Practice with Purpose

(Part 5 of 5)

Writing instructors repeatedly encourage aspiring writers to read books in their genre and other books as well. That’s wonderful advice, because we’re sure to absorb some of what worked in bestselling fiction and nonfiction.

But we also run the risk of absorbing what doesn’t work.

Try this fifteen- to thirty-minute exercise once a week:

1. Read a page from a novel and pick your favorite paragraph.
2. Read the paragraph aloud.
3. Write the paragraph.
4. As the character, put yourself more deeply into the scene, and ask questions about you could better describe what you’re seeing.
5. Edit the paragraph, looking for ways to improve the sentences.
6. Using your own words, write how you would describe the scene.

For an example, Click Here.