Writing Persona

Persona: Is the voice created for something or someone very different than the writer. In first person, the voice can be a historical figure, a person in society, an appliance, or an animal. It's worldview can be comparative to that of a teenager, detective, inmate, celebrity so as long as the persona is what the author can't attribute herself. This type of writing develops skills for creating and/or developing character.

How Could A Mother? by Bruce Holland Roger's
"When was it that your daughter—when was it that Josie started to cry? What was your state of mind when you punished her? What were you thinking when she wouldn't stop crying? Did your boyfriend say anything about Josie's crying? What did he say? ...Do you have any thoughts about the question no one can answer? Not the one everyone asks, but the one only a mother who has felt her own hands shake with a rage that is bigger than she is can ask?"

A Time for Change by Aralia Giron
"My smile is a mask slowly chipping away and soon I shall have nothing left to hide behind.
Would it not be a pleasure to realize that I have more rights than you bargained for? 
Yes, 
I am held prisoner, caged by the way of your whim.
And your words are what bind me so,
But,
I care not for these political inclinations or that the world is run by men.
I will continue to shout, "Let me vote."

What Did and Didn't Work:

"How could a mother" is told in the perspective of someone who is in higher authority, the speaker is definitely questioning the mother's actions toward her daughter who was falsely accused for committing some sort of act of debauchery. Rodger's persona is not his own, the perceptions reflected through this piece of prose suggest the speaker is someone who upholds justice either a detective, police officer, or judge. Through the variant questions asked throughout the story, the personality of the characters are revealed. However, the author fails to elaborate through the use of dialogue which is another important aspect in creating a persona. 

In "A Time for Change" I decided to speak in the voice of a historical figure, women before the suffrage. Through my brief but metaphorical details, I reveal the nature of the character being depicted. A woman who is preparing the confidence to rebel against her husband and stand up for the rights she has been deprived of. Although I am able to effectively create a character, her actions are not so far from my own. Instead of putting myself into the perspective of an unfamiliar subject, I decided to write about a topic that I deal with on a daily basis, except on a much lower degree.