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NaNoWriMo – Let’s Take our Characters for a Walk: Everyone can Play!

When I was a teacher of drama, in a high school in New Zealand, we would frequently devise characters for  improvised plays.  One of the exercises, when we were devising, was called Take your Character for a Walk.  Everyone in the classroom would assume his or her favourite character,  then the students would move about the room discovering physical quirks about their character that might show in their walk, or their face. Next I would call out and they would turn to someone close by, introduce themselves as that character, and ask and answer  two or three open ended questions. The characters would have a conversation with each other. It was endlessly entertaining.

This was not to promote their storyline, particularly, but it did help to develop a little of the back story and the predominant emotion of the character on this particular day.  From our improvised plays we wrote scripts. Scripts do not always elaborate on everything about that character. In fact if you did that it would end up being the most boring work in the world. So unless someone’s back-story comes up in conversation or is part of the story, it is not used in any way other than being known.  And that little bit of knowing is wonderful when writing.

So is a little Lamb Curry.

Now, obviously, I am working alone on the story that I will begin writing on Thursday during the NaNoWriMo challenge.  So, how do I get my characters up out of their chairs and talking to people, discovering their personal stories, without actually beginning to write.

I thought maybe YOU could mingle with them and find out what you can. Whether you are writing a novel or not, it is a fun exercise in imagination.  If you are also writing a novel, in November, maybe you could ask questions of My characters as one of Your characters.

We need a location.   Let’s see: the road that runs along the beach. You are driving, you see one of my characters standing on the side of the road with a red petrol can, he or she needs  to get to the garage and you, being the charming and neighbourly person I know you to be,  will offer them a ride.  Rain is coming.   The ride is short, what will your  first question be?

Here are four of my characters. Take your pick.

So there is Salty whose real name is Roger. Salty is about 70 something,  very, very bright,  taciturn,  and active. He wears polyester pants, gloves and a big red tartan jacket.  It is early summer. He has lived in this area most of his life.

Jennifer  is in her late 30’s. She has short, straight, dark hair and green eyes. She is tall and too thin. She has three children and has just started working part time at the gas station. She is also Salty’s daughter in law. She has recently come to live with Salty, and look after him, while she writes a book.

Michael is the local undertaker. He is stocky, cheerful, balding, not terribly tall, leads with his stomach and his hearse is painted sea green with a very discreet seahorse on the drivers door. I do hope there is no-one in the hearse if he is walking down the road with an empty gas can.

Alfie. Alfie is 12. Alfie is Jennifer’s eldest son and should be in his new school.  Now why is he walking down the road with a gas can? Or is he on a skate board? He had better not be getting into cars with strangers either, so maybe you have already been introduced.

So, if you want to play, and we can play all day if you like, (especially if you are locked inside with the storm raging outside and still have power) – your question might go something like this. “Hi Alfie.  Remember me? I’m your neighbour from across the gully. Your Mum told me to look out for you. What’s with the gas can, honey?”

And Alfie will answer you.

And if you don’t feel up to playing today, leave a message anyway and I will send one of my characters to visit you at your place!!   One answer leads to another question. Everyone can steal each other’s threads. All characters welcome.

Good morning. Is this crazy or what!? It’s going to be great. Jump in!

While you do that I am off out into the freezing wind to milk the cow and feed the animals. We are not in the way of the big storm, but it looks like fingertips of high winds are reaching all the way over here and the temps are at freezing. Which is nothing compared to what many of you are enduring.  I hope you are ok.

Love celi

 

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65 responses to “NaNoWriMo – Let’s Take our Characters for a Walk: Everyone can Play!”

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  1. Hi Jennifer, hop in honey – oh, don’t worry about the wind blowing your skirt up. Here. I’ll pitch the can in the truck back – shouldn’t carry it inside – you ought to know that.
    Shoot you dressed up pretty fancy for your new job – almost look like you’re headed to someplace out-of-town nice.
    Hey how’s the kid? Oh, waiting for you at the station. Good to keep an eye on him after that little bit of trouble. Now don’t you worry, everyone’s willin to give him a second chance – after all he’s had a lot to adjust to. Don’t fret your little head over that mess.
    Odd, you ‘way out here.
    Michael just got some crank call he’s needed down the road there. He ain’t anxious to get out – says bad storms comin’
    Wind sure is pickin’ up
    Well, you look at that. Looks like something on fire down the road there. Better get where I can get signal and call it in. What do you think it is? That’s sort of back where you came from, isn’t it? Did you see anything down that way?
    Hang on girl, better get movin’

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  2. Psst – Buddy, you the guy who left that long green carry the dead carcass of a car along the road site. Hate to tell you bud … hop in …. out of gas? Well, I hate to tell you bud, you’re not just out of gas, the back door to your hearse is open, and i see someone’s ankles and toes, toes all banged up, and the sheet slipped out, half in the hearse, half out.
    Who am I?
    I’m Baby Cakes Nelson, just over from Boston.
    what to do.
    Well, before we get you gas, i’m gonna turn a u-ee here and we’ll tuck in your corpse, and pick the sheet up and properly tuck the poor lass or lad up.

