Writing Exercises

[lepapillonrouge]

Hello Writing forum.
I've been taking some Creative Writing classes at my university, so I thought I would share some of the exercises that I learned from them. These classes were mainly fiction, so it should be able to help you visual novel writers develop some scenes.

I'll post one at a time. Hopefully they'll be useful to you.

Scene Exercise
Take two characters. Write about their personalities, and their relationship and backstory with each other.
Choose Setting of the Scene
Choose Point of View (1st, 2nd, 3rd limited, 3rd omniscient)

With the information above in mind, write one sentence for the following prompts.

a. One sentence with a wall/boundary.
b. One sentence with a sentence about the weather.
c. One sentence with sound.
d. One sentence with a gesture.
e. Dialogue with 6 words or less.
f. One sentence involving light or lighting.
g. Dialogue with 10 words or more.
h. One sentence involving the ceiling or the floor.
i. One sentence involving texture and/or touching.
j. One sentence involving an object smaller than a hand.
k. One sentence involving an allusion to art or literature
l. One fragmented sentence (a sentence without a main subject and/or verb)
m. One sentence with furniture.
n. Dialogue with a question.
o. Dialogue with another question.
p. One sentence involving hands or fingers.
q. One sentence with a dash (ex. She grabbed her gloves - fingerless and red as her hair - and left.)
r. One sentence with a metaphor.
s. Whispered dialogue.

So for example, I was thinking about two of my characters from black butterfly, Ritsu Ikeda and Minami Takeuchi.
-> Ritsu's a smart but rather arrogant first year high school student who doesn't believe in working with people, especially if he thinks that they aren't as smart as him. He's also rich, but hates his dad, who is the CEO of a big software company. He studies a lot, but he finds time to play computer and video games.
-> Minami's also a first year student who has just transferred from an all girls' middle school in the city to Ritsu's school in the middle of nowhere, Japan. She's rather shy, and often tries too much to appeal to people without giving too much of herself away. However, if something makes her angry for too long she will most likely cut her nice act and speak her mind to the person who offends her. She likes watching magical girl anime.

Ritsu and Minami's relationship and backstory: They meet at a park because Minami was walking her cousin's dog and the dog got loose and tackled and slobbered Ritsu. Ritsu threatens to sue her. Although they try to leave each other as soon as possible, someone binds them to the park and they are forced to deal with that person together. The next day, Minami and Ritsu end up being in the same class, and due to the structure of their homeroom class, become study partners. They end up meeting again at the park, and again get stuck in the park by the same person, and are forced to make sure that person never tries to trap them again. At the end, they find out that they are not only study partners, but spirit-hunting partners who must work together to quell spirits who have gone hayward.
Minami tries harder than Ritsu to get along, but she finds it frustrating to deal with him, because Ritsu is kinder than most people believe he is. Ritsu, on the other hand, goes out of his way to make it hard for Minami to deal with him, and doesn't believe in this whole partner business.

PoV: Third person

Setting: In class, working on homework. They're also talking about a spirit they saw in a photograph.

a. Okawa-sensei pushed their desks together
b. It was a little cloudy, a bad sign for the upcoming cherry blossom season.
c. He scribbled the problem on her notebook.
d. She shifted her eyes away from him.
e. "That's wrong!"
"It is?"
f. Sunlight was soon dimming.
etc, etc.

The main point of the exercise is mainly to induce you into writing a scene, not just take all these criteria and make a scene out of it. There's probably going to be more dialogue than what is expected for this exercise in the final scene, if this exercise is being used in visual novels.

Feel free to write your responses here. If there's demand, I'll finish this exercise...

[Akjosch]

For your example "e", you wrote a monologue though, not a dialogue.

Dialogue would be something like "Coffee or tea?" - "Tea, please."

[lepapillonrouge]

Huh. I don't know why I didn't realize that until now. Thanks!

[Applegate]

d. She shifted his eyes away from him.

That sounds painful for him.

Could you explain each of the lines? "Wall/boundary" is pretty broad, but are we to take it in that broad sense or are there specific requirements?

