Fiction Writing Exercises: Symbols and Symbolism

Today’s post comes from my book 101 Creative Writing Exercises. This is from “Chapter Five: Fiction.”

Symbols and Symbolism

In Alice and Wonderland, a white rabbit appears and Alice follows him down the rabbit hole that leads to Wonderland. The white rabbit is a herald—a character archetype that signifies the first challenge or the call to adventure. This is the change in the main character’s life that marks the beginning of the story.

The white rabbit became so widely known that it eventually evolved into a symbol. Because it’s white, it can symbolize purity. Because it’s a rabbit, it can symbolize fertility. But because it was the herald that called Alice to her adventure, the white rabbit is often used as a symbol to represent change. Sometimes, it’s simply used as a herald.

The white rabbit appeared in The Matrix, an episode of Star Trek, and in several episodes of Lost. In Jurassic Park, a character finds a file labeled “whiterabbit.obj” and in Stephen King’s The Long Walk, a character refers to himself as “the white rabbit type.”

The white rabbit can function as a traditional symbol or as a reference to Alice in Wonderland. Such is the case with the song “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane.

Symbolism occurs whenever one thing represents something else. For example, a book could represent knowledge. A caged bird could represent oppression or imprisonment. In a story, the repetition of a symbol (every time the book or caged bird appears) can have significance to the story. Maybe every time a character fails because he doesn’t know enough, there’s a book in the scene. Or perhaps a person who is oppressed keeps a caged bird but doesn’t recognize the irony (that he is imprisoning a living creature while suffering his own oppression).

The Exercise

Develop a list of five to ten symbols. Invent your own symbols rather than using ones that commonly appear in fiction. If you’re working on a story or novel, make a list of symbols that you might use in your project. Symbols are often linked to big themes: love, revenge, sacrifice, redemption, narcissism, etc.

Tips: You might find it easier to choose a theme or issue and then look for a symbol that represents it. On the other hand, if you have an interesting image (a red scarf, a snow globe), you might find a way to turn it into a meaningful symbol.

Variations: Choose one symbol and write a list of ways it can be used throughout a story. For example, a white rabbit in a story could appear in a pet store. It could be somebody’s pet. It could be in a science lab. It could be part of a magic show. Make sure you don’t give the symbol more importance than the plot or characters. A symbol is present to add depth and give the story greater meaning. It’s an accent to the story, not the central focus of it.

Applications: Symbols enrich a piece of writing, adding layers to the themes and meaning of the piece.

 

Fiction Writing Exercises for Developing Setting

Setting is one of the most important elements in fiction writing. If your readers don’t know where the story is taking place, they’ll get lost and confused, and it will be hard for them to enjoy your tale.

Some stories have simple settings based on real places. You can use your hometown or a major city. A setting can also be completely dreamed up, which is often necessary in speculative fiction writing (Wonderland and Never Land, for example). You can keep a setting in the background, referring to it only when necessary, or you can bring it to the forefront and allow it to function as a character in your story.

Some authors go to great lengths to take the reader through a story’s setting. Just last year, I read a book in which the character drove around Los Angeles. The author took us down L.A. streets, past parks, and into real neighborhoods and establishments. It was a bit much, but I’m pretty sure if I were a resident of L.A., I would have gotten a little thrill out of the familiarity.

Today, we’ll take a deeper look at setting with a few fiction writing exercises designed to help you establish the settings in your story.

Fiction Writing Exercises: Place and Time

There are two sides to setting: place and time. If you’re writing a contemporary novel, the time in which your story is set is relatively straightforward. However, if you’re writing historical fiction, futuristic fiction, or a story that includes time travel, you’ll need to make sure readers always know what time it is.

Setting it Up

For this exercise, you will choose several settings and write short, opening descriptions that tell the reader when and where the action is taking place. Contemporary readers aren’t crazy about lengthy descriptions, so keep it simple: a couple of sentences or a short paragraph of description will suffice. Here are a few prompts to help you get started:

• A ghost town in the wild old west.
• A contemporary metropolis.
• A medieval household.
• A made-up fantasy land.
• Aboard a vessel, such as a spaceship, in the far-off future.

Setting as Backdrop: Too Much vs. Not Enough

For this exercise, you’ll write a short scene that kicks off the story and establishes the setting. Instead of presenting a snapshot of the landscape before moving into your story, you can bring readers right into the setting by combining the setting’s description with action and by using active language rather than passive:

• Instead of describing busy streets packed with shoppers, explain that shoppers coursed through the streets like rats in a maze.
• You can bring characters into the setting: Kate craned her neck and spied a tiny patch of sky amidst the towering skyscrapers.  
• In establishing time, you can simply state the date (the year was 2012) or you can place something in the setting that identifies the era: A brand new 2012 Porche sped by and Kate whirled on her heels just in time to see it disappear around the corner of Lexington.

