Writing Tips and Exercises
My creative writing instructor gave me an exercise that I found very helpful. When writing a story, its important that your characters stay "in character." In real life, your Aunt Mary may be afraid of snakes. You know how she will react when having a snake encounter When writing a fictional story, your characters should be the same - they need to stay true to the characteristics they've been given.
The exercise:
Draw a circle and write the character's name inside it.
Draw lines shooting off from the circle. On these lines, write down the characters attributes - ie: brave, strong, stubborn, petty.
This exercise can help when facing the dilemma - "What would my character do? How would he/she react to a situation?"
-DS McKnight
