The Character Interview

To those of you going back to school this week or next week...have a great year! 

I hope you get to do lots of creative writing at school. If not, remember to take your journal with you. Maybe you can squeeze in a few minutes of writing in the morning or when you're waiting for the bus. 

When you have only a few moments to write, try doing a character interview. 

Think of a character in a story you're writing, or want to write. Here are some questions to ask your character, to get to know who he or she is. In your few moments of writing, write down their answers. 

• What's in your backpack this minute?

• What was your very first day of school like? 

• What do you want more than anything in the world?

• Where are you the happiest?

• Who's your favorite person and why?

• What talent would you most like to have?

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

• What are you most afraid of?

Go ahead, interview your character. Write down the answers in those few moments you can catch to write.  

And now I'm curious. What's in your backpack? 

Happy school year! 

Magic Pen Story Starters Part 5

I'm teaching workshops for young writers over the next two weeks. The writers are incredible--so smart and funny. I love hearing their story ideas, and they inspire me with their enthusiasm.

The workshops are keeping me hopping, so I'll return to Yellow Pencils on Monday, August 26th. 

Meanwhile, here are the Magic Pen Story Starters I give young writers who need ideas. Maybe you need an idea, too?  

• First pick an adjective:

Giant
Smelly
Enchanted
Teenaged
Jittery
Rich
Klutzy
Zany
Angry
Miniature
Kind

• Now pick a character:

Mad scientist
Zebra
Marshmallow
Dentist
Hamster
Philosopher
Taco
Termite
Zoologist
Ski instructor
Dog groomer

• Next pick an action:

Designs a 3-D map that talks
Blogs about squirrels
Enters a watermelon eating contest
Invents a door made out of Jell-o
Plays soccer in the World Cup
Is the only survivor of an asteroid that hits Earth
Becomes invisible whenever he eats yogurt
Forms a club that collects ants
Steals the key to the Three Bears' house
Creates a new junk food
Goes with two friends to the bottom of the ocean

So...a story about a rich marshmallow who plays soccer in the World Cup? 

Or an angry taco who blogs about squirrels?

Have fun mixing and matching, and coming up with an idea for a super story. Then take out your magic pen or pencil and have fun writing!  

Choose an Unusual Setting

Do you recognize this object? Yes, it's a telephone booth! 

A phone booth is a rarity nowadays. But there are still some around. I found this one outside a motel in Wisconsin. 

Using an unusual setting like a telephone booth can make the places in our stories memorable and interesting.  

Imagine the possibilities. What would happen if you inserted a telephone booth into your story? 

Or try one of these ideas:

• The phone rings. Your character, walking by, answers it. What happens next?

• Your character must make an urgent phone call. But his cell phone battery is dead. He runs down the street and finds a phone booth. But now he has no change. What happens next?

• A family of Tele-Fairies lives in the phone booth. Every time a human makes a phone call, a fairy goes out into the world to do good. But no one has made a phone call for ages, and evil forces are outweighing the good. What happens next?

• As a prank, six friends decide to squeeze into a phone booth. They're packed in so tightly they get stuck. What happens next?

• An alien appears on Earth and falls in love with the first object it sees: a beautiful red and silver phone booth. What happens next?

See if YOU can find a role in your story for the humble phone booth, a nearly forgotten part of our culture. 

The phone's ringing. It's for you!