T ODAY ’ S PROMPT ! I have to talk to you right now : The scene takes place in an empty classroom. Two characters enter. “I have to talk to you right now” is the first line spoken by one of the characters. Write ten more lines of dialogue between the two characters. This could also be a monologue.

R EVIEW : F IRST THINGS FIRST First, foremost, and always — as you’re dreaming up a story, keep asking yourself these questions: When does the conflict start? How can I get there faster? How many characters are crucial to the conflict? What role do supplemental characters play? Why are they there? What do they do? Does one thing lead to another in some sort of plausible — though not necessarily predictable — sequence? Are things fundamentally different for the main character by the end? Is that fundamental difference represented by a tangible thing? (In a surprising number of great stories, it is.) Also check out these Essential Elements of Fiction — they pretty much apply to all kinds of stories (print, film, etc). Essential Elements of Fiction One last first-thing: Aristotle. Keep in mind his idea of “reversal.” It’s super simple and it informs all of us when we experience stories. Basically all it means is that things change for the main character. If they start out all rosy for the protagonist, we generally expect they won’t finish that way (think: Oedipus, Macbeth, etc). If things start bad, though, they’ll probably get better in the end (think: Cinderella). It’s not a hard-and-fast rule — but almost. Consciously or not, an audience expects (and wants) this sort of change. In fact, it’s not unusual for stories to make use of several reversals throughout the course of events. So a story can start out hunky-dory for a main character and end that way too — but only if there’s been a reversal of fortune (or three…or four…) somewhere in the middle.

S EVEN LINE STORY Seven-Sentence Scene/Story. 1. Write a line of action that places two characters in a setting. 2. Write a line of action where one of your characters does something to establish tension, either between the two characters or between the two characters and their surroundings. 3. Write a line of dialogue for the other character that further escalates the tension. 4. Write a line of dialogue for the first character, escalating the tension. 5. Introduce another character into the scene. 6. Write a line of dialogue for the third character. 7. Write a line of action where one of the other characters does something to give the story a sense of closure and resolution.