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Disdain not the freshness of
small improvements outside
comfort zones.
If you are a “character-driven” writer, spend an extra 10
percent of your writing time ratcheting up the action.
How can the events of the story be made more threaten-
ing, suspenseful, fresh?
If you are more on the “plot-driven” side, spend 10
percent of your writing time going deeper into the emo-
tions of the character, how she is reacting to the events,
how they threaten her inner well-being.
And when you do this 10 percent exercise be sure to
push yourself and go beyond what’s comfortable. Well
beyond. Because you can always scale it back later. But if
you don’t allow yourself the fullness of exploration up
front, you may miss the rich vein waiting for you just a
few more steps ahead.
Now, open up a new document or take out a pad
and write for fi ve minutes without stopping. Write a list
of what can happen that’s worse, letting the thoughts
come fast and furious. Don’t edit. Be as outrageous as
you can be.
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Then stop, walk around for a couple of minutes, and
come back and choose the idea you like best. Rewrite the
scene now. Repeat the process for several other scenes.
For you plot-driven people, fi nd a place in your man-
uscript where something bad has happened to your Lead
(there should be lots of these places!). Now, open a new
document or write on a pad for fi ve minutes using the
voice journal method (see “The use of a voice journal
will keep characters from becoming little versions of the
writer.” on page 116). Write down the character’s inner
thoughts as passionately as you can, in his own words.
Keep pressing for more depth.
Then stop, walk around for a couple of minutes, and
sit down and highlight the best portions. Rewrite the
scene, incorporating these insights as the character’s
thoughts, bits of dialogue or narration.
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