As a writer, I have found that one of the most versatile (and portable) sources of writing prompts is a set of dice.  There are many writing games you can play with a die and they can help bust through writing blocks.  Here are a few games that work for me.

Writing by Numbers
Roll the die and multiply the number by 10.  That is the number of minutes you have to write.  Do not stop writing.  Keep your hand moving.  If you find yourself getting distracted, bring yourself back and keep writing.  Subject doesn’t matter; what’s important is that you’re writing.  You can do a similar exercise where the number on the die indicates the number of pages you need to fill in your writing session. 

Tip: Writing by hand often helps kill the inner critic.  After all, it’s OK to be messy while scribbling in a journal.

6 Questions
Roll the die.

1=Who?   2=What?   3=When?   4=Where?  5=Why?   6=How?

Use the question to investigate a character from a current project.  Push the question as far as it will go.  For example, if you rolled 1, you might ask “Who is this character?”  “Who is he at the core?”  “Who is he to his friends?”  “His enemies?”

Point of View
Roll the die to determine which POV to write in.

1 = 1st person
2 = 2nd person
3 = 3rd person limited
4 = 3rd person multiple
5 = omniscient
6 = wild card*

*For wild card, choose any other point of view not listed above.  If you’re not sure what the options are, you can find more info on POV in this post.

Roll the die again.
odd # = present tense
even # = past tense

There’s something freeing about leaving some element of one’s writing up to chance.  It’s as though all the responsibility is no longer just in the writer’s hands.  By making your writing time into a game of chance, it can help strip away some of the anxiety or perfectionism which often haunts many writers.

When starting a new project, one of the big decisions you have to make is which point of view (POV) you’re going to use.  Here’s a cheat sheet to help you choose.

First Person
This is when the main character is the person telling the story.  In other words, this is the “I” narrator.  Examples: Holden from Catcher in the Rye or Katniss from The Hunger Games.

First Person Peripheral
This is when the narrator is a supporting character in the story, not the main character.  This is still the “I” narrator, but now the narrator is not the protagonist.  Example: Nick from The Great Gatsby (Gatsby is the protagonist).

Third Person Limited
Third person is the “he/she/it” narrator.  Limited means that the POV is limited to just one character.  This means that the narrator only knows what that character knows, only sees what that character sees.  Examples: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (where the story follows Scrooge at all times–even scenes that Scrooge would not be privy too we see through his eyes as he travels with the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future).  The Book of Three (first book of the Prydain Chronicles) where the narrator follows the protagonist Taran.

Third Person Multiple
Again, we’re in the “he/she/it” category, but now the narrator can follow multiple characters in the story.  The challenge with this POV is making sure your reader knows when you’re switching from one character to another.  A good way to make the switch is to use chapter breaks or section breaks to signal a new POV.  Example: The High King (which is the final book of the Prydain Chronicles) where the narrator follows several characters in the story, including Taran.

Third Person Omniscient
This one still uses a “he/she/it” narration but now the narrator knows EVERYTHING in the story.  The narrator isn’t limited by what the POV character knows.  It’s sort of like the narrator is god, hence the term “omniscient.”  This type of POV was very popular back in the day but has recently become less popular (some people feel like it’s a little old-fashioned).  Still, some excellent books use this narrator.  Examples: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Third Person Objective
Just like the omniscient narrator can get into any character’s head, the objective narrator gets into NO ONE’s mind.  This means the objective narrator can only relate information that is easily visible (character’s words and actions).  This narrator can’t tell us about the character’s thoughts or feelings because it doesn’t know.  It’s kind of like watching a movie, where the only information you get is what you can see or hear.  This POV is very tough to sustain for long pieces which is why the only example I can find is a short story: Raymond Carver’s Little Things.

Second Person
This is the “you” narrator.  “You go to the store and realize you forgot your wallet… etc.”  Like objective POV, the second person is hard to sustain so there are very few novels written in second person.  This POV is more popular for short stories.  In fact, the first story I ever published is in the second person (which is weird because I think it’s the only story I’ve ever done in second person).  Anyway, if you’re curious, it’s here.

Unreliable First Person
This is when you have a first person narrator but you can’t trust him/her for any number of reasons. Maybe the character is a very young child who doesn’t really understand what’s happening in the story.  Or perhaps the character is insane.  Or better yet, the character could be perfectly sane but also a pathological liar so you can’t believe what she says.  Example:  The Tell-tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe.

