Writing Exercise: Hot, Hot Hot!
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- 4/5/2010 |
- 10:00 am
For those of you reading this in the southern hemisphere, you'll have to forgive me; I know you're trudging through winter right now. For everyone else, it's heating up, and that's the subject of this month's exercise...
When I first concocted this exercise, I was on a working vacation in Scottsdale, Arizona. The forecast when I woke up that morning said to expect temperatures to reach 116. Yes, 116 degrees. So how could I not focus on the heat?
I immediately thought about a short story idea as I drove into Scottsdale on Highway 87. Before I entered one of the national forests here, I drove through a desert scene that looked like it was out of a movie. My mind began to play with the concept of being lost out in that barren wilderness, wandering without water or shade from the sun.
I want you to think about the same thing. Write a short story, told from the perspective of someone lost in the desert. It's obviously a chance for you to become very descriptive, to the point where we all FEEL like we're in your story. But you can go a step beyond: get creative with the plot, and tell me HOW the character came to be in this spot? What happened? Who is this person? Why are they in this predicament? This is what will make your story interesting, more than telling me how hot it is, right?
As we all sweat a little bit during the coming summer, let's transfer that heat energy into our writing, and see what boils to the surface. Have fun!
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