EXERCISE: Say What?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting 23 February 2008

Hum. There is a Japanese show about English on right now, and they're working away on proverbs. The first one is:

A friend in words and not in deeds is like a garden full of weeds.

I don't think I've ever heard that, but . . . what do you think? The teacher talked about weeds killing the other plants by strangling them with their roots, which is another image I don't think I've ever heard before.

Go ahead. Explain why words but no deeds are like weeds.

When we write, we learn about ourselves.

EXERCISE: Right In The Palm of Your Hand

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 11:05:13 EST

Step 1. Pick one of the following 12 emotions. You may use two dice if you like.

1. sadness 2. distress 3. relief 4. joy
5. hate 6. love 7. fear 8. anticipation
9. anger 10. guilt 11. gratitude 12. pride

(yes, variations, thesaurus strolling, and similar attempts to delineate or arrive at finer precision in your toils are all acceptable--just get your emotion selected, okay?)

Step 2. Here is the basic beginning. Please elaborate at your pleasure.

The elf/troll/angel/devil/being of light/monstrous mutation strolls/hops/flies/pops in with a puff of sulphur/transports down in sparkles/drips into being before you. They reach out a something and... spin/drop/one finger touches lightly/a horny nail nudges/out of nowhere creates/slimily vomits it out before you.

Step 3. The pile/nugget/piece/lump/other word at your description that has been delivered to you IS your emotion, turned into reality.

1. What does it look like? Show us...
2. What does it sound like? Make us hear it!
3. What does it smell/taste/feel like? Make us cringe...

Step 4, 5, and so forth--what does having this concrete emotion do to (or for?) you? Why did you want it so much? What did getting it cost (uh-oh, what did the little dwarf want for the service? did you really want to pay that, and was it worth it)?

For the one-sentence starter crew:

"I got it for you," my visitor said, and dropped it in my palm.

[in case you're not sure, you can use this sentence as a beginning point. Go on from there until you come to an end. Revise, polish, and decide what you want to do with what you have just wrot.]

let's write again, like we did before...

TECH: Getting Readers Hooked

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 26 February 2008

(I think the shrimp, or maybe those little red eggs. Worms work pretty good, too? Oh, you don't want fishy readers, you want them warm and comfy? Does that mean you won't be using the good lines?)

How do you get the reader to start reading? There are many recommendations to hook the reader, but what does that mean?

Nanny Kress, in a column entitled Your Opening Quest in Writer's Digest, Jan. 2005, pp. 20-22, talks about ways to create compelling openings. Ways to set that hook, to raise questions and suggest change is coming.

First, try out-of-the-ordinary. "The easiest way to raise a question in the reader's mind is by opening with an action that's clearly a change from the normal or expected." Start with action, and make sure:

1. The action suggests that a change has just occurred or is about to happen in the character's life
2. The action makes the reader wonder why it is happening, what the character will do next, or what the consequences will be

Second, hook the reader with provocative details about characters or setting that suggest change is upon us. Make sure the details:

1. Are very specific
2. Promise conflict to come
3. Indicate a change from the norm - something special - for this place and characters
4. Make readers try to figure out what's going on, and then keep reading to find out if they guessed right

Third, try starting with a grand sweeping statement of universal truths or assumptions. This used to be popular, and it still grabs the attention and raises questions about the story to follow. Some suggestions if you want to try this:

1. A bit of humor helps, because modern readers are likely to see such grand statements as a bit pompous
2. Quickly get down to specifics and action.
3. Make sure the opening raises questions that will absorb the reader

"Questions that require answers are what keep readers going -- and the place to start raising those questions is with your very first sentence."

So, take a look at a few stories that you really like, and see how they get started. Then try putting that same hook-and-jerk into the starting lines for one of your own stories. Polishing that beginning - once you get the reader going, they'll come along for the ride, but if you don't snag them at the start, they aren't likely to see the rest?

When we write, we learn about ourselves.