Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies (For Dummies

386 Pages·2014·7.82 MB·English

by  Maggie Hamand

Creative Writing
Exercises
by Maggie Hamand
Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com
This edition first published 2014
© 2014 Maggie Hamand
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ISBN 978-1-118-92105-0 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-92106-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-92107-4 (ebk)
Printed in Great Britain by TJ, Padstow, Cornwall
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Part I: Getting Started with Creative Writing Exercises ... 5
Chapter 1: Preparing to Create Your Writ ten Masterpiece ..........................................7
Chapter 2: Sketching Out Ideas .....................................................................................21
Part II: Realising That Character Is Everything ............ 35
Chapter 3: Developing Your Characters’ Backgrounds ..............................................37
Chapter 4: Creating Drama through Dialogue ..............................................................47
Chapter 5: Embodying Your Characters .......................................................................57
Chapter 6: Developing Your Dialogue-Writing Skills ...................................................65
Chapter 7: Conveying Characters’ Thoughts in Style .................................................77
Chapter 8: Choosing and Using Different Points of View ............................................87
Chapter 9: Creating Complicated, Well-Rounded Characters ..................................105
Part III: Painting the Picture with Description ........... 125
Chapter 10: Navigating the Locations in Your Stories .............................................127
Chapter 11: Appreciating the Power of the Senses ...................................................137
Chapter 12: Getting Things Done: Describing Action and Activity .........................147
Chapter 13: Building Character with Objects and Possessions ...............................155
Chapter 14: Using Description to Create Atmosphere and . . . and . . . Suspense!......167
Chapter 15: Managing Metaphors, Similes and Symbols ..........................................187
Chapter 16: Describing the Inef fable: Saying What Can’t Be Said ...........................203
Part IV: Developing Your Plot and Structure............... 213
Chapter 17: Writing a Gripping Opening .....................................................................215
Chapter 18: Plot ting Your Way to Great Stories ........................................................225
Chapter 19: Making Good (Use of) Time in Your Writing .........................................235
Chapter 20: Structuring a Longer Work of Fiction .....................................................247
Chapter 21:Tightening the Tension to Enthral Readers ...........................................257
Chapter 22: Expanding Your Ideas into Larger Narratives .......................................267
Chapter 23: Approaching the Grand Finale: The End’s in Sight! ..............................279
Part V: Polishing Your Product: Revising and Editing .....299
Chapter 24: Reviewing and Rewriting Your Work .....................................................301
Chapter 25: Whipping Your Work into Shape ............................................................313
Chapter 26: Polishing Your Work for Publication .....................................................321
Part VI: The Part of Tens .......................................... 331
Chapter 27: Ten Top Aids for Writers .........................................................................333
Chapter 28: Ten Great Ways to Stay the Course ........................................................339
Index ...................................................................... 345
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................. 1
About This Book ..............................................................................................1
Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2
Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................3
Beyond the Book .............................................................................................4
Where to Go from Here ...................................................................................4
Part I: Getting Started with Creative Writing Exercises .... 5
Chapter 1: Preparing to Create Your Writ ten Masterpiece . . . . . . . . . . 7
Planning for the Writing Journey ...................................................................8
Setting your writing goals .....................................................................8
Locating the appropriate genre ...........................................................9
Creating the right title .........................................................................11
Discovering the scope of your book..................................................12
Silencing the inner critic .....................................................................13
Reviewing the Creative Writing Process ....................................................13
Taking your first steps ........................................................................14
Gearing up for the long haul ...............................................................15
Writing in a spiral path........................................................................15
Using creative writing exercises ........................................................16
Living with Creative Confusion ....................................................................16
Allowing yourself to make mistakes ..................................................17
Writing what you want to write .........................................................19
Chapter 2: Sketching Out Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Getting Your Creative Juices Flowing .........................................................21
Starting with your first thoughts .......................................................22
Creating a mind map of ideas .............................................................23
Brainstorming: Creative idea sessions ..............................................27
Moving Beyond Words with Objects and Images ......................................28
Keeping a scrapbook of ideas and materials....................................28
Finding images related to your project .............................................30
Using objects to enhance your writing .............................................31
Considering the Level of Research Required ............................................33
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Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies
Part II: Realising That Character Is Everything ............. 35
Chapter 3: Developing Your Characters’ Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Creating Seriously Deep Characters ...........................................................37
Detailing your character’s family tree ...............................................38
That reminds me! Exploring characters’ memories ........................39
Seeing into a character’s CV ...............................................................41
Setting out a character’s timeline ......................................................42
Using Diaries, Letters and Reminiscences in Your Writing ......................44
Chapter 4: Creating Drama through Dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Recognising Great Dialogue .........................................................................47
Drafting and Developing Dialogue ...............................................................48
Talking about dialogue basics ............................................................48
Getting up close and personal: Face-to-face dialogue .....................51
Ringing the changes: Phone conversations ......................................52
Making the Best Use of Dialogue .................................................................53
Deciding where and when conversations happen ...........................53
Creating and handling conflict ...........................................................55
Hinting at what’s hidden: Subtext ......................................................56
Chapter 5: Embodying Your Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Building a Body for Your Characters to Inhabit ........................................57
Inventing and describing major characters .....................................58
Rounding out minor characters .........................................................60
