Mall Meeting
Back for more muscle development? Fantastic to see you. These sessions are spaced to let you get on with other business in your life. You may need time to find time. Now you’re here, let’s get moving.
Field Notes:
Today we are going to entwine intrigue into the words of our writing.
Go to a mall or other meeting place and watch a group of four people. Write down some of the things you notice like body positioning, facial expressions, voice changes, touching, handing an object to someone. Don't forget that people may be distracted by movement, sound, smell, around them. Look for what you might normally miss just glancing at the four and their surroundings. Keep those field notes where you won't lose them. You will refer to them throughout the workout.
WARM UP
5 minutes
One of the group is up to no good. Your readers don't want to be told who it is or what they are up to. Find the words to convince a reader there is a mystery to unravel. What words might you use for such a mystery. Get a list of ten.
Again, we don't want huge detail about the surroundings, only what is significant backdrop. How will you make your reader want to solve the intrigue you create?
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create this scene, that intrigues and pulls your reader into the mystery and leaves them dangling, playing amateur detective.
WRITING
20 minutes
Write for 20 minutes and stop. Aim for 200-250 words.
It does not matter if you don't get it all down. Ignore all but the writing process. That is the way to build your muscles — focus. In this exercise we are working on the “intrigue your reader” muscles.
COOL DOWN
5 minutes
Time to relax and cool down with a quiet spot and your most recent work.
How did you help the reader feel the atmosphere surrounding the group?
How do you think your readers will find that small element of intrigue that will set them to work on the mystery you have created?
Was there something around them that introduced or added to the intrigue?
Write down the main feeling you wanted the reader to have at the end of this passage. Why that in particular?
As you develop your writing muscles, try to let the words flow freely. Don’t hold back trying to be punctuationally perfect. That can all be done once you have a large chunk of story to edit.
Have fun writing.
See you soon
Damon