Setting as Character

Places that have a life of their own are hugely popular. Many science fiction and fantasy stories are set in places that function as characters: the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek and Pandora from Avatar are two good examples. But cities, towns, and rural landscapes can also have personality. For example, New York has been called the fifth main character in Sex and the City. Houses, vehicles, cities, planets, nations, and rooms can all have personalities of their own.

For this exercise, write a character sketch for a place. Make a list of its traits: personality, style, attitude, class, and philosophy. Is it relaxed and laid back or dark and dangerous? Does it swallow people or lift them up? Is it friendly to newcomers or is it exclusive?

If you’re inclined, go ahead a write a scene or outline to show off your setting’s personality. Remember, however, that just because the setting is functioning as a character doesn’t mean it is the protagonist or antagonist. It can be a minor character and still be largely the backdrop (rather than forefront). Make sure you keep the focus of the story on the plot and characters.

How Do You Approach Setting?

Some writers may not think much about setting. They know exactly where their story takes place and the setting emerges naturally through the writing. But sometimes, a poorly established setting is unclear or confusing. Do you pay heed to setting? Do you work it out before you start your first draft? If you know of any other great fiction writing exercises that focus on setting, be sure to share them in the comments. And keep writing!

Are you looking for more fiction writing exercises? Pick up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises, available in paperback and ebook.

 

Fiction Writing Exercises for Exploring and Developing Theme

Good fiction is comprised of many parts: plot, characters, setting, scenes, and dialogue. But we rarely talk about theme, even though it’s critical to good storytelling.

There’s no clear and easy way to define theme. It has been called the worldview, philosophy, message, moral, and lesson within a story. However, these labels, taken alone or together, don’t quite explain theme in fiction.

We can think of a theme as an underlying principle or concept. It’s usually universal in nature. Some common themes include redemption, sacrifice, betrayal, loyalty, greed, justice, oppression, revenge, and love.

Themes can be philosophical and they can ask questions or pit two ideas against each other: science vs. faith, good vs. evil, why are we here, and what happens when we die?

Themes in Storytelling

You need look no further than some of your favorite stories to explore and identify themes. Keep in mind that most stories have multiple themes. For example, in Harry Potter, I would say the most significant themes are love and good vs. evil. However, there are also themes of friendship, sacrifice, and redemption. One theme might stretch across an entire series while other themes appear at the novel or chapter level.

And themes are not unique to fictional literature. Any form of storytelling can (and should) contain thematic elements, including movies, television shows, songs, and poetry. Themes will also be present in nonfiction and in some cases, will drive a work of nonfiction, whether it is a memoir or documentary. For example, a documentary about the lives of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton will focus on the theme of justice in the context of a woman’s right to vote. Such a documentary won’t look closely at their personal lives but will focus on their founding of the women’s suffrage movement, keeping to the theme.

Today’s fiction writing exercises encourage you to explore theme by identifying it in some of your favorite stories.

Fiction Writing Exercises: Exploring and Developing Theme

Once you understand theme and have learned to identify it, you can start bringing it into your own work. There’s a good chance that themes will manifest even if you don’t put any special effort into theme development. Themes are so closely tied to human nature that it’s almost impossible to tell a story without a theme of some kind. But if you approach theme with intent (even vague intent), your work will have greater depth and meaning.

Exercise 1: Study in Themes

If you and I both watch the film Titanic, we might identify different themes in the film. I might identify social class as a theme and you might say that freedom is a theme. In this case, we’d both be right. For this exercise, you will choose one of your favorite stories and identify its themes.

1. Choose a favorite book, movie, or television show (for a TV show, you should just choose one episode). Make a list of all the themes you can identify in the story. Try to find 5-10 themes. Go over your list a few times to make sure you’re identifying themes (big, sweeping concepts) rather than conflicts or plot twists.
2. Next, determine one key theme that is woven through the entire story. You might find there are two or three major themes. List them all but choose just one to explore in the next step.
3. Now, explain how the storyteller presented this theme through plot, character, and scenes. Make a list of events and situations from the story that embody the theme.

I found an example that identifies a theme in Catcher in the Rye.

