Hello, writers. Writing is hard at the best of times, which these aren’t. Making yourself write is hard. I’ve tried various methods in the past: celebrating every 10,000 words, paying myself $15 an hour to write, etc.
With this current work in progress, I’ve started keeping a record of just what I do every day. I just write down the day’s date and a brief description, a single sentence, of what I got done. A word count if I wrote. A description of what else I did, if I didn’t write. (Bubble mapping, drawing, index cards, revising.)
If I didn’t do anything writing-related on a particular day, I still write down the day’s date, along with the reason I didn’t do anything.
It’s been very enlightening. I’ve learned a lot. One thing I’ve learned is that even when I feel like I’m getting nowhere, I’m really getting quite a bit done. Another is that because I have to record what I did every day even if it was nothing, I’m a lot more likely to do something— anything— just to avoid having done nothing.
Anyway, I highly recommend it. It’s a good way to motivate yourself and also to learn more about your process.
Now, moving on to tonight’s challenge.
This is going to be about character.
We’ve talked before about how different characters will react differently to a given situation. They’ll act in character. Putting two characters into the same situation is one way of showing their differences.
But tonight we’ll just do one character.
Pick a character from a story you’re working on, or have worked on in the past. Or, if you want, choose a stock character: A Callow Youth who is seeking the fabled Jewel of Togwogmagog so that s/he can save the realm.
The character sees the fabled Jewel of Togwogmagog at last. It’s sitting on a table. Just sitting there. As s/he starts toward it, someone comes along, picks it up, and, thinking it’s a candy, swallows it.
Show how the character reacts.
Write On! will be a regular weekly diary (Thurs 5pm leftkost, 8 pm east) until it isn't.
Before signing a contract with any agent or publisher, please be sure to check them out on Absolute Write and/or Writer Beware.
I’m supposed to put a link to the Readers & Book Lovers diary schedule here, but I couldn’t figure out how to do that.