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Character development
The History
● What moment defined the views your character holds now?
● What are his greatest fears?
● How does she change when she is around family, rather than friends, or at work?
Goals
● What does your character want?
● What drives her?
● What is he willing to sacrifice?
● How does he handle challenges?
● What about victories?
● What's holding her back?
● What are her weaknesses?
● Her desires?
The Lumpy Parts
● Is your character always in mismatched socks?
● How does he or she look when concentrating?
● What are her tics?
● How does she remove or readjust her glasses?
● What sounds does he make when he chews his food?
● Is he often distracted?
● Is he eager to please? I
● nsecure?
● How can other characters tell?
Distinguishing Your Characters on the
Page

When it comes to gesture, you can enhance the individuality of character by thinking about
the way your character:

● moves their body,

● uses their hands when they speak, or
● expresses themselves facially. The smallest squint of their eyes or a flick of the
nostrils can be a subtle yet distinctive trait that really brings your character to
life.

● What is their family dynamic? (How many members, how do they interact, etc.)
● Was their childhood happy or troubled?
● Where did they grow up?
● Were they rich, poor, middle class?
● Who are their friends and how did they meet?
● Were there any traumas in their lives?
● What are some of their happiest memories? Worst memories?
● Why did they choose their career?
● How many romantic relationships have they had? Were they good or bad? Why
did they end?
● What is one thing they would wish to change about the past?
● What are their biggest fears?
● What are their interests, hobbies, and passions?
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● What things and people do they like best? Dislike?

● What makes them angry?
● What makes them sad?
● What makes them happy?
● How do they cope under stress?
● Do they act differently around friends than around family?
● Are they introverts or extroverts?
● What do they want most? (In family, in friends, in a lover, in their career, in life in
general.)
● Hair and eye color? (Basics, but classics.)
● Any “flaws”? Scars, crooked nose, etc. (Don’t make all your heroes look like
movie stars: that isn’t very realistic.)
● What’s their body type? Skinny, lanky, short, pudgy, etc.
● What are some of their physical habits? Do they twirl their hair, wring their hands,
stand with hands on hips? (Think about people you know and observe those you
don’t to help you come up with ideas.)
● What gestures do they use when they are happy, sad, scared, angry, etc.?

1. But Why?
Keep asking your characters why. Here's an example:

Why are you grumpy? I have a hangover.

Why do you have a hangover? My friend was in a bad accident and I thought he might die?
Why did you think he might die? His girlfriend lied to me about how serious the accident was.
Why did she lie about that? She's jealous of our relationship.
Why? I think she's insecure and has trust issues.
Do you see how much that question will dig into a character?

2. The Ellen DeGeneres Show

A talk show is scripted to promote the guest and discuss topics with which the guest is
comfortable. Imagine your protagonist on the Ellen Degeneres Show (or The Late Show
With Stephen Colbert - whichever show you're familiar with). What questions would be
asked
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of your protagonist? What funny anecdotes would your protagonist share? Write down the
reactions of both your protagonist and the host.

3. Musicals
Your character's story has been Disney-fied. At what point in the arc does your protagonist
break out into song - and what is that song about?

4. Newsworthy
Your protagonist has just made it into a New York Times headline. What does the headline
say? Write down the reaction of your protagonist to hearing the news that day.

5. The Sorting
Your protagonist's name is called. They approach the stool, where an old and tattered hat
lies. They put on the hat. They will next hear one of four words called out: Ravenclaw,
Gryffindor, Slytherin, or Hufflepuff. Which one is it? Write down the reasons detailing why.

6. Charity
Your protagonist has just been bequeathed $5 million dollars. The money came from an
anonymous benefactor who wants your protagonist to donate all of it to five charities. How
does your protagonist react? In a short story, write down what would happen next.

7. The Funny Drive Prompt

"Patience is something you admire in the driver behind, but not in one ahead" _ Bill
McGlashen. Your protagonist is one or the other. Pick one, and roll with it. Go!

8. Letter to My Younger Self:

Your protagonist sits down at a desk and begins penning a letter to his or her younger self.
What would they tell their past selves? What regrets do they voice? What lessons have they
learned? How have they changed? Write this imagined note yourself, in your protagonist's
voice.

9. #TBT:
Create a timeline of the significant moments of your character's life. Like many authors, you
can use post-it notes or a big whiteboard to visualize your character's life. You can easily
move or add events until you feel your character has a well-developed history. After you've
finished the timeline, distill it into the top 5-10 moments that have shaped your character. For
instance, if loss is a thematically important part of your book, perhaps a significant part of
your character's past is when they lost a grandparent as a child.

10. "You":
Second-person point of view is an intimate way of looking at a character's thoughts. As an
exercise, take a scene from the book you're writing. Choose a character, and then re-write
the scene entirely from a second-person POV, noticing what details shift because of this
perspective change.

