Choose a character from any of the readings from our study this term. Now imagine you are the character and compose a “character journal entry” of approximately 250-300 words (you may exceed this minimum word count if you wish) from the character’s perspective. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Things To Remember When Writing Character Journal Entries:
Keep it in the first person. The point of this exercise is to allow you to climb into the mind of your character and see from their point of view. For that reason, you should write your journal entry in first person, as if you yourself are the character you’re trying to figure out.
If you need to, practice first. Keep it to what they see, hear, smell, taste and/or feel.
Remember: It’s all about what’s NOT normally said. Think about yourself and what the inside of your own head is like. Of course, when you see or do anything, it triggers memories and feelings, all like echoes of your past. Now, think about your character. When they see or do something, what might happen inside their head? What memories or experiences might something call to mind for them, from their own past? A journal is an ideal environment for a character to try to lay out all of these pieces and try to make sense of them. Don’t be afraid to jump from one thing to another without filling in gaps or trying to analyze things, feel free to experiment and explore.
Make their true feelings known. While in the story itself, your character might need to be polite and respectful to other characters, inside they might be secretly seething with hatred and jealousy. Or perhaps they’re deeply in love with someone, and can’t admit it?
Keep it conversational. A journal entry is not an essay. It’s more of a stream of consciousness monologue. It shouldn’t be written in a formal style, as that tends not to be how people would speak. If your character has a way of saying certain things, or likes an interesting turn of phrase, then make sure that’s how their journal entry is written as well.
The character I choose is Hamlet from Shakespeare play.
