Sara Dailey #006: Character foils–another interesting contrast for your writing

          Character foils are two characters in the same situation who react differently. Picture two kids with an alcoholic parent. One grows up and never touches a drop of alcohol. The other becomes alcoholic.  Those are foils, and they’re another way to show contrast, just like the rhetorical questions we explored yesterday.

          Let’s see how Sara Dailey makes use of foils in a paragraph of memoir:

I was only a year older, and when we were small, we were nearly inseparable despite our many differences. I was overly cautious, the one who came up with ideas I was never willing to try out myself. I designed the parachutes for toys he launched out of windows; gauged how big a pile of leaves would need to be if he were to jump off the deck stairs without breaking anything….We were a well-organized team. Our parents eventually learned to punish us together or not at all.

          In other words, a thinker and a doer. The contrast makes the combination of the two siblings an interesting pairing to read about. Test it with your own poetry or prose…

Try this:

Think of two people who have to spend a great deal of time together (co-workers, family members, teammates), but who are very very different people. Create a conflict that highlights these differences, and write that scene!

Coming tomorrow: Our final day of our visit with Sara Dailey’s work this week. We’ll be looking at CIRCLE TECHNIQUE…see you then!