11. Two Kinds of People:

"There are two types of people: those that talk the talk and those that walk the walk. People
who walk the walk sometimes talk the talk but most times they don't talk at all, 'cause they
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walkin'. Now, people who talk the talk, when it comes time for them to walk the walk, you
know what they do? They talk people like me into walkin' for them," said Key in the 2005 film
Hustle and Flow. Which of these two types are your characters? Write down an exchange
between two of your characters that confronts this very difference between them.

12. Do The Unexpected:

Humans are highly resistant to change - for a character to believably undergo a personal
journey that substantially alters them, something HUGE and specific must happen to them.
This event doesn't have to happen in your story, but once you can identify your character's
limits, you can determine what is required to create a potential change in their fundamental
nature.For this exercise, determine what this catalyst for change might be by considering
situations or attributes that feel counterintuitive. For instance, if your character is a Good
Samaritan, it is unlikely they would commit a crime. What would have to be at stake for this
unlikely situation to happen - and for a core part of your character to change?

13. A Tall, Dark Stranger:

Write a scene where your character is speaking to a complete stranger. Immediately after,
write a scene where your character is speaking to a loved one. Notice how their behavior
changes.

14. A Whole Week:

Describe each day of the week as if it were a person. Give each one personality traits, a job,
and a goal. Write a short story about them.

15. The Name Game

Here is your challenge: for the next week, collect fun names. I've collected them for years in
a little notebook - from obituaries, news stories, random lists, and spam. Spam is great for
funny names.Then go through your notebook, choose a name, and write a short character
sketch based off that name. It's amazing how the names make the characters come to life
and start moving the story in fun directions you never expected.

16. The Best Day Ever

Take your main character and describe the best day he/she has ever had. This is a prompt
that will generate questions like, "Why did the character think that was their best day?"

17. Through Another Person's Eyes

Select a scene that involves 2-3 characters. Write a paragraph from the point of one
character. Now write the same interaction from another character's point of view. For
example: your paragraph could involve the point of view of a convenience store
clerk contrasted with a customer's point of view of the same incident.

18. Take Your Characters On A Test Drive

Sometimes a bad case of writer's block boils down to a broken connection between you and
your protagonist, and the solution can be a change of scenery. Not for you - for your
character! Writing prompts are a good way to get the creative juices flowing and can help
you clear out the block so your character can continue down your story's path. For a weekly
supply of fresh writing prompts, head here: reedsy.com/writing
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19. Put Your Characters Through The Wringer

Develop your characters by placing them in a situation where they are faced with a
challenge. For conflict inspiration, look no further than these classic moral dilemmas (and, of
course, analyze them from the perspective of your character). For an example of a moral
dilemma, search "The Trolly Problem."

20. The Dinner Party

Who are the three most unlikely people your protagonist would have dinner with? Why?
Write the scene.

21. Wanderlust
Transplant your character into an entirely new location. It could be a new country, city, or
continent. How do they react to the new surroundings?

22. The Gatsby Method

Establishing how your character is perceived by others is a great way to give them greater
context. It can provide the author with expectations to subvert for the reader and add an
interesting mystique to the character. To give the Gatsby Method a go, write a scene in
which your character is only present through the candid descriptions of him/her by others.

23. Somewhere Familiar

Are you finding it difficult to get to know your fictional characters and/or differentiate them
from yourself? Try this: Choose a character from your project and let her/him take a walk into
a place you know well. Then describe this place from this character's perspective and ask
yourself:

What does (or doesn't) s/he notice?

How does s/he feel about what she notices?
What thoughts do the things s/he notices trigger in her/him?
This can be memories, social critique, enjoyment or disgust etc.
How do your character's impressions of, and responses to, the place differ from yours?

24. In The Eye of the Beholder

Our individual perspectives define what we first notice about a person's physical
appearance. How do your characters see those around them? Describe one character's
physical appearance from the perspectives of three other characters. What does each
beholder's description reveal about who they are?

25. The Next Great Author

Develop a character that's an author. Write a short story from the point of view of that author.

26. Talent Show

Your protagonist has been asked to showcase a little-known, unusual talent at a community
fair's talent contest. Begin on stage and show not only the performer but also the crowd's
reaction to this talent unveiling.

27. Break The Ice

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Further chip away at your character and establish how they present themselves to others by
imagining how they would briefly describe themselves in the following situations:

In a job interview
On a first date
Catching up with an old friend
Flirting with someone at a party
In their twitter bio
At the border between the US and Mexico

28. A Day in the Life

Write about the hero of your story going on the most mundane errand you can think of. Rely
solely on the character to make the story interesting.

29. Journaling From Your Characters' Perspectives

Set a timer and start free-writing from one of your character's perspectives. Try to really get
inside their head - what do they want, what ticks them off, what do they feel passionate
about? Are they writing in a diary, telling a story to a friend, or dictating a formal letter?

