Fiction Writing Exercises | Writing Forward

Storytelling Exercise: Character Choices

Today’s storytelling exercise is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises, which helps beginning to intermediate storytellers develop skills in the craft of fiction writing. This exercise explores one of the most important elements of any story: the characters. It’s called “Character Choices.” Enjoy! Character Choices We get to wherever we are…Read More

Storytelling Exercise: Plot Analysis

Today’s storytelling exercise is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises, which helps beginning to intermediate storytellers develop skills in the craft of fiction writing. This exercise explores one of the most important elements of any story: plot. It’s called “Plot Analysis.” Enjoy! Plot Analysis Some readers think analyzing a plot takes…Read More

Storytelling Exercise: Managing Our Ideas

Today’s storytelling exercise is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises, which helps beginning to intermediate storytellers develop skills in the craft of fiction writing. This exercise is designed to help you manage your writing ideas (or lack thereof). It’s called “Managing Our Ideas.” Enjoy! All the storytelling skills in the world…Read More

Storytelling Exercise: Time Lapse

Today’s post is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises. This is from a chapter called “Time Lapse,” which looks at how a story moves through time in a way that isn’t jarring to the reader. Enjoy! Stories don’t take readers through every minute of the characters’ lives. Scenes jump around in…Read More

Storytelling Exercise: Tone and Mood

Today I’d like to share an excerpt from Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises, which helps beginning to intermediate storytellers develop fiction writing skills. This exercise is from chapter sixty, and it’s called “Tone and Mood.” Enjoy! Tone and Mood Tone and mood give a story a sense of atmosphere—how a story feels—its emotional sensibility. Atmosphere is…Read More

Storytelling Exercise: Three Acts

Today’s storytelling exercise is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills, which is filled with fiction-writing exercises that impart basic techniques of storytelling. Today’s exercise is from chapter forty-five. It’s called “Three Acts.” Enjoy! The three-act structure is one of the simplest and most effective ways to outline or analyze a story and its structure….Read More

Storytelling Exercise: Motif

Today’s storytelling exercise is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills, which is packed with fiction-writing exercises designed to impart the basic techniques of storytelling. Today’s exercise is from chapter thirty-five. It’s called “Motif.” Enjoy! Motif A motif is a recurring idea, element, or symbol in a story. A story can have multiple motifs, and…Read More

Props, a Storytelling Exercise

This exercise comes from my book Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises. This exercise asks you to consider an element of story that’s often overlooked in lessons and conversations about fiction writing. It’s called “Props.” Enjoy! Props Often when we talk about setting, we forget an important element: props. These are the items that appear in the narrative…Read More

Fiction Writing Exercise: What If?

This storytelling exercise comes from my book Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises, which takes you through the basics of storytelling by covering a wide range of concepts and storytelling techniques. This fiction exercise is called “What If?” What If? “What if?” is a useful prompt at any stage in story development. We can use this question as…Read More

fiction writing exercise character struggle

Fiction Writing Exercise: The Internal and External Struggles of Your Characters

Today’s fiction writing exercise comes from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises, which offers lessons and exercises designed to boost your skills as a storyteller. Today’s exercise looks at characters’ struggles, which are essential to good storytelling. Enjoy! Characters’ Internal and External Struggles In order to develop a truly compelling character, it’s critical for…Read More