Using Creative Writing Exercises
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Creative Writing Exercises by Maggie Hamand Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies® Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com This edition first published 2014 © 2014 Maggie Hamand Registered office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com. The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved. 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ISBN 978-1-118-92105-0 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-92106-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-92107-4 (ebk) Printed in Great Britain by TJ, Padstow, Cornwall 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................ 1 Part I: Getting Started with Creative Writing Exercises ... 5 Chapter 1: Preparing to Create Your Writ ten Masterpiece ..........................................7 Chapter 2: Sketching Out Ideas .....................................................................................21 Part II: Realising That Character Is Everything ............ 35 Chapter 3: Developing Your Characters’ Backgrounds ..............................................37 Chapter 4: Creating Drama through Dialogue ..............................................................47 Chapter 5: Embodying Your Characters .......................................................................57 Chapter 6: Developing Your Dialogue-Writing Skills ...................................................65 Chapter 7: Conveying Characters’ Thoughts in Style .................................................77 Chapter 8: Choosing and Using Different Points of View ............................................87 Chapter 9: Creating Complicated, Well-Rounded Characters ..................................105 Part III: Painting the Picture with Description ........... 125 Chapter 10: Navigating the Locations in Your Stories .............................................127 Chapter 11: Appreciating the Power of the Senses ...................................................137 Chapter 12: Getting Things Done: Describing Action and Activity .........................147 Chapter 13: Building Character with Objects and Possessions ...............................155 Chapter 14: Using Description to Create Atmosphere and . and . Suspense!......167 Chapter 15: Managing Metaphors, Similes and Symbols ..........................................187 Chapter 16: Describing the Inef fable: Saying What Can’t Be Said ...........................203 Part IV: Developing Your Plot and Structure............... 213 Chapter 17: Writing a Gripping Opening .....................................................................215 Chapter 18: Plot ting Your Way to Great Stories ........................................................225 Chapter 19: Making Good (Use of) Time in Your Writing .........................................235 Chapter 20: Structuring a Longer Work of Fiction .....................................................247 Chapter 21:Tightening the Tension to Enthral Readers ...........................................257 Chapter 22: Expanding Your Ideas into Larger Narratives .......................................267 Chapter 23: Approaching the Grand Finale: The End’s in Sight! ..............................279 Part V: Polishing Your Product: Revising and Editing ..... 299 Chapter 24: Reviewing and Rewriting Your Work .....................................................301 Chapter 25: Whipping Your Work into Shape ............................................................313 Chapter 26: Polishing Your Work for Publication .....................................................321 Part VI: The Part of Tens .......................................... 331 Chapter 27: Ten Top Aids for Writers .........................................................................333 Chapter 28: Ten Great Ways to Stay the Course ........................................................339 Index ...................................................................... 345 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................. 1 About This Book ..............................................................................................1 Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2 Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................3 Beyond the Book .............................................................................................4 Where to Go from Here ...................................................................................4 Part I: Getting Started with Creative Writing Exercises .... 5 Chapter 1: Preparing to Create Your Writ ten Masterpiece . 7 Planning for the Writing Journey ...................................................................8 Setting your writing goals .....................................................................8 Locating the appropriate genre ...........................................................9 Creating the right title .........................................................................11 Discovering the scope of your book..................................................12 Silencing the inner critic .....................................................................13 Reviewing the Creative Writing Process ....................................................13 Taking your first steps ........................................................................14 Gearing up for the long haul ...............................................................15 Writing in a spiral path........................................................................15 Using creative writing exercises ........................................................16 Living with Creative Confusion ....................................................................16 Allowing yourself to make mistakes ..................................................17 Writing what you want to write .........................................................19 Chapter 2: Sketching Out Ideas . 21 Getting Your Creative Juices Flowing .........................................................21 Starting with your first thoughts .......................................................22 Creating a mind map of ideas .............................................................23 Brainstorming: Creative idea sessions ..............................................27 Moving Beyond Words with Objects and Images ......................................28 Keeping a scrapbook of ideas and materials....................................28 Finding images related to your project .............................................30 Using objects to enhance your writing .............................................31 Considering the Level of Research Required ............................................33 vi Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies Part II: Realising That Character Is Everything ............. 35 Chapter 3: Developing Your Characters’ Backgrounds . 37 Creating Seriously Deep Characters ...........................................................37