Exercises from Writing With a Heavy Heart |
Copyright 2012 by Denise Jaden If you have purchased a copy of Writing With a Heavy Heart, please feel free to print additional copies of the exercises for personal use here. (Highlight the exercise you’d like to print, click CTRL-P and check “Print Selection” if you’d only like to print one exercise.) |
specified in your fiction, choose one for purposes of this timeline.)____________________________________________________When will the character regain a normal state of wholeness after this loss? (Even if this doesn’t occur during the course of your story, you should know when this will come.)____________________________________________________
Name three scenes in the course of your story (and their approximate timing in the overall timeline) where your character is pushed to deal with his grief:
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Look at the dates you have listed above. Are there any large gaps in the timeline of healing where you could add a character or situation that would bring your character’s grief to the forefront again?
Keeping the above chapter in mind, do all of these scenes have authentic reasons for pushing your character toward dealing with his grief, or do you still need to do some work on your backstory of your supporting characters?
In any of these scenes, can you push your character farther and make it more impossible to avoid friction with other characters?
Below, list your characters by name along the left-hand side. Even if these characters will not be dealing with grief during the course of your story, it is important to know their feelings on the subject in order to play up the tension that comes from differing opinions.Can you give any of your characters more extreme opinions on how grief should be dealt with?
(Examples: Isolation/workaholism/weeping/stocism)_____________________ _______________________________________________ __________________________
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Exercise – The Spectrum of Emotions
Sadness is not the only emotion of grief.Which emotions do your characters in grief experience?
____ Denial ____ Rage
____ Loneliness ____ Rejection
____ Confusion ____ Helplessness
____ Guilt ____ Anxiety
____ Disappointment ____ Anger
____ Sadness ____ Resentment
____ Jealousy ____Inadequacy
____ Vulnerability ____ Vindictiveness
____ Fear ____ Envy
____ Depression ____ Pain
____ Dread ____ Bitterness
____ Loss ____ Anguish
____ Dismay ____ Sorrow
____ Betrayal ____ Abandonment
____ Apathy ____ Distrust
____ Lack of control ____ Other _________
Write out a Loss History for one or more of your characters. Take time to list any losses your character has experienced throughout the course of his or her life. Include any instances where he felt a sense of loss, no matter how unimportant the circumstances may seem in the present. Think of missed promotions, friends moving away, the deaths of pets, the ends of friendships, job losses, and lost opportunities, as well as loss of loved ones.Consider what kind of painful losses he has experienced and how he has reacted to each of those losses.
DATE: LOSS:
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1. __________________________________________________
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2. __________________________________________________
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3. __________________________________________________
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How would these decisions affect the next scene in your novel?
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How would these decisions affect your character, or other characters, for the rest of the book?
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List two things your character could neglect to do because he is in denial:
1. __________________________________________________
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2. __________________________________________________
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How can these lapses increase the tension for the following scenes?
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Exercise: Causing Spiritual Change
What does your main grieving character believe spiritually?____________________________________________________
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Does your main character believe in any kind of afterlife?
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Does your main character believe there was any spiritual cause for their loss by the person lost, by the person grieving, or by certain attributes of a higher power?
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Can you take THE OPPOSITE of any of the above answers and find a way to show that in a scene in your story? (Examples: If your main character is devout in his beliefs, can you show his sudden doubt in his spirituality
somewhere in your book? If your character has always believed strongly that there is no afterlife, could he now consider different possibilities for an afterlife? If your character thinks the reason for the death was due to a
mistake or a negative personality trait, can you find a place in your manuscript to attribute the death to a different cause?
character’s point of view?)
1. _______________________________________________
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2. _______________________________________________
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3. _______________________________________________
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Flip ahead to the last three chapters of your manuscript. Find and list three more sentences of self-talk or inner dialogue from this section:
1. _______________________________________________
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2. _______________________________________________
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3. _______________________________________________
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Is there a noticeable change in the level of acceptance in your character in the latter section? Can you make the changes more noticeable?
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Exercise: Grieving Before The Loss
Is there a loss that your character is anticipating?____________________________________________________
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If so, on a scale from one to ten, how much does he think he’s already dealt with the loss?
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How much does he expect is still to come?
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And as the author, how much grief do you know is truly left to come for this character?
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Age of your character who is experiencing loss _______According to the above suggestions, or your own ideas, list two ways that your character would likely demonstrate his or her grief:______________________
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Now list two OPPOSITE reactions from those you listed above. (Example: If you listed irritability above, the opposite might be calmness.)
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If you find your character is acting stereotypical, one way to add character depth is to draw from your “Opposites List.” Let your character explode where he might normally bottle up his feelings, or become lazy when his
normal reaction may be overworking. Using opposites can add fullness to your character’s journey.
1. _______________________________________________
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2. _______________________________________________
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3. _______________________________________________
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If you cannot find three ways, can you think of manifestations of healing that you can add to your current manuscript?
If this is too difficult, look back at one of your favorite novels with an element of grief and loss. Can you pick out ways that the grieving character is manifesting some measure of healing or recovery by the end of the novel?
pages.If you’re working with your own manuscript, can you add humor, romance, mystery, or a conflict aside from any kind of loss?1. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________
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3. _______________________________________________
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(CHECKLIST TO SHOW FULL CHARACTER ARC)
2. Does your character have the strength and boldness to grieve in his own way?3. Has your character told his story to others and given an honest account of his loss? Is he able to share his pain? Is he able to rely on others in new ways?
4. Has your character committed to whatever length of road he has to walk in order to move back into living life?
5. Has your character opened his eyes to the needs around him once again? Through his experience, he has developed new traits and knowledge, and he has received encouragement and consolation with which he, in turn, can
comfort others. Does your character have an increased ability to love and to be loved?
Thanks for the outstanding advice, it actually is useful.