Getting Under a Character’s Skin ................................................................61
Thinking about emotional make-up ...................................................61
Coping with sickness ...........................................................................62
Constructing Characters’ Activities ............................................................62
Surrounding Your Characters with Physical Objects ...............................63
Owning up to your characters’ possessions ....................................63
Choosing what to wear........................................................................64
Chapter 6: Developing Your Dialogue-Writing Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Conveying Individuality and Character through Dialogue .......................66
Feeling for foreign accents..................................................................66
Dealing with dialect .............................................................................69
Nailing down your use of slang ..........................................................70
Getting quirky with speech quirks ....................................................72
Don’t All Shout at Once! Coping with Crowds ...........................................74
Producing Effective Speeches and Monologues ........................................75
Imparting information .........................................................................75
Interviewing and making presentations ............................................76
Going it alone: Interior monologues ..................................................76
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Table of Contents
Chapter 7: Conveying Characters’ Thoughts in Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Exploring Ways to Set Down Characters’ Thoughts .................................77
Dramatising Characters’ Thoughts and Feelings Effectively ...................79
Thinking in the real world ..................................................................80
Gesturing towards body language .....................................................81
Capturing a character’s inner voice ..................................................84
Enjoying the Flexibility of Free Indirect Style ............................................85
Chapter 8: Choosing and Using Different Points of View . . . . . . . . . . 87
‘From Where I’m Standing’: The Importance of Taking a View ................87
Experimenting with Voices and Viewpoints ..............................................88
Using ‘I’, the first-person voice ..........................................................91
Using ‘you’, the second-person voice ...............................................93
‘He said, she said’: Using the third-person voice,
limited to one character ..................................................................93
On the outside looking in: Employing an outside narrator ............95
Five third-person narrative styles .....................................................98
Adopting More Than One Viewpoint ..........................................................99
Choosing the number and type of narrators ..................................100
Balancing and structuring your viewpoints ...................................101
Chapter 9: Creating Complicated, Well-Rounded Characters . . . . . 105
Adding Layers to Your Characters ............................................................106
Revealing depth through experiences ............................................106
Remembering basic human needs ...................................................107
Looking at different areas of your character’s life ........................108
Workplace relationships ...................................................................111
Passing the time with hobbies and interests .................................112
Confounding expectations and creating contradictions ..............114
Depicting Sexuality and Gender .................................................................115
Risking the wrath of your grandmother: Writing about sex .........116
Finding the right words .....................................................................118
Considering Other Ways to Add Character Depth ..................................119
Employing lies, half-truths and evasions ........................................119
Sharing and keeping secrets .............................................................121
Multiplying misunderstandings .......................................................123
Part III: Painting the Picture with Description ............ 125
Chapter 10: Navigating the Locations in Your Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Choosing and Conveying a Setting ............................................................128
Making your characters feel at home ..............................................128
Travelling to exotic lands . . . by book ............................................131
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Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies
Creating a Location’s Fine Detail ..............................................................132
Using maps for realism......................................................................132
Imagining and recording the finer points .......................................133
Inventing Your Own World: Fantasy and Science Fiction ......................134
Chapter 11: Appreciating the Power of the Senses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Creating a Colourful, Meaningful World ...................................................137
Giving associations to colours .........................................................138
Colouring in scenes and characters ................................................140
Listening to Sound and Music on the Page ..............................................141
Sensing scenic sounds ......................................................................141
Making musical moments .................................................................142
Sparking Emotions with Smell ...................................................................143
Tantalising with Taste and Food ...............................................................144
Feeling Your Way with Touch and Texture ..............................................146
Chapter 12: Getting Things Done: Describing Action and Activity . . . .147
Watching Characters Tackling Everyday Tasks ......................................147
Homing in on domestic life ...............................................................148
Working at creating a work life ........................................................148
Chilling out to reveal character at play ..........................................149
Writing Dramatic Action Scenes ................................................................149
Choosing the best words for action scenes ...................................150
Controlling a huge cast .....................................................................151
Portraying Violence and Its Effects ...........................................................152
Chapter 13: Building Character with Objects and Possessions . . . . 155
Giving Your Characters Significant Possessions .....................................155
Choosing objects to use ....................................................................156
Owning objects(and being owned by them) ..................................157
Remembering to Use Objects to Spark Memories! ..................................158
Representing Characters: Objects as Symbols ........................................159
Same object, different meaning ........................................................160
Making use of magical objects and superstitions ..........................160
Getting(metaphorically) emotional .................................................162
Experiencing unexpected meetings with objects ..........................163
Creating Clues to Your Character .............................................................164
Using objects to stand in for aspects of your characters .............164
Seeing things in the dark ...................................................................166
Chapter 14: Using Description to Create Atmosphere
and  .  .  . and  .  .  . Suspense! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Adding Ambience and Atmosphere ..........................................................168
Choosing your words carefully ........................................................168
Enhancing character and atmosphere with description ..............169