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I’ve been teaching
the “Outside the Square Fiction Writing Workshop” on and offline for
a few years now, and get a lot of satisfaction out of it.
Not only do I get to
see the changes in the writer’s understanding of the various
concepts, but also in the way their minds begin to ‘think outside
the square’ by the workshop’s end.
This workshop is an
extension of the “Think Outside the Square: Writing Publishable
(Short) Stories” ebook. We will expand on information in the book,
and refer to it from time to time. By the end of the workshop, at
the very least, you will understand the basics of what I believe are
essential requirements for fiction writers – whether that is for
short stories or novels.
For this version of
the workshop, I’ve expanded some of the lessons, added additional
information and resources, and also provided a lot more exercises.
There is absolutely
no reason that you shouldn’t use the book over and over again. Each
time you do an exercise you’ll have another story idea, character,
or whatever – depending on the subject you are studying at the time.
Along the way I’ve
discovered that recycling your work doesn’t work well with the
exercises in this workshop. In other words, write from scratch and
don’t use stuff you’ve already written. The only exceptions to this
will be the ‘twist at the end’ and ‘thinking outside the square’
lessons where I will actually suggest you use work you already have.
This is the workshop
I needed when I was starting out. Do the exercises, take the time to
learn the concepts, and your writing career will go far.
Many of the writers
who have taken my workshops have gone on to become published in one
form or another. And that makes me incredibly happy.
Always remember,
what you learn and achieve is totally up to you. Put in the time,
make the effort, and you will get published.
Cheryl
www.cheryl-wright.com
www.writer2writer.com
Grab a book from
your private collection. Any book – it doesn’t matter what its
genre is, or who wrote it. Just grab a book.
Turn to the very
start of the story. Does that first line draw you in? Does it make
you want to read on, to find out what will happen to the character
you’ve just been introduced to?
My bet is that it
does. Few publishers contract books that don’t pull the reader in
from the first few words.
In this lesson we
are going to look at openings – a crucial part of your story.
As you’ll quickly
learn, the title and first line are extremely important. They are
the first words the editor (and reader) will see. If you don’t catch
them with the title and opening sentence, they probably won’t read
on.
When I write a story
– whether it’s a short story or novel – I find that I need to have
at least a little of the story in my head before I can begin the
characterisation. So, for your first exercise, I would like you to
consider a story you would like to write.
It may be a story
that has come from real life, or maybe you’ve overheard a
conversation and believe it would be a good start to a story. The
idea can come from anywhere or anybody.
I would now like you
to write the first line (only) of your story. Bear in mind that it
needs to be short and sharp. Don’t ramble on, or you risk losing the
attention of the editor or reader.
Give your opening
sentence some thought, and don’t write the first thing
that comes into your head.
Write it down, think
about it, and then work on it. Look at your sentence and ask
yourself some questions:
1)
Is it too long, and will the reader lose interest?
2)
Is it to the point?
3)
Does it give a sense of intrigue?
4)
Does it leave the reader wanting to read more?
5)
Does it give too much information, losing the reader’s interest?
6)
It is a ‘teaser’?
Remember, some of
the best opening lines are less than ten words long. That doesn’t
mean you have a limit; it’s more of a guide.
Here are a few examples of opening sentences
that I have used:
Heart pounding, Rosie sat up abruptly in
bed.
“Damn, damn, damn,
damn, damn!”
“Get your stinking hands off me, you creep!”
“Phew, that was close!”
“Cut the crap, Jason.”
Now that you have an idea of what you need to
do, get to work!
Summary:
Keep it short and sweet.
Don’t ramble otherwise the reader will lose interest before the
story begins!
Your opening must be intriguing – even if it’s a comedy or
other
non-mystery/suspense genre.
Exercise:
Write your opening line and let it sit for a few minutes.
Re-write the opening, editing as much as possible.
Turn it inside out and back-to-front. Changing a few words
around
here and there will generally make it tighter. This in
turn will
give the opening more impact.
Have at least three or four versions of your opening and pick
just
one to start your story.
In this lesson, we
are going to explore characters.
You might think I’ve
done this all back to front, but this is how I work; once I have
secured my opening sentence, I begin working on my characters.
Your characters are
extremely important to your story – whether it’s a novel or short
story - and you need to spend some time on them.
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- Side Bar -
In a short story, there really is
only enough time/space for two main characters. Occasionally you
might have room for another character. That character may play a
pivotal part, but is either never or rarely seen ‘on stage’. That
is, in the actual story with a speaking or physical part. It could
be someone like a waiter, for instance. Or a desk clerk at a motel,
a valet, hairdresser, school teacher – I’m sure you get my drift.
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For this exercise, I
would like you to think about the first of your main characters; one
of your protagonists. It can be male or female – your choice
entirely.
Try to visualise
that person. Is he tall or short, fat or thin, balding or have
plenty of hair? Is his hair red, brown, black, grey, or even blue?
