Playwriting - Part 5A - Creating Characters Starting with a Piece of Nature

When it comes to writing plays, it is important to know your characters. However, sometimes you have an idea for a play that is only a concept and you can't think of the character that you want to create. In this case, you need an activity to help you create a character. Here is one such activity.

Find any item from nature. It is preferable if you can hold it if you want to bring it inside to work with it. It can be a flower, a leaf, an acorn, or any other small object or even part of an object. It might be some tree bark or part of an old bird's nest. If you are working outside, you can pick a bigger object.

Make a list of the physical characteristics of this item. Make a list of words or phrases about how this item makes you feel. Depending on how long you have to create your character will depend on if you move straight to the next step or take some time. It is good to take some time such as a day between each activity. However, if you have to create a character immediately, you can still use this activity.

Once you've made your list, you no longer need the item from nature. From your list, draw anything that the words on it make you see or feel. You don't have to be a good artist and you can choose any type of medium you'd like to use. You can use a paint program on your computer, you can use paints on a canvas, you can sit and draw with marker or crayons, or you can use any other medium of your choice to create a picture. Once you've created the picture, get rid of the list you created it from and focus only on the picture.

From this picture, make another list. Once again, list all the words and phrases that describe it physically. List all the words and phrases that it makes you feel. Does the picture look like it has any feelings or personality? List those things.

Put the picture away and focus only on the list. From here, use the list to start creating your character. You probably won't use every item that you have listed, but you probably have a good start to a character. If you started with something like an apple, you might have a list that has kept the word red, but maybe the apple was shiny and through this exercise, you ended up with the word streaked. Perhaps your drawing looks angry. So, your character could be red, streaked, and angry. Maybe your character has a sunburn. You likely have many more words and phrases that can describe the character. Use the ones that stand out to you. Create your character.

If you have more time and you like sculpting, you can use some type of colored sculpting material after drawing the picture and making it's list. You don't have to be good at sculpting. This can be playdough or children's clay. After sculpting, you would create your list of words and phrases and them move on to creating your character.