TINY TUESDAY (m)

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Registered: 03-25-2003
TINY TUESDAY (m)
22
Tue, 04-02-2002 - 9:29am

TINY TUESDAY (m)


During one of our SSB chats, a member suggested that our Tiny Tuesday exercises for the month April be tied together so that we end up with a complete story verses a scene. So with that in mind, let’s work with the elements (character, conflict, narrator, plot and setting) of the short story over the next five weeks.

First, we’ll start with writing our Character Biography for our main character (you can jot a very abbreviated version for your minor characters if you wish). By clicking on the link below, you’ll find a very helpful checklist:

http://pages.ivillage.com/bcjessica/charbio.html

Although this checklist is geared more towards writing characters for a novel, for the purposes of this exercise you can complete as much or little as you wish. Please post your character’s bio for others to read and ask questions.

Mac

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Avatar for countrygal23
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-02-2002 - 1:30pm

My exercise


The first part of the puzzle of a hopefully intriguing story is my characters. I usually have a couple of story ideas rattling around then I decide who will tell the story. Don’t hold me to everything I write, cause I’m thinking out loud. I think I want the story to be a romance/mystery.

Jerico- 30, sandy blond hair, light blue eyes, 6ft, muscular, yummy, has two brothers, Cole, Jared. He owns a thousand acres and runs and raises Angus cattle. Rugged handsome, drinks Coors Light, shy inside but shows confidence to others, has complex issues, drives a Chevy, purple truck. I just love that name: Jerico Welltan

As I write this in my trusted spiral notebook and chew my gum. I feel a sense of anticipation to write Jerico’s story. He needs a strong woman to break down his defenses and show him HOW TO HAVE FUN!

Hmm, how about Courtney....no, Sara,,,no, its used often. I know, meet Randi Springston

She is 32,5ft8,shoulder length strawberry blond hair, green eyes, tanned and toned, nice curves, sparkling personality, loves horses, tom-boyish, likes the outdoors, no frills, low maintance, loves romantic and comedy movies, drinks occasionally, likes to travel and read, dry spell in the dating scene, grew up in the city, works as a reporter at a television station, drives a flashy, yellow Cougar. She has an older sister, Andrea, three brothers and her parents live in Arizona.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 04-02-2002 - 5:22pm

Ooooh, let the games begin Maria!(nt)


cl-ozarker

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." - Ernest Heminway

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 04-02-2002 - 7:52pm

My TT: Character Bio for Blanche Jones (m)


Okay, here’s my character profile for my main character. I’m not sure what kind of story this will be but I’m leaning towards some kind of mystery. Please let me know if you have any questions. They may help me in developing what direction I’ll take my story.

Mac

* * *

Blanche Jones, who all her family calls Babe because she’s the youngest of five children, lives in a small Alabama town named Eufala. She wears her hair in long, curly layers and tends to go too light with the blonde highlights. Her best feature is her brilliant blue eyes and only wears glasses for reading.

Although she’s only 38 years old, she been married four times -- first and third marriages ended in divorce, second husband died heart attack. This is the main motivation for keeping her 5’8” frame at or below 130 lbs. Blanche constantly seeks her father’s attention but doesn’t get it, which might explain why she’s married so many times. She gets along great with her sister, but doesn’t speak to one brother because of an argument that occurred at her mother’s funeral.

Most people that know her would describe her as an attractive extrovert that likes to spend money -- one of her vices, smoking cigarettes is another. She’s a very friendly person, almost flirty at times, and follow proper etiquette in social gatherings, i.e. has been known to tell dirty jokes at the Baptist Church’s potluck dinner. She likes to read trashy romance novels in the bathtub while sipping on a glass of iced tea and never misses Oprah. One skill she inherited from her mom is her cooking skills, Blanche is best known for her pecan pie and extra spicy fried chicken, one of her husband’s favorite. Since he travels quite frequently she finds other hobbies to occupy her time besides walking her pet poodle, Diana.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 04-02-2002 - 8:01pm

Can’t wait to see where you go (m)


With these two. Jerico Welltan (perfect name, BTW) sounds delicious. I’m interested in seeing what kind of relationship his has with his two brothers. My mind started racing towards some sibling rivalry thing with the mention of the thousand-acre farm. It would take a confident man to drive a purple truck-LOL.

Randi Springston is another perfect name (you always come up with good ones). I look forward to reading how these two meet up. Are you planning on using her occupation to put them in the right place at the right time?

Great start, Maria,

Mac

Avatar for countrygal23
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-02-2002 - 10:30pm

Very interesting (m)


I find your main character to be very interesting!

A couple of questions: Where are the other characters? Is she the killer or does she do the killing? Does she kill the traveling hubby cause he isn't showing her enough affection? Does a Baptist woman, who doesn't have a sense of humor, kill her cause she looks like and acts like her hated daughter-in-law? Does Babe kill her brother cause he reminds her too much of her father?

Also,I found it a bit odd, that a health person would smoke? And I HAVE to take issue with the trashy romance novel remark, thems fightin words and I'm calling you out...GIRLFRIEND! LOL

Looking forward to the story...great start...Maria

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 04-03-2002 - 9:15am

Sounds like an interesting woman, mac.(m)


I wonder what effect having four marriages by the age of 38 has had on her psyche. Does she feel like she failed in any of them? What about her third (second?)husband's death? Also, how does her current husband feel about them? Are her shopping and inappropriate joking ways to escape more than just an inattentive father? (And does she depend on the kindness of strangers? Ooops wrong story.)

