Today’s Tiny Task to prepare for StoryADay is to
Make a list of 5 or more personality traits that drive you absolutely crazy
This exercise is slightly different from the other character brainstorming we’ve done this week, because it’s not so much about an internal or external feature, but more about the actions a person takes, without thinking.
I’m asking you to list traits that drive you up the wall, because accessing strong emotions is a good way to make sure that you put conflict and emotion into your story.
You don’t have to write a miserable story just because you include a personality trait that drives you batty. You can use this trait as a starting point for a character who is going to be reformed, or as comic relief, or as a cautionary tale.
Bonus points: list 3 ways each trait could be subverted, changed, used for comic relief, or otherwise turned around.
Discussion
Are you keeping all your notes during these prep-sessions, in a place where you’ll easily be able to access them during the challenge? Share your ‘system’ (such as it is) here, to inspire/warn others. Then, if you haven’t thought it through yet, pick a place (physical or digital) to store all your notes, and then write yourself a big, physical sticky note to remind yourself you did it. Leave a comment to let us know you’ve done it!
My list feels very British so far. It starts with “jumping the queue”.
I started creating a Scrivener project for each StoryaDay May a few years ago. the StADa May 2025 one has the April prep tasks in their own folder with a different file for each particular task.
I’m finding that writing these ideas down in a Word file is faster and easier for me than my usual way of jotting them down by hand.
I keep forgetting to add 3 story sparks a day so I’ll stick a note right now in my kitchen to remind me.
I am doing the “small tasks” by hand in a notebook that can have pages easily removed, added or rearranged. So far so good.
That’s a great idea about using a notebook with easily removed and repositioned pages. I hadn’t thought of that.