Bring a Character to Life

Describe a person important in your life or in your novel by describing his or her belongings.

Give

Write for ten minutes using some form of the verb to give (give in, give out, give to, give off, give up, or...) as a starting point.

Transitions

Write about a transition—a time when everything changed. Maybe it involved entering a chapel or a hospital room or stepping on or off a train. Transitions can be terrifying, awkward, exhilarating, and memorable. Write about one. 

In Memoriam

Sometimes it seems things do come in quick succession. The need to write sympathy notes, for example. Looking back at your own life, what do you want said about you in an obituary or memorial? Don't look at this as morbid, but rather see it as an invitation to take stock of yourself, your accomplishments, your legacy. Try it!

Stormy Weather

Write about your, or your fictional characters', experience in a blizzard, hurricane, ice storm, or earthquake. Trying times stretch nerves and reveal personality traits. Use dialogue, sensory detail, and take readers into the eye of the storm.

You Wore It Well!

Write about your memories of a specific piece of clothing (yours or some else’s): shopping for it or creating it or lending or borrowing it or laundering it or wearing it, or.... Maybe it was a uniform, a prom dress, a wedding gown, a tuxedo, a beloved pair of jeans or trench coat. Maybe you hated it. Maybe you loved it. Maybe it was forced upon you by someone else; maybe you chose it.

Where I'm From

This wonderful resource is from George Ella Lyon. Read all about it on her web site: 
www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

Directions: Read this poem by George Ella Lyon and write your own “Where I’m From” piece! Combine details of both places and characters. Use format shown here or write it as prose. Enjoy! Discover!

Where I’m From

By George Ella Lyon*

I am from clothespins,

from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.

I am from the dirt under the back porch.

(Black, glistening

it tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush,

the Dutch elm

whose long gone limbs I remember

as if they were my own.

I am from fudge and eyeglasses,

from Imogene and Alafair.

I'm from the know- it-alls

and the pass- it-ons,

from perk up and pipe down.

I'm from He restoreth my soul

with cottonball lamb

and ten verses I can say myself.

I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,

fried corn and strong coffee.

From the finger my grandfather lost

to the auger

the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box

spilling old pictures.

a sift of lost faces

to drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments --

snapped before I budded --

leaf- fall from the family tree.

* © George Ella Lyon, where i'm from, where poems come from, published by Absey & Company, Spring, Texas, 1999. http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

I was so worried and then...

Write about a time when you were relieved to discover your worries were groundless...at least for awhile.

Handedness (not for the ambidextrous)

Remember learning to write, i.e print? Recapture the feeling by picking up a pencil and printing your name on lined paper, using the opposite hand from the one you usually use. Stay within the lines! Try writing a sentence.


Now describe the experience, writing as you usually do, by hand on the computer. 


My great aunt by marriage broke her right arm in her late 80s and taught herself to write legibly with her left hand.What a lesson in adaptability and determination! Thanks, Aunt Berta!

Back Then

10, 20, 30....50 Years Ago

Where were you?

Who were you?

What were you wearing?

What were you listening to?

What were you driving?

Write for ten minutes and give us a glimpse of you in July, 2001, 1991, 1981...1961!

Defining Moments from The Accidental Novelist

THE EXERCISE

1) Make a list of the 10 Defining Moments of your life or your character’s  life.

2) From each moment, write at least 3 IMAGES that go with that moment. SEE it happening, as if on a movie screen.

example:

Father’s suicide: briefcase, crystal bird, open door to balcony
Ran away from home: black limousine, red “otel” sign, stained carpet
Met Gary on-line: library, broken blue umbrella, wet streets
etc.

3) Now, for each defining moment, show us what happened. Write a paragraph or two. Make sure to SHOW the story, don’t explain what happened. Do it in visuals. It will make it more “real” in your mind if you can see it. And showing in your writing is always good practice.

You can tell it in 3rd person OR 1st person, writing as the character.

 http://theaccidentalnovelist.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/weekend-writing-workout-defining-moments-part-ii-character-development/

Write Creatively Every Day for a Year

This is more than a prompt--it is a nudge; a beacon; a call to action.There are always 10 minutes in a day when you could write---on a computer, in a notebook, on an envelope on line (instead of online!) at the store. Resolve to do it and then...write.
As far as a prompt for every day of the year--take your cue from the date. Today is July 9, 2011. The word July is full of rich memories for me, my favorite month, birthday month; the ninth of July reminds me of my aunt born this day around 1900; the numbers 7, 9, 20, and 11 remind me of years of my life. The day of the week, Saturday, is also rich with ideas. For the 52 Saturdays in a year, I'm sure I have 52 ideas, sentiments, story ideas.
Use the comments space below to send me your reactions to this challenge and ideas for making it work in your life.

Yearning--Thanks to Robert Olen Butler

Write the first few paragraphs of a story following this recipe:

Your character (in fiction or non-fiction) yearns for something. Show (don’t tell) what it is.

Declaring Your Independence

Write about a time when you declared your independence: how did it feel? what was the result? What would you like to declare your independence from today?

Learning to Read

When did you learn to read? Who taught you? What was the first book you read by yourself? What books or comics did you enjoy as a child? Was reading a chore or a delight or somewhere in between?

High Tide

Write about a time when you were inundated--with work, problems, bills, kids, opportunities, lovers, good or bad choices--and persevered and triumphed or learned a good lesson.

Happy?

“Happiness is not only a mood, it is a decision.”

—Julia Cameron

List 10 things that make you happy. Choose one and write a scene that shows why without using the word "happy."

Example: If horseback riding makes you happy, take us with you for a memorable ride.

Soundtrack of Your Life

Write about a song or songs that meant a lot to you: songs sung with the family; or that someone sang to you; songs that you danced to with an early love; or songs that summed up your feelings on a memorable occasion.

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE:

Find Song Lists by year at http://www.popculturemadness.com/Music/

[In the left hand column is a list of years: click on the year you want and get a list of the 25 top hits/artists!]

SAMPLE:

1948: Top 5 hits! I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover - Art Mooney

2. Bumble Boogie - Freddy Martin 3. Buttons and Bows - Dinah Shore

4. Good Rockin' Tonight - Wynonie Harris 5. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Les Brown

"Share? No way!"

Write about a time you, or a fictional character, refused to share information or a tangible object. What did you or the character risk by refusing? 

“I dare you!”

Write about a time when you accepted a dare.

Who dared you?

When and where?

What did you—

Do?

Feel?

Smell?

Taste?

Hear?

See?

What happened next?