I’m a sucker for playlists. I have one for brainstorming, one for revising, and another for drafting. It’s fun and it helps motivate me as I write my books. That’s why I’m excited to have Rebecca Petruck, author of Steering Toward Normal and Boy Bites Bug along with Debra Rook and Molli Rose, the creators of the guide, share how to get into a character’s head by creating a playlist for them.

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Character Playlist Activity

Create a character playlist for music or videos for five different characters from a novel of your choice.

1. Each character’s play list must consist of five songs by title and artist or videos by title and main characters.
2. Select three songs or videos from one character’s playlist. Use the guide to explain the reasons why you connect that character to the songs or videos you chose. If completing a song playlist, supply a description of the song and a section of the lyrics along with a justification for each song.
3. Use textual evidence to support your assigning the song to the character. For example, if you choose a song for Diggy from Steering Toward Normal, you must explain why Diggy would connect to that song. You must use an example or quotation from the novel to support your answer.
4. If completing a video playlist, supply descriptions of the main characters and basic video premises along with justification and textual evidence to support your assigning the video to the character. For example, if you choose a television show for Wayne
   from Steering Toward Normal, you must explain why Wayne would watch the show or connect to a certain character.
5. Don’t forget to use an example or quotation from the novel to support your answer.

Check out the Steering Toward Normal teacher guide here for a complete resource.

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