    Gas station i think is ahead.

    So you’re a mortician! my aunt Bumpa in high school took a career day class in undertaking. She still laughs about it, laughed until her sister, my mom died.

    I could have used you Bud …

    My name’s Michael

    I could have used you Michael, burying my mom, or my dad could have. He’d never have gone for the green, pea soup green, haricot green-looks like a mess.

    She fell into the trolley down in the Park Street Station second before the trolley can screeching around the bend.

    But you know something Bud? I mean Michael. She didn’t fall. She didn’t commit suicide. She was pushed, and I just found out, some bureaucrat at the MTA offices in Boston had a thick file on her.

    Some connection with Whitey Bulgur.

    But back to could have used you – how do you scrape something like that up from the tracks?

    took me years to get over it. Therapist in Seattle, where I live now, said, it’s Post Traumatic Stress.

    Oh, here’s the gas station.

    Nah,

    Go ahead

    I’ll wait

    I need information about undertaking; i’m writing about my Mom now.

    Oh?
    Oh, my real name is Ruth Ann Clare (after Poor Clare the nun) Nelson, and I’d wonder why I chose a nun’s name for confirmation with “Poor” as an adjective.

    Be careful of what you choose Michael, it affects the way your life plays out.
    But then again, it’s all grist for the mill.

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  3. Alfie, this is the second time this week that you’ve been late for school. C’mon kiddo. Let’s go before your mom sees you. She’s got enough to worry about without wondering why you’re missing school. Put the gas can in the trunk, and I’ll drop it around back later.

    So spill it. Is Blaine’s gang again? I wish you’d stand your ground and give them a good whop just once. They’re good kids, but they sometimes need a reminder that they’re not the kings of the universe. You want I should ask Jeremy to “talk” to them for you? Just hang with him. They don’t mess with him.

    And can you take Jeremy his lunch? He forgot it this morning, and I was just heading to drop it off. I swear, that boy!

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    • Poor Alfie better not eat that lunch himself, his mother is a little absent minded lately and probably forgot his! This is great.. thank you Jeremy’s Mum! c

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  4. Don’t want to spoil the fun, but ain’t that walk-your-characters a bit too close to the actual event?
    In the NaNo forums and circles I get all kind of tips these days, but I’ve stopped reading them a while ago. I’m pretty sure they’ll only confuse me at this point. I just stick to my plan – it can only get better than last year. 🙂
    Never mind – just my thoughts.

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    • No worries klaus, we are just having some fun with them.. it all works out in the end.. I have been known to rewrite lines of script on the day of a performance!! You have a great plan.. it will be great i am sure.. c

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  6. On her way to work, Evangeline passed by an older man on the side of the road, who was trudging along with a gas-can. She sighed, and felt a bit guilty for moving on. But she didn’t trust men, so she kept going.

    Then she saw a boy, looking forlorn and a bit lost, also clutching a red can.

    ‘Well, that’s odd,’ she thought. But she didn’t like kids, and didn’t know this one, and so kept going.

    Next was a young, thin woman. She strode along the side of the road, not even looking at the passing cars, petrol can in hand.

    ‘A good looker like that, she won’t be waiting long for help, she doesn’t need me. Probably think I’m a lesbo if I stop to help, too.’

    ‘What the hell?’ A man was standing next to a green hearse, thumb out, gas-can by his cheap shoes. ‘Okay, that’s three too many. I’ll help this one. At least he’ll be interesting.’ She pulled up and cracked the door to shout back at the hearse-driver.

    “Hey there! Need a lift? Come on, hop in. Just don’t spill any of that in my car, please. Hey, I gotta ask, just where do you keep a spare jerry-can in a hearse? I bet bodies smelling of petrol aren’t too popular. Though it might be an improvement over the reek of Chrysanthemums.” She grinned. This could be fun.

    (Evangeline is a character from a book I’m about 50k pages into myself)

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  7. Hello Sir, my name is Susana. Are you heading to the gas station? Me too. I’m new in town; actually don’t know exactly where my new place is. Could you tell me how to get to Marble Street? These are my children, Carl and Patricia… 😉
    I know is kind of late, but I wanted to participate too.
    Have a nice day!

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    • Susana, Hullo. I think you are talking about the old Kingi house on Marble street.. Hi kids! I heard it sold. Well take a left after the bank and that is Marble st.. You will love that place – and bring your children over one day, I have a houseful of youngsters up to no good. and my daughter in law is new to town too.. S

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  11. I don’t now how I missed this yesterday but I’m glad I did. Just look at all of these responses! What fun! Such an inventive bunch you’ve gathered here, Celi.

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  14. What a fun idea. I’d love to join in, but am involved totally in Creative Delivery. My book is all ready for the designer now, and I’m having to stay focussed on ‘what have I forgotten?’ sort of questions. There you are at the exciting beginning stage, and here am I in the fullness of harvest – just the opposite to what our seasons are doing!

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