Hit the Floor Running
July 25th, 2009 by Susan
Exercises based on “Writing Picture Books” by Ann Whitford Paul. I have modified the exercises for more general writing, but there is still a heavy slant towards fiction.
Step 1: Write an Opening
Roughly 250-500 words. I want to call this a paragraph, but I’ve seen opening paragraphs that are only one word long. You need a little bit of meat to be able to do these exercises. You will be using this for all the exercises, so try not to write something that will annoy you. 
Step Two: Point of View
Rewrite your Opening in at least 2 different POV:
a. Third Person, single POV
b. Third Person, different POV Character
c. Narrative Voice, multiple POV
d. First Person
e. First Person, different character
f. First Person, like a letter
g. First Person, like a diary
h. Second Person
Step Three: Setting
Rewrite your Opening
a. Change the time
b. Change the location
c. Change to verb tense
d. Change the characters (People to animals, animals to aliens, Fantasy to Sci fi)
Step Four: Tone
Rewrite your Opening at lease twice using a different tone
a. Funny
b. Scary
c. Epic
d. Romance
e. Thriller
f. Mystery
Step Five: Character Study
For each character, decide the following:
a. Name
b. Age
c. Appearance
d. Relationships
e. Personality
Bonus:
f. What has brought the character to this point in the start of the story?
g. What does the character want?
Step Six: Strong Opening
I like this step, it uses colours!
Print out your Opening and mark it up with the following colours:
a. RED – Who is the main character?
b. YELLOW – What does the main character want?
c. GREEN – When is the story taking place?
d. BLUE – Where is the story taking place?
e. PURPLE – What is the tone of the story?
BONUS STEP: Poetry!
Rewrite your Opening as a poem. (or at least pump up the poetical phrasing)
a. Rhythm
b. Rhyme
c. Alliteration
d. Assonance, consonance
e. Onomatopoeia
Have Fun!
Susan
July 26th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
STEP ONE:
This is a very rough version that I wrote on my break. It is part of a story called “Community Walls.”
Someone once said that God was in the rain.
Maya could not remember where she heard that. Some dim recollection from a previous life. A life as far away from her current one as the east is from the west.
The coffee shop was mostly empty. Soft, non-offensive music played in the background covering the mumbled conversations of a few of the patrons. The walls were painted a warm designer beige.
Life in the city was a different world. For having so many people, it was a very lonely place. People went out of their way to not interact with each other.
Maya wrapped her hands around her cup of triple-triple mocha something-something. She felt out of place in her severe conservative suit. The regulars here looked like they stepped out of the pages of a yuppie hippie magazine.
A different world altogether.
—————-
Step two:
First person: letter (email)
Hi mom! How are you enjoying your retirement? Have you been on every bus tour of Mexico yet?
Work is going well. I am enjoying the challenge of being the personal secretary to the VP of Internal Sales. My boss is great. He continues to praise me for my thoroughness. That makes me wonder what his other assistants were like.
I saw Jeff the other day. He dragged me down to this hippie coffee shop. He looks as disheveled as usual. He was in the city to see some band. He says that some thugs have moved into the neighbourhood. Is this true?
I hope the sun continues to shine on your retirement.
God Bless
Maya
July 27th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Step two:
First Person: Other Character
I was beginning to think that this wasn’t that great an idea.
I could see Maya sitting waiting for me in the coffee shop. She was looking as sharp as ever in her corporate power suit. Her face, however, had a dreamy wistful romantic look about it as she stared out through the rain splattered window.
On the other hand, I looked like I had just crawled out of a homeless shelter.
I had come here with my band, and had decided to visit Hillcrest’s favourite daughter.
I put on my best smile and barreled into the place.
Not a great idea.
—————-
Step Three:
Victorian Setting
Our story opens in a train station.
A young fashionable lady sits on a bench on the platform. She is dressed in a plain but well cut dress. Her hair is pulled up in a stylish but conservative manner. A small pill box hat with a touch of netting completes her ensemble.
Who is this young lady? Is she waiting for someone? Is she going on a trip? Dear reader, let us investigate further.
She doesn’t have any bags with her. She does have a lap desk, which she is using to write some letters. Let us peek over her shoulder to see what she is writing.
Alas, it is only some dull business letter inquiring about the price of a certain type of fastener.
The young lady’s handwriting is very clear and even. Her gloves are pristine, no ink blots or black smears.
The train whistle blows, and our heroine calmly packs up her correspondence. She does not rise from the bench, but instead looks down the tracks for the oncoming train. Perhaps she is waiting for someone.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Tone: Romance
The cold rain running down the windows did little to brighten Maya’s mood.
“Why am I even here?” she thought to herself as she warmed her hands around her coffee cup.
She hadn’t even thought of Jeff in years. Now he wanted to meet with her out of the blue. She smiled to herself, “Not that seeing him would be a bad thing.”
Her current career had very little to do with the world she grew up in. Her clothing style had gone from suburban casual to corporate edge.
Jeff had always been a free spirit. Maya always envied his willingness to go against the norm and do what was right and not what is easy.
—————
Tone: Thriller
Maya scanned the cafe.
The light of the streetlights was warped and distorted as in come through the rain. The interior lights of the coffee shop were dim. Clusters of people sat head to head discussing private matters.
“Why would Jeff choose this place?” Maya thought to herself. She felt out of place in her power suit. The rest of the clientele were wearing organic cotton fair-trade clothing. “This is definitely the type of place Jeff would frequent, but why did he send me such a mysterious message.”
Earlier today, Maya had receive a registered letter by bike courier. The note inside the envelope had been quickly scrawled. All it said was the name of this coffee shop, the time, and it was signed Jeff — from the old neighborhood. Maya turned the letter over in her hands.
“Certainly is mysterious.”
———–
Name: Maya
Age: 27
Appearance:
Physical: small, like a weaver bird
Clothing: Conservative, plain, good quality clothing. Wears tans and browns when casual
Relationships: To busy with work to have friends, You to hang out with the neighbourhood kids. No siblings. Her parents are retired and are traveling.
Personality: perfectionist. If you are going to do something, you should do it well. Can rub people the wrong way because of it.
What brought: She received a message out of the blue from one of the neighbourhood kids
What want: She is currently at a point of stasis in her life. She has the job she wants, but is still missing something.
Name: Jeff
Age: 26
Appearance: “free spirit” Wears all organic clothing. Does not believe in the tyranny of the fashion industry. Usually is sporting a scruffy beard.
Personality: Out-of-focus, earnest, passionate
What Brought: Is worried about a gang of thugs that has moved into the old neighborhood
What Want: Wants to bring together the neighborhood, but can’t figure out how