Author Archives: sdgibson
I am your draft. AMA.
Consider this Q and A exercise from Brian Kiteley’s outstanding The 3 A.M. Epiphany.
2250 Names
From the outstanding Metro: Journeys in Writing Creatively by Hans Ostrom, Wendy Bishop, and Katherine Haake, consider this exercise about names.
Poems as dialogue
From David Starkey’s excellent Creative Writing, Read published poems . . . and respond to them with poems of your own. It doesn’t matter whether you respond to the subject of the other person’s poem or just a single line … Continue reading
Poems as letters
From David Starkey’s excellent Creative Writing, Write a poem in the form of a letter. Richard Hugo’s book 31 Letters and 13 Dreams is a great source for these types of poems. Hugo addresses poems to close old friends and to … Continue reading
2250 Five poems
Consider these five poems. We will talk about them in more detail during class.
Toward a synopsis
Answer each of the following questions. Use just one sentence in each answer. How did your protagonist get involved in the story? What conflict arises to move the novella forward? What is the broad setting of your novella? What is … Continue reading
4420 “Gimme a Map, Please”
From Elizabeth George’s Write Away, a brief consideration of plots.
Relationships and characterization
Interview at least two other characters about the main character: How well do they know him or her? What do they know about him or her that he or she does not know about themselves? Do they think of the … Continue reading
Fiction writing techniques in a scene
Consider this excerpt from a scene in Ben Winters’s excellent The Last Policeman. After reading it, answer the following questions: What methods of characterization are used? (Can you list five?) Describe the merits of the dialogue. How does the plot begin … Continue reading
4420 “Designing Suspense,” “Modulation,” and “Home Improvement”
From Benjamin Percy’s outstanding collection of essays, Thrill Me, here are “Designing Suspense” and “Modulation.” Read them carefully. We will talk about them in class. In addition, here is “Home Improvement.”
Metaphor by Metaphor 