Good morning again, teachers!

We've rounded the bend into August. I hope you've all been productive and are having a great time putting your stories into the world.

Today, I want to talk about how your character's actions can give your character personality and depth. How your character moves, responds, and just generally functions throughout the day says a LOT about the kind of (hopefully unique) person he or she is. What kind of cereal does your character eat? Why? How does your character dress? Is there a lot of care put into it, or none at all? Is your character aware of labels? Is your character sarcastic? Grumpy? Quiet? Boisterous? How does your character interact with his or her parents? Siblings? Friends? Enemies? Teachers? Strangers? And how on earth do you get all this across in your writing?

Here's an idea. Write a scene showing your character waking up and getting ready for school in the morning. Look at the list above and see how much you can get across by SHOWING us how your character gets up, gets dressed, eats breakfast, and gets to school. Here are some more questions to consider:

Will your character be chipper when he or she wakes? Scared? Filled with dread? Excited?

What does his or her room look like? Is it messy or clean? Does it smell?

How will your character go about finding clothes and getting dressed? Will they be neatly hung in a closet or pulled from a heap on the floor?

Will your character eat breakfast? Why or why not? If so, what will it be? Will your character eat in silence or talk to family members? Or eat on the bus?

Will your character walk to school, ride the bus, get a ride, drive?

What do each of the answers say about who your character is and what he or she is going through? (Because each detail SHOULD say something about your character or else it shouldn't be there. Every word and every description need to earn their place on the page. They must have a purpose.) You see what I'm getting at. You can do a tremendous amount of worldbuilding and characterization in a simple scene like this.

How much can you tell us about your character's world without explaining it all, but showing it through dialog and action? Let's find out!