Fearless Jetset

Plans, destinations, and inspiration for my grand career as a travel writer

Permalink amandaonwriting: How do we write what we know? If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it. ~Tennessee Williams Your reader may not find you, your mother, or your friend as interesting as you do. Even if you have led an incredible life, create a character who has a separate identity. The trick is to use your life to enhance your character, not to tell your life story.  How do we write what we know without writing about ourselves? We need to separate our experiences from our emotions, our hopes, and our dreams. Experiences can be limiting - especially if we haven’t really done much in our lives. The other three, however, are our greatest gift as writers. We need to draw on these. We all know how it feels to be terrified, sad, elated, disappointed, ecstatic. We all have dreams. We all make wishes. Good writing means drawing on this vast resource and using it to breathe life into our characters. Exercise: Create a character, starting with yourself. Fill in the blanks:  I prefer talking to my mother / my father because: My favourite scent is:   My favourite song is:  My favourite meal is:  My favourite car is:  If I won the lottery, I would: I am most afraid of: I want to: before the end of the year.  I don’t want to: any more.  Now… Imagine that you are 20 years older than you are now. Imagine yourself as a member of the opposite sex. Give yourself a name. This character has been told that he/she is terminally ill. Now write the opening scene of a novel, using your dreams, loves, fears, featuring this character.  Happy writing by Amanda Patterson
Permalink just-wanna-travel: Upolo, Samoa
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Permalink cntraveller: Wake up in the wildernessGet back to nature from the Isle of Wight’s first tree house hotel.Read more >
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Permalink allthingseurope: Reykjavik, Iceland (by ` Toshio ‘)
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Permalink allthingseurope: St.Andrews, Scotland (by LucyCheung)
Permalink Twin Lake, Rila Mountains, Bulgaria (© Evgeni Dinev)