Here’s an exercise Canadian children’s writer Sydell Waxman shared. Write a story about something that happened to you. Then write a story you invent. Then tell both stories and see if your audience can decipher what story is fact and what story is fiction. The story could be an anecdote and could be around 250 words. Or more-depending upon your time and/ or inclination.
Since I will be teaching some writing craft and journalism skills at a summer camp called Centauri in July, this will be one of the exercises I will unleash in my workshop for young writers. It not only gives you the opportunity to invent something new, but also helps you to figure out the hallmarks of a good story, whether fact or fiction. And because you’ve given your audience a challenge, their listening should (hopefully) be more attentive. If your audience is dozing, your story is not good enough! Don’t blame your audience. Just be humble and revise, revise and revise. This is also a great way to test drive new material for immediate feedback.
If you have an exercise to share, whether big or small please share!