30. In Case of Fire

Moments of crises force characters to act without thinking, revealing things that might not
have been previously obvious. Now imagine that there has been a blazing fire in your
protagonist's house. What are the three things that your protagonist would unthinkingly grab
as he or she breaks for the door? In 500-1,000 words, put this scene and its aftermath down
on paper.

31. Reputations
Have each primary character free-write what they think about the other characters in the
story. This will also deepen the secondary characters.

32. It's All About Your Point of View

Write a pivotal scene in your novel from a different character's POV. For instance: at a
funeral, you may have written the grieving widow's thoughts and feelings. Write about that
funeral from the deceased husband's POV, the eldest son's, or the step-sister's.

33. Don't Look in the Mirror

It's impossible not to put some of yourself and your own life into your writing. But when
you're writing about characters who you don't share much in common with, it can be tricky
to authentically capture their "voice" and point of view. To develop this skill, fill out this
character profile and base it on yourself. Then fill out a second one and make it as different
from your own as possible.

34. Less Talk, More Action

Try your hand at conveying your character through action by first writing a list of physical
traits that apply to your character. Next, with that list at hand, write a scene where
something is happening - whether it's a conversation, laundry-folding, cooking, etc. Weave
references to your character's physicality into the action.
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35. Jekyll and Hyde

Describe the same character twice. Once as the hero of a story and once as the antagonist.

36. Stranger Comes Knocking

There's a saying: "Everyone is the hero of his or her own story." For a 10-minute writing
exercise, enter your book from another character's eyes. Think about how differently that
character would experience your plot and capture that in a short story.

37. Put Yourself In Someone Else's Shoes

Choose a character and think of ways they'd react to things that happened during your (the
writer's) day. Use your experiences, think how you reacted, and then how your character
would have reacted. Possible events: cut off in traffic, caught in the rain, missed an important
meeting, lost a valuable item.

38. Undisclosed Desires

What does your character want most? Now consider what he needs most. Is what he wants
preventing him from gaining what he needs? Or will he have to find what he wants before he
can achieve what he needs?

39. Personality Quiz

There are those who believe that there is a science to personality. Out of this belief
developed some popular personality tests that are designed to help people learn more about
their strengths and weaknesses. The biggest ones include: Myers Briggs, The Big Five, and
the Enneagram Test.Try taking each of the above tests, but here's the twist: take them as if
you were your character. Does it match up to what you had in mind? Do the results reveal
anything new or surprising about your character's traits?

40. Fear Factor

Nothing can create conflict for your characters like good old-fashioned fear. Take time now
to define your protagonist's biggest fear. Is it something physical (e.g. tight spaces or flying
in an airplane) or internal (e.g. fear of failure, commitment, or rejection)? Write a scene in
which your protagonist must face this fear.

41. Blind Date

Your protagonist meets your villain for the first time - on a blind date. What happens?

42. Gossip Around Town

How people perceive your character may be markedly different from who your character
really is. Think about what the average stranger might think - or hear - of your character.
What's the gossip around town concerning your character? Write down a scene in which
your protagonist is forced to confront this gossip, and the consequences of that
confrontation.

43. What A Character

Memorable characters are ones that mirror real people: their feelings, experiences, needs,
and goals. Challenge yourself to get real with your character by first getting real with
yourself. Grab a notebook and answer the following questions as they pertain to you:
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What emotion do you struggle with because you feel it so deeply?

What type of situation makes you feel vulnerable or inadequate?
What past mistake causes you the most regret?
What core moral belief is so ingrained that you live it every day?
These questions require a deep look within and put us in touch with our authentic selves.
This is what readers come to the page for, so answer these again, this time as your
protagonist. When you finish, think about how you can incorporate some of these vulnerable
moments into your story to show readers the deeper side of your character.

44. Go The Other Way

Choose a random occupation, a random personality trait, and the trait's opposite. Now,
outline a train of events that explains how a person of your chosen occupation changes from
having the random trait to having its opposite. Let's take, for example: "martial arts teacher,"
"shy," and "confident." What would make a shy martial arts teacher change into a confident
one?Care for a double challenge? Try plotting the opposite path, too: a confident martial arts
teacher turns into a shy person. What would cause that? Experiment with unusual
occupations and traits to challenge yourself. Find a collection of traits for download at the
end of this article.

45. The Truth Shall Set Your Characters Free

In order to dive deeper into your character's emotional depths, ask a round of questions -
both probing and seemingly innocuous alike. (Hey, you never know when your character's
favorite choice of ice cream topping might come in handy!) While we encourage you to build
and refine your own set of questions, these questionnaires will provide solid inspiration for
now: Arthur Aron's 36 Questions That Lead to Love, and The Proust Questionnaire.
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Dialogue exercise
1. The Impersonator
This is Part I of an exercise that practices voice. Pick up a book written by an author that you
admire. Absorb the voice in which they write. Now try writing a page of your own story, but in
their voice.

