Saturday I attended the local writers’ guild writers’ workshop. The speaker has written and published eight humorous memoirs. She talked about many things and was very interesting. She gave three exercises which I think were helpful for jump-starting stalled writing.
1. Brainstorm titles
I came up with several, one of which made me want to write the story.
2. Think of someone you haven’t seen in ages, maybe you knew them in high school and have lost touch. Write a three sentence biography saying what has happened in their life since you knew them. –This was fun and it made me think of one of my high school friends with whom I have re-connected on Facebook. I would never have come up with the scenario she ended up in–but it fits her perfectly.
3. Take an activity that you are doing, particularly one where there is a lot of time involved, and write a character into that scenario.