Epistolary (or other) Form
Epistolary is when the story is told in letters.  There are many forms that work similarly to epistolary forms, like journal form or a story told through emails, etc.  Mostly these forms work like the first person because the main character in the story is often the one writing the letters/journal/etc.  The difference is that the story is limited even further because of the form.  For example, people don’t usually write dialogue in their letters, so if you want to use dialogue in epistolary form, you’ll have to find a way around that.

In the end, POV is all about consistency.  Whatever form you decide on, it’s important to let the reader know what the “rules” are for your story and then stick to them.

Edit: Added and corrected a few examples.

In three short weeks, I’ll be at the first of the two conferences I’m attending in January.  I’ve been to several of these in the past, but each time I still get frazzled.  I have this paranoia that I’ll forget to bring something super-important and it will lead to some massive catastrophe and I’ll never get published.  Never.  Ever.  Ever.

OK, this analogy might be a bit of a stretch, but bear with me.  Navigating a conference is sort of like knowing your table-manners.  Suppose you’re going on a date with the person of your dreams to some fancy-schmancy restaurant.  Do you really want to spend the entire time thinking about whether you’re using the right fork for the salad?  If you’re worrying about not embarrassing yourself with the silverware, then you’re not thinking about the really important thing: “is this person right for me?”

The secret of success is to figure out which one’s the salad fork beforehand.  In fact, if you know this stuff so well that it comes naturally to you, your mind will be freed up so you can think about the important things like when’s the best time to go for your first kiss.

For writers, conferences are the ultimate dinner date, only instead of figuring out which fork to use or whether you should kiss this person, you’re stuck thinking about query etiquette or whether you should pitch your book to an agent in the bathroom (which, by the way, you shouldn’t).

In Portuguese, there’s a saying that roughly translates as “You don’t want to show up with your hands flapping.”  This means when you go to someone’s house for dinner, you need to bring something.   When going to conferences, the same rule applies.  Only here, instead of flowers or chocolates, you’ll want to bring along the following items:

• Business cards:  If you don’t have business cards professionally made, you can print some up on your home printer and cut them with an Xacto blade and ruler (not scissors… please, not scissors).
• Notebook:  You’ll want to write down notes, contact info from participating agents/editors, submission guidelines and lots more.  Besides, you’re a writer so you probably don’t go anywhere without your trusty notebook anyway.
• Layers:  You never know if the conference rooms will feel like a sauna or frozen wasteland.  What I can tell you is they won’t be a balmy 72 degrees.  If you wear layers, you’ll be ready for anything.
• Tote bag or large purse:  At lots of these conferences, they have a bookstore where you can purchase books written by the speakers.  Oftentimes there will be opportunity to get these books sighed after the talks or at the end of the conference.  If you’re like me and can’t resist getting a signed book, you’ll want some convenient way to carry all your loot home.

As with any situation, you need to come prepared with knowledge of the proper etiquette.  Rather than make a long list here, I thought it would be better to refer you to the advice from a couple of agents themselves.

• Jeff Kleinman’s Guide to Conference Etiquette
• Scott Hoffman’s Guide to Writing Conference Etiquette 

Remember, the more preparation you do beforehand, the more you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the conference when you’re actually there.

picture credit

I’ve been thinking a lot about reading lately.  Why is literature important?  Why do we read it?  In the face of all these new media for getting information, why do we read at all?  Can literacy change the world?

As a continuation of September’s DIY MFA project, I would like to dedicate Mondays to all things reading-related.  Some things I’d like to talk about is the purpose that fiction and literature serve in our society.  I also want to discuss the close relationship between reading and writing and why you can’t do one without engaging in the other on some level.  Most importantly, I want to look at how we can learn to think beyond the page.

Story-telling–which is basically reading and writing at the purest level–is a unifying part of the human condition. Think about it, despite cultural or racial differences, people all over the world have engaged in story-telling for the past thousands of years.  That we know of, no other species on the planet engages in story-telling the way people do.  Sure, birds might communicate by flashing their feathers and whales might call to each other.  Chimpanzees might even learn basic sign language, but none of this is the same as story-telling, which humans have been doing since cavemen painted on walls.

I know.  Heavy stuff, right?  Before I sign-off for the day, I’ll leave you with the following:

 Writing is the ultimate form of manipulation.  Reading is the supreme act of defiance.

Agree or disagree?