Action

Every story needs action. What do I mean by that? Do our characters need to be jumping, running, or twirling every single moment? Do we need a ferryboat plowing through the waters, like in this picture?

No. Elizabeth Lyon writes in her book Manuscript Makeover, "One of your most basic jobs is to keep driving your story forward, through action and change, to its conclusion."

In other words, we want to keep driving our story forward by having our characters act and change.

Try this in a story you're working on. Ask yourself: Are my characters sitting around not doing much? Are they being passive while everyone around them is acting?

Elizabeth Lyon says, "Movement raises questions. What will happen next?"

What will happen next in your story? What will your main character do? Find a place where you are stuck in your story, and have your character perform some action.

What does your main character want? Pick an action that helps your character achieve his or her goal. The action may be large or small, but it will help move your story forward.

If all else fails, let your character pilot that ferryboat through a storm!

Let Your Characters Talk!

What if your characters could talk to each other? They do, you say? Of course, that's called dialogue.

But what if two characters from two different stories could talk to each other? What if Bob the turtle from your story "I'm All Green" could talk to Vanessa the waitress in your story "The Sensational Sunshine Diner?"

Try it out. Pick a character from one of your stories. Then pick a character from another story. Now write a dialogue between the two of them. Let them talk on paper and see what happens.

If you don't have two finished stories, choose two favorite books. What if Percy Jackson talked to Max from Where the Wild Things Are? Or what if Junie B. Jones talked to Bud in Bud, Not Buddy? What would they talk about?

Have fun letting your characters talk!

Let It Snow!

It's snowing today on Bainbridge Island where I live. When we have snow, even an inch, everything slows down. People walk rather than drive, neighbors say hi to each other, and kids slide down the snowy hill (that part isn't slow).

Do you live in a place where snow is unusual? Or do you see snow all winter long? For some, snow may be magical. For others, it's a chore. It all depends on your perspective.

Whether you see snow all the time, or treasure it as a rare treat, snow can give us great writing prompts. Here are a few ideas:

1. Go to the library and check out the book The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. Or find the movie. This wonderful story is about a boy and a snowman's adventures. The book and movie are wordless, so you can write your own words to the story.

2. Write about a world where money is made out of snowballs.

3. Imagine making a snow angel, like in the photo above. (Or if you have snow where you live, make a real snow angel.) Write about your snow angel. What is his or her name?

4. Write a poem: "Seven Uses for Snow."

5. Write a story about a secret snow cave....in Hawaii. Use your imagination!

Questions and the New Year

Ten days into the New Year, I'm thinking about resolutions I made and how I'm doing on them. (The answer: Great on some, Not So Great on others.)

What if: Instead of making New Year's resolutions, we asked ourselves questions at the start of a new year? Questions make us think about who we are, what we like, and what we don't like. After all, life is a journey of self-discovery, so questions help us discover more about ourselves. When we know ourselves better, we become better writers, too.

In your writer's notebook, play around with answers to these questions, or make up your own questions:

1. If television had never been invented, would you want to invent it? Why?

2. What is something that bugs you? Why?

3. If you lived in a zoo, which animal would you like to be? Why?

4. If you could drink only orange soda or hot chocolate for the rest of your life, which would you pick? Why?

5. If it rained cats or dogs for real, which would you prefer? Why?

You'll notice I asked "why" for each question. Why? Because that's the real question that gets us thinking. Have fun answering, "Why?"

Go Ahead and Exaggerate!

When we exaggerate, we stretch the truth or tell a "tall tale" about ourselves. It's fun to exaggerate in a writing exercise. Here's how:

Write three sentences that describe you. Like:

1. I am strong.

2. I like animals.

3. I am a fast swimmer.

Now exaggerate!

1. I'm so strong, I can lift the sun.

2. I like animals so much, my best friend is a hippopotomus.

3. I'm such a fast swimmer, I can swim from Seattle to Hawaii in two minutes.

Now it's your turn. Go ahead and exaggerate!