Writing Exercises for this week

Hey, guys! Don't forget: this week you must commit to writing at least 30 minutes every day.  Don't worry about a final product, just try to write freely for those 30 minutes each day, and see what you come up with.
Choose five of the following exercises to get your creative juices flowing!

1. Read a newspaper and free-write about something you find there.
2. Write a letter to an old friend. (Don't send it)
3. Do a physical activity you've never tried before. (Write about your experience.)
4. Say no to plans with someone who you find boring. (Write about your feelings afterward.)
5. Read one of your favorite poems aloud five times, choose one phrase from it, and use it as a springboard
   for free-writing.  (suggested poets: Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Wallace Stevens, Shakespeare,
   Pablo Neruda, Robert Frost..)
6. Look at family photographs. Imagine the photo that was never taken. What might it have revealed?
   Write about it.
7. Use persona as a writing tool. Choose either a stranger you saw during the course of the day or someone
    you know well. Make up a childhood event in that person's life. Imagine how he or she would remember
   it or tell it. Write it down.

Active Alliteration:
Practice alliteration by coming up with as many words as you can that begin with the same consonant.  Try to come up with unique interesting words by using a thesaurus or dictionary.

Don't forget, you also need to write 2 pages of your short story this week. It does not have to be the first two pages.  You may decide to write the ending, or a critical scene in your story.  You may decide to write 2 page of dialogue between two characters, and then in the editing process later choose what to keep.

Thanks for your hard work!!!

See you Friday!

Creative Writing: Character Development

For some writers, the first part of the writing process is not creating the plot of the story, but the characters.  Once the writer gets fully acquainted with his/ her characters, comes the process of putting these characters into believable or not-so-believable situations.  This week, you will have the opportunity to create a character from your imagination, and then put them into a variety of situations through a series of very short stories.

Step 1: The Interview
Follow this link to find a series of questions to ask your character.  Your interview questions may be typed or hand-written.  http://kayedacus.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/character-profile-worksheet.pdf

Step 2:  Choose Two of the following exercises and type 2-3 pages per each exercise.

Character Voice Writing Exercise #1

Freewrite the internal thought of your viewpoint character. What does he or she think about when:

• Getting up in the morning.
• Getting ready to meet a friend.
• After an argument with spouse or significant other.
• Doing a mindless chore, like vacuuming.
• Driving in rush hour traffic.

Character Voice Writing Exercise #2

Create a dialogue situation with a quiet friend, one who nods and unh-huhs instead of speaking a lot. Have your viewpoint character discuss:

• What his or her goals and dreams are.
• If he or she will achieve them, and how.
• If not, why not? What character traits keep him or her from going after the dream? Why do situational obstacles become insurmountable?

Character Voice Writing Exercise #3

Send your viewpoint character to the mall with a quiet friend. Let him or her describe what they like or dislike, and why, while window shopping, browsing through a bookstore, trying out the latest electronics, etc.

Character Voice Writing Exercise #4

Coop your character up in a room alone: a bedroom, a conference room, a doctor’s exam room. Is he or she frustrated? Antsy? Bored? Nervous? Scared? Write his or her thoughts when stuck there for an hour.

Please let me know if you need any help or advice! Happy writing!!