Writing exercises: The story's history
These exercises have always helped me to get better in writing. And I would like to share them with you.
First, return to a favorite story and make the list of events that occured before page one. Ask: How do these events affect the story after page one and move the story to resolution? Do this exercise with several stories and novels.
Then look at a draft of one of your own stories. Take notes on your story's history. Does your story have a past? A history all its own? Is the current situation grounded in the history of the story? You might discover that your stories have a case of amnesia - a lack of history that makes the currents situation thin or lacking in alternatives and tension.
Source: WHAT IF? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
First, return to a favorite story and make the list of events that occured before page one. Ask: How do these events affect the story after page one and move the story to resolution? Do this exercise with several stories and novels.
Then look at a draft of one of your own stories. Take notes on your story's history. Does your story have a past? A history all its own? Is the current situation grounded in the history of the story? You might discover that your stories have a case of amnesia - a lack of history that makes the currents situation thin or lacking in alternatives and tension.
Source: WHAT IF? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers