Novel Kicks Writing Room: Edit, Edit, Edit
For today’s exercise, I wanted to look at editing.
Rewrite the following passage. Write up to 500 words. Try making it less passive, adding more emotion and details.
How did you find it?
*****
Mark goes into the flat and he sat down.
It had not changed much since he’d left a year ago.
He listened to Beth, getting the tea ready in the kitchen, She didn’t know what he was going to say to her.
She carried the tray in and handed him a mug. His favourite mug.
by 
Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Confession
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: Confession.
Your character is living in a country that, to the outside world is perfect. The truth is that the government is oppressing its citizens.
This character has lived in this country all their lives. Age, sex and life situation is your choice.
Your story begins when your character commits a serious crime.
Law enforcement is trying to get a confession and your character has been given a piece of paper and pencil.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Freewriting with Prompts
It’s another freewriting exercise today.
If you have something in mind already, then fantastic.
Write up to a 1000 words.
If you’re stuck as to where to start, there are five prompts below to hopefully inspire a story. You could always combine a couple if you like.
1. Write a letter to September.
2. Your character wakes up discovering that they are back at school.
3. You are stuck in a locked room alone with the person you despise the most.
4. You are confronted by the person you’ve been saying horrible things about online and they know it’s you.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Alphabet Sentences
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: Alphabet sentences.
Your first sentence for today’s story is ‘All he could see was smoke.’
Now, carry on the story but with a little twist.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Putting an Idea Together
With National Novel Writing Month just over a month and a half away, I thought it would be nice today to generate some ideas using magazines as inspiration.
This part of the writing process has been scary for me but I also find it fun, especially when doing something like the following exercise.
Gather as many magazines as you can. Cut out any words, images and phrases that interest you/catches your eye for any reason.
Once you’ve done that, put them all in a hat.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Promises
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt – promises.
Something happens to you. At first, you can’t talk about it. You’re frightened.
When you confide in someone, they say they believe you and promise to keep your confidence.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: The Middle is now the Beginning
Today, I wanted to look at beginning in the middle.
Look through your current work in progress or your idea book, preferably picking something where you know how you want to begin.
As usual, if you’d prefer to use a book you’ve recently read, that’s OK.
Have a think about the three major events that will happen in the middle of your book. Pick one.
Now, write that scene as though it is the beginning of your story.
Write about 500-750 words.
How was it? What does it do to your plot as it stands?
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Nigel
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s Prompt – Nigel.
Your story this week is about a young man named Nigel, who has just arrived in a strange city.
Use the following words in your piece of writing – bloom, exercise, paperwork, continuation, speculate and uncle.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: A Letter
In the writing group today, we will be writing a letter.
In this digital age, I am a little sad about the fact that the art of letter writing has diminished. I adore writing letters. There is something very personal about them.
Take two of your characters in your WIP or two of your favourite characters from fiction. You could even take a character from your WIP and an established fictional character if you wanted.
Write a letter from your main character to the other person about an event in your novel. Put in as much detail as you can. Once you’ve done that, write the reply.
Has this given you a new insight to these characters and how they react and feel?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Contacts
Starting a contacts page in your notebook.
Today I wanted to look ahead and get prepared for what comes next. I know it is not a good idea to think too much beyond the completion of the book if you’re still working on the draft but I am hoping this is a helpful exercise.
It’s something I have been meaning to do for a while. If you’re a planner like me, then it’s an excuse to make a list.
With the genre of your book in mind, find five agents that handle the type of work you’re currently writing. Make a note of their postal address and e-mail too. The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is good for this but obviously the internet may be more available to you.
Do the same with five publishers, whether they be a large or a small outlet. Be as specific as you can. Also, find the name of the person to whom you would submit the work. Like before, note down the postal address and e-mail address. Look for some online publishers too.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Viral
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: Viral
Think about a typical day for you.
One event from this day gets recorded by a stranger and goes viral on social media, eventually making its way onto national news.
Continue the story using the first person point of view.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Combinations
Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room. Today, it’s about combinations.
Pick a character from either something you’ve written or from the book you are currently reading. This is your main character.
Now randomly choose three more, each from different stories and as varied as you can make them.
Your main character is speed dating. One at a time, this character has a brief conversation with your other three choices before the bell goes off and they have to move on.
Write only using dialogue.
For each one, write for five minutes each time.
You could then always do other combinations within these characters. How would it work if your main character was suddenly the one who had to impress the others?
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Something Valuable
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt…
Your most valuable possession goes missing. You begin to chase the thief.
It takes you to parts of your home town you’ve never been before.
Carry on the story.
At some point, someone ends up dressed like a rabbit.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Research
Today, I wanted to focus on research.
When looking at the writing process, nothing scares me as much as the research part.
How much planning and research is enough? At what point can you get too buried underneath all of the information?
The most daunting question of all… where do I begin?
I wanted to try the following exercise.
Make a list of the first five celebrities or historical figures that come into your head. Then pick one.
Using google, spend thirty minutes finding out five facts about this celebrity or historical figure.
Once you’ve done that, write a conversation between yourself and this person using the information you’ve found out.
