Finally! It’s time to get back to drafting this story!
You’re going to have three days of writing in a row, here so you’ll be able to get up a good head of steam…and yet you won’t get lost, because of all that patient prep-work you’ve done. Hooray!
To Do:
- Pull out your draft. You should already have written your opening and shown us what your character is dealing with and how that normally goes.
- Now, go back to your ABOT#1 brainstorming notes and write the scenes that show your character dealing with their challenge (trying to realize their desire). This is probably kicked off by something they did in the first part of your story.
If, in your Part One, your character answered the front door, I’ll assume some sort of interaction happened with the person on the doorstep. In that case, today you’re going to write the consequence of that.
A fun thing to do, to keep your story interesting, is make THIS the day they decide to react in a way they don’t normally react.
If a neighbor has come by to complain about your character’s dog barking, and if she normally apologizes, perhaps today is the day she decides to tell the neighbor what she really thinks of their petty complaints.
(This example works particularly well if your character’s desire is to stand up for herself more, or to be more respected, or to not be ignored…)
Remember that you’re setting up an action that gives you somewhere to go. You can move your character closer to or further away from their desire.
(In the next writing exercise you’re going to be writing the consequence of today’s actions, so leave yourself some room to move. The next section will either take your character further on the trajectory you set today or allow them to pull back in the other direction, re: their desire)
A word of caution
Don’t try to write the rest of the story today.
I’m normally all about the high-speed writing, but this fun-size challenge is, in part, designed to build your confidence in your ability to hold and develop a single story over more than one writing session. Stick with me and trust the process!

Leave a comment telling us how today’s task went