Good evening, fellow writers.
To be honest, I don’t have much of an idea for what to write tonight. We’re facing difficult times, the news is bad, the weather is bad, and I am under it.
I think I will focus on three small things. First of all, I always love the idea of how stories, songs, and poems can flesh out the culture of a fantasy world, or even some part of the real world. I know we had another diarist a week or two ago who also talked about that. I’ve also noticed how writers often bring their characters and settings to life with phrases and colloquialisms specific to that time and place. “Well, if he does, I’ll smile and kiss a pig,” one character said in a Stephen King novel, or words to that effect.
The second thing is, I always enjoy when minor characters come back, or are even referenced across different works in a series. I sometimes wonder if some writers have a sort of concordance, or an encyclopedia, of their own worlds. What might be called a Show Bible for a TV show. Otherwise it would be damned hard to keep track of minor characters across a large work or a long time. But it is also hard to introduce a minor character after the fact, especially if they weren’t planted earlier on and if they are supposed to be well known, even close friends, with the main character. It is always annoying for a character to reference “that time in Brussels” to try to create an instant background and rapport.
I’ve forgotten what the third thing was, so let’s just say, animals. A pet is a great way to both humanize a character and to show us their character. And with that, let’s get right to
Tonight’s Challenge
In keeping with my indecision, this is a choose-your-own challenge. Write a short scene:
- using slang, song, or myths to flesh out your setting and really bring the reader into it
- or, introducing a minor character, and show how important they are to the MC
- or, featuring an animal, either a pet or otherwise, and show how they interact with the MC
Use either characters from your own WIP or one of our well-known scenarios, try to keep it to only a couple hundred words or so, and try to engage at least three of the senses.
Write On! will be a regular Thursday night diary (5pm leftkost, 8 pm Eastern) until it isn’t. Before signing a contract with any agent or publisher, please be sure to check them out on Absolute Write, Critters.org, or Writer Beware. (Sadly Preditors and Editors seems to be dead… again.)