As an alternative, choose one of your completed poems, stories, or essays. The exercise will work better with a story, but poetry and essays will do. Now, go through the steps above to list all the themes in your piece, identify the main theme(s), and examine how you executed the themes. If you’re already working on a story, try to identify a few themes that are appearing in your work and elaborate on them. Look for ways to integrate the theme with your plot and ask how your main conflict can be connected with a primary theme.

Exercise 2: Starting from Theme

Choose three themes and for each, sketch ideas for how you could make the theme manifest through character, plot, or scenes. Example: A thieving woman is fired because a co-worker reported her for stealing. Instead of accepting responsibility, she blames the co-worker and frames him so he gets fired too, even though he is innocent. (The theme is revenge.)

Exercise 3: Theme Master

Now that you’ve learned how to identify themes and integrate theme in your own work, make a master list of themes that can be used in storytelling. Whenever you come across an interesting theme, add it to the list. Then, you can refer back to it when you need a theme for one of your writing projects.

A Few Final Tips for Bringing Themes into Your Writing

Theme is not cut and dry and it shouldn’t be overly obvious. If you’re working on a theme involving sacrifice, you don’t want to have your characters making sacrifices in every chapter. Theme works best when it’s subtle.

Since themes can contain messages and morals, make a conscious effort not to force your personal beliefs and values onto your readers. There’s a difference between making a statement and being preachy. Most readers don’t like novels that preach at them. In fact, some themes work best when they work as questions and the reader gets to experience contrary viewpoints. For example, we all accept that stealing is wrong, but we feel differently about it when it’s done by a small child who is starving.

Finally, have fun with theme. You can go through your outline and make notes about where themes are addressed. Or, you can look for opportunities in your story where theme would be appropriate. You can do these exercises over and over for various stories in order to get a good handle on theme so that you can use it to enrich your own writing. You might also use the Internet to look for other people’s ideas about theme for any given story.

Let’s Talk Theme

How do you approach theme in storytelling? Do you purposefully develop themes or do you let them happen naturally? Did you find today’s fiction writing exercises helpful in understanding and exploring theme? Got any theme-related resources or ideas to share? Leave a comment!

And keep writing.

Are you looking for more fiction writing exercises? Pick up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises, available in paperback and ebook.

 

Fiction Writing Exercises: A Story for a Song

Art Begets Art

A compelling story speaks to us much the same way that music does, communicating thoughts, feelings, and ideas in ways that go beyond concrete language.

The result?

A click takes place within the psyche. When you hear a song or read a story that resonates in this manner, you connect with it on a deep level. It almost feels like the author or songwriter was speaking for you, about you, or to you.

Some say that truly great art communicates directly with the subconscious. That’s why the arts coexist so naturally. Where you find a buzzing music scene, you can be sure a booming literary crowd is nearby. And where filmmakers toil with scripts and cameras, you can bet dancers aren’t too far off.

Creativity breeds creativity and we are like magnets, drawn not just into our own passion, but those that complement and support our passions. Music, film, and art all enrich and inform one another. So do the musicians, filmmakers, artists, and of course, writers.

Fiction Writing Exercises

Some people say that everything has been written, every story told. But that’s not true. There’s always another angle, a different perspective that can be taken. And writers have all the tools they need to grab that perspective and run with it. You just need a starting point, and these fiction writing exercises can help you find it. Try starting with a song.

Before you get started, here are a couple of tips to help you work through these exercises:

• Make sure you aren’t familiar with the song’s video or that you don’t rewrite the video treatment.
• Pick a song you like, something you can tolerate listening to several times over. In fact the more you enjoy the song, the greater the chance you’ll have fun with this experiment.

Exercise 1: A Story for a Song

Some of the greatest stories of all time have been told through song. Remember Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee?” John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane?” What about Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff?” Each of these songs tells a clear and distinct story.

Choose a song that tells a clear story and write the story behind it. This is kind of like traveling backward and trying to find those one thousand words that represent the value of a picture.

Exercise 2: Ambiguous Tales

On the flip side, we have ambiguous lyrics, like “Hotel California,” by the Eagles or “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. Tunes like these have inspired lively debates that ask, what are these songs about, anyway? And if we don’t know what the songs are about, why do they succeed at speaking to us? How do they become enormous hits that cross genre lines?

Choose a song that tells a vague story and write about what really happened. Your goal is to take a hazy story and make it clear.

Exercise 3: Who Needs Lyrics?

This is the biggest challenge of all: choose a piece of instrumental music (with no lyrics) and find the story in the melody, harmony, and rhythm.

