Write one-page from in the third person limited from the point of view of someone you know who is very different from you—with different gender, race, religion, ethnicity, personality, or interests. You must be inside this person’s head. What is he or she thinking, feeling, experiencing? What are his or her interests or motivations? How does he or she view the world?
Create a scene where a character will face a life-altering moment. Where will this occur? Describe the setting in as much detail as possible, making the setting relevant to the action that will occur. (For example, if being held at gunpoint is the life-altering experience the character will face, possible settings might include: a pawn shop—because the man with the gun wanted to rob the store, a car—because the protagonist has been carjacked and is being forced to drive the man with the gun across state lines, a remote farmhouse—because the protagonist has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom.) What action will occur in this life-altering moment? Describe in as much detail as possible what happens that forces the main character to change his or her personality in order to deal with the action that’s occurring. (For example, the action may be nonconfrontational—the character being held at gun point in the pawn shop may “escape into his mind” and spend the entire scene imaging what his funeral will be like, or the action may be confrontational—the character being carjacked might intentionally cause a serious wreck on a busy interstate to create an opportunity to get out of the car.)
Close your eyes and picture your room back home. Visualize the room from every angle and dimension. Then make a list of every object in the room that you can think of—on the dresser, the desk, the nightstand, under the bed, in the closet, in the drawers, on the floor, etc. From this list, choose the object that has the most vivid story attached to it and use that to construct a narrative. Perhaps it’s the trophy your high school baseball team won after your best friend made a diving catch for the final out. Or maybe it’s the scratch on the wall where you got mad at your older brother for hitting on your girlfriend and threw your alarm clock at him.
Think of a story you would like to tell, then write half a page for each of the following types of beginnings: a third person objective description of the main character (for example: No matter how hard he tried, Adam couldn’t keep his hand from shaking. He alternated between making a fist and sitting on the damn thing, but either way the tremor was visible from across the room…), description of the setting (for example: Seven out of the eight plates were dirty, stacked with crusted silverware still on top of each to form a tilted mound that threatened to topple into a sink of something that once resembled water…), with the protagonist’s internal monologue to establish character (for example: None of this would have happened if that son of a bitch Wilson hadn’t pointed to the field, that stupid smile on his face saying that he knew—damn well—that the worst kind of challenge is an unspoken one…), and dialogue. Think about the different directions the story will take depending on the opening. Try to make each one distinct.
Create a character from appearance alone. Describe in as many details as you can what he or she is wearing—the style, quality and condition of his or her clothes, the style and appearance of his or her hair, distinguishing marks (freckles, moles, tattoos, piercings, scars, etc.), makeup, jewelry, etc. Try to convey the type of person your character is through the description and details you give.
Create a character from gestures alone. Describe in as much detail as you can the particular/peculiar/individual gestures your character makes—perhaps she runs her fingers through her hair or curls her hair around one finger or tucks loose strands of hair behind one ear, or perhaps he rubs his chin or cracks his knuckles or drums his fingertips on the countertop. The idea is to give your character a defining gesture that reveals something about his or her personality.
Write one-page describing an important event from your childhood using the child’s first person point of view. Use a child’s language and try to see and think from a child’s perspective. Then write one-page describing the same event using an adult’s first person point of view. Use an adult’s language and try to think about what happened in retrospect—understanding how you felt as a child as well as how you feel now, as an adult. Try to really show the differences in point of view.
This is a four page exercise involving one character, one place, and one time. Write three one-page plot outlines of potential stories: the first outline describing the right person at the right place at the wrong time, the second outline describing the right person at the right time at the wrong place, and the third outline describing the right time and place but the wrong person. For the fourth page, choose the outline that promises to become the best story and write one page that plunges into the main action in as much detail as possible.
Create a character from setting alone. Describe in as many details as you can the place he or she lives—what kind of objects he or she would have in the bedroom, what kind of order the room would be in, how the room would be decorated, etc. Try to create a place that will give insight into his or her character.
Write one page of dialogue between two characters where you incorporate telling gestures into the dialogue tags that help build the tension in the scene or reveal the truth about one or more characters. For example if the scene is a grocery store manager’s office where the manager is confronting one of the cashiers about stealing money from the register, telling gestures might include:
“Angela, I’ve been going over your register receipts for the last two weeks,” the manager said, looking up from the paper slowing and pausing for a few moments before he continued. “Is there anything you want to tell me before I go on?” Angela didn’t look at him, just said “no” quietly, then went back to biting on her lower lip.
