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Of Piercings and Bumper Stickers

The other day at the gas station, the middle-aged man filling up ahead of me had earrings hanging from every available space on both  ear lobes.  When he returned the nozzle with a click, I could see silver bling glittering from his eyebrows and nose too.   His clothes were unremarkable.  Polo shirt and shorts. 

As he got into his compact car, I glanced at his bumper stickers.  LISTEN TO CATHOLIC RADIO,  followed by call letters.  Another religious sticker emblazoned the other side of his bumper. 

 Writing Prompts:

1.  How is the character you are writing about NOT a stereotype? Write a scene showing one side of your character and follow it up with something unusual or quirky. 

2.  Look for possible stereotypes within your manuscripts.  How can you change this?

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What I Saw in Santa Cruz: How Your Characters Handle Responsibility and Guilt

. . .  So before our favorite used bookstore opened in Santa Cruz last Sunday, we sat in our car and waited.   Off in the distance, a woman walked her spaniel on a leash.  The dog sniffed and then squatted.  The woman looked away and pretended not to notice.   When the dog finished with his messy business, she glanced his way and then they both trotted on. 

Responsibility.  How do the characters you write about deal with it?  Do they care about others?  Do they only care about themselves?  What would they have done had they been the woman?  Had they seen the woman? 

What I was going to do was get out of the car and yell, “Would you like a paper towel?” 

But my husband said, “It won’t do any good Liz.”   I let this statement stop me.

What does your character do in this situation?  Does she have guilt like I do over this?  Does your character let this go or does she hold on to her guilt?  What if she did do something and the woman reacted in a negative manner?  Create a complete scene with this in mind. 

Or write a scene about a character and how she or he deals with responsibility and guilt in the story you are creating.  Have an action and a reaction.  Remember to slow-down-the-moment for your character’s thoughts and feelings.

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Change me, change and you, loose change and character change

There’s a lot of change in my life recently.  There’s change in our house with the current remodel.  (mess! clutter! glue stink!  Me sleeping in the living room to get away from stink!)  There’s a job change (not mine) and my dog, Zoie, dealing with not-enough-deck-time-due-to-workers. 

All of this has led to sleep disturbances,  unusual dreams, a writing block or two and a bit more growling.  Even from Zoie. 

Writing Prompts:

1. How does change affect you?  Write about a major or a minor change in your life.  What happened?  How did you and others around you react?  Were there both positive and negative occurrences from this change?  Describe your thoughts and feelings at this time.  Slow-down-the-moment and make us feel like we were really there when it happened.  Include dialogue and action when you can.

2. What about your characters in fiction?  Remember the main character needs to change within the structure of a story.   What type of change does your protagonist go through?  What are the stages of this change?  What propels the changes?  What kind of a person is she before the book begins?  After? 

3.  How does your character deal with upsetting changes?  Write a scene as an example.

4.  Your character finds a dime in the street.  She believes it is good luck.  What happens next? 

5.  Your character finds a penny in the street.  A spirit is sending her a message from heaven.  What happens next?

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Free Writing Workshop Grades 6 – 12 on Wednesday

Free Writing Workshop Grade 6 – 12

Make Great Writing Better!     

What: Writers Workshop

Sand, Sea and Suspense! 

An Interactive Writing Afternoon

Who:   Grades 6 – 12

When: Wednesday, June 16, 2010                                       

 Cost:  FREE!              3:00 – 5:00  p.m.                                                   

   Where:  Clayton Public Library       

   6125 Clayton Rd, Clayton  

  925-673-0659                                     

                        Mystery! Suspense! Intrigue! 

            A fun treasure hunt and a mystery boat.  Who did it?  Did what? Why?  Discover how mystery, suspense and intrigue will make your good story better.

Two professional authors who love writing lead this interactive workshop. Bring your questions about the publishing world, write, meet other writers, “talk books,”go on an adventure and be inspired to write and publish your own works of prose.  For student writers who want to make their good writing even better.  Take your writing to the next level!

Led by children’s authors Sarah Wilson and Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff

Visit them at www.sarahwilsonbooks.com  and www.lizbooks.com 

Bring pen and paper and get ready to WRITE!