Music and Fiction Writing Exercises

Throughout history, great artists have collaborated and mixed mediums and media to come up with fresh takes on ancient truths. These fiction writing exercises provide a new source for inspiration, get you working in collaboration with other artists (musicians), and give you creative license to put a new spin on something that’s been around for a while.

You can write a paragraph, a few pages, or an entire novel. You could also write a script for film or stage. If you’re strapped for time, just write an outline or a few character sketches. And if you don’t feel like writing it down, just work it out in your head. Find the connection between music and storytelling and let it capture your imagination.

If you have any fiction writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments.

 

Getting Into Character: Fiction Writing Exercises

Writers are not actors, but sometimes we need to get into character.

To truly understand the nature of a character, a writer must step into that character’s shoes. All the character sketches and descriptions that you develop will be two dimensional until you can get into your character’s head and understand what makes him tick.

This is not an easy thing to do. Your first impulse might be to act like a puppet master, pulling your character’s strings and controlling his actions. But what you really need to do is scoot over and get in the passenger’s seat. Let your character do the driving and ride along as an observer. And that’s exactly what these fiction writing exercises will help you do.

Tips for Getting Into Character

Many artists and creative people talk about entering “the zone.” This is a state of mind in which you’re running on automatic pilot. Your right (creative) brain is fully engaged and your left (logical) brain is snoozing with one eye open. It is in this state that people often get lost in an activity, lose track of time, and produce some of their best creative work.

When you’re getting into character, it’s best to be in the zone. Approach these fiction writing exercises when you’re calm and relaxed and willing to let your imagination override your logical thinking.

How do you do this? Before sitting down to tackle these exercises, try exercising. Take a walk, do some yoga, or go for a swim. You can also meditate or simply take a few minutes to lie down and relax and clear your mind of all the clutter. Listening to classical music or jazz is another effective way for getting into the zone. Once your mind is calmed, you’ll be ready to get into character and try the fiction writing exercises below.

Fiction Writing Exercises for Getting Into Character

Exercise #1: Chat

Launch your word processing software and start up a conversation with your character. Most of us have engaged in online chat or instant messaging. This is the same idea. If chat is not a comfortable medium for you, then try composing emails back and forth between you and your character.

Before you start, you might want to come up with a list of questions to ask your character. Also, this is a great exercise to use when you get stuck in a story that doesn’t want to move forward. Simply chat with your character to try and find out what’s holding him back from taking the next step.

Your chat might look something like this:

ME: So, you’re hearing voices in your head and you’re not sure whether you’ve gone crazy or are telepathic.

CHARACTER: Obviously, I’m telepathic. Don’t tell me you don’t believe in telepathy. I know you do.

ME: How could you possibly know something like that?

CHARACTER: Because I am reading your mind right now.

Exercise #2: Stand-in Situation

Put your character in a situation and see how he handles it. If you’re already working on a story, then try removing your character from it and placing him a completely different setting. Think of riveting scenes from books you’ve read or movies that you’ve seen, or use scenes from your own life.

A few quick ideas for scenes that will reveal how your character handles a situation:

• Your character is standing on the corner trying to hail a taxi when there’s a sudden distraction. This could be an accident in the street, a beautiful man or woman walking by, or an emergency phone call from a desperate friend or family member. Does your character hop in the cab and go about his day?
• Your character’s arch-enemy is is grave peril and the only person around who can save him is your character. Does he let his enemy die or save his life?
• Your character has been grossly betrayed by a close friend or family member. Is your character able to forgive? Does he seek revenge? Will he go on with his life, simply removing the betrayer from it?

Notice that all these scenarios test the character’s integrity. This is a great way to get a handle on what kinds of choices your character makes. Keep in mind as you work through this exercise that people are not perfect and characters needn’t be either. The most interesting characters are easy to relate to, and that means they are flawed in some way.

Exercise #3: Monologue

Monologues are a great way to get inside your character’s head, especially if the story you’re writing will be in third person. This is your chance to let your character’s voice be heard.

Write a piece in first person, from your character’s perspective. Choose a general theme for the monologue and start writing in the character’s voice. Some ideas for themes:

• Character is relating a significant event from his past: the loss of a loved one, major life transition, or one of those everyday moments that change everything or stay with you forever.
• Character is faced with a serious challenge or decision and is discussing his options and what the effects of either choice might be.
• Character is in the middle of an emotional crisis and is overcome by grief, rage, envy, or some other intense feelings.

