Welcome to another summer of Teachers Write!

Every Monday, I try to post a fun warm-up writing exercise to get you ready for a week of writing. This week, since it's our first day, I wanted to share some advice my Tai chi instructor gave our tiny class of three. It had nothing to do with writing, but of course, that doesn't mean I couldn't apply it to my writing life. In fact, most general advice, if you think about it long enough, can be applied to writing.

Why she gave this advice is kind of a boring story but I do think that what it led me to gave me focus and helped me get back on track with my own work in progress. So, ready?

"Watch where you're going."

Obviously this is quite good advice in all parts of your life, but writing? Let me explain.

One of the most common questions I get from kids as well as adults is, "What do you do when you reach the middle of a story or novel and you just feel stuck?"

My answer now is, "It helps to know where you're going."

But how do you do that?

Oftentimes, as we write a first draft by the seat of our pants, we aren't thinking about where we're going, we're just having fun writing our wild and free discovery draft. But at some point in this glorious time, we slow down, feel lost, and can't figure out how we (or our characters) got where we are. We end up having to retrace our steps. Go back to earlier chapters to figure out where we lost our way. Or even, sometimes, we have to go all the way back to the beginning and start over. Sometimes, we get frustrated and give up.



I think a lot of times this happens because we don't have any idea where we're going.

For a time, that's OK, but as you get to know your characters and what they want, pretty soon you must know where they are going so that you can form a well-plotted story with a beginning, middle, and end.

Take a moment now to visualize where you imagine your character might be at the end of this story/adventure. Will your character be alone? Will your character be triumphant? What will your character have learned? Lost? Gained? What image comes to mind when you try to imagine your character at the end of this journey? How must your character change?

Now imagine you are looking at a photograph of this "end" moment and describe it. Where is your character? What is your character wearing? Who is your character with? How does your character feel? What is your character doing?

Take 5-10 minutes to write this description with as much physical and emotional detail as you can. If you'd like, share in the comments and I'll ask more questions to help you have the most vivid picture/idea for this ending as you can.

Keep this description.

You don't need to re-read it, but keep this image and the feelings associated with it in your mind's eye as you work this summer to write your story.

This is where you're going.

You don't need to know how your character will get there. But now you have a stronger sense of what you're writing toward. Watch where you're going now. Keep focused on this goal. And most importantly...

Enjoy the ride!!!



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