Looking forward to the story.

Linda

cl-ozarker

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." - Ernest Heminway

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 04-04-2002 - 9:05am

duh, question (m)


is this supposed to tie into the big monthly exercise?

If your 200-word or 500-word exercise is coming up as a scene and not a story, aren't you missing the point of the exercise? Not that I've anything against random scenes, they can always be engulfed into something bigger.

e (returning to real life, briefly)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 04-04-2002 - 10:05am

Well, here’s the game plan (m)


It wasn’t my intention to tie this to the monthly exercise.

What I had in mind with the Tiny Tuesday exercises for the next five weeks was for us to concentrate on the different aspects of a short story. That way it would help us understand what it takes to write a complete short story verses a scene. Hopefully by doing so, we can keep the elements in mind when we start to write a tiny tale. Even though the point of a short short story is tell a complete story in fewer words, I believe you still should use the same elements as a longer piece.

If you have any suggestions for exercises on improving our tiny tale writing skills, I’d love to hear them.

Mac

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2003
Thu, 04-04-2002 - 1:58pm

Hi. I'm new here, and I would love to join in.


Hi. I'm Jo, and I would love the opportunity to practice and improve my writing skills. I would like to join your group. As such, here is my version of your Tuesday exercise. Please let me know if I am going in the right direction with the exercise or if I am way off base. Thanks. -Jo

**************************************************************

Rochelle seems cold when you first meet her. She is small, with large green eyes that stare intensely out from her pale face at you. Her choppy auburn bob looks as though she just rolled out of bed, and maybe she did, judging by her faded jeans and sweatshirt.

Rochelle smokes, but don’t even bother lecturing her about it. She knows the risks, as her Grandpa Jimmy died of emphysema before she was born. Grandma Betty raised her children pretty much on her own, with her older ones helping to run the farm, while painting in oils on the side. Grandma Betty is the only one Rochelle will listen to in her family…the only one who seems to respect her dreams of being an artist.

Rochelle moved from the suburb that she grew up in, where she was always the poor kid, to the big city to get a degree and fulfill her destiny. She won’t talk much about home…especially her former lovers. Ask, and she will defensively tell you it’s none of your business.

Rochelle lives in the upper half of a duplex in the trendy part of town with her roommate Amy and her cat Hazel. Amy is a Literature major at the University, and the two of them hang out occasionally. Mostly, though, they have their own individual circles.

Rochelle spends a lot of time alone – in the attic space, which she has made into a make-shift studio to work on her art…the sun shines in just right up there, or reading science fiction of all types, or going to movies. Her favorite movies are those that do not have the Hollywood happy ending. She has been known to walk out of that type of movie and complain to the nearest bystander that it was trash and should be avoided at all costs, lest America’s mind be numbed.

Rochelle doesn’t believe in the American Dream. Growing up poor, watching her father go from rotten job to rotten job and her mother work grunt jobs just to get by has taught Rochelle that the American Dream is something that is told to the masses in order to pacify the lower class and keep them from rebelling.

To her friends (and yes, she does have them), Rochelle (Shelly) is trustworthy, reliable, honest. She is always there when they need her. She will listen without comment, or rage at whomever is doing wrong by her friend. But she stays out of everyone else’s world. Her preferred role is as an observer. She is able to read people and sketch them with haunting depth. Judging them is sometimes part of the job, but she would never say so out loud.

Rochelle’s best friend is Krista, a vocalist in a local band. Krista is loud and obnoxious and brings out these characteristics in Rochelle. When in a group, the two are a terror to behold, and few men (or women) would dare to cross them.

Rochelle’s lover is Kyle, a drummer in a different local band. He is quiet when not on stage, and he brings out Rochelle’s tender side. He is the person that Rochelle has the most difficulty saying “no” to, and yet she doesn’t allow him too close. Whenever she fears too much closeness, she retreats to her attic to sketch or read.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 04-04-2002 - 8:37pm

Hi Jo and welcome to the SSB (m)


We're so happy you want to join us. I hope you find the SSB board as a perfect place to practice and improve your skills and enjoy the friendly group of writers we have here.

You’re definitely going in the right direction. Rochelle sounds like a complex, yet extremely entertaining character and I look forward to seeing what kind of story you create for her. Although your profile was very thorough, I wrote down a couple of questions that popped up as I read it.

1) You mention she goes to the big city and gets a degree. Does she support herself as an artist or is her degree in something else (by which she makes a living) and she fulfills her destiny of being an artist in her free time? 2) Did she meet Kyle through Krista since they’re in the same industry?

Rochelle’s theory about the American Dream was interesting. I hope you expand that part when you develop the story and you also piqued by curiosity in the part about her fear of being too close to people. I loved the part about Rochelle acting like Krista when she’s around her. I am basically a shy person but when I’m around my friend Wyvone (who is extremely loud and obnoxious) I get louder-LOL.

I look forward to reading more of your writings. By the way, we have a monthly exercise (http://boards1.ivillage.com/messages/get/bcbasics19/10.html) and we’ll post another weekly exercise on Saturday (called Saturday’s Surprise: Open the Envelope) in a few days.

Once again, welcome aboard.

Mac

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