2. Use Your Words

_Voice separates MEH stories from the ones that grab attention. _Voice is the unique way _a
writer combines words and strings together sentences. It is _a story's personality, its manner of
expression. _A compelling voice is the difference between "Oh, shucks!" and "Oh, slippery
slush!" (Little Red Gliding Hood)_. Between "Charmaine's showing off" and "Charmaine's
strutting hard enough to shame a rooster" (The Quickest Kid in Clarksville). And between
"Pancake _escaped_" and "Pancake rappelled down a rope of linguini" (Lady Pancake and Sir
French Toast)_. _Examine your story for common language - for example, circle blah verbs
and insert something more unique.

3. An Outsider
The next time you're about to write a long passage of dialogue, show it from the perspective of
a stranger watching your characters from afar. The stranger cannot hear what is being said; he
can only observe their behaviors, appearances, and actions. You'd be surprised how much you
can deduce about two people from just their body language.

4. The Impersonator II
This is Part II of an exercise that practices voice. Pick up a book written by an author that you
admire. Now try writing a page of their story, but in your own voice.

5. Hearing Voices
Think about how your writing voice has changed since you began writing - then, try writing in
the voice of Past You. Growing older, trying new experiences, and learning more about writing
can all be factors that influence your voice. For example, you could write a chapter in the style
of an elementary school diary entry, or look up an old writing assignment and use it to draft
your project.

6. What Did You Say?

Part of writing great dialogue is ensuring each character has a unique voice. Pretend three of
your characters have won the lottery. How does each character reveal the big news to their
closest friend? Write out their dialogue with unique word choice, tone, and body language in
mind.

7. Two-Thirds
"Gossip, as usual, was one-third right and two-thirds wrong," wrote L.M. Montgomery.
Improvise a gossipy dialogue between two characters (Character A and Character B) about
your protagonist (Character C). If these fractions are followed, what do Character A and
Character B get right about your protagonist - and what do they get wrong?

8. Dialogue Only, Please!

Flex the writing muscles in your brain by writing a short story that ONLY uses dialogue. For an
extra challenge, introduce and juggle more than 3 characters throughout the course of this
story.

9. Batman versus Superman

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Comic books don't have the luxury of prose, so what's said out loud needs to be both relevant
and authentic. Take any conversation in your manuscript and try to transport it into the pages
of a comic book. What is really important that MUST be said? What remains a visual?

10. The Eavesdropper

The most important thing about dialogue in any story is that it must sound real. The next time
you go outside, discreetly listen in on any conversation between two people (Person A and
Person B) for five minutes. Observe everything about the way that they talk. Then go home
and "fill in the blanks," using Person A and Person B's cadences and speech patterns to
complete the conversation yourself.

11. Famous Lines

Dialogue isn't exclusive: characters may say the same things, but mean something entirely
different in the context of the scene. Pick one of the below famous lines from literature and
film. Then start a scene by having a character say it. Develop the scene that follows in
500-600 words and see where it takes your characters.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."
"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"
"You're gonna need a bigger boat."
"Oh, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars."
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Plot development exercise

1. The Motif
Write a list of images you associate with your theme. Now do the same for each of your main
characters. Keep these images in mind as a way to present your theme metaphorically through
symbolic motifs.

2. Any Questions?
There's one powerful motivator that led your reader to your book - curiosity. Our brain doesn't
stop asking questions because it knows that's how it learns and evolves. Questions raise
uncertainty. Unknowns. And if there's an unknown, then humans want to make it known. There
will be a big question that drives your story, so take a couple of minutes to consider the
mother-question that propels your book from beginning to end.Your manuscript also needs to
be powered by lots of little questions. Your book will need a variety of whos, whens, whys, and
wheres to keep your reader engaged. In fact, every scene in your book needs to have a
question define it. It's what will keep your reader turning those pages. Review each of your
scenes and identify the question/s hanging over it, because once you nail that, their mind will
be asking the most important question of all - what happens next?

3. The Outsider
If you're working on a novel or short story, write a pivotal scene from an outside observer's
perspective who has no role in the story.

4. Grab Your Red Pen

Pick a scene or passage you've written that you feel dissatisfied with. Take a short time -
maybe 10 or 20 minutes - to read the passage as though it were someone else's work. Take a
red pen and make notes in the margins. If you didn't know anything else about the story, where
else could this scene go? Try to get a feel for how malleable the words and the story can be.

5. Lost The Plot?

How do you start a story - or get a story back on track? If you're feeling lost or blocked, try
templating to get your plot on course.Here's what to do: bullet point your initiating incident,
your rising action, your crisis, and your resolution for both your main plot and subplots. Make a
table to see events running parallel, remembering subplots exist to enhance, complicate _
ultimately, compliment _ your main action. Listing like this highlights any irrelevancies, keeping
your tale on track, and makes all you write intertwined and significant to your protagonist's
journey. Plan out using this framework as your reference.

