The Power of a Writing Exercise

Revision Works Well If You Use the Right Tools

Have you ever been in revision and realized that maybe, just maybe, if you do a few deeper digs into character, that it could help make the story you’re writing better?

Yes, always.

And that’s where I’ve been lately.

As I plow through this revision of my next novel, I know that I need more main character development. As a result, I’ve been working through my own exercises – the ones in my courses and the ones that I’m creating in even greater depth in my upcoming craft book (see my Friday Substacks) – and I’ve made two discoveries.

The first is that these exercises are pretty darn good.

The second is that I should have done them myself much sooner.

For Example…

When we are deep into our storytelling, focused on the plot, and the next scene, and the long arc, it’s easy to miss things – like, we’re telling the reader how the character is feeling instead of showing their internal emotions.

Or we might forget that, yes, the character’s agency is driven by both internal desire and the external story problem…but that it also depends heavily on the skills they are born with and that they then develop in the course of the story.

e.g., every main character has a superpower.

This latter point is one I often overlook in the first draft, but upon inspection it’s both obvious and essential.

Think about Luke Skywalker, who has agency to become a Jedi and to discover what kind of person he is (internal desire) and to learn how he can help defeat the evil Empire (external goal). But he also must develop his skill in using the Force in order to succeed in both of these missions.

Or there’s Katniss Everdeen, who early on in life learned the ways of hunting and tracking in order to feed her family. She must discover what kind of person she is (internal desire) while helping to defeat the evil Capitol (external goal). But her hunting skills are essential to her survival in the Games.

Give Your Character a Superpower

Superpower is a big word – but the skill can actually be very small. Yes, Luke learns to use the Force and Katniss grows into an expert bowman, but not all superpowers are that big. Some are clearly physical, while others are intellectual and subtle.

Your character may be born with this superpower, or develop it over time before your story starts, or they may first realize their gift within your story.

Your character may be an excellent cook (Lessons in Chemistry), or a walking dictionary (Worser), or good at solving mysteries (The Lost Library) or great with plants (The Girl From Earth’s End).

I’m working on my character’s superpower/skill right this moment.

Give your protagonist a skill, however great or small, and let it grow into a useful tool that gives them added and growing story agency.

Exercise:

• Who is your protagonist – name, age, gender? Can you think of some special skill, something they have had since birth or developed out of necessity before the beginning of your story? What is it? Is it physical, intellectual, or both? How do they use it before your story starts?

• How can you develop that skill into a superpower? Can you find places in your story that increase the stakes through the use of this skill? Can you find places where this skill becomes a critical key to survival?

• Can you take this skill to the next level and let it become a symbol of everything about your character? And can it become a demonstration to the reader that developing such a skill will enhance their own life?

Keep writing!!!