Exercising the Pencil

A good exercise I’ve found in writing fiction is writing one hundred word stories. And one hundred words exactly, mind you.

What you choose to write doesn’t matter, provided it is as well put together and entertaining as any other prose you would write. Anything goes.

The trick to an exercise like this is that not only will it help you choose each word carefully and trim the fat, it will also give you a keen eye to tighten your fiction and sharpen its flow and engagement when you’re writing large scale projects like novels.

Some tricks to improve dialogue include writing out the dialogue alone without dialogue tags and stage direction. Like it were a screenplay.

Reading it out loud can also highlight whether or not it sounds natural, which dialogue should always be regardless (unless you’re writing comedy or some farce).

Keep a journal too, the contents of which don’t entirely matter as long as it serves the purpose of jotting something down.

I have made a habit of recording my dreams when I wake up each morning, which in turn improves my memory of them and gives quite a lot of material to write with!

Reading books and stories within your genre also doesn’t hurt if you hope the write the same.

Establish a time of day to write and when to pace yourself and step back when you burnout.

Above all else, never stop learning.

Thank you for reading and have a beautiful day!

• Daniel