6. A New Chapter
Pick up one of your favorite novels. Open it to a random page. Whatever chapter you land on,
rewrite it your own way. Take it in a totally different direction than how it actually plays out in
the book.

7. Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of
more brains." So began Seth Grahame-Smith's book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which
(you guessed it) re-imagined Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in a world with zombies.
Sometimes one big twist is all it takes to get you thinking about a story in a different way. How
would the introduction of zombies shake things up in your world? How would it affect the
relationships between your characters? How would it change priorities? Which parts of your
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world would stay the same, and which parts would be different? Detail this in a short story of
1,000-2,000 words.

8. Alternative Timelines
If you haven't already, write a rough synopsis of where your story might be headed. If you
already have a pretty good idea of this, but feel stuck trying to get there, try writing a brief
"alternate timeline" of the story you have in mind. Are there fixed, important events that happen
in your story? What would happen if your characters made different decisions in those crucial
moments?

9. The Story Swamp

Sometimes writers think up a character and jump straight into writing, without fully fleshing out
the concept at a foundational level. This then means they falter and end up writing a very
confused draft. I call this 'The Story Swamp.'Avoid The Story Swamp by writing a 'logline' or
'pitch' of approximately 25-60 words. This logline should cover what B2W calls The 3
Cs:Character: Who is your protagonist? What does s/he need or want?Conflict: Who is the
antagonist? Why does s/he want to stop or counter your protagonist? What other obstacles are
in your protagonist's way?Clarity: Do we know what genre or type of story this is? Are you
using familiar or clich_d language? Are your word choices too vague?

10. The Page-Turner

Have you read a book you couldn't put down? A good writer knows how to keep the reader's
attention - and the secret of that is pacing. Take a page-turner and analyse how it kept you
gripped. Usually it's because each scene introduced something new, which might be a major
revelation or a tiny shift in the way the reader perceives a character. Run through the entire
book and write down the purpose of every major scene and turning point.

11. The Forbidden Prompt

"There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable" _ Mark Twain.
Your character is doing something someone else has forbidden. Someone else discovers. Will
there be a confrontation? Or will the discoverer be so uncomfortable that (s)he will ignore or
throw hints instead? This is a great scene to practice tension between two characters as well
as the internal thoughts of one of the characters.

12. The Hook

What is your story's hook? Analyze your opening scene and identify the implicit but specific
question it encourages readers to ask. Is this question in the first paragraph or, better yet, the
first line? How can you strengthen it?

13. Clue Hunt

The best way to learn is by reading, so pick up a book that had a plot twist that surprised you
and yet felt right. Look for subtle foreshadowing in it. Start at the beginning of the book and
find the clues that point towards the twist. Make a list of them. Include the wording, so that you
can see why they weren't obvious at first.

14. Choose Your Adventure

In a "Choose Your Adventure" book, you are forced to make a decision at each and every plot
point. The decisions you make will take you down diverging paths and dictate your eventual
fate. Try this if you're stuck on a plot development detail in your story. Sketch out the two
different paths that a character can experience from one plot point, depending on what action
he or she chooses to take.
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15. Plot Development

Three Questions
Come up with three thought provoking questions. Such as:

Who is Sara?
Why is she running down the street?
What is she holding?
Or:
Who is knocking at the door?
Do you know them?
What do they want?
Without stopping to think or check on your spelling, answer these questions as fast as you
can, with whatever comes to mind.
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Outlining exercise
1. Lists Are Your Friend
If you have 5 minutes, prep for your outlining by making a list of lists. This could include:

5 possible endings for your book

5 twists
5 possible subplots
5 ways the subplots could tie into the main plot
5 ways the character could grow
5 surprising things that we could learn about a character
5 ways to add some unexpected elements to the book (humor, suspense, sadness, fear)
5 ways to describe the main setting/another setting

2. Brainstorming Session
Put a timer on for 20 minutes. Spend the whole time jotting down ideas for a short story or
novel. Don't worry if they're coherent _ or even if they're spelled right. From character names
and traits, settings, pieces of dialogue, themes, lines of prose - anything that strikes you as
being an interesting story element.

3. Answer The W's

What can be more basic than the simple who, what, why, when and where formula? This
common sense plan has proved over and over again that it is not only one of the fastest ways
to begin a story, but also an easy creative writing exercise to use when you only have a small
chunk of time available.If you want this formula to work for you, then the best way to approach
it is to answer those questions quickly. Forget about thinking, analyzing, and worrying until
later. For now, let's just start writing. Here's an example to show you how easy it is to start.

