Write an hundred word outline for a short story based on the following plot: a game taken too far ends in a death.
Writers exercise 14 (character exercises)
Create a character from scratch,start by thinking of someone from your past who still sticks out in your mind. Write down what made the person interesting. Or turning an inanimate object into a character. Look around your home for possibilities. I once wrote down what my neglected cooker was thinking.
Once you have an outline, you need to develop your character into a well-rounded person, quirky habits and all. Write ten ‘factual’ statements about your character, then ten lies, then ten odd/bizarre statements.
Example:
Truths:
He’s short
He likes Football
His mother is British
He works as a police officer
He’s generous
He’s a good father
He’s fun to go out with
He drinks too much
He lost his driving license
He has a cat
Lies:
He’s ugly
He bites his nails
He’s a good listener
He has lots of friends
He’s overweight
Appearance doesn’t matter to him
He drives a BMW
He’s having counselling
He never wanted children
He plays golf
Bizarre:
His partner sings him lullabies at night
He rides a King and Queen Harley Davison
He collects seashells
He buys heather from gypsies
He lives in a caravan by the sea
He only has a bath when there’s an R in the month
He wears shorts in winter
He washes his hair in beer
His dog sleeps in his bed and vice versa
He eats lug-worms
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Your character should have a back-story, because this can help you decide how s/he might behave in present situations. Here are some questions to answer about your character:
Background:
Gender
Race
Social class
How many siblings
Parents’ relationship
Neighbourhood
Health/disability
Religion
Level of education
IQ
Special abilities
Present circumstances:
Age
Marital status
How many (if any) children
Sexuality
Political views
Appearance
Habits
Fears/ phobias
What s/he gets upset about
What s/he gets excited about
What s/he really dislikes in other people
What s/he admires in others
Try to write a short dialogue in your character’s voice.
The Wolf
Hoc saeculum splendium accelere fiat venire olim,
Kyrie Eleison
Dies irae, dies illa Solvet saeclum in favilla.
Quantus tremor est futurus quando judex est venturus.
Kyrie eleison
Non confundar in aeternum
Libera me Domine
Quando caeli movendi sunt bella premunt hostilia
Da robur, fer auxilium
Gere curam mei finis
Kyrie eleison
This bright millennium let it come someday, Lord have mercy.
Day of wrath, that day shall consume the world in ashes.
What trembling is to be when the judge is coming.
Lord, have mercy.
Let me not be damned for eternity
Free me, Lord
When the heavens shall be moved, our enemies besiege us.
Give us strength, bring us aid.
Help me in my final hour.
Lord, have mercy
This is a tale of a hunter and a monster….
In 1766 the small town of Sarlat was in the menace of a monster. A so called wolf from hell was terrorizing the locals. The wolf got his own nickname: Black paw for his fur was a black as the night. An local huntsman named Monsieur Dubex was charged with hunting down the beast. He gathered a hunting party of one-hundred men and set out after the animal. The men walked quietly through the forest, looking behind every bush to see if they saw signs of the wolf. Nothing, only silence.
“Dubex, are you sure you saw the wolf escape this way ?” one of the men asked. Dubex did not immediately answerer. He was not entirely sure if the beast had escaped to the forest, but if it was smart it would. Dubex looked into the men’s eyes and decided that truth would work best with these man. “No, I am not sure.” He answered. “But it is the most logical thing to do.”
“Logical? You think that… that beast can think?”
“Yes, I do.” Dubex said determined.
The man looked at Dubex like he was gone crazy but did not say a word anymore.
The men moved on through the forest, as silent as mice. After what almost seemed like hours, Dubex notice, a soft rustle of leaves behind them. Something was following them. He signaled the others to keep their eyes open. Dubex heaved up his rifle and peered into the dark. The sound had stopped, like the wolf was matching their paste, if it was a wolf at all. He had heard villagers talk about a hell hound or a werewolf, a man that could shape shift between man and beast.
“Where is it?” One of the men whispered.
“I don’t know.” Another replied.
“Quite!” Dubex hissed. “It is close.”
A icy scream that went through bone an merge broke the silence of the forest. Dubex turned and saw one of his men being dragged away from the group. Without think he jumped forward to grab the men’s arm. “Help me!” the men screamed, but it was too late. The wolf bite his throat out. Dubex felt warm blood run over his hand. He could feel the warm breath of the beast, the odor coming of the animal smelled like rotten flesh and wet dog.
“No!” one of the men yelled and jumped on the back of the beast. The wolf turned his attention away from Dubex and towards this new sound. The men and the wolf wrestle on the ground, but the beast was strong and snapped the men’s neck with his powerful jaws. The wolf growled and charged the hunting party, that flee like cowards or wise men. Dubex scrambled back and looked at the beast. In his attack the wolf had killed two men.
“Black Paw. ” Dubex said slowly. The wolf looked at him his eyes black like coal burning with bloodlust. For some reason Dubex had the feeling that the wolf understood him. Black Paw jumped with one mighty leap over the huntsman head and disappeared back into the dark.
Dubex grabbed his rifle that had fallen on the ground en pursuit the wolf. The animal was fast but Dubex was not losing sight of it. He needed to get it out in the open so that he could take a good shot at the beast. Dubex trapped the wolf in a meadow, and aimed his rifle at it. The wolf turned and growled at the huntsman. It was not going to accept defeat that fast. It charged at him. Dubex shot it at point-blank range. The wolf Black Paw was dead. Dubex took a closer look at the beast that had cost so much trouble. The wolf was roughly thirty inches at the withers and four feet, four inches in length. He notes that its appearance combined some physical characteristics typical of foxes and greyhounds, so it was a hybrid. Just a animal, nothing special.
The huntsman returned to the town with the animal strapped on his back and showed the people of Sarlat the monster that was terrorizing them.
“Black Paw is dead!!” the people sheared in joy. Dubex got a wealthy reword for his actions. He saw his fellow men from his hunting party looking away in shame. He could not blame them, they were not huntsman like him. They were not used to the dangers of the forest. “Au” Dubex looked down his hand was hurting. A ugly cut was visible on his left hand. The wolf must have scratched him when it attacked him. Strange it looked like the wound was already healing.
That night the villagers celebrated the death of Black Paw not knowing that there terror was not yet over. As they sang their song next to the big fire, a wolf could be heard howling.
“Eyes black like coal, big paws with sharp claws and its blood, his blood is poison. We are making a big fire to burn it to ashes so that there is no return. This will be your tomb and our triumph over Black Paw. We go down the trail to end Black Paw’s soaring.”
The end.
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Lately I am really experiencing writer’s block. I can’t think of anything. Not even the smallest thing. So I decided I need some new inspiration.
So I dived into the history books, read thousand of fantasy, thriller and horror stories. Went outside, went to the zoo. My god and nothing helped. I was still empty.
For a moment a thought I had Blank page syndrome (It is similar to writer’s block, this often leads to a long span of time where authors cannot come up with anything new.)
So how did I overcome this terrible writer’s block. Well, I realized that it had a lot to do with the fact that I was very busy with school and under a lot of stress.
Realizing that I decided to make a change in my life and make more time for relaxing.
I spent more time watching my favorite series, drawing and I did not think about my writer’s block. And you know what? It worked! My inspiration came back.
So I am ready to start writing again.
Freedom Novel Writing 