Category: Grab Bag

(Click here to learn about Photo Week)

(Click here to learn about Photo Week)

Place your character in a new city, somewhere she’s never been before. She just arrived. What does she look forward to most, and what does she dread? How does the way she approaches a new place color her personality?

Optional: If you like where today’s writing is going, take it one step further and use yesterday’s Daily Writers’ Fix to describe this new city.

The setting of your story shouldn’t be an afterthought. Done well, a setting can almost be a character, helping to propel the story forward and add richness and depth to your plot. Today consider one of your primary settings. Describe it in detail, from its landmarks to its hidden corners, from its physical appearance to the general attitudes of its population. Now review your descriptions and see how your setting can work its way into your story in fresh, exciting ways.

We all have to get somewhere somehow. What is your character’s usual mode of transportation? What does it say about him? As we’ve mentioned before, make every detail–even something as simple as how he gets to work–count.

Look just beyond the surface of your story. Is there a recurring theme you hadn’t noticed before? What about a hidden motivation you never knew your character had? Can you use your discoveries to your story’s advantage?

Do you keep a journal? Sitting down with paper–perhaps in the form of a nicely-bound book–and a pen can be a great way to unwind, relax, and clear one’s head. Today give yourself time to reflect and write a journal entry. It’s for your eyes only, so don’t get caught up in writing well. Just write.

If you don’t know where to start, use one of these prompts:

• Your most vivid memories from this past summer
• An amazing meal you ate recently, and who you shared it with
• What you’re hoping the upcoming holiday season will be like (and what you can do to make it happen)
• Your childhood career aspirations and how they resemble or differ from what you do now
• What you like or dislike about your neighborhood
• Your favorite place in the world