Dressing Up for the Carnival style - Character writing

For the past 10+ years, I have used and read English primarily in business settings. Preciseness, bullet point, directness become the sole focus. Gradually, I found my creativity has been deprived of showing up ever in my writing. I started taking this creative writing through reading class from UoT and hopefully my other side of brain will get rejunvenated.

This exercise is about writing some imaginery characters who undergone some forms of transformation of mind, of state, or of body, after studying the Dressing Up for the Carnival by Carol Shields

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All over town people are putting on their costumes.

John ducked through the backdoor of Chef Wang so that his boss wouldn’t spot him. He always forgot how narrow and damp the kitchen was and his clumsy shoulders hit one of the piles of dishes. “You are late again and you broke 2 plates! I will deduct it from your salary! Anyway, go work now.” John navigated slowly into the dinning area. He never likes this job, a waiter at this shabby Chinese restaurant. But, what else can he do, a new immigrant with little English and only junior high school education. Plus, the hours are perfect, 7pm to midnight. His strategy tonight was “Camouflage”, a tactics from “The Escapist”, the only thing he ever read. Standing behind a column and listlessly watching TV, John indeed successfully avoided most customers and work.

Eleven forty-five, he sneaked through the kitchen again and dashed towards his home. His day now began and his real work started when his pushed the start button of 5-year-old Acer computer. He logged in as “Genghis Khan”, a name he has been using for the past decade. He was 10 minutes early. He started to review his kingdom. 100 more citizens joined his kin, good! Agriculture productivity has been improving, great! Another kin is starting a war with his kingdom in 20 minutes. That is not good. He quickly toggled to the section of Military Power Comparison. He had 1000 more soldiers but 50 fewer tanks and submarines. In a second, he decisively put $20 to match that gap. This was not about him, but his kingdom and his people. He could not take a chance. He then flipped through “The Escapist” for the right strategy: Britzkrieg, Carpet Booming, and then Tank Desant. All set! His mind was clear, his attack plan was organized and his troop was in shape. Then the following 30 minutes was a non-stop fight. John manipulated the troop with his fingers dancing through the keyboard, and propelled the tanks with his thumps on the fly. His started to feel sore on the wrists and fingers, yet also adrenergic.

Finally, he won, as he did in every single war. It was a lot of hard work to be the best warrior, but worth it. His people were saved; his throne was upheld and glory was maintained. John went to sleep satisfactorily to get ready for yet another challenge.


Tiffany got up and started to get ready for her first date with this guy offered by Match.com. Saturday brunch for first date was always good, more casual and more exit options. Tiffany has a huge selection of clothes from all the brand names, Gucci, LV, Armani… The problem was, they were all executive suits, nothing look like an artist would wear. Never mind. There’s still time, she could buy one.

Yes, Tiffany was going to be an artist for this first date; at least that was what her profile said on Match.com. She was a Merger and Acquisition Lawyer for a while but this never got her any response. She used to appreciate art and enjoyed painting when she was young. She justified that it wouldn’t be too much a lie to claim herself an artist. She was the first artist profiled in this city on Match.com, which explained why she got a quick response after changing her profile from lawyer yesterday. Tiffany was always the first. The first in her family to get into university; first honor student in the law school; and the first female partner at her firm. Yet she was the last one among her gal friends to remain single. She was originally skeptical about this type of online dating. But, after hearing several friends got married to people they knew through these sites and working on a couple of acquisition transactions related to online dating, she started to believe it herself. Then she practiced her smile, her most faithful disguise. But it would not be the modest type of smile when she was announced partner at her firm; nor the pathetic type when her competing colleague lost a transaction; nor a sweet smile when her client had a new born baby. Today it would be the radiant and passionate beam that would take her across renaissance, neoclassicism, impressionism and surrealism.