I rolled my eyes at a 'character voice' exercise from a writing book I found at a yard sale.

The book said to write a scene where your main character orders a pizza, but only using words they'd actually say (which felt silly, you know?). I gave it a shot for my detective character, and suddenly his whole 'tired, direct, no-nonsense' thing clicked in a way three chapters of backstory hadn't. Has a simple prompt like that ever unlocked a character for you when the big stuff wasn't working?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_craig41mo ago

That pizza prompt saved my last novel, honestly.

finley_flores281mo ago

I get what you mean about the pizza prompt saving your novel. Sometimes the simplest idea can unlock a whole story. I was stuck on a scene for weeks and just picturing a character eating a cold slice made everything click. It grounds the writing in something real. Those little details do a lot of heavy lifting.