Writing Exercise Week 1: Your Dream Sequel

Welcome, welcome 2013!

I hope this finds all of you happy, healthy and ready to tackle your craft with new vigor. As Laura said in her last post, we will be bringing you weekly writing exercises to hone your skills. I intended to give you an exercise the last week of 2012, but that proved to be a bigger bust than the Mayan Calendar.

 

My sincere apologies to anyone who was freaking out waiting for me to make good on my intentions.

Remember the hours you spent reading and rereading a favorite book as a child or teenager? That world became your world and the characters your most trusted friends (or sworn enemies!).  Each time it ended it brought about a grieving process. If only that world could go on forever. Or at least for another book.

Which brings us to our first exercise of the new year.

FOR WRITERS

Think back on a beloved novel – any genre. It doesn’t matter if you read it twenty years or twenty minutes ago. If you can, pull it out and reread the last chapter or page. Now, fire up your computer (or, if you prefer, sharpen your pencil and grab a notebook) and write the first page of your dream sequel.

FOR ILLUSTRATORS

Yours is a slight twist on the beloved book theme, though it doesn’t involve a sequel. I’d like you to pick a favorite picture book  – one you read as a child or an adult. Think about a memorable character from that book and recreate him or her using your vision. The only requirement is that it has to be different from the original.

Have fun, friends! And, as always, feel free to post your results in the comments.