ENG 10/Creative Writing
MR. WITH
Character Development Exercise 1
Read the following passage, VERY CAREFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At daybreak Billy Buck emerged from the bunkhouse and stood for a moment on the porch
looking up at the sky. He was a broad, bandy-legged little man with a walrus mustache, with
square hands, puffed and muscled on the palms. His eyes were a contemplative, watery grey and
the hair which protruded from under his Stetson hat was spiky and weathered. Billy was still
stuffing his shirt into his blue jeans as he stood on the porch. He unbuckled his belt and tightened
it again. The belt showed, by the worn shiny places opposite each hole, the gradual increase in
Billy's middle over a period of years. When he had seen to the weather, Billy cleared each nostril
by holding its mate closed with his forefinger and blowing fiercely. Then he walked down to the
barn, rubbing his hands together. He curried and brushed two saddle horses in the stalls, talking
quietly to them all the time; and he had hardly finished when the iron triangle started ringing at
the ranch house. Billy stuck the brush and currycomb together and laid them on the rail, and
went up to breakfast. His action had been so deliberate and yet so wasteless of time that he came
to the house while Mrs. Tiflin was still ringing the triangle. She nodded her grey head to him and
withdrew into the kitchen. Billy Buck sat down on the steps, because he was a cow-hand, and it
wouldn't be fitting that he should go first into the dining room. He heard Mr. Tiflin in the house,
stamping his feet into his boots.
(270 words) From The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (a novel everyone should read)
 Examine EVERY word of this description. Steinbeck is a masterful writer and his 270
words are filled with not only Billy's physical description but also his personality,
philosophy, occupation, rank in society, attitudes to life and work, competence at his
job, among other things. If you try, you can list at least 35 separate aspects that relate
to Billy Buck.
YOU’RE ASSIGNMENT:
In about as many words, write a description of a person, real or fictional. You will ideally
have the person either finishing or beginning something, such as getting ready to go to work or
leaving work at the end of the day. Be sure to use a short time frame to enclose your description
and give it an ending and a beginning. Use vivid words and let me (the reader) know everything
about the person.
HOWEVER, do not tell me everything-- imply as many things as Steinbeck does about Billy.
For instance, why are Billy's eyes a "contemplative, watery grey" and his hair "spiky and
weathered"?
When do you find out Billy's occupation?
When did you know?
What it is?
Hint at the person's occupation and let me, the reader, discover your character's occupation.
You must include ALL of your planning notes and ROUGH WORK.
This includes notes, brainstorming, a rough outline, rough draft, etc…
Suggestions for starting out:
 Brainstorm by closing your eyes and imagining your character.
 Next, list the appearance and location of this character in as many adjectives or
multiple descriptive words as possible.
 Then select the most vivid and descriptive details about you character and start writing.
 Your first rough draft is where you get all of your thoughts on paper...ROUGHLY.
 Your final draft is the final product that you will publish and share.