In a monologue, you can include action cues, but try to write them into the dialogue. For instance, if the character starts crying, make that evident through the narrative. If you’re feeling really brave (or if you’re an actor at heart), try recording yourself reading and playing out the monologue. That will add another dimension and allow your character’s speech, intonation, and inflection to come through.

How to Use These Exercises

Once you’ve completed these exercises, you can revisit the material you’ve written to gain a better understanding of your character.

Try to pinpoint any areas where you’ve stepped in and taken over. Maybe your character said something that you normally or frequently say. Or perhaps he did something that is just — well — out of character. You can edit and revise until you feel your piece has truly captured your character’s behavior and personality.

Later, when you’re working on your story, you can pull out these fiction writing exercises to see if there are any clues about your character that you want to use. You may also use these exercises as you’re writing a story to help you get a better grasp on your character or learn his secrets.

As always, the most important thing when working through creative writing exercises is to have fun, and keep writing.

If you have any fiction writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments or send them in as a guest post.

Are you looking for more fiction writing exercises? Pick up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises, available in paperback and ebook.

 

Fiction Writing Exercises: How to Write a Complex Villain

When it comes to writing fiction, we each have our own unique challenges. For some of us, it’s a struggle to come up with names for our characters. For others, it’s hard to write realistic dialogue.

Maybe you’re like me, and find it difficult to write a really good villain–I mean–a really bad villain. Or even just a pretty bad nemesis.

The funny thing about our writing weaknesses is that sometimes all we have to do is identify them and suddenly we start coming up with tons of solutions.

That’s what happened to me a few years ago when I realized that I was having trouble writing a nemesis for my main character. Time and time again, it was one of the key elements that was missing from the stories I wrote.

Once I noticed this pattern, I started seeing villains all around me–as if merely noticing their absence from my writing made them suddenly appear everywhere in my everyday life.

Villains Are Everywhere

A friend would forget to call me back and become a self-absorbed boss who neglected and overworked their employees. Someone would leave the milk out and become a freeloading couch-surfer taking advantage of friends and acquaintances.

I would notice someone’s flaws and think about what they’d be like if those flaws were embellished and magnified to outweigh the person’s good qualities and positive traits. Suddenly, my villains were born, one after another, like a little herd of evil trolls.

I make up characters in my head all the time. Sometimes I write down my ideas, drafting character sketches. Most of them never make it to a story, but the really compelling ones do. Now that I’ve found a surefire way to harvest villains from the world around me, the character sketches have really started to pile up.

Fiction Writing Exercises for Creating Villains

If you want to write good fiction, you need a character who creates tension and who is at odds with the forces of good. Even for poets and nonfiction writers, the ability to write a complex villain will only improve your writing and help you better understand the subjects you write about (especially if some of them are dirty rotten scoundrels).

For this week’s fiction writing exercises, pay attention to the people around you. Nobody’s perfect. Even those you love most dearly have shortcomings that you can compound to the point of villainy. Take their flaws, quirks, and moments of moral lapses and exaggerate them into a character fraught with nasty traits.

1. Choose a model for your villain: an ordinary person, a celebrity, or a notorious criminal from the news; examine that person’s flaws and weaknesses. How have they wronged others? Discard their positive traits, magnify their negative traits, and write a brief character sketch. What’s the character’s name? What does he or she look like? What is going on in the character’s head that allows him or her to treat others with disregard?
2. Give your villain a shady past: what terrible things has your villain done throughout his or her life? Some villains are just trouble makers; others are deranged psychopaths. How extreme is your villain?
3. Identify the source: what happened to your villain to turn him or her so evil? Was your villain born that way?
4. Flawed villains do good sometimes: the most interesting villains are not completely evil. They have a soft spot for puppies or they write cheesy love poems. Contrary personality traits add depth and realism to all characters. Describe your villain’s positive traits.
5. Put your villain in a scene: make sure you include dialogue so you can work out how the character speaks. Give your villain a distinct voice. Is your villain disguised as a good guy? Does he or she spend every waking minute committing evil deeds?

Most importantly, have fun! That’s what fiction writing exercises are all about. Villains are the characters we love to hate because they are the harbingers of obstacles and challenges through which the heroes of our stories prove themselves. Whether you write totalitarian bad guys like Lord Voldemort of Harry Potter fame or more subtle, complex nemeses like Catwoman from the Batman comics, give your villains plenty of color, character, and complications.

If you have any fiction writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments or send them in as a guest post.

Are you looking for more fiction writing exercises? Pick up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises, available in paperback and ebook.

