Five Characters Exercise

Discussion 2: Five Characters Exercise
Before we go any further, before we begin discussing how a writer weaves together all these seemingly disparate parts into a well-crafted, compelling short story, let's get some of these characters out of your head and onto paper. Once you've done that, you can apply what we'll be talking about in this lesson to one of these characters as you begin to reveal his or her story.
Prompts for Discussion
Complete the Five Character Exercise below.
• Five-Character Exercise: Generate five paragraphs for five characters whose stories you might like to tell for your first major assignment. Use the following model—and example—to guide you.
MODEL
(Name), a (age)-year-old (occupation) living in (city/state/country), wants (desire). Unfortunately, (obstacle), (obstacle), and (obstacle) are all very real obstacles.
EXAMPLE
Jason, a twenty-seven-year-old gas station attendant living in Burdock, MI, wants to prove to his older brother Chad, a stockbroker in Chicago, that he, too, can make something of himself. Unfortunately, the lack of a high school diploma, an eighteen-year-old girlfriend, and a blind father who is completely dependent on his youngest son, are all very real obstacles.
Then, once you've posted, read and respond to your classmates' character descriptions. Consider what influences might go into the making of the characters' types: age, gender, race, nationality, marital status, region, education, religion, profession. What would your expectations be? What are your first impressions?