Writing Exercise One

Time for today's exercise! YAY! This comes from this article about one of the precepts of creative writing: Show don't Tell, which is surprisingly difficult. In general, we are taught to remove ourselves from our writing and just presents the facts...especially former poly-sci majors like myself, who got reeemed for including any opinion not solidly based in fact and supported by at least three other people far more important then ourselves.

In that form of writing though, removing yourself from the actual story preserves objectivity and allows for a clearer view of the "big picture" in creative writing this same mentality is the kiss of death. In order to write a real story that will connect to others, you have to connect to yourself without comfortable barriers of fact to insulate. I think this is why writers talk like their characters are real friends, albeit imaginary ones, because they have to feel what their characters are going through on a very real level, one which I have NOT mastered. So onto practice!

Writing Exercise: Take this phrase: "It was hot." Rewrite it without the word
was. Better yet, don't even use the word hot. Think of all the things you can
use to describe heat. Make a list, if you want. Write a few sentences that SHOW
the weather is hot.

She stopped to perch on a sun-baked rock protruding from the earth, yanking the canteen from her waist as she did. She gulped water that tasted much closer to ambrosia and plotted her next move. Wildcats had been spotted in the area and she had to protect her cattle and horses from becoming dinner, but it was almost noon and the flat plains provided no relief from the high sun. She mopped sweat off of her forehead with the kerchief in her back pocket and decided to find some shade and wait until the sun sank a little lower in the sky before she resumed trying to kill herself looking for cats that had probably already gone on their way.