We are five days in to our June creative challenge and today I thought I’d mix it up a bit by posting a simple writing exercise. This is one I came up with and it always helps me focus on a character, theme or place. It is called:

Tell Me Ten

Just number a sheet of paper from one to ten then tell me ten things about, say,  your main character (if you are writing fiction.) If you can’t tell me ten things… you probably need to do some more character development. Those ten things may never actually appear in the story, but they should definitely  be in your head some where.

Here’s an example from my short story Toby, The Elf (which was part of the 12 Days of Christmas Stories here on ritaLOVEStoWRITE):

If time allows do this for each of your primary characters and locals.

I’ve used this technique when I’ve gotten stuck, bored or sidetracked in a story.