What a character says, and the way it is said, reveals something about that person’s make-up, temperament, background and values.  It is often the dialogue that adds depth to the characterisation.

Use the photograph below to practise exploring the use of monologue/dialogue for a character portrait.

Take a few minutes to bring to mind the person in the image below.  Now have them speak in a way that would be very typical of them.

I’m at police training, clutching down in the mud as my fingers slip through.  Attempting to crawl and crawl through the mud. My face is growing redder and redder. My veins are starting to pop out as I feel each one straining creating pressure through my head. I’m frustrated as but I still keep going. I’m never going to give up. I keep chanting to myself I got this! I'm gonna beat everyone. I'm starting to lose my voice. I'm not feeling too confident that I'm gonna get a good placing BUT I know that i'll be the next best cop.