The following writing practice idea came from What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter. This was our exercise for the week in Writer's Workbench, and I thought it would be a good one to post here.
The object is to write down ten things that pleased you and ten things that made you angry over the course of a week. The items must also be specific rather than generalities. The purpose is to discover how seemingly ordinary daily events can provide rich sources for writing.
Ten things that pleased me:
- Pooky purred around my legs when I got ready to take a shower.
- The toddler smiled shyly at me as his aunt walked him, step by step, between the rows of chairs.
- Studying passages from Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and finally understanding how they incorporated showing into the dialog and never slipped into telling narration.
- The polished appearance of our web site after I added in some Cascading Style Sheets, efficiently hand coded and carefully arranged.
- The brushstrokes across the carpet after I finished vacuuming and the house was freshly spotless.
- Opening up the patio door on our first sixty degree day since last year. The sunshine streamed through the windows and the cats bristled with excitement.
- My arms were just a little bit sore from working out, just enough to tell me I'd done the right amount but not so much that they ached.
- On peer critique night, casual conversations before the meeting, and the overall relaxed atmosphere.
- After the meeting, walking with my elderly friend back to the car, arm in arm, to make sure she doesn't trip because of the darkness. We chatted about which stories we preferred.
- Reading my latest story aloud to myself immediately after finishing the last draft and hearing the characters come to life better than in anything else I'd ever written.
Ten things that annoyed me:
- "Ugh, what's this on the footstool?" said my husband. A small turd rested where Pooky had been sitting. "Oh, and it stinks!"
- The blue ball whizzed by my racquet for the fifth time in a row. "Eight - One."
- The stomach cramp woke me up at four in the morning. So much for dinner the night before.
- My dry, stinging eyes the morning after I'd stayed up a little too late.
- Two email bounce notices landed in the mail box after I sent out our website update notice.
- The accumulation of hair and grime on the bathroom floor and walls.
- The way my eyes itched all day when we had nice weather for the first time.
- Scrambling to finish my peer critiques at the last minute, and having to read unpolished first draft stories for the countless time.
- The bad dream in which Pooky's back leg fell off. It was green at the break; he had to hop along like Austin used to do.
- Running over the already smashed dead skunk in the middle of the road on the way to the gym, and the lingering burnt rubber odor.
by Christy Devonport