Welcome to Day 26 of Hooked on Writing, your free online writing course. This online workbook will help you create a writing habit in 31 days.
The Fight Club
Aim:
To show how effective second person is when it is used in surreal, uncomfortable, or awkward situations.
How:
- Happy Birthday!
- Janine turns 45.
- Her husband, Rick, has given her a ‘plastic surgery makeover’ for her birthday.
- What is her reaction?
How does she feel about herself?
___________________________________________
How does she feel about her husband?
___________________________________________
What does she think?
___________________________________________
How does she see their life?
___________________________________________
Is it the life she thought it would be?
___________________________________________
If Janine could describe herself as a car she would be a ________________________
If Janine could describe herself as a country she would be ______________________
If Janine could describe herself as weather she would be ________________________
- She books herself into the clinic.
As she lies in the ward, she smells________________and she sees ____________________ She hears ________________________ and she tastes __________________________________. The sheets feel like ___________________________.
- Write the scene in second person present tense. Start with: ‘You wonder what will happen next. You never thought you would be here today. You…’
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Result:
You can use viewpoint to manipulate your reader and give your character depth.
At Night
Use your writing journal here. Write ‘At Night’ at the top of a clean page. Free write or expand on the exercise you’ve completed today. (If you want to buy the downloadable workbook, which includes space for these exercises, you can get it in our store for only $20.)
‘I never had any doubts about my abilities. I knew I could write. I just had to figure out how to eat while doing this.’ – Cormac McCarthy