WHO? Sally _ an eco activist/policewoman

WHAT? Having an affair with a married politician so she can blackmail and manipulate him.
WHEN? Now
WHERE? In contemporary Ireland
HOW? Recording his every move, generally spying on him in order to destroy him.
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Setting development exercise

1. Room
Write a description of the room you are in from the point-of-view of a character in your
work-in-progress. If the character is from another time or place, so much the better. What
would the character notice first? What would she find odd? What would she love about the
room? What would she dislike? Go beyond describing the physical space and capture her
attitude about what she sees. Let her be snarky or wax poetical. Whatever captures her
emotions about the space.

2. Mood Swings
I recommend starting this exercise with a travel magazine packed with lots of interesting
photos. Select an image that appeals to you. Now, write a short scene from the viewpoint of a
character who has just arrived at this location and is seeing it for the first time. Describe the
setting through the character's eyes, paying particular attention to the mood that this image
evokes in you. Evoke this mood in your readers through the reactions of the character - look
for sensory images!Now, write a second scene, with the same or a different character - and
evoke just the OPPOSITE mood. If your castle seemed tranquil and romantic, set a scene in
which the mood is menacing or sorrowful. If the image of that tropical beach made you feel
relaxed and happy, create a scene in which, instead, it is causing your character to feel angry
or anxious. Again, look for sensory details and impressions that will convince your reader and
evoke that same mood through your words - regardless of what mood the picture alone might
have evoked!

3. From The Ground Up

Choose a place you've never been to. (If you have a map, you can close your eyes and pick a
random spot for an extra challenge!) Do some research and try to learn everything you can
about that location and make it the setting for the next scene you write. Try to include as many
details as possible to make it seem like you've actually been there. For example, what does it
smell like? What kind of people would you see there? What is the climate like?

4. Establishing The Background

Think of some information your readers will need to learn to understand the story. This could
be technical information or character backstory. Now write an argument between two
characters in which you use conflict to share this information.

5. The Art of Description

A few well-chosen words can create a strong sense of place which adds a rich dimension to
your story. It draws your reader right in, as if they were in the room with your
characters.Choose one of the following places and describe it using ALL of your five senses
(touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing). In fiction, you won't usually use all five, but limbering up
your storytelling this way will help you show rather than tell the story:

A market in the South of France

A teenage bedroom
A pub
A hairdresser's salon
The souk in Marrakesh
A stately home
A garden

6. Describe Your Surroundings

We've all read about the grey autumn day, the crisp spring morning, the dewey summer
evening. Flex your descriptive muscles by spending some time writing about your
surroundings. Look for new, interesting, evocative ways to explain the world around you. For
instance, instead of writing, "a breeze blew in through the open window, try, "papers fluttered in
the gust that swept in through the window, throwing dust into the air like confetti."

7. Consider the World View

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When describing your setting, consider who's looking at it as well as what they see. For
example, an ex-con is likely to view (and describe) a restaurant hosting a police officer's
retirement party differently than the daughter of the retiring officer. Take the
point-of-view-character's world view and personal judgment into consideration. What details
would they specifically notice? How would they feel about what they see? What emotions or
thoughts might those details trigger? This allows you to craft richer settings that reflect both the
character, and the world they live in.

8. The Observant Writer

Elegant writers use their material with economy. If they write a scene that introduces a
character, they might slip in many other things that are also important, whether it's a detail
about Character A's birthday, Character A's relationship with Character B, or the weather. In
this exercise, write a paragraph of no more than 300 words and try to fit in ten subtle facts
about your character into it, without being obvious about it.

9. Set The Stage

Believe it or not, choosing the right setting is one of the most important decisions to make
when planning a scene. The location can add mood, supply tension and conflict, steer the plot,
characterize, foreshadow, and even provide a way to dribble in backstory. Going with the first
thing that comes to mind is often easier but may rob the scene of added depth. Locations that
are frequently used in books and film may also bore readers.For your next important scene,
make a list of twenty possible locations. Brainstorm some that have personal meaning to one
or more characters as this can affect their emotional state in the scene. Play with weather
elements, time, and the quality of light (and shadow) to further customize your setting.
Challenge yourself to find the perfect fit and it will pay off by powering up the scene and
offering readers a fresh experience.

10. Guess Where?

Good worldbuilding is when the author can bring a place to life for the reader. Using your
powers of description, describe (in 2-3 paragraphs) a place or setting with which you're
familiar. Then show your work to somebody who knows the spot and see if they are able to
guess it through your words.

11. Eagle-Eyed
Describe your world from above - as an eagle might see it.
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Writer's block
1. The Hammer and the Hatchet
A stranger walks into the general store and buys a hammer, a hatchet, some rope, and an
apple. What does he do with them?

2. Picket Fence
Describe your house - or the dream house you hope to get some day.

3. Telephone Directory
It is commonly known that a telephone directory might be the most boring text in the entire
world. Here is your challenge: write a page of a telephone directory and figure out SOME way
to make it interesting.

