Writing a Story: Exercise by Exercise - 4
As I noted in the first articles of this series, writing readable prose is a multi-tasked process. However, let's simplify 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. Next we described how the boy enters the room.
Now, we are going to create another character – the boy's sister. Again, think about her physical characteristics: is she short or tall compared to her brother? What color is her hair? Is it long or short, brown, blond or black, clean or greasy? Thick or curly? How is she dressed? Stylish or like a bum? Revealing or conservative? How does she smell? What kind of shoes is she wearing? Does she have any jewelry? What about makeup? Is she beautiful? Plain?
Before developing your fictional female character, spend a little time writing a paragraph about a girl or woman you know. Is she tall or short? Is she self-assured or tentative? Does she talk in short sentences? How does she dress—stylishly or haphazardly? By studying real persons, you can adopt some of their characteristics for your fictional character to help make the person more real and more interesting.
These simple exercises provide a first step to telling your story. Take your time and have fun. Next time we'll focus on describing how the sister enters the room to join her brother. So her character will be important in determining whether she runs into the room or sneaks in.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series
http://joycestrand.com
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. Next we described how the boy enters the room.
Now, we are going to create another character – the boy's sister. Again, think about her physical characteristics: is she short or tall compared to her brother? What color is her hair? Is it long or short, brown, blond or black, clean or greasy? Thick or curly? How is she dressed? Stylish or like a bum? Revealing or conservative? How does she smell? What kind of shoes is she wearing? Does she have any jewelry? What about makeup? Is she beautiful? Plain?
Before developing your fictional female character, spend a little time writing a paragraph about a girl or woman you know. Is she tall or short? Is she self-assured or tentative? Does she talk in short sentences? How does she dress—stylishly or haphazardly? By studying real persons, you can adopt some of their characteristics for your fictional character to help make the person more real and more interesting.
These simple exercises provide a first step to telling your story. Take your time and have fun. Next time we'll focus on describing how the sister enters the room to join her brother. So her character will be important in determining whether she runs into the room or sneaks in.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series
http://joycestrand.com
No comments have been added yet.
