In the search for ideas to prevent the dreaded writer’s ‘blank page syndrome’, here are more fiction writing exercises – ideas for writing fiction #8:

So far we’ve used dictionaries to jump-start some new ideas, playing with words we might never have ever thought of using. Then we tweaked with other people’s stories to get our brains kicked up to an even higher gear, making up new endings and beginnings to get us past the next white page staring at us. We followed that up by creating characters, picking a strong trait or quirk or two to help us write a story based on those people so we can start to populate our work. For a few more ideas, we’ve been checking newspapers, using proverbs/quotations, and correspondence to help us find fodder for more stories/situations. And then we started ‘filling out’ our characters’ backgrounds/lives by providing them with motives for why they do what they do, working on one of a writer’s holy grails – creating 3-dimensional characters.

Now let’s find someplace interesting for them to do it:

8. Start with a setting

Write a short story with one of the following settings: a small seaside town; a pub, cafe or restaurant; a doctor’s waiting room; a hotel or boarding house; a factory; a busy office; a bus or railway station; a caravan park; a garage; a shop or supermarket; a theme park; a 13th story tower block flat; a school; a nursery; a college campus; a picnic. Perhaps the setting itself could provide the source of conflict in your story: for example, a wife wants to move to the country, while her husband prefers to live in town.

Setting can sometimes be one of the most memorable parts of a story: to me, classic examples of places helping to drive a story are WUTHERING HEIGHTS with its manor on the moors or REBECCA’s gothic mansion Manderlay with its hidden rooms and people. Another more recent one that shows how the ‘scenery’ can influence the plot (and most definitely the characters) is THE SHINING, Stephen King’s classic thriller where the hotel is a character in and of itself.

Whether you’re writing a story, a novel or a screenplay, where you ‘stage’ it can make or break the mood you’re trying to establish, so pay equal attention to the wheres when considering who and what to write about. Then play with the descriptions, adding and taking away as necessary to establish the scene so that the ‘background’ is ‘organic’ (fits the story without being in your face – unless you intend it to be that way, of course.)

You might try writing your story in one locale, getting the other factors, such as characters and situations in place, then try switching the action to someplace completely differently to see what a change in scenery would do to the rest of the framework. It might seem extremely more serious suddenly or you might find it hilarious to find those same people doing whatever they were doing in a wholely unexpected venue. (Think WHEN HARRY MET SALLY – what Sally does in one scene would be ‘predictable’ and ‘expected’ if done in a bedroom, but move it to a deli, and oh my!)

(These ideas are based on the work of Nick Daws, who is a best-selling author living in Staffordshire, England. His book, “Write Any Book in Just 28 Days OR LESS” is available at writequickly.com )

Here’s your next installment of Fiction Writing Exercises – Ideas for Writing Fiction #7. So far you (should) have been writing about what’s been happening to your characters using the various idea-generating techniques. Now, we want to start to fill out our stories with ‘why’ the characters are doing what they’re doing:

7. What’s My Motive?

Start with a character who wants something badly. It might be a new job, a new partner, a holiday, something else. Place obstacles in the path of your character and show how he/she overcomes these (or fails to).

Part of what makes a story good or even great is knowing why a character does what he or she does, or at least thinking you do, so you can either identify with that person, or if it’s not someone you came sympathize with, then maybe you can possibly live vicariously through his or her adventures, read about things you would never do, but have always been curious to experience, even if only in a book.

If the people in your work just walk around like robots (and they AREN’T robots) then your readers won’t connect in a meaningful way and probably won’t want to continue to read your story. You need to provide the why’s along with the how’s, what’s and where’s to keep it compelling, making the people in your work fully realized and at least somewhat recognizable to the general reading public.

But be careful. As a rule, you don’t want to just come out and say “So and so wants X, so they did Y.” (Or maybe you do…) However, that probably won’t engage your reader for very long. Generally it’s best to let the action or situations help the reader understand the “why” along with “how” and the rest, drawing the reader in as the story progresses. (As they say, “Show, don’t tell” for a more visceral, engaging experience.)

Depending on the strength of your characters’ desires, dreams and ‘motives’, they will help drive the actions your characters will take to achieve their goals or help accentuate any disappointments they will suffer when they don’t reach them (or both if you put in a few interesting twists.) The better you establish the motives behind the action, the better your overall story will be, especially as you create longer and more involved works.

