Hi everyone. How are you? Good, I hope. We’ve been trying to put together our kid’s new bed this week. The instructions say it should take three hours (it’s a big bed). We are now on day three. Let me tell you, I have experienced every emotion over this bed. Mild annoyance, despair… etc!
I really like thinking about how characters feel when I write, and what the things that provoke a big reaction say about them. (In Glassheart there’s an imp called Castor whose scales change colour depending on how he feels, and that was really fun to write.) So I’d like to try a super fun challenge this week:
Writing challenge #3 - exploring emotions
Pick an emotion. Angry, for example. You could even write some down (happy, sad, excited, etc) and pick one at random. Now choose a thing for them to feel strongly about. How about the last thing you ate - for me it was toast. So, mine would be a character who’s angry about toast! I wonder why… Did it get burnt? Or did the dog run off with it? Perhaps they aren’t angry about the toast at all, it was just the final straw. People do sometimes bottle things up and then lose their temper over something relatively small.
The reasons are up to you, but when you write about this situation be as creative, as silly or as serious as you like. Just see where it takes you. It doesn’t have to be the last thing you ate either. It could be the weather, a task (like a DIY bed!), anything. So is your character sad about pasta? Happy about rain? Jealous over cheese?
Remember - I’d love to see what you come up with! Have fun, stay safe, and see you next week for more.