Omniscient Narrator

Taken from Google Images

For this writing exercise, you will write from an omniscient POV, meaning your narrator knows everything - especially the thoughts of each of the characters.  You have your choice from the prompts below:

a. Write a scene in which a small group of friends get together—to watch the game on TV or to attend a group event of some kind.  Imagine they share a secret or bad experience of some kind from their past that no one ever discusses.  Keep that secret in the story—a robbery in which they all took part, a trip to Mexico that went out of control—on the fringe of the discussion, bringing it up slowly until it’s finally out in the open.

b. Begin a scene with a line you’ve overheard someone say recently.  It needn’t be a catchy or powerful line either.  Something mundane will work: “How much are these pants?” or “If you’re good I’ll let you pick out some candy at the counter” or “Is he ever on time for a meeting?” Begin there and move forward, providing a completely different setting and context for the line.

c. Create two or three characters from facets of your personality.  Put them in a car, driving to the coast.  Who takes the wheel?  Who navigates?  Give them a topic of conversation such as the best route to take or what they should do when they arrive.  Be sure to add some form of conflict to keep it interesting.

Objective POV Writing Prompt

Awkward Coffee Date?  Write about it!
Taken from Google Images



As you recall, an objective POV entails one being a "fly on the wall" or a reporter viewing the scene and the people in it.  For this prompt, your third person narrator should not be able to enter the minds of the characters, so much of this prompt will focus on setting the scene with details and description, dialogue, and character gestures - not thoughts!  This will be different from the subjective POV prompt, so do your best to get into an objective POV.

You have your choice from the following prompts; choose the one that most inspires you!

1. Place two characters in a room. They have vastly different views of life.  Create dialogue in which these differences become clear to the reader, but don’t allow the characters to confront these differences directly.  Instead, they might argue or talk about a safe or non-explosive subject. 

For instance, a father and son watch a football game and talk mostly about what they are watching.  Two sisters meet for dinner at a trendy restaurant.  A teacher and a student have a conference about a failing test grade.  The different world views, again, should not be stated directly by your narrator - keep it objective!

2. Write a scene in which two former lovers meet after many years.  What happens?  Set the scene, and be sure that you use dialogue that moves your piece forward.  Also, make sure that you illustrate the gestures of the characters: what is she doing with her hands?  How does his voice sound when he speaks to her?  Does she burn her tongue on the coffee she ordered?  Does he spill water all over the table?  Be a fly on the wall for this meeting.

3. Begin a story with a character in the middle of a rage.  The character’s anger seems completely inappropriate to its source.  For example, a character can be cursing in great anger about a minor inconvenience or disappointment—the local basketball team lost an important game, the cookie jar is empty, he forgot to put down the toilet seat again. 

As readers, watch this character complain and bellow his/her frustration at the characters around him, but it becomes clear that the character is angry about something else, which you may name or not.  Remember, no inside thoughts of this character - just paint a picture of him/her as if you are an outside observer.

Story from a Photo - Subjective POV

Taken from National Geographic on Google Images

 

After you have chosen your photo, think about how you can create a character based on the person you see.  Then think about beginning your story with the blare of that person's alarm clock.  Your protagonist awakens for the day, showers, dresses, eats breakfast, and heads out to begin a seemingly normal day.

However, sometime early in your protagonist's day, a conflict arises.  Drama begins (all stories must have conflict otherwise they're going to be super boring!).  Start your story here - at the moment of conflict.  Be sure to use a third person subjective POV (i.e. - narrator can enter the mind of your protagonist and no one else).

In her book Building Fiction, Jesse Lee Kercheval warns writers about the “alarm clock” opening, noting that too often this approach delays the start of the story and bores readers from the get-go.  Avoid boring your readers; start your story "in medias res" - in the middle of the action (like in Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" or Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants").

Don't forget to add things like: character development/description, dialogue, scene setting, gestures, and the five senses.  This is just like writing your memoir, only it's fiction! :)

*Thanks to Jack Heffron's The Writer's Idea Book