Hello Writers!
Our November author is William Faulkner, an American novelist from the deep south. Faulkner was influenced by James Joyce and wrote with the diction of the Deep South, changing the rhythm, cadence and grammar of his prose to fit the character - poor or rich, cerebral or simple, or verging on insanity.
The First Exercise:
Put yourself into the mind of a character who has a unique voice. This can be a person you know, someone chosen from movies or television, or you can create your own character. Write an interior monologue recounting a story or talking about a subject of your choosing (real or imagined), or from the following prompts. Allow the words and grammar to fit the manner and nature of the person you inhabit.
Prompt 1: You are walking along a dusty road. In the distance, you see a woman walking toward you. As she passes you, she says nothing, but hands you a letter from her late husband and walks on.
Prompt 2: You are stuck in a traffic jam, with the sun beating down and the air conditioning broken.
Prompt 3: Drinking black coffee in a roadside cafe. There is no milk or sugar.
The Second Exercise: Crossing the River
Two people are discussing how to get to the other side of a river with no obvious way across. Write a passage of dialogue between these two people. They have strong colloquial diction. Imagine the sound of their voices and write the dialogue so that the reader can interpret te diction and hear their voices. Allow yourself the freedom to tear the words up. Keep the treatment of words consistent and ensure they remain legible and coherent. For this exercise keep all the dialogue qualifiers simple (e.g. "he said" and "she said") Don't use any adverbs to qualify the dialogue such as "she said angrily" - instead, show the reader the anger in the voice from what is said and how it is said. In the course of their dialogue, what can the reader find out about the characters? Perhaps the dialogue carries them to the other side of the river? Or perhaps they end up talking about something completely different?
The Third Exercise: Inspiration from the Art World
Write a short piece inspired by a painting, sculpture or any other form of artwork of your choosing. Think about the senses evoked within the artwork - the sounds, the tastes, the smells. What are the stories behind painted objects or people? Do any abstract forms trigger your own abstract thoughts and memories?