Writing a Story: Exercise by Exercise -6
As I noted in the first articles of this series, writing readable prose is a multi-tasked process. With these exercises, we can simplif the process 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. Then we created a second character – the boy's sister. Next we wrote a paragraph to describe how the sister enters the room to join her brother.
Now we are going to write some dialogue to explain why the brother and sister are in the room together: to look for something, to remove something from the room, to prepare or steal some food for their starving brothers and sisters, to find the boy's lost pet hamster, to help the boy remember something because he's lost his memory due to a brain tumor, to find a way to escape from their kidnappers who have been holding them in the house, to visit their dying mother. This is an important plot point, and dialogue is the most engaging way to involve your reader.
Have the boy explain why he's there and what he expects to do or find. His sister will respond and disagree. The boy will argue his point. The sister will give in. Remember to describe their reactions consistent with their character as part of the dialogue: if the boy is upset, how does he feel when his sister disagrees? Is he angry, sad, panicked? Physically how does the sister feel: does her heart start beating more rapidly? Is she disgusted or frightened? How do they decide to fulfill their goal of being in the room? Use emotions or reactions rather than "he said, she said" to designate who is speaking.
To help develop fictional dialogue, write down a dialogue that occurred between you and a sibling, or if you do not have access to a sibling, write a dialogue between you and a friend. Keep it simple. It can be about anything. It might even help to record it. Note any physical reactions you might have to statements made by your sibling or friend. Another approach is to find a short newspaper article and write it as dialogue between two people.
Again, dialogue is important because it brings the reader into the story. So take some time and have some fun getting your brother and sister to talk at one another. Don't forget they are brother and sister. Next, we'll write a paragraph describing their activity in the room.
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. Then we created a second character – the boy's sister. Next we wrote a paragraph to describe how the sister enters the room to join her brother.
Now we are going to write some dialogue to explain why the brother and sister are in the room together: to look for something, to remove something from the room, to prepare or steal some food for their starving brothers and sisters, to find the boy's lost pet hamster, to help the boy remember something because he's lost his memory due to a brain tumor, to find a way to escape from their kidnappers who have been holding them in the house, to visit their dying mother. This is an important plot point, and dialogue is the most engaging way to involve your reader.
Have the boy explain why he's there and what he expects to do or find. His sister will respond and disagree. The boy will argue his point. The sister will give in. Remember to describe their reactions consistent with their character as part of the dialogue: if the boy is upset, how does he feel when his sister disagrees? Is he angry, sad, panicked? Physically how does the sister feel: does her heart start beating more rapidly? Is she disgusted or frightened? How do they decide to fulfill their goal of being in the room? Use emotions or reactions rather than "he said, she said" to designate who is speaking.
To help develop fictional dialogue, write down a dialogue that occurred between you and a sibling, or if you do not have access to a sibling, write a dialogue between you and a friend. Keep it simple. It can be about anything. It might even help to record it. Note any physical reactions you might have to statements made by your sibling or friend. Another approach is to find a short newspaper article and write it as dialogue between two people.
Again, dialogue is important because it brings the reader into the story. So take some time and have some fun getting your brother and sister to talk at one another. Don't forget they are brother and sister. Next, we'll write a paragraph describing their activity in the room.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series
http://joycestrand.com
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