Does he like cats or dogs or birds? Or maybe his preference is for
rats. Is he a smooth talker, a charmer, or arrogant and nasty? Does
he clear his throat before he speaks? It could be a nervous
disorder, or he may have some medical problem.
Now look at the type
of clothes he wears. Often clothes can tell us a lot about a
person’s personality. Your characters are no different.
Does he get around
in casual gear, like shorts or torn jeans? Maybe he likes to dress
up, even when there’s no special occasion. Perhaps he always wear a
suit, or perhaps he gets around in overalls – these could be grease
covered or pristine.
Ask this character
loads of questions. Pretend that you are interviewing him for an
article you’re writing. You need to find out everything, because you
may not get another chance to speak with him.
I would like you to
go and read the chapter in Think Outside the Square: Writing
Publishable (Short) Stories called “Creating Memorable
Characters”, particularly pages ten, eleven and twelve. It will
certainly help you to read the entire chapter, but those pages are
the most important for this particular exercise.
Page thirteen gives
a sample character; you can also see two more sample characters in
this book.
Some people find it
helps to look for a photograph or picture in a magazine. Personally,
I find that stifles my imagination, but for many writers this method
works. They then build a personality for that character from the
photograph. Make sure it’s not someone famous, a person you know a
lot about, otherwise you’ll unconsciously write up the real person
instead of a fictitious one.
Relative to the
story you want to write, choose a career for your character. Is he a
police officer – if so, is he undercover, uniform, detective or
rookie? Each of these will make a difference to his personality. He
could be a crime scene investigator, pathologist or even a
physiotherapist. Maybe he’s a personal trainer or football umpire or
referee.
How old is he? Age
can also have a large impact on the way your characters talk. The
words they use can change immensely. Their career can also impact
their speech patterns. For example, a four year old child will use
different vocabulary to a ten year old. A forty year old will speak
differently to an eighty year old, or even a thirty year old. All
these factors must be taken into account when creating your
characters.
What about
mannerisms? We talked briefly about this before (clearing throat,
etc.) but also think about the way he stands – perhaps he takes a
power stance (stands with feet apart and hands on hips) and likes to
tower over people. Or maybe he’s more laid back? Maybe he waves his
hands when talking?
Once I’ve decided on
the main attributes of my characters, I close my eyes and visualise
that person. You could try that too. Try to bring a picture of your
character, including their clothing, into your mind. Use the power
of your mind’s eye to create your unique character.
I could go on all
day about characters. In fact, I spend nearly twenty pages on this
subject in Think Outside the Square: Writing Publishable (Short)
Stories.
When I’m working on
a novel, I spend anything up to a whole month working on characters,
charts, outlines etc. before I even begin writing the story.
As you can see, your
characters are extremely important. Without them, you have no story.
And without believable characters – lifelike, three dimensional
characters – you won’t sell your short stories or novels.
Summary:
-
Learn as much about your character as possible.
-
It is just as important to know your character/s in short stories as
it is in novels.
-
Research speech patterns for your character.
-
Visualise
your character. Get a feel for him/her.
-
Eavesdrop on conversations to understand dialogue types.You must thoroughly - and I do mean thoroughly – know and understand
your characters. You need to know them so completely that you can
foresee absolutely every move they will ever make – before they make
them.
Exercise:
-
Imagine – just for a moment – that you’re interviewing someone
famous. This is the absolute only time you will EVER get to speak to
this person. You will never in your entire life get this opportunity
again. Ask all those niggly little questions, and all the big ones.
Find out the time he goes to bed, or gets up in the morning. Learn
about his aftershave, the type of shoes he prefers, his likes and
dislikes when it comes to friends, and even ladies. Does he like to
eat fish, meat or chicken? He could even be a vegetarian.
-
Create a male protagonist who is sulky, pig-headed and chauvistic.
This character must also be charismatic.
-
Create a female character, who to the outside world appears ditzy.
Once inside her own home she has a total transformation and becomes
the ultimate professional. Write no less than one page of prose
using this character.
-
Create a family tree for your character, going back at least two
generations. If the character is married, this should include the
partner’s family as well.
-
Do a work-up of a teenager (male or female – your choice)Remember
to ask all the right questions, and don’t forget to use dialogue
appropriate to the age group
There are, of course, other things to take into
consideration when creating your characters:
- Characters need to
fit their surroundings
- Speech/language
should be relevant to the character
- Use realistic
dialogue; relevant to the character &/or occupation
- Give your character a
‘unique’ voice – one that will make him stand out
- Perfect characters
are unrealistic characters – give them a flaw
- Action tags – rather
than ‘he said’ or ‘she said’
- Physical Appearance
vs. Imagination
- Show, Don’t tell
(also helps bring out their personality)
All of this information can be found in Think
Outside the Square: Writing Publishable (Short) Stories, so I won’t
go into it all again.
In addition to the above, you need to find an
appropriate name for your characters. Make sure:
- The name fits the character
- Isn’t a tongue twister when first and last
names are put together
- Isn’t too ‘out there’
- Isn’t hard for the reader to pronounce –
even in their head
- Is relevant to the era you are writing
about
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