Let's try this...

Code: Select all

 The attic was small and quiet.
 The rain beating against the panes was somehow comforting.
 Below, her father was singing, mingled with the sound of rushing water and dishes colliding.
 Daniel chuckled.
 "Is he always like that?"
 "Yeah."
 The faint light made his form a silhouette.
 "I think he likes you," Daniel said.
 "I like him, too."
 She shifted a bit, making the floor creak.
 The wood felt cold beneath her bare feet.
 She considered, but only for a moment, to return his key.
 She knew she wouldn't; if there was anything to unlock the canvas to his heart, it had to be the key. 
 Well, sorta.
 He sighed, leaning on an old desk.
 "Man, all this stuff here looks really old."
 "It does, doesn't it?" For some reason, she felt like it was a compliment.
 "Are you sure I can have it?"
 "Of course. Well, I'd rather have you stay here, of course."
 He ran a finger across the desk, gathering dust as he did so.
 She still couldn't believe it ─ couldn't believe he really was the one.
 He'd arrived like some belated birthday present, and she was never sure if she was allowed to unwrap it.
 "My son..." she whispered.
 "What?"
 A smile. "Nothing. Let's go back down."

[Obscura]

This is useful, thanks for posting. I should probably do these exercises when I launch myself back into writing *groans*.

[lepapillonrouge]

orz
Just goes to show the importance of proofreading I guess.

[kaleidofish]

Alright, I gave the exercise a try. The one sentence thing was more challenging than I expected.

~ * ~ * ~

Steph had her back to him, as if to block Geoff out entirely.
He wished he hadn't said anything; he should've kept on talking about the weather, instead of admitting he had taken the offer.
The painful sob that escaped her broke the silence in the room.
Geoff reached for her shoulder.
"Leave me alone," she said, refusing to turn around.
"Listen to me."
It was ironic how the darkest moment of his life was taking place in the brightest room in his house.
"I had to take the job. We need the money." Geoff tried to reason with her. "You have to trust me."
"Don't you dare tell me what we need. We don't exist anymore." Her words cut through him.
He had to look at the hard wood floor to keep himself strong enough to handle the rest of the conversation.
They'd saved up for months to be able to afford that floor - it was so smooth that they could roll coins on it.
Somehow, her quarters always passed the finish line before his.
How phony would Holden call me right now?
100%.
And, he'd have to sell all of their hard-earned furniture before he moved, removing all trace of them ever living there.
"Can't you tell them that you changed your mind?" Steph was grasping at straws.
"It's too late for that."
"You know you've broken us up, right?"
"I know."
Someone else would have to hold her hand from now on.
Geoff sighed - hollow, empty, drained - and struggled to find the right thing to say.
Their relationship had shattered, just like that, and he couldn't even get her to look him in the eyes.
"Good luck in Hong Kong, Geoff. You'll make your next girlfriend very happy."
"Thank you," he whispered.


EDIT: OOPS. I didn't realize that the dialogue had to be one sentence, too. Um... Fission mailed, I guess.

[Obscura]

I didn't know what the deal was with the old fence that separated our backyard from the Schuster's, but it had started rotting despite the fact I had helped my dad weatherproof it last summer. Two buckets of sealant did absolutely nothing aside from giving me a sore back for two days.

The first sunny weekend in April, he asked me to go take it down.

I tried not to sigh when he handed me the axe. One small sigh usually triggered a five-minute lecture about the benefits of hard work, a lecture peppered with words like "appreciation" and "gratitude" and "life lessons." He waved goodbye as he got in his truck; he was going over to McGillan's to get some more supplies--namely new blades for his Sawsall.

"Does Mr. Schuster know?" My head was filled with visions of the brawny, mustached man barreling towards me as I hacked into his beloved fence.

"Of course."

My father drove away. I couldn't tell if he was squinting from the late morning sunlight or because he was dismayed his son was an idiot.

