Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Exercise for a Storyteller #3: Interview the Main Character

So far in this series of storytelling exercises, we’ve focused on ways to develop compelling plots. Now it’s time to think about the characters themselves. After all, even the most fascinating plot will fall flat if its characters are dull and one-dimensional.

To begin, let’s consider what character development means. We’ll keep it simple and say that it’s the craft through which a writer makes a character come to life. The better the character development, the easier it is for a reader to know a character inside and out. That means being able to picture what a character looks like and being able to imagine what he’s thinking at any given moment in a story. In other words, the character is more than his looks or his role in the story. He is the total sum of his words and actions, hopes and fears, and virtues and vices.

Many writers let those things develop organically in the course of writing a story, meaning they “discover” who their characters are as the story unfolds. The problem for a child, though, is that process requires a fair amount of revision, not to mention a serious time commitment.

To help my students really know their characters from the start, I like having them “interview” their main characters before writing a story. For example, when we finish reading Beowulf, students often write their own spin-offs. But first, I have them interview their main character. Many of them choose to interview Beowulf or one of the other minor heroes like Hrothgar or Wiglaf, but others choose Grendel or Grendel’s Mother or the Fire Dragon. Some even choose lesser characters like Unferth or Brecca or Aeschere.

I usually give my students a few standard questions and have them write the interview out in a formal fashion in their journals. They may answer the questions based on what the character seems like in the original story, or they may imagine the character in a new light. Here is a list of sample questions I like to use.

State your full name and age.

Tell me about your family.

What are your hobbies?

What is your biggest hope?

What is your biggest secret?

What is your biggest fear?

What is your best virtue?

What is your worst vice?

The list of questions could go on and on, but a short sample is plenty to get a child started. Then, I ask my students to come up with a few original questions, which allows them to expand on a side of the character they really want to develop.

The results of this are highly entertaining, and we spend ample time sharing our interviews with each other. I once had a student interview Grendel’s Mother and find out that she had a soft spot for “Baby Mine” from Dumbo. (The Grendel family descends from Cain and hates music, which made this twist very intriguing.) Another time, a student “discovered” that Hrothgar slept with a nightlight. (He is the king whom Beowulf saves from Grendel and Grendel’s Mother.) And who knew that Wiglaf’s greatest treasure was a fingernail clipping from the arm Beowulf tore off Grendel in their death match? (That was a comical, yet fitting treasure for a warrior who revered Beowulf as the greatest of all warriors.)

In true journalistic form, my students imagine they are getting the scoop on characters, and they are in a sense. All the while, they are learning to develop strong, believable characters for their stories. Whether they are working from an existing story or writing a completely original one, interviewing main characters is a great way to get started. As the character takes shape, the storyline itself will come alive more fully.

Image Credit: Illustration in Stories of Beowulf by H. E. Marshall. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, 1908.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Inkling the Story: A Series of Classical Writing Exercises

When a child retires the toys of his imaginary world, as C.S. Lewis and his brother Warren did with their imaginary world of Boxen, and when he has finished drawing pictures that go along with it, as J.R.R. Tolkien did with the world of Middle Earth, it is time to take out a piece of paper and a pencil. Now, instead of playing with toys and crayons, the child will play with words.  

The most straightforward approach a child could take is to write one of the stories he’s come up with from beginning to end. While that may be straightforward, it’s not at all simple—even for a developed writer. After having imagined so much, getting all of it down on paper is really hard. It’s not that the child forgets what he wants to say; it’s that it takes so very long to write it all out. Put differently, what took minutes to tell might take hours to write. And so the child may skimp on imagery, shorten scenes, cut characters, or simply give up altogether.    

Writing a story is a weighty undertaking! 

With that in mind, I am going to share some of my favorite storytelling exercises that are more limited in scope and possible to finish in one sitting. These are not shortcuts to writing a whole story. Rather, they are ways in which a child might learn the art of writing stories in small chunks over a prolonged period of time. Here is the list of exercises.  

Rewrite a Fairytale 

Write a Sequel or a Prequel

Interview a Main Character

Re-invent History

Play with an Archetype

Use a Picture Prompt

Start a Writing Club 

The rule of thumb I use with my students is one scene per sitting, meaning a child should write one scene, and one scene only, but with as much development as possible. That being the case, a full story could unfold over many days. But even if the exercise only ever produces a single scene, it is still well worthwhile for the aspiring storyteller because it affords ample space to develop his writing style and voice.  

I’ll post each exercise over the coming days, and this introduction will serve as the table of contents. Whether you are a child aspiring to become a storyteller or a parent or teacher guiding a child along the way, this series is for you. And remember, it’s not how much you write but how beautifully.  

Image Credit: The Little Student by Julian Alden Weir (1890)