Cast and Characters

 Characters are the people you interact with sometime during the course of your research.

TWO TYPES:

• unique individuals
• class of people (composite)
• fictionalized, yet grounded in your research
• typical cases of a group of people
• alert your reader to this when you use them in your ethnography
• explain details of particular categories in your research
• have layers of complexity-not stereotypes
• want to know WHAT, HOW, and WHY humans do things
• Use anecdotes : personify your character and give your reader insight into their world.
• story is similar to others that you heard throughout your research
• good example of average participant at your site 
• drawn from your fieldnotes and transcriptions
• Descriptive details help the reader imagine your character
• dont overdue it. a few details allow your reader to imagine your character in your head
• "Jason is a tall, thin man with a comb-over"
• think of details that make your character distinct
• how do they speak? are there distinctive details?
• What is their body language, posture? how do they move?
• do they have mannerisms?
• clothing
• better to give your details descriptively instead of explaining anything about the character of the individual directly
• "Zooming Out" to describe the group can help to define your individual characters in context

Metaphorically Speaking:

• Help to personify your characters and bring them to life on the page
• Metaphors are analogies that connect two things that seem on the surface to be unrelated, but when pointed out, makes rhetorical sense.
• metaphors add color to your story and help tap into your reader's imagination
• metaphors that your informants use can be utilized in your storytelling as a literary device in your writing
• what metaphors do your informants use?
• Can act as touchstones in your story
• MUST be familiar to your audience to be useful

write a scene from your research using a metaphor used by your informants.

Vignettes:

• Vignettes are "snapshots" or short description of events or people that evoke the overall picture the ethnographer is trying to paint
• help to set up a scene for the reader
• set up a question in the reader's mind
• stand alone, but also places that question in the reader's mind...it is NOT resolved

Sounding "Smart":

• many of us in academia are guilty of using jargon as an elite membership card
• Elegance in writing is BETTER...simplicity
• relies on trusting the power of the research tale itself, told in a clear and straightforward manner
• your IDEAS make an impression on your reader
• they wont get through your writing if they think it is pedantic or you are a pompous ass.
• look at how many articles or books you have never finished at university