A memorable vacation could also mean taking a trip with people who are special to you- which could be your family, close friends, a significant other, etc. Perhaps this was your most memorable vacation because you got to become closer to the people you love most. You could also be the adventurous type, which would make your most memorable vacation likely when you were finally able to check a significant city or country off of your bucket list. This trip then becomes significant to you because you not only fulfilled a personal goal, but also because you got to learn about a new city or culture, see sights, have adventures, and figure out what lives up to and what exceeds your expectations.

Finally, there are those trips that are disastrously memorable. Maybe someone got your flight dates wrong or the hotel “four-star” hotel you stayed in made you question the whole star rating system. Perhaps the restaurant you were so excited to try gave you food poisoning and the weather was dreary almost every day. On one hand, trips like that can be hard to get through. But, for some reason, people are often able to look back on those experiences with a good sense of humor and bond over the shared experience- even if it was a terrible one.

There are lots of different ways one could categorize the most ‘memorable’ vacation of their lives. But how would your protagonist categorize it?

In this writing prompt, we’re tasking you to write a short story taking the protagonist of your book on their most memorable vacation. This vacation could take place at any point in their lives, from childhood to adulthood. And, as we’ve pointed out, there are many ways to define what could be memorable. So think- what would your protagonist consider the most memorable or significant vacation of their lives and why? What did they learn over this period? What did they gain? What did they lose? What memories were made and why are they either cherished or stuck in the protagonist’s psyche?

Don’t be afraid to take them out of their comfort zone, that’s when some of the best character writing can happen. And make the experience visceral, we should have the sights, smells, tastes, touches, and sounds in every scene. After all, if it’s their most unforgettable trip, they would remember it in great detail.

The post Writing Prompt: Vacation appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Stream of Consciousness writing, in literature, has two definitions. One is that it’s a narrative style within certain texts that describe the happenings in the flow of thoughts from the minds of its characters. The term with this definition was originally coined by the psychologist William James, who stated, “Consciousness … does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. …It is nothing jointed; it flows. A ‘river’ or ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described.” Essentially, it’s like an inner monologue given by your protagonist.

The second definition of Stream of Consciousness is a writing technique or exercise that involves writing without editing, pausing,  or hesitating- simply putting pen to paper and not stopping (often with an allotted time frame). For those of us who struggle to keep ourselves from editing as we go, this is an especially helpful technique to practice regularly. It’s also a great way to combat writer’s block or when you’re having trouble with a particular scene/section of your book. In addition, mastering the Stream of Consciousness writing technique, or writing completely unfiltered, will help you get inspiration on what free unedited thoughts look like (in case you’re ever planning to attempt a Stream of Consciousness narrative).

Complete the following exercises in order, using the ten-minute timer below for each one.

1) Write about you- your day, what’s going on in your life right now, your desires, your fears. Don’t be afraid to get personal, no one is going to see it. The important thing is to not pick up your pen from the page. Don’t pause or hesitate- just keep writing. This will serve as the warmup for the rest of the activities.

2) Grab a book, any book. Go to page 72 and copy the first full line on the page. Make it the first line of your story. Now, go to the first page and find the first sentence. Make this your last line. You now have a beginning and an end: write the story. Start the timer!

3) In ten minutes, write a story that includes the following words: moonlight, chair, crow, window pane, haggard, sidewalk, lounge, shell, jar.

4) Personify the walls of your house or apartment. What do they think? What do they see and observe about the comings and goings of the day? What is their opinion of what they observe? Do they have a name?

5) Using a character from your book, play the ‘I remember/don’t remember’ exercise. This is where you alternate every other sentence between something they remember and something they don’t. For example, I remember growing up in Georgia, picking tomatoes from the garden. I don’t remember a time where I felt safe.

6) Think of that scene in your book that you have been struggling to write for a while (you know the one). Take a minute to picture the events as they need to unfold. Start the timer and write the scene. Don’t make it perfect, and don’t pick up your pen or stop to think… just write.

The post Writing Exercise: Stream of Consciousness appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) When handling character development through a scene, there is always what’s on the surface and then what’s beneath the surface. Write a scene about a couple fighting while playing a board game. They’re fighting about the game itself, but what are they really upset about? Use the game itself as a tool to show what’s really upsetting them (ex. They’re upset about money, have them play Monopoly or if they are upset about politics, have them play chess).

2) Another important aspect of character development is being able to show character through action alone. Describe a character walking across an expanse field or lot and describe how they walk and their mannerisms. The reader should perfectly understand your character’s personality simply by the way you describe the walk and actions between one side of the lot and the other.

3) Your characters must go through highs and lows over the course of your book- especially when it comes to what they want most in the story. As an exercise in writing this, describe an hour in the life of a character who has recently lost their ability to do what they love most (a pianist who has severe arthritis; a runner who became a quadriplegic).

4) Your characters will have different reactions to different people throughout your story. This will be based on varying factors such as their personalities and familiarity with a particular character. Write a scene where a stranger stops your main character, saying they know them, and insisting your main character is someone they are not. Describe exactly how this case of mistaken identity makes your character feel. Does this upset your character? Does this make your character insecure or paranoid? Does meeting someone new make them happy?

5) Each character in a story must have their own distinct personality. This means each one will handle situations differently- from a crisis to a mild problem. To practice differentiating between character reactions, write a scene where a risk-averse character is stuck in a hostage situation with a risk-happy character.

6) Showing character through action can get fairly repetitive for most writers. How many different ways can someone shrug or sigh? For the next week, watch strangers carefully and take notes in your phone about any peculiar gestures or body language. Combine the three most interesting ones to describe a character as he/she goes grocery shopping. And keep the rest for later use, you never know when you’ll need them!

7) One of the most important parts of character writing is choice. Your characters must be faced with choices throughout your book so your reader can learn about who they are through their decisions. Write about a character faced with a critical decision. This character, then, witnesses a big event (it could be awe-inspiring or disheartening). Describe and show how witnessing the event helps the character make their decision.

The post 7 Tips to Master Character Development appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) Pick one of your favorite songs. Identify a line in the song and the main emotion behind the line. Write about a character who is experiencing that emotion and hears that song. Or a character who is going through an experience that is paralleled by the song lyrics. Try to describe the type of music and the sounds in such a beautiful way that you will make the reader experience the emotion behind the song.

2) Select a dish representative of a cuisine that your character had as a child. Have the character describe it in such detail that the reader salivates and personal details of your character’s childhood are also revealed.

3) A man is cooking for a woman on their third date. Have the woman describe the aromas of the food in such loving and extended detail that she realizes that she’s in love with the man (Hint: She doesn’t love him because of the food- the food is just a way of showing it).

4) Have a character dine at a blind restaurant- a restaurant in pitch blackness where all the servers are blind. Describe how the table, clothing, plates, food, and the hand of their dining partner feels different in the darkness.

5) Have your character walking down the street and see a specific sight- a building, a park, a tree, a person, etc. and experience a moment of extreme deja vu. Have your character describe what they’re looking at in extreme detail while slowly revealing the memory with which they associate the sight.

6) One of the best exercises for the five senses is to choose one word and to describe it using the five senses. Obviously, each of the five sense won’t be able to be literally applied to the word- this is where you need to use your imagination. Using each of the five senses, for example, describe moonlight. What does it look like? Smell like? Taste like? Sound like? Feel like? Writers often feel boxed into the idea that sensory details need to be real and tangible, but you can absolutely talk about the taste of moonlight or the touch of a shadow in your book. In fact, that’s where some of the best writing happens.

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The post Writing Exercises: Using the Five Senses appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.