writercises | TECH: Nanowrimo Drill #1

Original Posting 3 November 2011

[Sorry. Long busy day without any network or computer, so... you get odds and ends at the end of the day. Enjoy! ]

All right? Still don't know what you want to write about? Okay. Set your timer, and do these:

Who is my protagonist?

1. For 3 minutes, freewrite about who the protagonist is. What's their name? When they look in the mirror, what do they see? How old are they? Family? Friends? Who is this person?

2. For 3 minutes, freewrite about what the goals, desires, needs are that drive this person. Where are they going, what do they want to do, what is pushing them? Go!

Reset your timer to 10 minutes! Yes, a long chunk.

3. For 10 minutes, expand on that beginning. What are the key traits, abilities, and so forth of this protagonist? What is their main goal in the story? What is their main problem or weakness in the story? Talk to the protagonist, and let them talk a bit.

4. For 10 minutes, consider how the character will change during the story. Where are they starting, and where will they end up? Also, what won't change? What will they hold onto no matter what slings and arrows your story throws at them?

DING, DING, DING! How many words do you have? I just saw a professional writer saying that they average only 600 words an hour, so if you don't have some ridiculously high number of words after your half hour of freewriting, don't fret about it. Hopefully, you now have a better idea of who your protagonist is and what they are trying to do.

So, take some time and write it out again. Who is your protagonist? What do they want to do? What keeps them from getting there? How are they going to change?

Say, where do they live? How about work? Now that you've met them, where is this story going to take place? Are they at home, on vacation, traveling, running from the... consider the setting and the character. What are they doing there?

'saright? A little tickle to keep things moving, anyway.