Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
Exercise 1
Writing readable prose is a multi-tasked process. However, we can simplify the process to accelerate your status to that of author.
Presumably you’ve written something in your lifetime –even if just an e-mail or a letter to your mother. You know the 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 makes 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.
By breaking a story into specific components or elements, we can develop key skills to advance to the status of author. One exercise to build these skills is to take a simple plot situation and write a story from it. So let’s try it. But let’s do it one element at a time— one exercise at a time to develop characters, describe the background and the action, and write dialogue. When we finish, you’ll have written a short story, but as important you’ll have practiced the elements of writing to hone your skills.
Our task is to write a short story about:
~A boy enters a room. His sister joins him. They do their task. They leave the room together.
The first exercise is to describe the room the boy is to enter. Start with the physical dimensions. Is the room large, square, round? What color are the walls? What kind of furniture—chairs, beds, tables, stove, carpet? Plush or Spartan furniture? Is the room hot or cold? Dank or musty? Does it have bars on the windows, or is it a jail? Is the room cluttered with anything? Is it a hospital room, a jail cell, a playroom, a Captain’s bedroom (Peter Pan?), or a tree house?
To help you describe this fictional room, choose a room where you live. Write what you see.
By focusing on the details of the physical characteristics of a place, you can paint a picture for the readers that enable them to envision the place as your character sees it. In this initial exercise keep the description to a paragraph, but don’t be afraid to provide details. You can always eliminate superfluous information when you edit your final story.
Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
Exercise 2
As I noted in the first article of this series, 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 the 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. Now we are ready to create a character – the boy. Think about his physical traits, including age, height, weight, hair color and length, shape of face, nose, eyes. What does he smell like? Is he sweaty? What kind of clothes is he wearing—old, new, ivy league, sweater, shoes? How does he move—does he walk fast, furtively? Does he appear healthy? Is he carrying something? Does he have any scars? Is he eating anything? Is he carrying something?
To help you write about the boy, study someone you know, preferably a boy, but any male will do. Write his physical characteristics, then how he smells (o.k., this could be a bit ooky, but it’s a helpful descriptor), how he talks, moves, laughs.
This simple exercise is a first step to telling your story. The boy’s characteristics will help drive the dialogue and the plot. Take your time and have fun. Next time we’ll focus on action – how did the boy enter the room.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series
Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
Exercise 3
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
Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
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
Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
Exercise 5
As I noted in the earlier articles of this series, writing readable prose is a multi-tasked process. With these exercises, 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 simple 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.
Now we are going to write a paragraph describing how the sister enters the room to join her brother. Does she follow her brother’s point of entry? Or does she enter from a different place—window, door, trap door? How is her demeanor—is she carefree, furtive, concerned, laughing? Does she move quickly or slowly? Does she study the room? Where does she go when she enters? Does she say anything to her brother? Does she limp, or have any other traits when she walks? Is she carrying anything? What is she wearing?
As with the boy’s entry, your previous description of the room will be important in determining how the sister enters the room. If the room is dark, she will be careful. If it smells bad, she might be inclined to hold her nose. She will enter a hospital room differently than she would enter a video game room. So as you describe how she is entering, keep in mind the type of room. If her approach is different than her brother’s, explain the difference. Her character as you’ve described in the previous exercise will help determine this.
Again, it is useful to watch in your everyday life how someone enters a building or store and note how the real-life person opens and closes a door. For this exercise, it is helpful to note how two people enter at the same time so that you can see how a second person follows the first. Do they watch the first person? Do they hang back? This could help you explain the sister’s entry following her brother.
These simple exercises provide a first step to telling your story. Take your time and have fun. However, remember these paragraphs are exercises, so they don’t have to be perfect. Also, you’ll have a chance to edit your writing later. So for now, focus on just getting something on paper or in your Word document.
Next time we’ll focus on creating dialogue—a critical part of fictional writing to engage readers.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series
Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
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 simplify 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
Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
Exercise 7
As I noted in the first articles of this series, writing readable prose is a multi-tasked process. However, we are simplifying the process by breaking a story into components and using exercises to draft it one element at a time.
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. Then we wrote some dialogue in which the brother and sister argued over what they should do.
Once the brother and sister have finished arguing, describe how they perform whatever they are there to do. Do they divide and conquer? Does the boy do all of it while the sister looks on, or vice versa? Describe who is doing what. Are they moving quickly or carefully? How are they implementing their task? Do they use their own clothes to carry something? Did they bring something to carry? Do they hear voices or see anything while they are doing their task?
To help you write about the fictional activity of your brother and sister, describe a task you are sharing with someone, like straightening up your house, preparing a presentation, working on your car, or preparing dinner.
Remember, you are creating the situation and the activity. You can create whatever activity or situation you want. They could be vampires in search of blood or a dark place to sleep, or two kids at their beach house looking for their swim suits. You’re in charge. Have fun.
Also, keep in mind that you can edit whatever you write. What’s important is to practice writing—to make the page come alive with words.
Next our two characters will complete their task and leave the room.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series;
Strand’s Simply Writing Tips
Writing a Short Story – Exercise by Exercise
Exercise 8
As I noted in the first articles of this series, writing readable prose is a multi-tasked process. However, we are simplifying the process by breaking a story into components and using exercises to draft it one element at a time.
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. Then we wrote some dialogue in which the brother and sister argued over what they should do. We then described their activity in the room.
Now, keeping the character descriptions in mind, we are going to conclude the story with the exit of the brother and sister from the room. Are the brother and sister scared, relieved, concerned, happy when they complete their task? What do they do next? Do they study the room? Do they leave the room together or first one then the other? Do they run out of the room or take their time? Do they hug each other? Does something happen as they are leaving the room that helps the reader anticipate what might happen next, like do we hear a car drive up causing the brother and sister to be happy or scared? What did they learn, if anything? What do they believe is the result of their activity? Has this been a life-changing experience?
For a real life example to compare, describe the completion of a task that you and someone else –good friend or sibling –completed and how you felt. It could be as simple as cleaning the house, washing the car, or fixing the car. Were you both happy or content that you completed it? Or were you relieved? Anxious to get on to the next task?
This description of their exit from the room offers you, the author, the opportunity to inform the reader why the experience was important and to hint what might happen next. You can even use some dialogue if it’s helpful. Have fun, and next time we’ll put it all together in one story, and edit our work to make it flow.
Joyce T. Strand
Author of the Jillian Hillcrest Mystery Series
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