Zoo Adventures and Characters

Every week, over at the JumpStart Writing Institute, I share a little “Monday Motivation,” along with writing exercises for members only. I thought it might be nice to give my loyal blog readers a little peek into that, in case any of you are writers. I talk about books, running, writing, pretty much anything, and then relate that back to working with words.

As a side note on the running part, there’s a ZooZoom race this weekend, but I will be at a board meeting and unable to do it Next year, for sure! In the book news world, I have some cool news that I can’t wait to share, but wait I must, for a few weeks. Soon, I promise!

We went to $6 entry day at the zoo today. An insane decision because there was about ten zillion people here to see the baby elephants and penguins.

It got me thinking about chaos and characters. The best novels thrust characters into chaos, whether physical or emotional.  That’s what forces them to change and grow.

Look at the books you have read, shows you have watched. Chaos is what changes the characters’ directions.  They’re going along, happy as clams, and wham, detour or major problem.  It’s Peter Parker being bitten by the spider, Ray Romano taping over his wedding video, Juliet meeting Romeo.

 

Take a look at your book and see what kind of chaos you can throw at your characters. Then use this week’s writing prompts (available to members at the JumpStart Writing Institute) to make the most of the insanity!

Tell me, do you love zoos? What’s your favorite animal? (I’m an aquatic animal fan, like those lovely and peaceful manatees)

Do you like chaos in books and movies?

Shirley