What is giving people pleasure right now, in this time of crisis? Stories. On screens, on paper, through speakers, in videos. Stories will save us.
And you, as a writer, have a part to play in that salvation.
[Write On Wednesday] Speak, Don’t Tell
Continuing this month’s theme of Show, Don’t Tell, today I want you to focus on how you can do that in dialogue.
Missed the first prompt on this month’s theme? Find it here.
The Prompt
Write a story set in a particular time or place and use dialogue to show us where we are, rather than telling us.
Suggested scenario: two characters who know each other well, but one is keeping a secret.
Tips
Don’t simply have characters say “In olden days people didn’t even drive electric cars” to show that we’re in the future. Look at this example from “The Era” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
We’re in HowItWas class
“Well,” Mr Harper said, twisting is ugly body towards us. “You should shut your mouth because you’re a youth-teen who doesn’t know sh*t about Sh*t and I’m a full-middler who’s been teaching this stuff for more years than I’m proud of.”
The Era, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
You KNOW we’re not in a modern day school, right? The attitudes, the name of the class, the way description of ages…so much “show” and very little “tell”, even though we literally have characters telling each other stuff!
Or in this story when the main character has seen a photograph of her deceased mother in a museum and calls her dad to ask about it.
“She was a looker, wasn’t she? What is it, some kind of—do they call it street photography?”
“No,” I said. I described in euphemism what was occurring int he photo.
“There’s been some mistake,” my father answered, finally, resolutely. “That’s your eyes playing tricks on you.”
Natural Light, Kathleen Alcott
Watch how the father goes from open and generous to shut-down and in denial, without the author have to tell us any of that.
Or in this one, what do you infer about the setting, just from the dialogue?
“Y’all put that gator right back where you found him or I’ll pepper your asses with 177s.”
Hellion, Julia Elliot
Pay attention to how you can use dialogue to tell us things other that what the character mean to tell us.
If you share you story somewhere (and here’s why you might not want to) post a link here so we can come and read it.
Leave a comment to let us know what you wrote about today, and how it went!
Ready For More?
161 – Come and write with me
In which I talk about the live writing sprints I’ve been running and the importance of stories in times of stress.
Resources for Being At Home
If you have resources for storytellers, writers, parents, teachers, bored adults, in this time of house-bound-ness, please share them in the comments.
Me? I’m watching a lot of zoo and aquarium live feeds 😉
[Write On Wed] The Stories The Books Tell
This post came from my local independent bookstore yesterday, closed for the moment, but imagining wonderful things. (You can support Reads & Co while they’re closed by ordering from them here)
The Prompt
What stories do the books tell each other?
Continue reading “[Write On Wed] The Stories The Books Tell”Let’s Stick Together – in the StoryADay Cafe
Something I do with the StoryADay Superstars, is get together once in a while for writing sprints.
During this next couple of weeks, when everyone is isolating physically, I thought it might be helpful to open that up to the whole community. So you’re invited to join us for some writing dates!
When
Continue reading “Let’s Stick Together – in the StoryADay Cafe”160 – Creativity in a Time of Crisis
So we’re in a pandemic. Does that mean we have to stop being creative? Quite the opposite. The world needs more art, right now.
How Can Our Community Help You?
The herd instinct is only a problem if you’re following the wrong herd.
Let’s see if we can put it to good use. Let’s circle the StoryADay wagons and help each other to write more of the stories that people need to hear—to distract them, to entertain them, to uplift and connect them.
Some things I’ve shared with people over the past few days
- This is a wonderful time to catch up on your reading. Everyone has a pile of books they’ve been meaning to get to. Turn off the TV and open those books!
- If you can’t get to a writing group because you need to protect your health, ask other people to turn on the voice memo feature on their phone and record the group discussion for you.
- If you’re a member of a real-life writing group, ask the organizer to sign up for a free Zoom account. You can get everyone together for 40 minutes at a time under the free account, and chat about writing, or hold your critique meeting, or whatever you usually do.
- You don’t have to be writing fiction if it doesn’t feel right, just now. Write letters to friends you haven’t seen recently. Write journal entries. Work on a non-fiction project you’ve been meaning to get to. Advocate for a favorite charity or write postcards for a political candidate’s campaign.
- Use writing prompts to write tiny, throwaway stories that are only intended to amuse and distract yourself.
What other ideas do you have?
What can I do to help you?
- Do you need an online writing hangouts this week, to keep you from obsessing about the news, or keep you sane while you work from home?
- Do you need daily SWAGr check-ins at StoryADay.org for the next week, to keep you accountable?
- Would it be helpful if I put together a bundle of links to the most popular articles on the site, so you can read something that isn’t virus-related?
Is there something else I can do to help you?
Leave a comment and tell me how you’re doing, and what you need. Also, if you’ve found something that helps you, please share that too!
[Write On Wednesday] Pull Readers into Your Story
This month’s theme at StoryADay is “Show, Don’t Tell”, that pesky little piece of writing advice that sounds so easy and will actually take us the whole month to unpack. It’s more than simply ‘showing’. It’s about using all our senses to immerse the reader in a moment, and it come more easily to some writers than others.
Let’s start practicing with today’s prompt. This week we’ll focus on making the setting immersive. Next week will be about showing through dialogue. The week after that we’ll work on when to ‘show’ and when to ‘tell’.
The Prompt
Your character walks into a room and sees something/someone they really, really don’t want to see. How do they solve this dilemma?
Tips
Continue reading “[Write On Wednesday] Pull Readers into Your Story”159 – Talking About Creativity And Mental Health with Gabriela Pereira
As well as running DIYMFA, Gabriela Pereira often speaks at conferences about issues other than the writing craft, including entrepreneurship and mental illness.
Today, we have a frank discussion about Gabriela’s history with mental illness as one part of a very full life that also includes running a business, having a family, and being a creative person.
We also talk a little about writing emotion when you struggle with your own.
(If you need help and live in the US, please text HOME to 741741. In Canada, 686-868, In the UK 85258. In the UK and Ireland, call 116 123. In Australia, call 13 11 14)