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What does your character want? What gets in the way? Prompt #133
We’ve been working on character development on The Write Spot Blog. Your character could be fictional, based on a real person or someone in your memoir.
Kurt Vonnegut says to “make your character want something.” There are several ways to go about this.
Have your character do something unexpected . . . something that surprises everyone and weave in a problem.
You can put your conservative character in an improv situation where he/she has to rap or act in a scene.
Your male character might find himself on stage, learning how to hula or belly dance.
Your female character might find herself in a lumberjack contest.
Have your wild character volunteer to help with bingo in an assisted facility.
Have your character do something unusual.
Remember these are freewrites, where you write freely for 12 to 15 minutes. This doesn’t mean you have to use these character vignettes in your novel, essay or memoir. Have fun playing around with characters.
Have fun making your character uncomfortable, make him or her squirm. Worms on a fishing pole come to mind.
Now, here’s how to really get into the heart of your character:
What does your character want? What gets in the way?For prompts on character development, take a look at:
Character development, discovering characters, prompt #132
Flesh out your character, prompt #131
Other character’s point of view, prompt #109
Grow your characters, prompt #48
You can also type “character” in the search box on the Write Spot Blog for posts about character.
Photo by Breana Marie
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“When there is an obstacle . . . ” Angelina Jolie
“When there is an obstacle, you have to rise to the challenge, not be overwhelmed by it. And we’re not alone in the world. I don’t know if there’s a name for that — religion or faith — just that there’s something greater than all of us, and it’s uniting and beautiful.” — Angelina Jolie, December 22, 2014 People magazine.
From Marlene: Writing unites and connects us and that is, indeed, beautiful. When you reach an obstacle or challenge with your writing, see if you can work around it. Write sideways, in the margins. Come at the problem from a new angle. See the stumbling block as an opportunity to explore the problem and create a new solution. How? By doing a freewrite. Write down the first word that pops into your head and then write, for 12-15 minutes. Click here and here for more writing prompts. Just Write!Photo by Jim C. March
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Write a telegram . . . Prompt #121
Compose a telegram — a brief note that could be sent over the wires. Oh, I guess this sounds like an email, or a text message. But doesn’t “telegram” sound dramatic and perhaps romantic?Nostalgic for some people, a curiosity for others.
So . . . write a telegram to someone who has touched your life in a significant way. Have your message tell him or her something you wish you could say in person. Or, if the person is no longer in your life, what do you wish you could have said?
You could also write a telegram to or from your fictional character.
Idea inspired from From Family Tales, Family Wisdom — How to gather the stories of a lifetime and share them with your family, by Dr. Robert U. Akeret with Daniel Klein
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Write about a gift. . . Prompt #119
Part 1: Write about a gift someone gave you that you didn’t like, didn’t know what to do with or had no use for.Part 2: What does this gift say about the person who gave it to you?
Whenever there is a prompt like this, you can also write about the opposite.Part 1A: Write about a gift you loved, a gift that was a surprise in a good way, a gift that worked really well.
Part 1B: What does this gift say about the person who gave it to you?
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Breathe, focus, keep your head down and . . .
keep going.
— Christina Baker Kline, interviewed by Alicia Anstead in the October 2014 issue of The Writer Magazine.
Or, as Dory sings in Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming. . . swimming. . . swimming. . . ”
At some point in your writing life, you may think your writing is no-good, awful, horrible and no one would want to read it.
Join the Ark. Most writers, I think, are in that boat at least once.
Take the advice of Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train, “Breathe, focus, keep your head down and keep going.”
Click here if you want prompts to jumpstart your writing. Click on “Comments” on any of the Write Spot Blog posts to read inspirational writing.
And just keep swimming, swimming. . . writing, writing. -
I believe. . . Prompt #102
Today’s writing prompt . . .
I believe . . .
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The way I found out about . . . Prompt #100
The way I found out about . . .
Start a sentence with “The way I found out about . . . ” and go from there. Write! Just write.
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Favorite food or drink. Prompt #99
Write about your favorite food or drink and the last time you had it/them.
Photo of fruit salad, prepared by Meals From The Heart at the French Market in New Orleans. If you go there, go to this Cafe. Seriously good food. The BEST gluten-free crabcakes! -
Fake it until you make it.
I facilitate Jumpstart writing workshops in Petaluma, California and here, online, with you. People new to writing have a hard time saying “I’m a writer.” So did I, until my writing teacher, Pat Schneider, made me say it out loud.
And now I’m encouraging you to say it out loud. Come on. I’ll say it, too.
I am a writer.
Again, louder. I AM A WRITER.
There now. . . and if you weren’t able to say it louder, fake it until you make it.
No need to fake your writing. . . Just fake having confidence in your writing.
And now . . . select a prompt and Just Write!