Has this exercise sparked a bigger idea? What else do you feel you’d need to know before you begin to write a bigger story?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Keeping a Diary
Many of you have probably kept a diary at some point in your lives? It’s something I have done on and off through the years.
They are definitely a window into what a person is like.
Using a character in your current work in progress, keep a diary from the point of view of your character. Do this for at least three days and maximum of five days.
How would they be reacting to current events? The race for Prime Minister, climate change? Love Island?
If you’ve not got a current WIP, choose an existing fictional character. I wonder how Elizabeth Bennett or Mr Collins would react to what is currently going on.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: People Watching
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
People watch for ten minutes.
Once you’ve spotted someone who interests you (without making it obvious you’re studying them and being in danger of looking all creepy, hahahahaha,) write about them.
What has their day been like so far? Who are they? Where are they going? What do they look like?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Free Writing
Today, I thought we could keep it nice and simple and do some free writing.
I like this kind of exercise as you never know what is going to come out of it.
Set the alarm for ten minutes. Start writing and don’t stop. See if you can get to five hundred words in that ten minutes.
Just in case you need a little inspiration, I have posted some prompts below.
Enjoy.
Prompt 1:
With a deep breath, she opens the box.
Prompt 2:
The music started and he knew he couldn’t do it.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: First Line
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: Your character is in their 50’s. Single and they don’t have any friends. With this information in mind, use the line below to begin your story.
‘He wanted her job, and it would be easy enough to discredit her.’
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Whimsical Fairy
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: a whimsical fairy.
Your character is a fairy who is, well, away with the fairies in her/his own little world. They have earned their wings but on their final warning.
Your setting is a secret room in a library. In this room, there are boxes filled with…..
Continue the story.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Free Writing
For our writing group today, it’s a bit of free writing.
I have started a story below. Writing for a minimum of five minutes, continue the story. You can either keep the current POV or maybe carry it on using the point of view of the person being followed?
Have fun.
*****
I watch from the other side of the road whilst she waits in line for her coffee. She hasn’t spotted me. Her head is looking down at the phone in her hand; a small smile plays on her lips as her fingers fly across the screen.
I wonder who makes her smile like that. An agonising feeling of jealousy rises but I quickly try and brush it aside. I need to keep my focus. I am so close.
I come out of the shadows and begin to follow her when I see her finally leaving the busy coffee shop, almost loosing her in the crowds of people on the pavement. I keep my distance, careful not to be seen.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Plotting and Timelines
Plotting and timelines.
I am fast realising that I am one of these writers that has to know what is happening in my story; the experiences of National Novel Writing Month has taught me this.
I have been finding this method below quite helpful in plotting my story. This is something I have featured before but thought it worth revisiting.
Grab either a pad of Post-It notes (author Julie Cohen swears by Post-It notes) or some bits of paper and write out all of the current plot points for your current work in progress; all the things you have so far (and don’t worry if you don’t have the end yet. Neither do I.)
Also, if you aren’t currently working on anything, as always, you could pick a published story.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: What’s in the Cupboard?
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt:
You are sitting in a chair when your child comes up and sits next to you. Out of nowhere, your child looks at you and says…
‘Daddy/Mummy, who is that in the cupboard upstairs and why are they sleeping when it’s not bed time?’
Begin with the above sentence.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Speaking Differently
Today, I wanted to focus on the various speaking styles of characters. I
Each character needs to have their own specific voice.
Write two pages of dialogue.
One character only speaks in short sentences whilst your other character is a bit more of a chatterbox. They speak in longer sentences.
Has this achieved two distinctive voices?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Different Orders
This week, I wanted to focus on how moving plot events around, you can change/improve the story.
Write down the following four plot points, each on a separate piece of paper. Put them into a jar or a hat and take them back out one at a time, lining them up.
This is the new order for the story. Write your own version using this order.
Cinderella is told she can’t go to the ball.
Cinderella meets the Prince.
Cinderella loses her shoe.
Cinderella gets married.
How does the story change once you’ve moved it around?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Connecting Memories
Today, I thought we could try and connect three seemingly unrelated memories.
Write about three separate memories. These can be yours or they could belong to someone else.
Each one should be about fifty words.
Once you’ve done that, try and connect these three unrelated memories into one coherent story.
Three memories I have thought of off the top of my head are my Mum and Grandfather teaching me to ride my bike, My Grandmother’s first day of senior school and the day I got married.
Is what you’ve written something that could be used for a bigger project?
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: A Time For Firsts
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Pinch punch first day of the month.
Your character finds themselves overwhelmed when they experience three big firsts in one day.
Their age, gender, job is up to you.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Wishing
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
‘I am always wishing for.’
Starting with that line, write about someone (usually sad, cynical and bitter) who suddenly finds themselves with one wish.
However, the wish comes with a price and a choice that has to be made.
There will be a consequence.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Getting Started
Getting started.
One of the things I obsess over too much is the first sentence. It is supposed to hook the reader.
Something to be remembered though…this is not something that is important with a first draft. Everything can be changed in editing (repeating this to myself like a mantra.)
