Hi. This is an assignment I did in the writing course that I am taking. The assignment to describe a passage that describes your character’s main trait without stating what it is,then show a contrasting passage describing an unexpected emotion, and finally, do put it all together into a scene. Here is what I did.

Application Assignment:

Select a defining trait about your Character:

1. Missy is an insecure 11-year-old who is very quiet.
2. Don’t state it. Don’t tell us a thing about them.

Create a passage to describe that trait.

Missy walks to the kitchen, debating on which dish is less fragile to prevent shattering if she should drop the dish to the floor. She slowly carries the bowl to the table and cautiously pours the cereal. She walks to the refrigerator, takes out the milk, gripping it tightly, and begins to fill her cereal with just enough milk to barely cover the edge of the cereal, enough to give her some moisture with the dry cereal.  She sits down with her eyes fixed on the bowl, although her mother and brother are scurrying around the kitchen in a hurry.  

Application One: Contrasting Emotion

Missy stares at the cereal bowl with a glare. She clenches her teeth and chews each bite vigorously. Her brother and mother are entirely unaware of Missy’s emotional state of mind. She hides behind a slight smile with short glances at her family. Missy is rushing through each careful bite like a band director directing each note to play the symphony as quickly as possible. She is careful not to show any expression on her face. Her mother and brother are always so critical of Missy that she has headaches with every bite.

Application Exercise Part Two:  Why the contrasting emotions exist:

1. What is Missy feeling about her family?
2. Why is she so resistant to showing her distress?
3. What consequences would Missy experience should she show her emotions?
4. Why is Missy so quiet and slow about everything, and her family is rushing around the kitchen?
5. Is Missy on her way to school, church, or some other event that she dislikes?
6. Where is Missy’s Dad in this situation?

Application Three: Creating a scene from all these situations:

Missy dreads the known accusations that her brother and mother will make if she were to say anything at all. She knows the anger her dad once exhibited when he was alive would surface through their demeaning voices. She rushes through each bite of her cereal, all the while being careful not to drop even one morsel of milk or flake from the frosted flakes. Her stomach is in knots, making eating feel like she will throw up, but she knows that her blood sugar will drop should she not eat.  Her thoughts are swirling in her mind, creating a tornado that threatens to consume her.  She doesn’t want to hear her father’s rejection of her very existence through the words of her mother and brother.  She forces her emotions to the bottom of her stomach, creating more nausea than she was already experiencing.