Last night, I brought the exercise to Write Night. Here's what we did.
1. Make a list of 10-15 things that can be detected with one of the five senses. (At first I planned to list objects, then I remembered expressions like, cool, sweet, hottie and twitter.)
2. Next to each item in your list, write what it could mean. Remember you’re making up a new phrase, so don’t use standard connotations.
3. Read the lists out loud. Feel free to borrow ideas from others. Feel free to change the meanings.
4. Pick an expression and consider what kind of person would use that expression. Write a short description of that character. Repeat with another expression and another character. Continue for ten minutes. Read them aloud.
5. Write a scene that puts two or more characters in conflict. They can be your characters or those invented by others. Each character must use his or her expression in the scene. Remember to develop the voices of your characters.
6. Write a scene in which a character misunderstands the meaning of one of our new expressions. Focus on the conflict or tension that ensues. Concentrate on voice.
3 comments:
I was there for this exercise and it was good. It has me thinking that I may want more stand-out phrases in my current projects. Thanks for leading, Ann. -- Tim
I'm thinking the same thing with my writing. Great exercise; thank you, Ann!
Ruth,
As the queen of "Cheesers!", you are way ahead of us.
I was thinking that some phrases might be more effective as internal monologue than as dialogue.
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