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Wondering Wednesday

Do you worry about your writing?  The more we worry about a story or character, the easier it is to accidentally stop our creativity.  Instead of worrying about our writing, wonder about our plot, characters and word choices.

Think about your writing in the off-the-wall moments of your life.  Wonder about writing while you’re walking the dog, washing the dishes, and riding in the car.   Your best ideas will grab you at these times.  Wonder about your writing as you wake up from sleep.  You are relaxed and in your most imaginative frame of mind.

Writing Prompts

1.  Write a journal entry from a character in a story you are writing.  Or write a journal entry from a character you’ve read and enjoyed in another book.

2.  Try a form of writing you’ve never attempted before.   Yearn to haiku?  Going on a trip?  Create a travel piece.  Ever write a movie review?  It’s good practice to learn various types of writing.  You’ll discover ways to stretch yourself and might find a genre where you shine.

3.   Keep a wondering idea notebook for your wonderings.   Highlight your favorites and keep them handy when you are looking for an idea.

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Funny Friday

What’s the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?  Have anything embarrassing happen that later you realized was hysterical?  Tell a story to friends and you’re surprised when they laugh? 

1.  Brainstorm your funny memories.   To help you remember, go through photo albums, your diary or journal, or talk to friends and family. 

2.  Once you have your idea, write what happened just like you’d tell it to a friend.  Start at the beginning and write chronologically.  First this . . . then that. 

3.  Is there any way you can make this even MORE funny than it already is?  exaggerate it ?  Add emotion and tension?  Place your embarrassing moment in front of a crowd of people?  A time that puts more pressure on you?  (Before a big exam, on stage, in front of an important person, etc.)

4.  Slow-down-the-moment at the funniest time/most important challenging event.  Use your senses to make the reader feel we are there.   Put your thoughts, feelings, and physical reactions in the piece. 

5.  Read your story out loud.  Does the timing feel right?  Check your word choices.  Does each word work?  Each word belong there?

6.  Polish your piece until you’ve got your comedy rhythm right!

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Need a writing idea?

You are poised with a pen over a blank sheet of paper . . . or your finger tips touch the keyboard.  But.  Nothing. 

Your mind is blank.   That ever happen to you?  No?  Then you are very lucky, brilliant, or you are not telling the truth.  If you are brimming with ideas and don’t need one, keep on writing what you’re writing.  Or if you’d like to challenge yourself and see if you can write on a topic – – snap – – for the fun of it – – then take a break from your regular writing project and try this one.  Can you do it? 

Scene:  The Wild West

Plot:  A Fish Out of Water  (Means someone doesn’t really belong there)  

Who gets “plopped” into the old-time wild west and why?  What’s it like for this character?  How dangerous can it be?  Increase the tension! Give your readers suspense!  Throw in some humor. 

Setting:  Give us some specific details so we’ll know we’re in the old wild west.  How does the air feel? What does it smell like?

Character:  Who is the protagonist/main character?  What does he or she want more than anything?  Make him/her work to get it!

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So You Are Writing A Short Story . . .

 . . . is it too short?  How can a short story be too short?  You’ve read your story and it has a beginning, middle and an end.   Your character wanted something, at first she couldn’t get it, she worked at her problem, and then she succeeded.  The end. 

But perhaps, just maybe, your story MIGHT be slight.   GASP!  NO!  It’s perfect!

Read it again.  Does your character REACT to a situation that has happened?  If a problem has occurred – – a robbery at the bank.  She’s failed a math test. Do you take time to “slow-down-the-moment” for the exciting or important part of the story?  This will add suspense or emotional depth.

How do you slow it down a bit?  Make your story deeper and not “slight?”  Get into your main character’s head.  What is she thinking?  Feeling?  Get all of her senses going.  Does she break into a sweat?  Start shaking?  Make sure she REACTS to the important things that happen to her.

Writing Prompt:

In a story you are working on, take a highlighter.  Highlight any portion where your character internalizes, or THINKS about her situation.

Take a different color pen or highlighter, and underline or highlight where your character has a PHYSICAL REACTION to what is going on.  What does she or he do?

Next, with another color, mark where your character talks.  Make sure it’s not “empty dialogue.”  But dialogue that your character needs to say to move the story along. 

Finally, read your story aloud.  Now I bet your story is deeper and not slight! 

Congratulations on a successful revision!

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