At its most basic, a mandala is a drawing that represents the wholeness of a person, their outer and inner selves. To make a character mandala, first decide which character from your novel you want to focus on. Then decide on 3-4 outer traits and inner traits of your character, and possible symbols to represent those.
Now start brainstorming!
| OUTER TRAITS | Symbols | What the symbols mean? | Words or quotes from the text |
|---|---|---|---|
| EX: Angry | Fire |
Dan's anger is burning all the time, ready to destroy what he loves. |
"He felt the anger rise in him, consuming everything." |
| INNER TRAITS | |||
| Lacks confidence | Caterpillar |
Inside, he is soft and easy prey, but the potential for change is there. |
uncertainty, fear, panic, |
Once you have those, use the template below to start draw your mandala. Use one side for the outer traits, one for the inner. Add your words/quotations to help clarify.
In the border around the outside, you can either add a key quotation from the novel, or write a sentence that sums up your character
