Knowledge Base » Writing Exercises

 

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Writing Prompt: Who’s the Antagonist Here?

Did Dr. Seuss turn the antagonist-protagonist relationship on its head in The Grinch?  Hmmm… Let’s talk about it!

grinch

In Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch is the protagonist (main character) and yet he’s the bad guy. What he’s battling (the antagonist) is the whole idea

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Exercise: Past, Present & Future

 

Some of my favorite stories when I was young truly cultivated my imagination. These stories included images of flying cars and video phones and all sorts of other technological advancements. We may still be a few years away from a flying car, but there’s no reason why you can’t touch

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Exercise: The First Time!

Before I became a writer, I started off as an actor. I think that being an actor can teach you a great deal about characters and stories in general and I highly recommend taking a class someday if you haven’t. One piece of advice I heard as an actor was

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Exercise: Getting Unstuck

Sometimes we get stuck developing a character, creating a setting, or deciding what happens next in the plot. Here are two exercises to help open the flow of ideas.

           

CLUSTERING

Clustering is a diagramming method for gathering and organizing ideas that you do on paper, a brainstorming method

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Exercise: Is Your Protagonist Worth Writing About?

Part One: Spend a few minutes with a notebook in a public space where children and families are present. Simply write down a few notes about some of the children you observe, what they’re doing, and who they interact with.

Part Two: Pick one of the children to be your

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Exercise: Point of View & Character Depth

Place the main character from your story in a setting that’s not in your plot (the mall, a classroom, your own home, etc.) Write a scene in the First Person Viewpoint with your main character narrating his/her reaction to the setting.

Then write the same scene in Third Person Limited.

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“Show, Don’t Tell” Exercise # 2

Take a character from your book and place him or her in a familiar setting (your character’s room, classroom, backyard, etc.)

Write a scene in which your character moves through that setting, and show that he/she is angry without ever using the words “angry” or “anger”. Now place your

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“Show, Don’t Tell” Exercise # 1

Rewrite the following sentences in ways that show instead of tell. Use action, dialogue and/or the five senses. Try to avoid “to be” verbs such as

is, was, were, are, as well as the word felt which are often telling verbs. Also try not to use adjectives and adverbs.

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Exercise: Point of View

If you’re writing a picture book, try using the Omniscient Point of View for a draft to see how the book changes.

Is it absolutely necessary to treat all the characters the same, or can you better tell the story by following one character through the plot? Which will make