Here’s another story for some Writing Group fun – another Fill-in-the-Blanks story. (See previous post for our first example.) Basically you just write words on slips of paper and drop them into the appropriate bowls: NOUN (character), NOUN (object), NOUN (location), ADJECTIVE, VERB, or ADVERB. Then proceed with the story and draw a word every time you need to fill in a blank.
Here’s one our Friday group came up with:
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Welcome to another edition of writing tips, prompts and folderol. (Look it up.) Today we’ll look at writing dialogue that isn’t clunky, baffling or boring. But first we warm up…
5-minute prompt: TRAVELPlanes, trains, automobiles, boats, bicycles, or feet. Five minutes, stream of consciousness, write whatever comes to mind on the topic… GO!
For some reason most of my thoughts on the topic tend to the befores and afters and not to the actual travelling: airports and train platforms, figuring out schedules, waiting in line, delays, waiting for luggage, missing luggage, etc.
What’s the strangest mode of transport you’ve ever used?
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Greetings! The winter months drag on but there is a glimmer of hope as the days grow long. Spring, o spring will you please hurry??
5-minute prompt: SCHOOLFive minutes, stream of consciousness, write whatever comes to mind on the topic… GO!
Your own schools, schools from fiction, schools from film. Hogwarts maybe? Terrible schools or brilliant schools. Terrible teachers or brilliant teachers. Sights, sounds and smells. And think about how different elementary schools are from high schools…
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Today we’re going to look at the basic structure of stories, which should really help you organize the events of your plot. But first a warmup…
5-minute prompt: WINTERWhat do you think of when you think ‘winter’? Think of as many words for different kinds of snow and ice as you can. (Skiers and snowboarders should be good at this.) Can you think of any specific smells, sounds or tastes you associate with winter? Continue reading
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What, more character work? We’ve created our characters, now it’s time to figure out where they’re going.
But first…
5-minute prompt: CAR(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)
Think of all the kinds of motor vehicles, makes and models of cars you know. There are an awful lot of specific terms for all the different parts of a car, and how each can break down as well! (My 20-year-old auto is always teaching me this lesson.)
How about all the sounds a car can make?
Cars can also be a tool to revealing character: what assumptions do you make about people based on what they drive? Continue reading
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Snow day! Here on Salt Spring our first significant snowfall has occurred, on the first day of vacation! I decided to give the old car a break and not drive down the mountain into town for our last Writing Club meeting (awwww!). Here are the fun exercises we were going to do…
5-minute prompt: FUNNY(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)
What’s funny? What makes you laugh? Who makes you laugh? How many different words for ‘laugh’ can you think of?
A little character-invention fun. For each of these faces answer the following: Continue reading
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Today we’re going to work with characters a a little more, and talk about how to introduce and describe them.
But first let’s warm up…
5-minute prompt: FACE(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)
Sometimes we can go on and on with descriptions of someone’s clothes, hair and build, but neglect the most important feature of all, their face! Continue reading
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Welcome back to Writing Club. In this post we will talk about Creating Complex and Intriguing Characters, but first a little warmup…
(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.) Continue reading
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Some topics just keep expanding the more you explore them! I’ve already written Killer Openings Part 1 and Killer Openings Part 2. Here’s the 3rd and final look at them. Previously we talked about these different kinds of first sentences:
1. DESCRIPTION
2. ACTION
3. INTRODUCE THE HERO
4. INTRODUCE THE VILLAIN
5. THE DIRECT APPROACH
Now let’s carry on with…
6. PARADOX, or SURPRISE TWIST
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. (1984, George Orwell)
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. (The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka)
The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car. (The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan)
These are opening sentences that include some kind of odd twist, surprise, or joke. Depending on the kind of story you are writing, you can use this kind of opening to unsettle the reader, creep the reader out, or make the reader laugh. These openers are extremely effective, but the more time and care you take in writing them, the better they will be. Choose and place each word carefully for maximum effect. Continue reading
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In my last Writing Club post I wrote about two kinds of opening sentences, 1. Description, and 2. Action. Let’s continue …
3. INTRODUCE THE MAIN CHARACTER
This is an extremely popular and effective way to open a book. It can be in first person-
Call me Ishmael. (Moby Dick, Herman Melville)
Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. (The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan)
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