Writing

Writing Exercise: Flexing your writing muscles

What do you think of when I say “Fanfic”? Neville Longbottom acting out stories about himself at the Fringe, perhaps? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtJAqSbzyKw No? Maybe you think of the ridiculous success that Fifty Shades of Grey turned into after starting as a humble fanfic for another surprising best-seller? What am I getting at here? Fanfic doesn’t have […]

Writing Exercise: Examine Your Character’s Hands

Sometimes, the most telling details are found in unlikely places I was introduced to this exercise at Bekki Hill‘s workshop “It’s Not Just What You Say” at the Winchester Writer’s Festival back in June (used with her permission). Explore your character by exploring his or her hands. Think about it: what do your hands look […]

Writing Exercise: Finding your story

Where do you come up with this stuff?? Anyone who has ever told someone they’re a writer has been asked the question: where do you come up with your ideas? For me, stories are driven by characters, and characters are everywhere. Think about all the people with whom you interact on a daily basis: other […]

Writing Exercise: Interviewing Your Character

Many people don’t realize how much “behind the scenes” work goes into writing a story or a novel or other work, and many writers are loath to write something that won’t be “used” in the body of the text. But, truth be told, this “unused” work is some of the most important information you will […]

Writing Exercise: Mind Mapping

What’s a Mind Map? One of my favorite ways to brainstorm a story or a character is Mind Mapping. I actually learned this method in elementary school. To prove that we’d read a book, we had to map out the main characters and ideas in a cloud-like structure for the teacher to check over. This works […]