Teen Character Sketch
Good writers often draw upon their personal experiences or the experiences of people they know. For this character sketch, you will again create two different characters: one must be a teen, the second can be of a different age, depending what you want to create based on the scenarios provided below.
First, Pick a Scenario
- Teen moves from big city to small town (or vice versa, your call) – fitting in is central to the story.
- Teen's parents are splitting up – choosing which parent to live with is central to the story.
- Teen doesn't fit in well at school (the reason is yours to choose) but finds him/herself as the center of attention (for good or bad is for you to choose) – dealing with this "new found fame" is central to the story.
- Teen goes on some type of school trip or summer camp – a crush/love interest is central to the story.
- Teen rebels against some type of authority because of what he/she believes is the higher, moral ground – teen ultimately loses.
- Teen loses someone close, i.e., family, friend, mentor – coping with the loss is central to the story.
Character Sketch Outlines
Create 2 character sketches for one of the above scenarios.
Answer these questions in paragraph form for two of your characters. Also, find a picture on the internet that closely resembles the physical attributes of your character.
- What do your characters look like physically? Be detailed – eye, hair, skin color, deformities, good looking or average
- Where do your characters come from? Where are his/her family?
- What are character's likes and dislikes? – think about small things like food or cold weather, and even big things like dishonesty
- How does your character act? – think about quirky behaviors, sense of humor,, the way he/she talks with people
- What happened to your character in the past and how does it affect him/her now?
- What does your character want/need/desire?
- What does your character believe in – i.e., religious, political, world views?
