Writing a Story: Exercise-by-Exercise - 3

[image error] As I noted in the first articles of this series (Go to tab "Story" for Exercises 1 and 2), 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 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 the boy is entering. In Exercise 2 we created the character of the boy. For this current exercise, we are going to describe how the boy enters the room. Is he running? Does he go through a window, sliding glass doors, a trap door in the ceiling or the floor? Is he laughing or crying? Is he looking around furtively as if he's concerned someone sees him? Does he seem worried or carefree? What does he do to make you think he's either worried or carefree? Does he study the room? Does he look for something? Where does he go when he enters – to the middle of the room, or does he stand by the door?
Of course, the room as you described it in the previous exercise will have some bearing on how the boy enters it. If the room is a jail cell or a hospital room, he'll enter it differently than if it's a greenhouse or playroom. So if you haven't yet written your description of the room, you might want to take some time to do so now.
To help describe this fictional action, watch how someone enters a store, a supermarket or a building. Write the way the person performs the simple function of opening and closing a door and walking through it. Where do they look? Are they forceful or do they hang back? Are they preoccupied? Do they guard against getting their clothes dirty? Are they carefree?
These simple exercises provide a first step to telling your story. Take your time and have fun. Next time we'll focus on creating the second character—the boy's sister.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series
http://joycestrand.com