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Exercise #762: Craft
Posted 6/2/18
As authors, we have the power to create a feeling in our reader. We direct our audience in how they feel about our characters.
Lost? Here’s an example, though it wasn’t written. A friend was telling me about the time last week when she picked up her daughter from school. (The daughter is eleven.) While she was waiting in the car, she noticed a woman standing by the schoolyard fence. The conversation went something like this:
Friend: “So I saw this other mom also waiting for her kid.”
Me: “Weren’t there a lot of moms doing that?”
F: “Yes, but this one wasn’t in a car. She was standing by the fence. I noticed her summer dress moving in the breeze. The color would have been a good one for me.” She paused. “But then I noticed how dirty it was.”
Me: “Homeless dirty or bad housekeeper dirty?”
F: “Kinda between. But then I noticed it wasn’t a woman.”
At the beginning, it’s another mom, no big deal. In the middle, it’s a mom whose upkeep isn’t so hot, which might be an issue. At the end, it’s a dude dressed as woman, hanging around a schoolyard. In my book, that’s a definite issue.
For today's craft, turn something cheerful or ordinary into something creepy. Remember to put a warning on your work if you go too far into the horror genre; some critiquers might be reading over breakfast.
No ideas on what to start with? Email me privately for a few.
Critiquers, along with a technical review you might answer these questions:
* Was this exercise helpful to you as a writer?
* Why or why not?
Word limit: 1200
Please use the subject line
SUB: Exercise #762/yourname
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