THE WRITE PRACTICE
Problems Are Your Job
This is your discipline as a writer. Be a collector of stones. Learn how to aim them well.
When you’re feeling like you want to rescue your character, to keep him or her comfortable, instead, do the opposite. Make whatever discomfort your character had feel like a blessing compared to the pain he or she is about to experience.
Now, go get throwing.
Write a scene in which a character has stones thrown at him or her, figurative or otherwise. Write for fifteen minutes.
Happy writing stone throwing.
ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER
by John Yeo
Saturday night again and the emergency department is filling up with a steady procession of drunks and drug addicts, some brought in by the police already under arrest.
I was late for work tonight and I walked straight into the Sister, I will be in a great deal of trouble on Monday, I am already in for a formal written warning.
I forgot to take another patient’s temperature, this didn’t inspire confidence in my abilities.
Now this lady is threatening to put in a formal written complaint against me because she says I deliberately kept her waiting.
I had another problem earlier tonight, when a lady obviously at the end of her tether, brought her daughter in with a bloody nose, she said the little girl had fallen over. I had to call in Social services when I discovered that the little girl was deaf and dumb, and was unable to communicate with anybody.
I was so tired and nearly at the end of my shift when a man assaulted me by touching me inappropriately, he grabbed my bust. Security called in the police and he will have to go to court now. I’m scared about that as I don’t want any comebacks from nutters. The Sister in charge says I must make a formal complaint as he will be doing it again to another innocent person. I have to attend the local police station to do that tomorrow.
Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved
Problems Are Your Job
This is your discipline as a writer. Be a collector of stones. Learn how to aim them well.
When you’re feeling like you want to rescue your character, to keep him or her comfortable, instead, do the opposite. Make whatever discomfort your character had feel like a blessing compared to the pain he or she is about to experience.
Now, go get throwing.
Write a scene in which a character has stones thrown at him or her, figurative or otherwise. Write for fifteen minutes.
Happy writing stone throwing.
ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER
by John Yeo
Saturday night again and the emergency department is filling up with a steady procession of drunks and drug addicts, some brought in by the police already under arrest.
I was late for work tonight and I walked straight into the Sister, I will be in a great deal of trouble on Monday, I am already in for a formal written warning.
I forgot to take another patient’s temperature, this didn’t inspire confidence in my abilities.
Now this lady is threatening to put in a formal written complaint against me because she says I deliberately kept her waiting.
I had another problem earlier tonight, when a lady obviously at the end of her tether, brought her daughter in with a bloody nose, she said the little girl had fallen over. I had to call in Social services when I discovered that the little girl was deaf and dumb, and was unable to communicate with anybody.
I was so tired and nearly at the end of my shift when a man assaulted me by touching me inappropriately, he grabbed my bust. Security called in the police and he will have to go to court now. I’m scared about that as I don’t want any comebacks from nutters. The Sister in charge says I must make a formal complaint as he will be doing it again to another innocent person. I have to attend the local police station to do that tomorrow.
Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved