Why Do Dear Diary?
April 28th 2010 12:06
Doubtless as a writer you've heard about how great journals and diaries can be, not only to get you into a regular writing habit, but also to aid in your self-knowledge and foster personal growth. But have you ever considered writing journals for your characers?
Writing a journal for one of your characters allows you to experiment with and become comfortable writing in your character's voice. It also gives your character depth and a chance to really come alive. Using a month long diary writing exercise I've come to understand two of my most important characters-Alaendril and Astarael-very well.
My hope with this workshop is to get you writing regularly, help you understand your character's thought processes, and show you that journaling can be interesting and even fun, whether it be your character's journal or your own. To this end, I've prepared several prompts and questions to help get you started.
In the coming week I'll give you things to consider when choosing your character, deciding when in their life these journal entries should be written, and deciding your format.
If you'd like to know more about my previous Dear Diary experiments, you can find the information here.
Writing a journal for one of your characters allows you to experiment with and become comfortable writing in your character's voice. It also gives your character depth and a chance to really come alive. Using a month long diary writing exercise I've come to understand two of my most important characters-Alaendril and Astarael-very well.
My hope with this workshop is to get you writing regularly, help you understand your character's thought processes, and show you that journaling can be interesting and even fun, whether it be your character's journal or your own. To this end, I've prepared several prompts and questions to help get you started.
In the coming week I'll give you things to consider when choosing your character, deciding when in their life these journal entries should be written, and deciding your format.
If you'd like to know more about my previous Dear Diary experiments, you can find the information here.
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Comment by RedParrot
One of the central frustrations I had during SF this year is that the 2nd and 3rd plays (contrasted to 1st where I had lots of time to think prior to write) had very wobbly main character voices. Tone was variable too.
I am debating whether or not to revise any of them and if I do, I think this diary exercise would be quite helpful.
Cheers!
La Red
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Glad to see you around
It is an interesting concept, and it's amazingly helpful. I've learned a lot about the characters I've written diaries for. I'm hoping that this exercise will allow me to get more in touch with my main villain, the Demon, because he feels too stock character to me at the moment.
~Dianna