4. Eight
Pick a fiction book from your shelf. Go to page eight and find the eighth sentence on the page.
Start with that sentence and write an eight-line poem that connects in some way to your
work-in-progress. For instance, write from the POV of a character, or set the poem in a story
setting. Don't worry about poetry forms. Just write eight lines of any length that flow and
explore some aspect of character, setting, or theme.

5. Beginnings
Getting started is one of the most difficult tasks that faces every writer. Julie Parsons is an
international bestselling author. For this exercise, she's giving you the opening lines from some
of her books. Take the following lines and use them to write the beginning of your own chapter:

You could say it began with a phone call."

Michael had watched them both for weeks."
She remembered the way it was the first time she saw the prison."
Midsummer, no time to be in New Orleans."
With the dawn came the light."

6. Break Through The Block

Think of writer's block as a symptom, not a condition that can't be remedied. When we're stuck
and can't get to our creative work, there's usually a reason - and therefore a way to move
forward.If you're experiencing a block and can't seem to work on your novel, try the following:

Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths. Connect.

How do you feel?
Nervous because you're coming up on a tough scene?
Starting to wonder why you embarked on this project?
Bored with sticking to your thorough outline and not wanting to admit it?
Feel what you're feeling without attaching or rationalizing or arguing. Now, refocus on your
breath. Imagine gentle snow or waves. When you're calm inside, grab a notebook and pen
(computers can amplify pressure instead of opening room for free scribbling) and write without
stopping for three minutes, starting with the prompt, "I'm not blocked becauseÄ" After that, go
for another three minutes, using, "The path back to my writing looks likeÄ" Let yourself go. Let
your hand tell you whatever you need to hear.

7. Magic #50
At the root of all writer's block? Fear. You'll recognize it by the questions you ask yourself when
you sit down to write: Can Ireally finish an entire story? Am I a good enough writer to pull this
off? Will this story matter to anyone? Or am I wasting my time? And what if I sound dumb?But
the specific fear doesn't matter if you know how to soothe it. Here's what to do: Lie down. On
the couch. In bed. In the tub (Hey, don't knock it! Sometimes it's the only place writers can find
some time alone!). Lie down where it's comfortable and quiet, and write fifty words.That's
it.Either the exercise helps you break through the anxiety, and you keep writing. Or you have
fifty words more than you had yesterday, and you try again tomorrow. Either way, lie down and
write fifty words.
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8. The Word Salad

Our subconscious minds combine items in unexpected, sometimes whimsical ways. Set a
timer for twenty minutes and use at least three of these words in your draft. Write without
stopping: a red scarf, windshield wiper, chrome, doily, blowtorch, spatula, CD-ROM, postage
stamp, frittering, static cling, radio silence, kismet, calamity, heartburn, bandage.

9. Positive Reinforcement
Make a list of the things that make you feel guilty about your writing. (For example: "I haven't
written in 10 days even though I could have made the time.") Call yourself out. Then, go
through each point and write a goal or accomplishment to challenge that guilt. (For example: "I
have already written more than I did last month", or "I will set aside 30 minutes to write today.")

10. The Box

As a visual reference, select a box that has dimensions under 12X12 inches. Tape the box
closed. Set the box in front of you. Write a story or poem based on what is inside the box.

11. Mad Libs

Close your eyes and write down four adjectives at random. Now write down three nouns. Now
write down two verbs. Now write down one adverb. Now open your eyes. Your challenge is to
write a 500-word short story based off of these ten words.

12. No Vowel
Write a passage without the letter "E" or "A." This is known as a lipogram and has been used
by authors in many languages to write their novels. You will use unusual sentence
constructions, and it may slow you down for a while, but it will certainly force your brain to work
in different ways.

13. Presidential Speech

Write a presidential speech about why your country needs more ice cream.

14. Open-Ended
Have you ever read or watched something with an ending that left you unfulfilled, unsatisfied,
or frustrated? Now write a proper ending that fixes the story for yourself. Keep in mind the
components of a narrative arc's resolution while you're doing so.

15. Pick-Up Line

Cheesy pick-up lines are the worst...but sometimes (when they work), they're the best
conversation starters out there. Pick one of the pick-up lines from below and write down a
conversation that you can imagine following afterward.

"Your smile is like Expelliarmus. Simple but disarming."

"Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven?"
"Are you a parking ticket? You've got fine written all over you."
"Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see."
"If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together."

16. "Blue"
You are talking to a blind man who asks you to describe the color of the sky. Write down what
you would tell this man without once using the word "blue" in your explanation.

17. 3-2-1 Gone

Your protagonist opens a purse or a desk drawer and finds three objects. By the end of your
piece there's only one item left. What happens to the other two?

18. The Tiny Stab

Write a short story of whatever topic you'd like, but make sure that somewhere in there, you
include this line: "I can't believe that you stabbed me with a knitting needle."

19. The Food Critic

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Write a review of a restaurant at which you recently ate. Describe the food as much as you
can. Feel free to be eviscerating as well.

