Friday Writing Exercise: Meeting A Character
I learned this trick in a playwriting workshop at Eugene O'Neill Student Days , but the exercise works with any genre or kind of writing. The goal is to visually meet your character(s) without overworking your conscious mind; instead, this exercise lets your unconscious fill in the blanks. The original exercise asks you to picture a door in your mind - any kind of door, let your unconscious do the work. Once visualized, describe the door out loud to solidify the image in your conscious as well. I also find that recording it helps so I can keep my eyes closed. Then, knock on the door (or ring the doorbell, etc) and describe who opens the door in detail, also out loud. If you want, and have the time, this exercise can be extended to include an "interview" with your new character - their name, their age, their family, etc. In my adapted version, I've developed a Pinterest board specifically for doors, taking half of the work out of the exercise so you can concentrate ...