Writing Tip #1

This is an idea for writing a scene and the scene, in my opinion, is the hardest aspect of writing to teach and to understand. But once you get the elements of a scene down and frame your writing in this way, you'll be a master.

Write a scene where you sit down to eat breakfast, alone and as you sit down--munching on that bagel or chewing that cereal--recall your earliest memory.

Remember, frame the memory within the confines of the scene of a person eating a meal and that means flood the beginning with the immediate details of what is going on at the most practical level.

EXAMPLE: It's a Sunday morning in June and the sky is heavy with dark clouds that won't give up rain. The kids are gone and it's just me, in the kitchen with the teapot on the back burner of the stove. The water warms over the blue flame and the sound is a low rumble, perhaps minerals that make the water dense. I don't know.

Granola, yogurt, strawberries. A over-sized coffee cup, a knife and a spoon. I have everything I need for a quiet meal--alone--how often am I alone in my house? I don't even know the last time such a thing took place but I am resolved to be here, really be here and enjoy every quiet second of this precious quiet time to myself.

I sit at the table which offers a view of the garden and spoon yogurt into the cup. One, two, three dollops and I don't know how or why but I remember when I was a child--before memory was supposed to set in....

So you can see where this is going, from the example. I am setting the scene and then taking a trip back in time...now you try it. End your scene with your either beginning to eat or standing up to wash the dishes or whatever. Just stay in real time as you also go back and see where this prompt takes you.

Submit your example and I will pick one to feature to give some writing advice to next week!

Good luck