In Part One of the Write What You Know series, I talked a little bit about how limiting it can be if we take the advice offered by many folks who think they know what we should write about: “Write what you know!” Near the end of that post, I talked about an interesting phenomenon. Often, when workshopping a fiction piece, the sections that readers identify as “thin” or “unbelievable” or “not convincing” are those parts or pieces that are, in fact, closest to our actual experi

Another chance to showcase a lovely photograph, and perhaps inspire you into a new story, a new scene, a new scenario for your fictional worlds. Today’s selection is a photo from Shane Blake, who also contributed the wonderful Waffle House photo from last month. I selected this photo for today’s Unblocker, for several reasons. First, I love the color and the subtle gradations between the pinks and purples, the yellow lights along the wheel’s struts. Second, I love the geometr

Today’s writing prompt comes from Ursula K. Le Guin‘s fabulous little book, Steering The Craft. For today’s prompt, you need a character you are already working with in a novel, story, or, at the very least, a character that has been kicking around inside your head for a while, begging for a role in your next blockbuster story. Write this in the third person, not from the character’s point of view. The exercise is to describe your character by detailing some place the charact

This exercise, adapted from The 3 A.M. Epiphany is all about point of view and “writing the other.” In the scene you are about to write are two characters: a woman, and a man (boyfriend, husband, father, boss) who is dominating her. There is a long history between these two, and he has always had a certain control over her. It may be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, but there is a high level of manipulation, influence, and humiliation that is wielded by the man over th

Tuesday this week I presented part one of an adaptation of an exercise in “What if?” by Bernays and Painter. You can get your own copy from Amazon right here. The exercise for today is the same as Tuesday’s so if you’ve already read the details, feel free to jump down to the prompts! ********** For this exercise you need a story of your own (likely, an early draft, though I would advocate doing this with a story that is just stuck and lifeless…one of those stories you know is

After a holiday weekend, most of us probably have plenty of writer’s inspiration: time spent with family, time spent with friends who enjoy too many adult beverages, time with people who probably SHOULDN’T be anywhere near fireworks but have a pickup truck full of them…it’s all rich writer’s ground. But, just in case you are looking for something to give you a jump start this week, here is Unblocker #4, for your consideration… Unblocker #4 Write a scene featuring two of your

If you have two characters in a story that feel dull and lifeless, this Unblocker exercise is for you. (If you DON’T, you can still use this, in a modified form, to get a story off the ground…see the not at the end.) Unblocker #3: Have one character in your fictional world write a letter to another character. This is one of those “dear boss I hate you” letters that you never mail, so the writing character can say things she might never really say out loud; let your character

Where I’m Calling From, originally appeared in The New Yorker and was later included in two of author Raymond Carver’s short story collections. Summary J.P. And the narrator are “drying out” from alcohol at a treatment facility called the “Frank Martin Center.” “This has never happened to me before,” he says. He means the trembling. I tell him I sympathize. I tell him the shakes will idle down. And they will. But it takes time. Another fellow, Tiny, tells a story of a drunken