Hi! Readers, I think this is an excellent website.
http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/character.html
Showing posts with label Writing Exercises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing Exercises. Show all posts
Friday, September 7, 2012
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Active versus Passive Voice Exercise
(1) Write a short piece (250-500 words) in Passive Voice on any subject you like.
(2) Re-write the same piece of writing (250-500 words) in Active Voice.
(3) Compare the difference in the two styles of writing.
See attachments ‘Writing with Style – Active vs. Passive Voice page 1 and page 2
For readers who are not familiar with Google docs, please click on the 'Open tab' at the top of the attachment to enlarge text.
The information that comes with this exercise was sourced from Utah Valley State College Writing Centre
Happy writing everyone...Goldie
(2) Re-write the same piece of writing (250-500 words) in Active Voice.
(3) Compare the difference in the two styles of writing.
See attachments ‘Writing with Style – Active vs. Passive Voice page 1 and page 2
For readers who are not familiar with Google docs, please click on the 'Open tab' at the top of the attachment to enlarge text.
The information that comes with this exercise was sourced from Utah Valley State College Writing Centre
Happy writing everyone...Goldie
Monday, August 2, 2010
POINT OF VIEW EXERCISES
Point of View (POV) determines the person through whom the story is to be told, ie the narrator. The most common POVs in fiction are First Person, Third Person and Omniscient.
First Person means the story is told as "I". This creates an immediacy and intimacy between the narrator and the reader as the reader is right there inside the narrator's head, with access all the narrator's thoughts. There are, however, some disadvantages to using First Person:
you cannot include any scene at which your POV character is not present.
you cannot include any information your POV character would not naturally possess.
you must include all the information your POV character does have.
Third Person means the story is told as "he", "she" or "it". The advantages of Third Person are that you can still get into the POV character's head, but still see him/her from the outside. Third Person told from only one character's head is called Limited Third Party. Third Person using more than one POV is called Multiple Third Person.
Omniscient is a univeral POV which can get into the head of any character at any time. The author also injects himself into the story, commenting on the action and sometimes addressing the reader directly.
Exercise 1
Pick a story you know well - whether one of your own, or someone else's. List the five or six major characters and then re-write the story from the POV of a character the author did not pick as the POV character. Does the story seem to change? Are some scenes emphasised more, or less? Does the meaning of the story seem to change? taken from Character, Emotion & Viewpoint (Writer's Digest Books, 2005) by Nancy Kress
Exercise 2
Take a story you have previously written in First Person and rewrite it in Third Person. What freedoms do you now have using this narrator? Conversely, are there limitations in using Third Person? How has the mood of the piece changed?
First Person means the story is told as "I". This creates an immediacy and intimacy between the narrator and the reader as the reader is right there inside the narrator's head, with access all the narrator's thoughts. There are, however, some disadvantages to using First Person:
you cannot include any scene at which your POV character is not present.
you cannot include any information your POV character would not naturally possess.
you must include all the information your POV character does have.
Third Person means the story is told as "he", "she" or "it". The advantages of Third Person are that you can still get into the POV character's head, but still see him/her from the outside. Third Person told from only one character's head is called Limited Third Party. Third Person using more than one POV is called Multiple Third Person.
Omniscient is a univeral POV which can get into the head of any character at any time. The author also injects himself into the story, commenting on the action and sometimes addressing the reader directly.
Exercise 1
Pick a story you know well - whether one of your own, or someone else's. List the five or six major characters and then re-write the story from the POV of a character the author did not pick as the POV character. Does the story seem to change? Are some scenes emphasised more, or less? Does the meaning of the story seem to change? taken from Character, Emotion & Viewpoint (Writer's Digest Books, 2005) by Nancy Kress
Exercise 2
Take a story you have previously written in First Person and rewrite it in Third Person. What freedoms do you now have using this narrator? Conversely, are there limitations in using Third Person? How has the mood of the piece changed?
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Character Exercises
People are interested in reading about other people, whether real or fictional. Without characters a murder mystery becomes just a police report, an historical romance just a history text. Hopefully, these exercises will help you create dynamic, interesting and believable characters your readers will really care about.
Exercise 1
Create a character from one aspect of your personality. Make this trait the main force of the character's feelings and thoughts. If you are shy, for example, make your character much more shy than you. In every other way - age, occupation, appearance, this character should be very different to you. Now describe that character's behaviour, in summary, in several social situations interacting (or avoiding interaction) with several relatives, strangers and workmates.
Exercise 2
Character tags can show personality, create tension, make your character more human. Try giving one of your characters a word tag - something only they say, that makes them instantly recognisable. Think of Steve Irwin's ubiquitous 'Crikey!' Or perhaps one of your characters calls everyone 'Babe', or uses slang or has an accent. Try using action tags for some of your characters. Does your protagonist jiggle their car keys in their pocket when they are nervous? Perhaps she constantly chews gum? Repeatedly clicks pens when bored in meetings? Using the character you created in Exercise 1, write a short piece in which they display a distinctive tag.
Exercise 3
Write a page using setting to reveal your character. Choose a setting relevant to that character, such as bedroom, office, garden etc and through its description paint a picture of your character.
Exercise 1
Create a character from one aspect of your personality. Make this trait the main force of the character's feelings and thoughts. If you are shy, for example, make your character much more shy than you. In every other way - age, occupation, appearance, this character should be very different to you. Now describe that character's behaviour, in summary, in several social situations interacting (or avoiding interaction) with several relatives, strangers and workmates.
Exercise 2
Character tags can show personality, create tension, make your character more human. Try giving one of your characters a word tag - something only they say, that makes them instantly recognisable. Think of Steve Irwin's ubiquitous 'Crikey!' Or perhaps one of your characters calls everyone 'Babe', or uses slang or has an accent. Try using action tags for some of your characters. Does your protagonist jiggle their car keys in their pocket when they are nervous? Perhaps she constantly chews gum? Repeatedly clicks pens when bored in meetings? Using the character you created in Exercise 1, write a short piece in which they display a distinctive tag.
Exercise 3
Write a page using setting to reveal your character. Choose a setting relevant to that character, such as bedroom, office, garden etc and through its description paint a picture of your character.
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