It’s almost time for our next Characters in Costume Challenge! Did y’all enjoy the last one? I certainly did.
Our next challenge will be due Friday, March 8th – 2 weeks away.
This time, we’ll be doing something a little bit different.
Pulling together a full costume can be somewhat challenging, especially if you don’t have an enchanted wardrobe upstairs that magically spits out whatever you need. Wait . . . didn’t I mention that I have one of those? ;)
So, I got to thinking about what we could do this time that would be a little easier . . . and I landed on character accessories!
Simple, right?
Well, there’s a little more to it than you might think.
Back when I was a star on Broadway (ahem . . . the youth acting group at our community theater), I was in The Homecoming – you know, Christmas story about a family during the Great Depression . . . the Waltons . . . John Boy? One week, as part of a characterization exercise, the director asked each of the cast members to bring one item that their character could use/wear in the play.
Then when everyone turned up the next week, we had a grand old game of show and tell! The kid playing the Grandpa brought a cane – I’m pretty sure quite a few of the more rambunctious boys got “whacked” at least once or twice before the day was done. I was playing Becky – tomboy oldest daughter – so I brought a baseball glove.
It was a fun exercise. But it made us think. Dig deeper into who our characters were, what they liked, even how they thought. And that in turn helped us bring our characters to life when we were on stage.
This month we’ll try to do the same thing for our written characters with this challenge.
Here are the March challenge guidelines:
Choose one of your characters – preferably a main one, but it could also be a secondary character, or an antagonist that you’re trying to get to know – and answer the following question:
What is one item/object/accessory that your character is likely to have about them at all times?
We’ll focus on weapons at a later point in time (yes, even your contemporary characters can have a weapon of choice!), so let’s not do any weapons this time around.
Some examples of character accessories could be a particular article of clothing that your character always wears, a certain type of hat, or piece of jewelry, or a book, or even a map . . . Anything you can think of. Be creative. Look beyond the box. Not even the sky is the limit here. ;)
Locate said item and take a picture of it, (you can be in the picture if you like, but it’s not necessary!) and post it on your blog, or facebook, or somewhere online on Friday, March 8th.
You can also write a little bit about your character and the item you chose.
Then hop over here and post a comment on my “Characters in Costume” post, and I’ll stop by and see your character’s accessory! :)
Be sure to share this challenge with all your writing/reading friends. The more people who participate, the more fun it is!
This time around, if you’re interested in participating, please “sign up” by posting a comment with a link to your blog here, or sending an email to thesongkeeper(at)gmail(dot)com. I’ll copy all of the blog links into my post so everyone can visit the participating sites!
To find out more about the monthly challenge, check out the Characters in Costume Page.
Mary Ruth Pursselley says
I really do love these events, and I'm so glad you started them! ; )
I'll most certainly be participating, so sign me up! http://enterthewriterslair.blogspot.com
Rob Thacker says
I'm definitely signing up as well. Here's my blog.
http://rahthacker.blogspot.com/
Gillian Adams says
Yay! So glad to have both of you participating again! I'll definitely add you to the list. :)
Charley Robson says
Oh mah lawd, I am TOTALLY joining in with this one! Not in the least because it is now actually achievable for me! Sign me up!
http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com
Zara Hoffman says
I'm so sorry I couldn't do the last one! Found out the day before the deadline, but SIGN ME UP! http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com
R.P.H says
What a fun idea! Please sign me up. :-)
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/
Maria Rod. says
Thanks for issuing these challenges, Gillian : ) I always look forward to seeing what people come up with.
I will do my best to come up with something, but I am currently working on a "Film Camp" and then I have an eye appointment, so I'm a little busy. Here's my link, though:
http://amoretbellum.blogspot.com/
Kaycee says
Hi! I'm new to your blog, but I would like to sign up. :)
http://thepinkcave.blogspot.com/
Gillian Adams says
Hooray! So glad all of you are joining in this time. :)
Maria Rod. says
Question –
Can I draw a picture of the accessory instead of take one?
Gillian Adams says
Hmmm … good question. We'll say yes. I'd like to keep the challenge hands-on, so I wouldn't want people using online photo sources or anything like that, but I think drawing the accessory stays within the spirit of the challenge! So, sure, go ahead! :)
Bethany says
I'll sign up! ~Bethany
http://www.ramblingsbybethany.blogspot.com
Jo M. Coleman says
I'd like to join in on this too!
Jo M. Coleman says
Sorry, I forgot to link to my blog earlier! http://jomcoleman.com/
Zara Hoffman says
Here's <a href="http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com/post/45026680966/for-the-character-costume-challenge-hosted-by-of>my post</a>!