Begin a story with its chronological end—what would be the last scene, such as a wedding, funeral, the birth of a child, etc. After you’ve finished writing the “final” scene, leave a space break then move into the second scene of your story—which is the first thing that would happen chronologically to lead up to the ending you’ve just written. After you’ve written this “opening” scene, outline the rest of the story, making the last part the action that would chronologically proceed the “ending you began with.”
Write one page where you use items to reveal the action of the story. For example, you could describe the things a father pulls out of his son’s trashcan. These things should reveal what is going on in the story, so the son’s trashcan might contain a small plastic bag with cocaine residue, an empty cigarette pack, a crumpled up letter stating that the son wasn’t accepted to college, a crumpled up bus schedule with a particular time circled, etc.
Describe in as many details as you can a place you spent a lot of time at in your youth—perhaps a park or a friend’s back yard, a video arcade or a neighbor’s living room. Try to include enough specific description to create a sense of the place for readers who have never been there.
Create an outline that can be used as the plot of a story. Briefly describe each part of the plot structure.
What is the situation? (In other words, what tension or conflict gives rise to the story? What “starts” it?) For example, a teenage girl finding out that she is pregnant might be the situation for a short story.
What is the rising action? (In other words, what actions build tension and suspense in the story and lead up to the major scene?) For example, the teenage girl might spend several days trying to track down the guy she had a one-night stand with at a party or she might pack her bags and sneak off to the bus station in the middle of the night or she might stay up all night crying and trying to figure out how she will break the news to her mother.
What is the climax? (In other words, what is the major scene where everything comes to a head or where the main confrontation occurs?) For example, the teenage girl might finally tell the guy she slept with that she is pregnant only to have him deny the child is his or her father might find out where she went and show up at the bus station to bring her home or her mother might hear her crying in her room and ask her what’s the matter.
What is the falling action? (In other words, how do all of the complications get sorted out? What leads to the conclusion or resolution of the problem?) For example, the teenage girl might convince the guy to come with her to take a paternity test or she might explain to her father that this is a problem she has to handle on her own and spend the bus ride out west making a plan or she might confess to her mother what has happened.
What is the resolution? (In other words, how does the story become stable? How are things brought together or to a close in the end?) For example, the guy might find out he really is the father and take responsibility for it in the end or the girl might get off the bus in San Diego and find a job or her mother might help her make plans to give the baby up for adoption after it’s born.
You need to know your characters inside and out in order to depict them well on the page. Think about a character you would like to develop and come up with responses for the items listed below.
Character’s name:
Character’s nickname:
Sex:
Age:
Looks:
Education:
Occupation:
Economic status:
Marital status:
Family members:
Primary relationships (friends, lovers, bosses, roommates, etc.):
Places this person can be found (home, office, car, favorite restaurant or bar, etc.):
Possessions:
Recreation, hobbies:
Obsessions:
Beliefs:
Politics:
Sexual history:
Ambitions:
Superstitions:
Religion:
Fears:
Attitudes:
Character flaws:
Character strengths:
Pets:
Taste in music, movies, books:
Favorite foods:
Talents:
Astrological sign:
Begin a story in medias res—in the middle of the action—using Where were you last night? as the first line. Try to get the reader hooked on what is happening as you work in backstory in the form of character evidence (bruises from a bar fight), flashback, or memory.
First person allows you to get inside the narrator’s head to see things from his or her point of view, describing what he or she thinks, feels, experiences, and the way he or she views other characters whose mind you and your readers can’t see into. For this exercise, write two pages. The first page should be in the first person from the point of view of a ten-year- old boy being beaten up on the playground. Describe what you see, feel, think. Also, describe the way you view your antagonist (the kid beating you up). The second page should be in the first person from the point of view of a bully beating up a ten-year-old boy on the playground. Describe what you see, feel, think. Also, describe the way you view your antagonist (the kid you are beating up).
Write one page describing a scene from a first person point of view. Make the style of the writing reflect what the narrator is describing. For example, if the narrator is under attack from the enemy on the battlefield, the writing would be choppy, or if the narrator is on a three-day meth binge, the writing would be stream of consciousness with a lot of run on sentences that lose their train of thought. Work on adapting your writing style to the type of scene you’re describing.
Write one page of sentences in which you practice using verbs that help intensify your writing, describe the action, and convey the energy of the scene. A good way to do this is to make verbs from nouns, thus giving the reader unexpected imaginative pleasure. For example: She brained him with the iron skillet, or He scissored a cigarette between his fingers, or They wheelbarrowed the beer bottles to the cooler. |