Pick one of the following sentences as a starting point and then write for three minutes.
Once you’ve done this, you could find one that applies to your book idea.
‘I tried to leave the rabbit stopped me.’
‘When Lana opened the book, something took over.’
‘When he/she stepped into the attic, it was like stepping into the past.’
‘He/she wanted this moment to end. How was another matter.’
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Radio GaGa
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Radio Gaga.
Turn on the radio and make a note of the first three songs you hear.
These are now the three themes that will make up your story.
Combine them all together, including any characters mentioned in the song. So for example, you have to include Loretta if you hear Get Back by the Beatles.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Showing and Telling
Today in the writing room, I wanted to look at showing and telling.
As I am trying to write my first novel, I am finding out the hard way that it is very easy to tell and not show. It’s a very quick trap to fall into.
Convert the following sentences into something that is showing action rather than just telling.
She felt tired.
He came home drunk.
He loved her.
They hated each other.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Fairytale Reimagined
Today in the writing room, I thought it would be fun to write a fairy tale.
We all know the classics; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc.
Writing no more than 1,500 words, pick a fairytale and put it into a modern setting.
You can merge a couple if you like.
For example, what if Cinderella worked for a cleaning company and had a lazy manager who was horrible. Sleeping Beauty worked in the city but couldn’t stop falling asleep in important meetings? Rapunzel has a fear of heights.
Have fun.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Five Random Sentences
Today’s exercise is writing a story.
Today, I thought it would be fun to take five sentences and put them together into a story. Overall, try to make the piece 1,500 words and spread these out across the whole thing.
The five sentences are:
. He would believe me. I would make sure of it.
. The pineapples in my grandmother’s house had a mind of their own.
. Is it just me or did the cat just speak to me.
. I was getting really tired of this rush hour traffic.
. Ben knew that robbing the bank was a risk but one he needed to take.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Spooky Times
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Halloween is just around the corner and so the prompt is spooky themed.
Imagine you are a ghost in a haunted house. You are scared of everything and anything.
It’s 31st October. This is your least favourite day. This is the day people won’t leave you alone.
Write a conversation between the ghost and someone who is trick or treating.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: From The First To The Last
When you first decide to write a book, we are told that beginnings and endings are important but how you get from one to the other is what keeps a reader interested.
For today’s exercise, use the following line to start (or use one from one of your favourite novels.)
“From the beginning, she was in love with him.”
Write it at the top of the page.
Then, write the following last line at the bottom of the page;
“She couldn’t move. She just continued to hold the knife.”
(Again, feel free to use an ending from a favourite novel as long as it’s different to the one the first line came from.)
Using about 1,500 words, fill in the middle from your first line to the last.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: New Worlds
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
You have a chance to step into your favourite fictional world with the author who created it.
Do you have a good time or is the author hard to be around?
Write about an incident that happens whilst inside the book.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Twenty Questions
Today, the writing room will be looking at getting to know your character by having a game of twenty questions with them using the questions below. Not everything you write has to end up in your novel but it will give you a better overall knowledge of them and how they would feel and react to things.
1. What do they look like?
2. What do they like to do to socialize?
3. How was their childhood?
4. One thing that really embarrasses them?
5. What group did they belong to at school?
6. What did they want to do when they grew up and what do they actually do for a job as an adult?
7. Name ten songs that are currently on their playlist?
8. Do they drink, smoke, take drugs?
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Free Write Exercise
For today’s writing room, I thought it was about time we did a free writing exercise/short story
If you have a subject and character in mind, feel free to write about that or you can use the prompt I’ve included below.
The story just needs to include dialogue, a proper conclusion and be no more than 1,500 words.
The prompt…
Your main character is in his sixties. He has been in the circus since he was sixteen making his way up the ranks to being the boss.
The circus has just arrived in a new town.
One of the younger staff members gets ill and needs to go to the hospital. A routine blood test reveals something that your character has wanted to keep secret.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Decisions Decisions
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
You are at a three way fork in the road. You can go left, right or straight ahead. There is no option to go back the way you came.
One road involves a journey into a dense forest that is said to be haunted.
One road will involve a pack of wild wolves which is the animal you are most afraid of.
The last road is said to pass a community of witches and magic.
You don’t know which road is which but all of them eventually lead to the information you need to get home.
Pick a path as your setting and just start writing.
Have fun!
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Combining Characters
For today’s writing room, I thought it would be fun to combine characters that up until this point have had nothing to do with one another.
Write a short piece of fiction (max. 1,500) involving your favourite hero/heroine and your favourite villain.
They don’t need to be from the same original story.
A couple of suggestions: Pip from Great Expectations and President Snow from The Hunger Games, Elizabeth Bennett and Voldermort.
The characters meet under stressful circumstances and begin a conversation.
How do they react in this environment? How do they react to one another?
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: It’s the Seasons
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: It’s the seasons…
The four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter all get together for their annual meeting/catch up.
One of them is carefree and is always late, one of them is miserable, one of them has OCD and the last one has won a lot of money.
Which season is which is up to you but write a conversation between the four of them.
by Book Club