 

Flash Fiction Writing Exercises

These fiction writing exercises are designed to help fiction writers shave away the fluff and reveal the bare bones of a piece of fiction.

We’ll start with one exercise that will help you assess the core structure of a story and then explore a few bonus flash fiction writing exercises that are good for developing concise writing skills.

What is Flash Fiction?

Flash fiction is a short story that is extremely brief. There is no official word limit, but generally, stories with less than 1000-2000 words would fall under the flash category.

Fiction Writing Exercises and Flash Fiction

Many writers have a habit of using gratuitous words and phrases in order to meet a word count, make a piece sound more rhythmic, or enhance descriptive passages. Often, such words hinder a story because they leave less to the reader’s imagination. Other times, there is so much description that the plot and characters get lost in the fray.

Fiction writing exercises like the one below will help you pinpoint areas where excessive wording is creating a problem. In addition, it will peel away the layers of your story, revealing its core. Plus, it’s a very simple exercise and can be completed rather quickly.

Flash Your Fiction

Select a short story you’ve written that is either completed or near completion. Try to choose one that is about ten pages long. You can do this exercise with an entire manuscript, or with a story that is just a couple of pages long, but ten pages is good to start with.

First, save the file with a new name so you don’t lose your original work. Go through the piece removing every single adjective and adverb. Next, remove words, phrases, and sentences that do not move the action of the story forward, especially if they are solely there for description.

Finally, go through the story one last time removing as much as you can without making the piece unintelligible. A traditional example is:

Boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins girl back.

Of course, this is an oversimplified example, but it gives you an idea of just how much a story can be broken down into its basic movements.

More Flash Fiction Writing Exercises

If you don’t have any pieces that you feel are appropriate for this exercise, if you want to try something a little different, or if you just want to do more flash fiction writing exercises, here are a few projects you can tackle:

• Write a piece of flash fiction from scratch and try to keep it under 1000 words. If you really want to push yourself, aim for less than 500 words. It’s harder than it sounds!
• Instead of rewriting an entire piece, turn a scene or a chapter into a flash fiction story.
• Turn movies, novels, and other story sources into flash fiction writing exercises. Take the plot from a movie or book that you like and try to write it as a piece of flash fiction.

This exercise can be a lot of fun and it’s extremely eye-opening when you realize just how many unnecessary words we pack into our writing. It’s also interesting to see the skeleton of a story after stripping away its excess.

Are You Up For It?

Have you ever written flash fiction? Do you aim for concise writing? Got any fiction writing exercises of your own to share? Leave a comment, and keep writing.

 

Fiction Writing Exercises: Become Your Nemesis

These fiction writing exercises will benefit both fiction and nonfiction writers.

They are designed to help fiction writers gain a better understanding of antagonistic or elusive characters and will help nonfiction writers relate to contradictory or opposing viewpoints.

The idea is to try and view the world from a perspective that is completely different from your own and to get inside the head of someone who is not like you.

Fiction Writing Exercises

Fiction writing exercises are a great way to work your writing muscles, especially when you’re feeling uninspired. And while this exercise doesn’t exactly deal with politics, it sure is good practice for political and advocacy writers, as it will help with making predictions about an opponents’ arguments and addressing them in advance.

And like all fiction writing exercises, these are great for aspiring novelists and folks who enjoy penning short stories. Characters are the heart and soul of any story, and to make them real and vivid, you have to be able to get inside their heads. And that’s a challenge.

Never underestimate the power of a challenge. For example, can you put yourself in someone else’s shoes — someone who is completely your opposite?

Step into My Shoes – I Dare You!

By stepping into another person’s shoes, or writing from a viewpoint that contradicts our own, we can generate characters that are more realistic, and we can craft stronger arguments. For this writing exercise, you will select a person, position, or belief with which you are at odds. Do you have a neighbor who argues that he should not pay his share for the fencing on your shared property line? Are you for or against the death penalty? Do you adhere to the Ten Commandments?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

People

Think of a person that constantly has you gritting your teeth. It could be someone close to you, perhaps a relative. Or it could be someone in the media spotlight — a politician, celebrity, or sports star. It could even be a character from a book or movie. It needs to be someone with whom you feel inner conflict and who possibly makes you uncomfortable.

When you sit down to write, you will write as if you are this individual. Write an essay, in first person, from this individual’s perspective, and make a concentrated effort to address those things that bother you.

