Writing fiction is not an intellectual exercise. One of the keys to creating powerful fiction is to evoke emotion in your writing. You want your writing to create an emotional response in the reader. It is the emotion that will connect the writer and the reader to your characters and your story.
So when you write, it is not about writing what actually happened, rather it is about connecting with the emotional truth of a situation.
Gustave Flaubert said this about the writing of Madame Bovary, “when I described how Emma Bovary poisoned herself, I had such a strong taste of arsenic in my mouth, I was so poisoned myself that I had two attacks of indigestion, one after the other, very real attacks, for I vomited my entire dinner.”
Perhaps you do not need to go quite as far as Flaubert in the following exercises, but you do need to connect with the emotion your character is feeling in a scene and get it on the page.
This will give your writing life and energy.
The Process
In the following four exercises, just focus on writing. Getting the words down onto the page. You will do this by following the three basic rules. Keep your pen moving, capture first thoughts and let yourself write junk.
Write for ten minutes
When doing these exercises, we recommend you write for at least ten minutes per exercise. Once you start, don’t stop until the time is up – even if you write, yuck, yuck, I’m stuck, stuck. Keep writing until the words start flowing again.
Keeping your pen moving and letting your pen do the thinking will cause your conscious mind to make way for your imagination. This will kick in when you least expect it and you will surprise yourself with what comes out of the writing.
The exercises
Come up with a character. Give them a first and second name, an age, a job description and a relationship status.
For example, Shirley Gilmore, 65, Carer, Widowed.
Try to get into your character’s mind, body and spirit and write the exercises below from their point of view. You can use different characters for different exercises or stick with the same one for all four. It is totally up to you.
Remember when you are writing there is no right or wrong. The only failure if you want to write is not writing.
Exercise 1
Think of a situation where your character feels anxious. It could be waking up in the middle of the night, in their bed, alone, feeling there is someone else in the room. Write that scene from your character’s perspective.
Exercise 2
Think of a situation where your character realises they’re in love. Write that scene from your character’s perspective.
Exercise 3
Start a piece with the phrase “Love hurts…” Write that scene from your character’s perspective.
Exercise 4
Start a piece with the phrase, “Welcome to my nightmare…” Write that scene from your character’s perspective.
Roland Fishman created The Writers’ Studio in 1992. The Writers’ Studio runs live courses at their studio in Bronte, Sydney and online courses for all locations. Visit www.writerstudio.com.au for course information.
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