Writing a Character? Open the Fridge.

A 5-10 minute exercise to help students think through some idiosyncrasies of a character.

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TLDR: Use Mark Menjívar’s Refrigerator photographs to write new characters or round out preexisting ones.

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How do we write round characters instead of flat?

We think through them.

A discerning reader hears multiple meanings in that statement.

1. We are patient in considering who our character is, making them thought through.

2. We take a walk in our character’s shoes. We think through them.

There are many exercises to put on the lens of a character. There’s the dinner table idea where you write a scene with all of your characters eating dinner together. They could be in a restaurant or one of their homes, but you write it out so the characters reveal more of who they are.

This refrigerator activity is similar, and it’s all possible thanks to the work of artist and professor Mark Menjívar. The activity works for students who don’t have any characters as well as those who have dozens.

The Plan

Overview:

1. Show Mark’s pictures of refrigerators.

2. Instructions for students without characters.

3. Instructions for students with characters.

4. Ways to expand the activity.

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Show Pictures of Refrigerators

Show Mark’s project “Refrigerators.” Point out that under every picture is a description of the fridge owner’s profession and their location. Scroll through the first few in front of the class and vocalize some questions to get students in the mindset of imagining what these people’s lives are like. (They may beat you to it and start asking questions before you do.)

• The fact that the bartender has so many takeout boxes makes me wonder if they work all the time and just take food home? Or maybe they’re too tired from working hard that they don’t want to cook, so they order out a lot.

• The retired train conductor’s fridge looks a bit sparse. Also, what’s wrapped in that foil, and what’s hidden under the paper towels?

Once you’ve helped students get into the headspace of using these photos to generate questions, set them loose to work on their own characters.

For Students That Don’t Have Characters

1. Students go through Mark’s collection and pick one of the pictures. They use it to create a new character.

   1. The student can write a list or description of who this person is.

   2. The student could take a narrative approach and write a scene where the character is opening the fridge. Did they just come home? Have they not left for the day? Are they in a rush?

   3. Who keeps the fridge stocked? The character? Someone else? Do they eat everything in there, or do some of the items stay in there forever?

For Students That Do Have Characters

1. Students that already have a character can write out or draw what is in their character’s fridge.

   1. Some questions to prompt more thinking:

      1. What food item would always be stocked in the fridge?

      2. What food item would be the most surprising or contradictory to the character if it were found in the fridge?

      3. What do the items in the fridge reveal about the character?

Ideas for Extending the Activity

1. For those who already have characters, have them share what they drew/wrote with a peer. That peer vocalizes what assumptions they are making about the character. This helps the original writer to get an alternate view of how others perceive their character.

2. For those who didn’t have characters, pair students together that chose the same picture. Have them analyze the different choices they made even though they had the same reference.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear from you if you use this activity or any adaptations of it in your class! If you find something that makes it better, let us know in the comments.

Cheers,

Brandon Merrill