Positions

Many of us have very strong positions on various issues. Some are serious and others aren’t very important in the grand scheme of things. Do you eat meat or are you a vegetarian? Are you a conservative or a liberal? Do you support stem cell research? Are you for or against the war in Iraq? Look at some of the top news stories this week for more ideas. For a more lighthearted approach, look to lifestyle differences. Do people outside the mainstream intrigue or offend you? How important are table manners? Mac or PC?

Whatever your personal stance is, write as if you held the exact opposite position. Argue against your own arguments and discover what the other side is thinking. This can build empathy and lead to discovery and insight.

Beliefs

What religion or philosophy do you adhere to? Chances are, whatever it is you believe with regard to ethics and spirituality, there are a whole bunch of people out there who see things in quite a different light. Are you an atheist? Write as a Catholic. Do you believe in evolution or intelligent design? Write as an agnostic.

Use this exercise to better understand the similarities and differences between contrary ways of thinking and believing.

The Nemesis

Write at least 1000 words as your own nemesis. The piece can take the form of a letter (especially useful if you choose a person), an opinion editorial, personal essay, or memoir. Don’t be afraid to get creative! Try writing a poem (great approach if you’ve chosen to write about beliefs) or flash fiction.

This is a great writing exercise to revisit, especially if you get stuck with one of your fictional characters. Can’t figure out what your villain would do next? Write a short piece in first person point of view from your villain’s perspective.

Remember, you’re not mimicking the other side, you are stepping into it. Try to relate to the way your opposite thinks and feels, and remember that each of us is shaped by our life experiences.

Good luck and try to have fun with these and other fiction writing exercises!

If you have any fiction writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments.

Are you looking for more fiction writing exercises? Pick up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises, available in paperback and ebook.

 

Fiction Writing Exercises: Step Out of Your Shoes

One of the most exciting and challenging aspects of being a writer is creating characters. It is an opportunity to step outside of your own reality and take on a completely different persona.

Unless you’re an actor, an undercover agent, or just plain crazy, you don’t get many chances in life to do that.

With fiction writing exercises that focus on character creation, you can start building skills that allow you get under your character’s skin and get inside his head. These types of fiction writing exercises will take you beyond writing character sketches and descriptions and will truly help you understand your characters and all their deep complexities.

Realistic Characters

For characters to truly resonate with readers, they must be vibrant and stir the audience’s emotions. Readers have to become attached to the characters, feel sympathy, compassion, even love (or hate) for them. It’s not easy to fabricate people (or other beings) that don’t really exist, have never existed, yet make them seem real. But it can be done.

So how do writers achieve this great feat?

Well, much credence has been given to the old adage write what you know. Base a character on a friend or family member or yourself. But what fun is that? If you’re an accountant by day, do you really want to play an accountant in your fantasy world too? Probably not. And when you create a character, that’s pretty much what you’re doing, playing a role. You have to get into the character’s mind, live the life, absorb the environment in which the character lives. You have to be your character.

Character Writing Exercises

So, here’s a challenge: write a character you know nothing about. If you grew up in the big city, write as a farm hand. If you grew up on a farm or small town all your life, write about an army brat who was raised living in dozens of towns, going to different schools each year. Are you a stay-at-home, married mom? Write as a single woman making it big in the big apple. If you’re a successful businessman, write as a prison inmate who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.

The idea is to get outside your comfort zone, and explore a different life than the one you know. Even if this is not the type of character you’d normally create, fiction writing exercises like this one will help you when you have to come up with a secondary character who’s not from the world with which you’re familiar. It will also expand the types of characters you’ll feel comfortable bringing into your stories.

This is not a character sketch. It’s more like a monologue. Write a one-page essay in first person from the perspective of a character you’ve created who is totally outside your realm of reality. Think about your wildest dreams or the most incredible adventure you’d like to have, and be that character. Or, if you’re really brave, try something that intimidates you. If you have a fear of flying, write as an airline pilot. Fear of drowning? Write as a SCUBA diver. Does math make you squirm? Write as a mathematics professor at university.

Fiction Writing Exercises for Fun and Focus

It’s just one page and one character, so this shouldn’t take too long. If it sticks and you get really into it, write several pages, or try doing this exercise with different characters. You might unveil a new side of yourself that you didn’t know you had. You might find it completely uncomfortable and decide to go back to writing what you know, but at least you will have tried something new.

Remember, fiction writing exercises are supposed to be fun, but their purpose is to challenge you to try new things and think in new ways, so be sure to focus on your character and make a conscious effort to get inside the character’s head as you work your way through this exercise.

Feel free to post comments about your character. Who or what will you become? What shoes are you going to step into when you step out of your own?

If you have any fiction writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments.