(These ideas are based on the work of Nick Daws, who is a best-selling author living in Staffordshire, England. His book, “Write Any Book in Just 28 Days OR LESS” is available at writequickly.com )

Okay, so you should now have done the first 5 exercises and should be ready for Fiction Writing Exercises – Ideas for Writing Fiction #6. (No? If not, go back and see what you’ve been missing. Then come back to this one… =)

Here’s the next installment in the series:

6. Tales by Letter

Write a story in the form of a series of letters or postcards, faxes, official reports, (imaginary) newspaper stories, answerphone messages, e-mails, diary entries or a travel journal. Combine any or all of these in your finished story.

You may have used a little of this in an earlier exercise, but now you want to use it for your WHOLE story this time.

If you’re not sure how to do this, check out books like THE NOTEBOOK which uses a form of diary (journal) entries to forward the story along and which provide the ‘twist’.

One of my favorite examples of a story told in emails/official reports is Alan Dean Foster’s short story SWAMP PLANET CHRISTMAS (from …WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?) It’s funny, twisted, frustrating and a pointed commentary on bureaucracy all at the same time, done as transmissions between a colony and a home planet/government some time in the future. However, it’s so well written, it could just as easily be set today and still apply… Alan Dean Foster is a master of the short story and novel formats, along with many screenplay adaptations from STAR TREK to STAR WARS to ALIENS and even DARK STAR, so feel free to read any and all of his work to help you in yours, especially if you like to work in the Science Fiction genre.

(These fiction writing exercises are based on the work of Nick Daws, who is a best-selling author living in Staffordshire, England. His audio book, “Write Any Book in Just 28 Days OR LESS” is available at writequickly.com )

One of today’s hottest authors of paranormal romance books, Laurell K. Hamilton, recently appeared at the 2007 Wolf Howl, in a beautiful outdoor setting, where she did a very funny Q&A regarding her creative writing style, how copy editors have changed her work, along with answering questions about her upcoming books. She also did a section where she read from her upcoming new book release A LICK OF FROST, which provides a fascinating insight into her personal voice for each character and scene.

To hear Laurell K Hamilton (author of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter and Merry Gentry Series) speak and get an opportunity to watch her as she explains how she writes what she does, click on the links below:

Laurell K. Hamilton Wolf Howl Q&A (1 of 3)
Laurell K. Hamilton Wolf Howl Q&A (2 of 3)
Laurell K. Hamilton Wolf Howl Q&A (3 of 3)

WOLF HOWL 2007 Reading 1 (A LICK OF FROST)

WOLF HOWL 2007 Reading 2 (A LICK OF FROST)
WOLF HOWL 2007 Reading 3 (A LICK OF FROST)
WOLF HOWL 2007 Reading 4 (A LICK OF FROST)

(Many Thanks to jondgreen – Laurel’s Husband and Partner, for putting these up on YouTube.com)

Official Laurell K Hamilton Website

Find Laurell K Hamilton Books on eBay
Find Laurell K Hamilton Books on Amazon

Here is the next lesson of Fiction Writing Exercises – Ideas for Writing Fiction #5

5. Proverbs

Write a story based on a proverb or a quotation, e.g.:

• A fool and his money are soon parted.
• The early bird gets the worm.
• Waste not, want not.
• Rome was not built in a day.
• Necessity is the mother of invention.
• If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
• Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
• Cheaters never prosper.
• It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.
• Nice guys finish last.
• When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
• It’s Greek to me.
• There’s a sucker born every minute.

You get the idea… Now try to run with it, adding a twist, such as combining two proverbs or taking a proverb and turning it inside out. Think about the movie LIAR, LIAR – in the main character’s world, “cheaters (aka liars) DO prosper”, have great jobs, women, hot cars, etc. All that changes for our main guy, though, when his son makes a wish that makes dad tell the truth for a day. Suddenly, “honesty is the best policy” ruins most of what the main character THINKS is important in his life, causing disaster after disaster, until he finally realizes what he’s been missing and finds a way to turn it all around, which brings us to “it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.”

(These fiction writing exercises are based on the work of Nick Daws, who is a best-selling author living in Staffordshire, England. His book, “Write Any Book in Just 28 Days OR LESS” is available at writequickly.com on CD.)