The document provides guidance on writing about people by focusing on characterization through four approaches: descriptive, dramatic, impressionistic, and historical/contextual. It emphasizes knowing your subject, showing rather than telling to bring their character to life, and researching their background and experiences to fully capture who they are. Key aspects to explore include appearance, behaviors, relationships, environment, beliefs, and how they relate to groups or classes. Dialogue should sound authentic to the person. Overall, the document outlines techniques for deeply understanding a subject and effectively sharing their character.

1. Writing About People
Notes from Art and Artifact by Lynn
Z. Bloom

2. Why write about people?

3. Know your subject.

4. React strongly to your subject.

5. Tell the truth.

6. Select material to reinforce your focus.

7. Show don’t tell.

8. Make private references public.

9. Use an appropriate pattern of
organization.

10. Demonstrate why readers should
share your attitude.

11. Characterization

12. Four Approaches to Characterization
• Descriptive
• Dramatic
• Impressionistic
• Historical or contextual

13. Descriptive Approach
• What are the dominant features of the
subject’s character and temperament?
• What kind of mind does the subject have?
• How does the subject look?
• What kind of language does the subject use?
• What are the subject’s activities?

14. Dramatic Approach
• Show actions in dramatic scenes.
• Present thoughts in dramatic monologues.
• Use dialogue to convey dramatic relationships.

15. Creating Dramatic Dialogue
• Listen for the speaker’s characteristic sentence
pattern, cadence, rhythm, and emphasis.
• Determine the general level of vocabulary:
formal, slangish, abstract or concrete, simple or
complex.
• Aim for the essence of the speech and apply
adverbs or other directions: She squealed.
• Use dialect sparingly.
• Read your dialogue to another person or have
them read it to you.

16. Impressionistic Approach
• Don’t elaborate
on a single
element, but take
the scraps of
information that
you have and
weave them into
an impressionistic
portrait.

17. Historical or Contextual Approach
• Focus on the background: familial, racial,
national, regional, political, economic,
religious, social, intellectual, aesthetic and
geographic.

18. What is the subject’s background and heritage?

19. What is the subject’s physical location?

20. Is the subject the member of a group?

21. To what social class does the subject
belong?

22. What are the subject’s values and way of life?

23. What education has this person had?

24. What kind of taste does the subject have?

25. Research your Subjects historical background.
• Use primary and
secondary
sources.

26. Sources
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/16nine/297307637/#/photos/16nine/297307637/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/proyectoeden/2197277791/#/photos/proyectoeden/2197277791/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/home_of_chaos/5227029117/#/photos/home_of_chaos/5227029117/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/bombeador/1798724650/#/photos/bombeador/1798724650/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/62919400/in/photostream/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/sicoactiva/2517377776/#/photos/sicoactiva/2517377776/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/joodi/4576231036/#/photos/joodi/4576231036/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/lij/1492362/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/horizon/327483716/#/photos/horizon/327483716/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/freeparking/504144606/#/photos/freeparking/504144606/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/62915869/#/photos/kk/62915869/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/maniya/404480214/#/photos/maniya/404480214/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jule_berlin/853806749/#/photos/jule_berlin/853806749/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/salva_moreira/4850502415/#/photos/salva_moreira/4850502415/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/plasticbag/1186789736/#/photos/plasticbag/1186789736/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/babs4180/4347305428/#/photos/babs4180/4347305428/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/trojanguy/2819833430/#/photos/trojanguy/2819833430/lightbox/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/trucolorsfly/352573802/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/an_untrained_eye/2736804546/#/photos/an_untrained_eye/2736804546/lightbox
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