Explore themes connected to the new season. Make a list of words and images that you associate with spring: eg new life, buds, eggs, swallows, renewal... how many more can you think of?
When you've finished your list, circle the ones that stand out to you. Then take one as a starting point and begin a new piece of writing in any style or form.
This week, begin a piece of writing with a library setting.
What kind of story could only take place in a library, and what would the library setting contribute?
Who is in the library, and why?
Where in the library could your story begin - in which section?
What particular things could happen in a library? What would the library setting contribute? A hunt for hidden knowledge? Discovery of a life-changing book? Meeting with a fellow bibliophile?
Will you write in the past, present or future? Will your story be grounded in reality? Have supernatural elements? Be aimed at adults or children?
Write a story which includes three of the following:
A car park
An old tea pot
A bus station
A theatre/cinema
A velvet coat/jacket
A wheatfield
A box of old tools
A tree house/shepherd's hut
A piece of costume jewellery
A theatre programme
An old photograph
A book
A postcard
A powder compact
A hat
Look at these pictures. What do you think each of the subjects is thinking about? What might be happening in their life? Are they happy, worried, excited, sad?
Choose one and write a story - or a monologue, in which you get into their head and write as that person about what they're thinking, feeling etc.
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| The Bride - Eva Gonzales |
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| Market Day - Camille Pissarro |
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| By Toulouse Lautrec |
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| Renoir - Woman with a Veil |
I'd like you to focus particularly on what made the book enjoyable - what made it stand out, and what made you keep turning the pages - what made you want to read on?
If you want to look at some reviews, you can take a look at my reviewing blog here. (I'm not suggesting that my reviews are models, but there are quite a few concentrated in one place, so it will provide you some examples, good or bad!)
I have to admit, I like the main chracter of a book that I read to be someone I like, someone I'm rooting for.
But that's not always the case. Sometimes, the hero can actually be a baddie. How hard is that to pull off?
See if you can write a story - or part of one - where the main character - the point-of-view character, the one who's leading us through the story - is really not very nice at all.
(Famously, Agatha Christie's break-through book was the one where the narrator turned out right at the end to be the murderer -and you don't know that till the last page! Very clever. Am not asking you to do that, though.)
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| Picture by James Maher Photography |
NIGHT WALKER (From Writing Magazine)
What impressions could a person walking alone at night generate for your writing?
Who might the person be?
Why are they alone, and where are they going?
What do they feel, on their own, in the dark?
What can they see, hear, smell, that is different from in daylight?
What does the darkness amplify?
Who might they encounter?
What does the person associate with darkness?
Is it a comfortable or uncomfortable environment for them?
What might happen?
