artifacts by Daryl Grabarek, author Tonya Bolden shares how old newspapers, photographs, street maps and political memorabilia bring a period, person or idea into sharper focus. 

Old newspapers, photographs, postcards, street maps, political memorabilia, realia.

I love owning bits of history, old stuff. They help me get into character, be it a person or an era. There’s something transportive about exploring a piece of the past—not online, not in a book or magazine, not through a display case—but while holding it in my hands.

Characterization is the way in which authors convey information about their characters. Characterization can be direct, as when an author tells readers what a character is like  for example, “George was cunning and greedy.” or indirect, as when an author shows what a character is like by portraying his or her actions, speech, or thoughts  for example,  “On the crowded subway, George slipped his hand into the man’s coat pocket and withdrew the wallet, undetected.”  Descriptions of a character’s appearance, behavior, interests, way of speaking, and other mannerisms are all part of characterization.

Based on items you examined yesterday, you will write a five sentence charcterization in your journal. Characterization is a crucial part of making a story compelling. In order to interest and move readers, characters need to seem real.

Remember to have fun!

Use the rubric below to guide your writing.