I got started with my axe. The yard was soon filled with the thwack of metal plunging into the decrepit wood posts. There was something very satisfying about chopping it at first, like you were hacking away at bones and flesh.

"Tyler."

I looked up, and lowered my axe, startled from my daydream of chopping up a mammoth.

It was Mrs. Schuster peering at me from the other side of the fence. All I could see was the top of her head. Her hair was reddish-brown and cascading in loose curls off her head. Her eyes were very, very green.

"Oh, hey. My dad told me to take down the fence today. He already talked to Mr. Schuster about it."

I saw her eyebrows perk up. "Jim is in Norway. He didn't tell ME anything."

"Oh." I saw her hair wave back and forth in the breeze. "I'm sorry."

"Where's your father?"

"He's at the hardware store."

"I'll talk to him when he gets back. For now, I think you should stop chopping. You know that fence, that fence is perfectly fine."

I shrugged.

"Well, tell my dad that, please. I know it might shock you but I'd rather be doing something else with my Saturday morning."

Mrs. Schuster snorted a laugh.

"Can I get you a drink? It's hot, Tyler."

AAAAAAAAAAAND I'm OUT before this turns any more schlocky....

[Sapphi]

Here goes nothing...
(Characters are from my ~sUpEr SeCrEt PrOjEcT~ )

...
Yuri pressed his forehead against the windowpane.
Through the glass, he could feel the cold, steady beat of the night rain. It was comforting against his feverish skin.
He lingered there for a moment before sighing, straightening up, and closing the curtains.
Then he turned around... and started at the sight of a very sleepy-looking Chicory staring back at him from behind the dim light of a candle.
"What are you doing still awake, sir?"
He snatched the candle from her and set it on the table rather more loudly than was necessary.
"Don't play with fire. What are you doing still awake?"
She looked at the floor.
"I couldn't sleep."
"Neither could I."
"Would you like some tea?"
"Chamomile... would be nice."
She went away obediently.
He slumped into a chair and propped his head up, his face in his hands and his elbows on the table.
His eyes rested on his sleeve for awhile and then on the stained surface beneath it, before wandering to the floor below. There, near the table leg, was a tiny piece of crumpled paper.
"Your tea, sir."
He sat up to stare at Chicory, who was gazing down at the cup of tea with such an irritatingly pleasant expression that she could have been a church painting.
He presented his discovery to her with a sour look. "Chicory, what is this?"
"Oh, um..."
"Did you make a paper glider out of my medical notes?!"
"W-Well, today after I finished sweeping, I was bored..."
"That's no excuse!"
"I didn't do it on purpose. I thought they were trash. I'm sorry, sir."
"You ought to be. Now, sit."
"Yes, sir."
She set the tea on the table and went to fetch a chair. He cringed at the sound of its wooden legs catching against the uneven floorboards.
"Carry it, don't drag it! I have a headache!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
With some difficulty, she lifted the chair and brought it over to rest near Yuri.
He sighed, rested his aching head on one hand and stirred some sugar into his cup.
"Did you have a bad dream?"
"No, sir. Did you?"
"That's not important. Why aren't you asleep?"
She took a cup of tea in her hands and blew at the steam softly.
"You were yelling in your sleep again."
"Oh." He ran a hand over his damp face. "I'm sorry."
Her dark eyes were sympathetic. "What were you dreaming about?"
"I can't recall."
They sipped their tea in silence for a moment - until a wayward gust of wind pushed its way through the crack in the window frame and put out the candle. The room turned black as pitch.
"Oh!"
"Don't get up. Just sit tight, or you'll spill something."
"Yes, sir."
"Damn it, I'm out of matches. Have you got any?"
"I used my last match to light that candle, sir."
He sighed for a third time and laid his head on the table. "Tomorrow. We'll have to go out in this rain and buy more tomorrow."
"It might have cleared up by then."
"It certainly won't have."
There was a small yawn from Chicory's direction.
"It might, though."
"It won't."
"Maybe not..."
"Absolutely not. It will be cold and wet and miserable, like it always is."
She yawned again, and he could hear the soft rustle of her bedclothes as she shifted in her chair.
"In that case, sir... I'll... just... make some more tea..."
Her head hit the table with a dull thud. He suppressed a smile in the darkness.
"I'll look forward to it."