Are you looking for more fiction writing exercises? Pick up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises, available in paperback and ebook.

 

Fiction Writing Exercises for the Holiday Season

Looking for creative writing ideas or fiction writing exercises this holiday season? You’re in luck, because I have something special for you.

Before we start, a quick disclaimer: this is a fiction writing exercise in holiday customs rather than the holidays themselves, so this writing exercise is suitable no matter which holiday you celebrate, or even if you don’t celebrate any at all.

Before I reveal the challenge, let’s take a look at a few interesting holiday customs and traditions.

Holiday History

The Christmas Tree

We go outside, chop down a pine tree, then bring it into our home, where we set it up in our living room and attach colorful, twinkling lights all over it. Then, we hang an assortment of decorative items from the boughs. Finally, we top it off with a star or an angel and place a heap of gifts underneath. Then, for a few weeks, we look at the pretty lights, maybe sing a few songs or sit by the tree drinking eggnog until finally we get to open all those gifts. Once we do that, we undecorate the tree and dispose of it.

Menorah (Hanukkah)

On the first night, we light one candle. On the second night, two candles. On the third night, three. We do this for eight nights in a row. Over the course of eight nights (and days), we distribute gifts, eat chopped liver, and take out little wooden blocks decorated with strange glyphs and spin them on the floor.

Winter Solstice & Saturnalia

Throughout history, winter solstice has been celebrated by cultures throughout the world with a huge spectrum of traditions. The most interesting, perhaps, is Saturnalia, an ancient Greek festival. During Saturnalia, slaves were exempt from punishment and were allowed to treat their masters disrespectfully. Masters and slaves would also reverse roles and for a day, the slaves would learn what it was like to be masters and vice versa.

Santa Claus

Every Christmas, a fat man in a red suit climbs into a sleigh pulled by eight nine flying reindeer (the ninth one has a red nose that lights up), and he travels all over the world in a single night, stopping at every house that has children sleeping soundly inside. At these homes, he lands on the roof, climbs down the chimney, and leaves toys that were made by elves under the trees (see Christmas Trees above) for good boys and girls.

The Easter Bunny

It happens around springtime. A special rabbit named The Easter Bunny visits every house with children (note: this sounds awfully familiar). Unlike with Santa, we don’t know how he travels or how he gets in and out of the houses, but he leaves baskets filled with treats and goodies, plus, he hides colorful hard-boiled eggs all around the home (inside and out) for the children to hunt and find the following morning.

So Many Ways to Celebrate

One of the things I love about holidays is that there are so many of them, and they are each rich with their own unique customs. Actually, I celebrate more than my fair share of holidays, especially at this time of year, because I’m sort of a holiday mutt and I like a little bit of this and little bit of that.

But sometimes, I find myself wondering about these crazy customs. Who thought of them? Where did they begin? And why?

When did people decide to bring trees in from outside and decorate them? What gave a rabbit reason to hide eggs from small children? And where on Earth did Santa find those reindeer? Seriously, I gotta get myself some of those!

And these holidays are just a small sampling. Think about Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day (leprechauns!), or the dragons of the Chinese New Year. Sure, you can research all of these holidays and find out where the traditions for observing them originated (I strongly suggest doing this sometime – it’s absolutely fascinating) – OR -

You can write your own holiday.

Fiction Writing Exercises for the Holidays

That’s right, invent a holiday of your own. Give it roots, a raison d’être. How did it start? What historical event does it observe?

Then, start thinking of the wild ways that people will celebrate this event. Will there be a special festival? Costumes or dresswear? What foods will be prepared and consumed? Are there any magical characters that arrive for this holiday? Gifts? Songs? Rituals?

Saturnalia is pretty wild (I’ve been fascinated by it ever since I first learned about it in a Shakespeare class) — imagine if we did that today. Teachers could reverse roles with students, parents with their kids, husbands with wives (is that possible?), bosses with employees (yeah!).

I encourage you to be as wild and wacky as possible and have a good time with this fiction writing exercise. The fantasy and speculative fiction writers out there will probably love this one, but it’s great for all types of writers because it does that thing that makes us tingle — gets our imaginations all fired up and burning as brightly as a Yule log.

Wait, Before You Go

If you  know about any other interesting holiday traditions, please share them in the comments. It’s always riveting to learn about different customs and cultures, and also great fodder for fiction writing exercises!

Happy holidays, and keep on writing!

If you have any fiction writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments.

Are you looking for more fiction writing exercises? Pick up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises, available in paperback and ebook.