Ref: Pages 53 and 54 of the text by Robert Olmstead.
- Name ten places where one character might observe a significant other.
Entering the front door.
At the sink
On the couch
Getting out of bed
Walking beside
At the dinner table
In the garden
At their desk
Playing with the kids
Bringing in the groceries - Select a place and sketch the character being observed as follows:
First sentence, position and gestures; Second sentence, physical description; third sentence, occupation.
Carn wrestled on the floor with the kids, Elsie tugged at his left hand while Eoghan jumped on his belly. He was the tallest and strongest man in almost every room he entered and when besieged by toddlers he looked every bit a ruddy, mustachioed, roaring giant. The first King of Hiraeth, Carn and his armies drove out bandits, goblins, and rebels to bring peace to Hiraeth and they crowned him king. - Follow the sentences in exercise two with a sentence that moves into a second character’s mind. Beatrice slid down into the cushions of her chair, kicked off shoes, and smiled as Carn rose to his knees, spread his arms wide, and stomped after the children who scrambled away laughing. This was almost as she envisioned it, all those years ago on the docks far away.
- Continue the paragraph. Give more attributes. Speed up the sentence as shown in the example passage by beginning with And and list features of your character.
As the kids do, Carn shot her a glance to see if she was watching. Of course she was, nothing else could hold her attention. Carn was majestic and attentive. And fierce, loyal, strong, and built right to please a woman. - Now think of the relationship you’ve given to these characters, based on how they live in the character’s mind. Describe this love, or lack of love, in a precise sentence, as in the example passage. Begin with the words: “If that was love.”
“If this was love, she would have all of it. “
Carn wrestled on the floor with the kids, Elsie tugged at his left hand while Eoghan jumped on his belly. He was the tallest and strongest man in almost every room he entered and when besieged by toddlers he looked every bit a ruddy, mustachioed, roaring giant. The first King of Hiraeth, Carn and his armies drove out bandits, goblins, and rebels to bring peace to Hiraeth and they crowned him king.
Beatrice slid down into the cushions of her chair, kicked off shoes, and smiled as Carn rose to his knees, spread his arms wide, and stomped after the children who scrambled away laughing. This was almost as she envisioned it, all those years ago on the docks far away.
As the kids do, Carn shot her a glance to see if she was watching. Of course she was, nothing else could hold her attention. Carn was majestic and attentive. And fierce, loyal, strong, and built right to please a woman. If this was love, she would have all of it.