A few weeks ago, I sat with my youngest daughter in a doctor's waiting room. She had forgotten to bring a book and was bored. Very bored, and very restless. I pulled a pen and notebook from my purse and suggested we write a story together. We made it through the opening scene before we … Continue reading Jacksie & Zelda
Tag: fiction
Short Story: Three Chickens
As I explained in an earlier post, I like to use short fiction exercises to better acquaint myself with characters from a longer work. Sometimes I finish with a paragraph or two that puts a little flesh on an otherwise thin character; sometimes I gain a better sense of the character's voice, and sometimes a … Continue reading Short Story: Three Chickens
Short Stories
I have written two short stories solely for the purpose of exploring individual characters from a longer work. There were two benefits to this exercise. First, I got a firmer grasp on each character's motivations. Second, I was able to procrastinate on the longer work and still claim to be writing. The following excerpt is the … Continue reading Short Stories
In the Quiet 