Writing a Story: Exercise by Exercise – 2

[image error]As I noted in the first article of this series, writing readable prose is a multi-tasked process. However, we are simplifying the process to accelerate your status to that of author by breaking a story into components and using exercises to draft it one element at a time.

If you've tried to write, you know that the words just don't automatically gush out to form sentences, paragraphs and stories. A writer chooses his words much like a painter chooses colors and brush-strokes to drive each paragraph to work together to complete the canvas. Instead of paint and colors, a writer uses character development, descriptive prose, and dialogue to create a compelling story.

We are telling a story based on the following plot.

~A boy enters a room. His sister joins him. They do their task. They leave the room together.~

In Exercise 1, we described the room. Now we are ready to create a character – the boy.

Think about his physical traits, including age, height, weight, hair color and length, shape of face, nose, eyes. What does he smell like? Is he sweaty? What kind of clothes is he wearing—old, new, ivy league, sweater, shoes? How does he move—does he walk fast, furtively? Does he appear healthy? Is he carrying something? Does he have any scars? Is he eating anything? Is he carrying something?

To help you write about the boy, study someone you know, preferably a boy, but any male will do. Write his physical characteristics, then how he smells (o.k., this could be a bit ooky, but it's a helpful descriptor), how he talks, moves, laughs.

This simple exercise is a first step to telling your story. The boy's characteristics will help drive the dialogue and the plot. Take your time and have fun. Next time we'll focus on action – how did the boy enter the room.