20. The 81-Word Story

This exercise encourages you to write a complete story using very few words, and helps you
learn how to avoid overwriting. When undertaking this exercise, it's essential to edit your work
carefully. Strip out anything unnecessary and make every word count. Here's how it works:

Take any novel from your bookshelf

Turn to page 9
Take the 9th word from the 9th line on the page
Use that word to start a story
Write a story that is exactly 81 words long
If you're feeling particularly clever, use 9 sentences that are 9 words long
You can also feel free to visit this website and submit your story to the 81 word writing
challenge.

21. Advert
Write an advertisement putting your 12-foot long crocodile on the market. Then write the story
behind why you had to sell your pet crocodile in the first place.

22. Now I'm Free, Free Writin'

Take 5-10 minutes to free-write about your project in new or strange way. Scrawl your thoughts
on construction paper in purple marker, close your eyes and write outside the lines - or draw
your plot in pictograms. When you're done, choose the bits that stand out most to you or were
the most fun to jot down, and make them the central points of your outline or story.

23. Punctuate:
This is a challenge that will exercise your prowess at one of the oft-used components of
English: punctuation. To start off, write a paragraph of no more than 500 words about the
benefits of skin care. Within this paragraph, use ; : - _ ! ? " ' , . at minimum twice.

24. Translate Your Memories

This exercise is particularly helpful for those who write for children and youth. Study an old
photo of yourself or your family from your childhood. It's probably easy to remember the who,
the where, the what. But for this exercise we want to go deeper.Close your eyes and
remember the details of the event. Then remember how you felt at the event in that photo.
How did you feel when anticipating the event? How did you feel if it was a surprise? How did
you feel if it didn't turn out as you anticipate? How did others at the event treat you? How did
you react/respond to them?Now, translate those FEELINGS into an event, place, child that
would take place today.

25. Onee Word

Open a dictionary, close your eyes, pick a random word, and write about it. Go on, see how
much you can write about one word in thirty seconds. It doesn't matter if you think it's great or
silly or you think it's a beautiful word that everyone should use in every conversation. Write it!

26. Stream of Consciousness

Sometimes in order to get over writer's block, you simply need to put word down after word.
Keeping this in mind, set the timer to 15 minutes. Start writing whatever comes to your mind
until time's up. Then do it again - but, this time, write stream-of-consciousness from the
perspective of your protagonist.

27. Love Letters

If you're feeling stuck or intimidated about how to start writing, take five minutes before you
jump into your writing project to pen a love letter (or hate letter) to the blank page in front of
you. It's surprising where words - any words - will lead you once you put them down.

28. Flowers
Pick one of the following flowers: Camellia, Azalea, Persimmon, Marigold, Holly, Elder, Ulmus,
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Verbena, Zinnia, Jonquil.Now locate it in the list below to find out the symbolism behind your
flower. Write a short story based around that meaning as a theme. Specifically mention your
flower in passing in the story at least once.

Azalea: Fragile passion

Camellia: My destiny is in your hands
Persimmon: Bury me amid nature's beauty
Marigold: Grief
Holly: Foresight
Elder: Compassion
Ulmus: Royalty, age
Verbena: Pray for me
Zinnia: I mourn your absence
Jonquil: Desire

29. Sweater
Describe your favorite item of clothing. Is it a favorite because of how it feels, how it looks, or
because of an event you wore it to? What do you think the item of clothing shows about you?

30. Change Up The POV

Write about a well-known scene from a popular story - but write it from a new perspective.
Write about Romeo and Juliet's death from the perspective of the vial they drink from. Write
about the scene where Bilbo finds the ring in¾The Hobbit from the perspective of the ring.
Write about the ghost of Christmas Past taking Scrooge on a walk down memory lane from the
perspective of the ghost. You get the idea.

31. Body Language

When writing emotion, it's easy to become stuck on how to express what the point-of-view
character is experiencing. An exercise to try is to pull from your own memory if you feel
comfortable doing so. Sit back in your chair, take a few calming breaths, and think back to a
time where you experienced this same emotion. Carefully draw up the memory, thinking about
the situation, the location, the people involved. Remember the sights, sounds, smells, textures,
tastes.Now, pay attention to your body. Are you relaxed, or tense? Are your muscles tight? Is it
easy to breathe, or do you feel restricted? Is your posture curling up, an attempt to hide, or are
you twitchy all over and want to leap out of the chair? Make as many notes as you can, and
when you go to write, use what you collected to give life to the character's experience.

32. The Power of Words

Write a list of random, free-association words. For creative writing, list ten words across ten
columns. Then go to each column and add nine more words so that the result is ten columns
and ten rows, a total of one hundred words. Just reading the list and noticing the creative leaps
your mind has made may surprise you. If you like, continue the exercise by using all one
hundred words in a short fiction piece. For poetry, select the words that suggest a common
theme.

33. First Meetings

When you meet new people, how do you react? Tell a story to illustrate this.