I think I hit all of them except for l, because I don't like writing fragmented sentences.
Critiques are nice and I like them.

[inahochama]

I enjoyed reading this thread a lot so I thought participating would be fun.

Steam rose and painted the walls, and even the large bathroom mirror was completely covered by it.
The temperature was gradually rising within the bathroom which was a contrast to the night's cool air from outside.
One could hear the sloshing of water in the tub every time she shifted or made a movement to wash herself.
Maddy's singing and her soft voice filled the room with a certain cheer.
"...Lay their eggs la la la..."
She seemed to enjoy her bath that she didn't even notice the light just blinked twice.
"Is this silly girl going to notice me or what?” Dimitri thought to himself while he watched Maddy in the tub.
Puddles of water have formed on the floor from Maddy's sloshing about.
Seeing his own reflection on the large mirror, Dimitri raised his hands and held his palms against the mirror in the bathroom hoping Maddy would see him.
In that moment, the soap Maddy was using just slipped off of her hand and Maddy scrambled to find it in the tub.
Maddy's scrambling while surrounded by bubbles and stuck on the same note of the song she was singing painted a scenario of a confused, or a mad, angel trapped by a cloud.
"Silly Maddy..."
After Maddy finished her bath some minutes later, she sat on the chair of her dressing table while she dried her very long hair with a bath towel.
Across Maddy, Dimitri sighed and leaned against the door. "Are you really this oblivious to me?"
Watching Maddy brush her hair without a care in the world irritated and pleased him at the same time."When will you realize that I'm here, Madeline?"
Finished drying her hair, Maddy turned her phone on, and Dimitri sat next to her on the floor with his fingers touching a strand of her hair.
Dimitri then pressed his face against the ends of her hair - lovely with a sweet scent, exactly like his Maddy.
At the stroke of 11:00 o'clock, Maddy lay on her bed and closed her eyes of hazel and honey.
Softly, before falling into a slumber, she whispered, "Goodnight, Dimitri."
Surprised that Maddy finally noticed him, Dimitri cheerfully responded the only way he knew how, "Woof!"

[KimiYoriBaka]

Chris leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Even with his head down, he could tell it was starting to rain by feeling the drips touching the top of his hair. In response to the slight sound of approaching footsteps, he lifted his gaze at the figure of a familiar girl. She waved cheerfully to him, though he didn't feel like waving back.

"Did you wait long?"

"No." His lie was easily seen through, just based on how dark it had become since their scheduled meeting time.

"I'm sorry--"

"Those words lose their meaning if you say them over and over again, Tina. How many times does this make?"

Her gaze lowered to the ground slowly. Her hands clutched her dress so tightly that Chris could tell even from such a distance. Even so, he couldn't distinguish the small object she was holding in her right hand. At this point, he had trouble caring, as her reputation in his eyes had grown worse than the boy who cried wolf. And yet...

Tina, still keeping her head down, walk over to the nearby bench. "Do you think there's any chance you could still forgive me?"

"I don't know. What do you think?" As Chris's harsh tone sank in, Tina fingers opened and set loose the object she had been holding. Unable to take the painful atmosphere, she ran back in the direction she had come from.

Chris stared at the fallen object with the wide eyes of an animal in front of a car, and let loose only a few quiet words.

"Why only now...?"



these prompts seem to work well together, though I really have to question k. It doesn't really fit with the rest of the prompts. It is an amusing activity, nonetheless.

[lepapillonrouge]

KimiYoriBaka: Well, this exercise was intended for literary fiction writers, and allusions to literature especially tends to show up in that kind of stuff. I was thinking of changing it to just 'an allusion' but I thought this exercise is mainly to get people writing so I didn't.

I have an exercise that I'll post soon! It's just...late. orz And it's at my apartment.