It’s a new year and time for a fresh start. Clearing the clutter from your desk will help clear your mind for writing. Don’t forget to share the before and after pictures of your work space. Check @writeowls on Twitter for our own clutter-clearing reveals.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, look up the contact information for a favorite author and send them a thank you email, tweet or hand-written note to let them know how their work has touched your life or inspired your writing.
As you go about your week, whenever you’re in a new place or environment, spend a few minutes thinking about how your character would react to that errand or setting. A child would view a trip to the grocery store differently than an adult would. A person with a limited budget would react to the shopping experience differently than a person with a lot of money in the bank. How can you see your everyday tasks through the eyes of your characters?
This month, spend time developing multi-faceted characters that readers can see pieces of themselves in. Yes, you should consider a character’s physical appearance, mannerisms, family structure, occupation and maybe even his or her favorite color. But for this challenge, dig deeper to figure out your character’s driving want and need.
To help you delve more into this subject, we recommend the following resources to start with:
From K.M. Weiland
From the Story Grid
From Cheryl Klein
Last month, we encouraged you to identify mentor texts. This month, read aloud the first pages of the books you selected to hone in the qualities that make a gripping story opening.
Posted in Administrator, Practical Prompts
Tagged mentor text, practical prompts, writing tips