Tag: Relationships

Family Drama

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Family stories are easy to write, whether there is love or hate driving  the relationships.

Think of someone that you care deeply about. What stories could you tell about that relationship? Choose one instance that is more than just giving hugs, something with some depth to it. Using bullet points, create a list of things that happened, things that were said, things that were done, how people felt and reacted. When you are finished, walk away.

After an hour, come back to your list. Using what you’ve got, could you turn the incident into a compelling story? If not, what could you tweak in order to make it more interesting?

Your next task is to choose a relationship that it testy. Pick one that is long-standing, as that will give you more meat with which to work. As before, use bullet points to create your list, the longer, the better. Focus on the triggers, those defining elements that caused an uproar, the juicier the element, the more tantalizing the story will become.

Walk away, as before. When you return and look at your lists, which lead to the more complex story? Which story would be more compelling to a reader?

Your task is to take a character from one of your stories and create lists for that individual. Make sure that you’ve got both positive and negative relationships.

Reread a scene that you’ve written that maybe isn’t working as well as you’d like. Think about your lists. What could you insert into the scene that would add intrigue and depth?

Rewrite adding in just one element.

When you reread this time, has the story been improved? Did the character’s actions and reactions make sense? If not, then edit! Keep working at it until you’ve got the story that holds interest and adds information about your character.

Have fun with this one.

Hiring Help

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Let’s face it: things break. Sometimes, if we’re talented and skilled enough, we can fix it on our own. Many of us, however, are not so fortunate.

Water backs up into the shower. We call a plumber.

The car makes terrible noises: we take it to a mechanic.

We can’t tell the difference between a flower and a weed: we hire a gardener.

The roof leaks: we hire a contractor.

And on and on and on.

The same must be true for our characters. Problems arise that he cannot fix, so he turns to outside help.

Begin by making a list of things that your character cannot fix. Come up with at least ten. Then narrow it down to the one that would make the most interesting scene.

Your task is to write that scene. Begin with a peculiar noise or water where it shouldn’t be or bushes growing to abnormal sizes. Set the stage by letting us experience the problem through the character’s eyes. Remember to use the senses.

Once the problem has been discovered, what does she do? Does she call a relative to come over or try to fix it herself? What steps does she take in the attempted repair? Does she stand around and watch or pick up the wrench and tighten the pipes herself?

Think about how many attempts to give your character before he calls for help. If it’s more than one, show us each, allowing us to feel the frustrations that he feels.

At one point does she give up and call for help? Is it at the first sighting of problems or after many leaks sprout through the roof? After the car quits working or the tire falls off? Let us experience the attempts as well as the resignation.

Once the decision has been made to hire help, what does he do? Does he troll the neighborhood asking for recommendations or look up contractors online? How many does he call and how many proposals does he gather before deciding on the one to do the job?

Then, as the problem is being fixed, what does she do? Sit inside and drink a cup of coffee or hang around making sure that the worker is steadfast and honest with his time? Pick up the detritus as the job is being completed or watch a movie?

Sitting around would not make for a very interesting story, so be careful with this one.

Once the job is done, what does the character do? How does he feel? Does he haggle over price and the quality of the job or simply pay? Does she inspect the work and nitpick over every little thing?

You must decide, based upon you character’s personality.

So, get started with your list of potential problems, then write the scene.

Have fun with this one.

 

Love Poems

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Throughout all of time, love poems have been a popular form of expression whose sole purpose is to entice the desired partner to fall deeply in love with the writer.

These poems express the writer’s most intense feelings, in a way that bares the heart in raw form.

Poems can be written in free verse, meaning that they don’t have to rhyme, but are more of a stream of consciousness. Or poems can rhyme, following patterns established long ago.

It’s up to the writer.

Your task is imagine that your character is in love and wants to write something that will show how much she loves her chosen one.

Don’t worry about rhyme or meter unless that is something that you want to explore. Instead allow the words to flow freely, running down the page like a stream runs bubbling down the creek.

Have fun with this one.

Parental Interference

On By Terry ConnellyIn Writing promptLeave a comment

As kids, especially as young adults, our parents often embarrass us. They speak when we wish they were silent. They wear dumb hats or clothes so out of style that even thrift stores wouldn’t want them. Or their clothes are faded, ragged or torn. Or spotted with paint or cooking grease.

Our parents want to know who are friends are, where they live, what they like to do, what kinds of music they listen to and what they do for fun, all before we can go hang out with them. Or when a friend knocks at the door, our parents treat them like unwanted guests, giving them a thorough oral examination while you’re trying to gather together your stuff and get out of the house.

On gift-giving opportunities, they present us with things we never asked for, never wanted, and expect us to act grateful. They demand we complete chores that are gross and demeaning, such as doing dishes in the sink where the water gets tainted with food remnants and grease, all because they think doing such things help develop character.

They make us babysit younger brothers and sisters without pay. It’s not too bad if the sibling behaves in public, but when your sister pesters everyone about their favorite Disney character or sings, out of tune, Disney songs, then you’d rather stay home. But if you do, then they insist that your friends come over and hang out with your dorky brother who thinks it’s perfectly fine to jump up from behind the couch and scare your boyfriend.

Your task is to write a scene in which there is either an embarrassing moment with a parent or guardian, or a time when a sibling causes great humiliation.

First, make a list of things parents/guardians do that are embarrassing. Then make a comparable list for siblings. Running parallel to each list, record the scene, the object, the action that causes humiliation.

Draw a line from the person to the point of humiliation that you feel most comfortable writing about.

This becomes your story line.

Write, trying to show the emotions that propel your protagonist forward. Your story can be humorous or serious, depending upon the cause of the humiliation. For example, falling out of a tree can be embarrassing at the moment that it occurs, but if bones are broken, then the final result is quite serious.

After you’re finished, reread, looking for places where you can intensify the emotional impact.

Have fun with this one.

Characters Have Friends

On By Terry ConnellyIn Writing promptLeave a comment

Just as in real life, our characters do not walk alone. At least interesting ones don’t. They must have someone they care about, someone to share ideas with, someone to go places with.

Friendships are developed over time, and if well-founded, can survive illness, an argument, and even separations caused by time and place.

Some people believe that you are who you are with, so choose friends for appearance, for stature, for success. For example, a teen who wants to be popular will seek out popular kids and attempt to befriend them. A business woman who wants a job in the tech field, will associate with other techies.

Your character’s world must be populated with friends as well as potential friends. A story in which interpersonal interactions are casual meetings, is an in-your-head story and might not be too appealing. The pace would be slow and tedious.

We must have conflict. Not punches and beatings, but words that force characters out of their shells and to face the situations that arise. Friends help to accomplish this.

For example, a middle grade student hates his teacher and so talks back and disrupts class. He ends up hanging with the tough kids, those that regularly defy authority. Imagine the trouble that ensues as the student finds himself more and more enmeshed in this group.

Your task is to take one of your stories and add in a close friendship. First decide the purpose of the relationship. Is it to become a love interest? A daring-do combative contest? A study partner with equal interests in college?

Once you’ve defined the purpose, then think about how the relationship factors into the story. Does the friend push the protagonist to new heights or drag him down? Does the friend want something out of the relationship that maybe the protagonist isn’t interested in at this time?

Rework your story, adding in the friend. Something has to happen. They have a fight or fall in love. They design new apps for cell phones or open an antique business. They go on a vacation together or rent an apartment.

Make things happen that drive the story along and add interest.

When you are finished, think about what has happened. Does the friendship enrich the story? Why or why not? If not, then go back and rewrite until it does.

Just remember that friendships count in the fiction world as well as in real life.

Have fun with this one.