Day 24: Antici….pation
Day 24: Antici….pation
Day 24 and we can’t wait any more…
Holy moly, Christmas pudding and pie, it’s Advent Eve!
We’ll make this quick because you’re probably elbows-deep in wrapping paper and sellotape and stuffing and cranberry sauce (hopefully not all at the same time) but if you have a spare (HA!) 20 mins today, try this exercise on for size:
The waiting game…
Today you’re gonna write a lil’ story about anticipation.
Think of a character who is waiting for something.
A train. An exam result. The end of days. A phone call. An epiphany. True love. An appointment. A sign. For the kettle to boil. Christmas morning!
Could be anything.
Plonk us into the story in the midst of this waiting and see if you can build up that feeling of tension and anticipation. What emotion are you trying to create? Excitement? Dread? Uncertainty?
What does your character do to pass the time, and how do they handle the growing expectation?
And we’ll let you decide whether to end the story with a payoff or leave them in limbo forever…
20 minutes. Think. Write. Scoff a mince pie. Lovely.
Then share your story in the forum if you wanna, and, well, you know what day tomorrow is……..
Can’t wait!
Useful Stuff & Things
Blog:
Wanna build that tense atmosphere of in-betweenness even more? Try this exercise on harnessing the power of liminal space…
Course:
And if you need help tapping into your character’s feelings of delayed gratification, read this unit from Making People: What Do They Want And Why Can’t They Have It?
