Thank you for joining us in The Writer’s Playground series!
Here we run through writing games to spark imagination and sharpen your craft.
Today’s Exercise is
Sound Scape
- Objective: To practice using auditory details to build mood and reveal a character’s internal state.
- How to Play:
- The entire group sits in silence for three minutes with their eyes closed, focusing solely on the sounds around them. This could be anything from the hum of an air conditioner to distant cicadas or a passing car. Everyone should mentally or phy-sically note every distinct sound they hear.
- After the three minutes, set a timer for ten minutes.
- Each person must write a scene where a character is in a heightened emotional state (e.g., fear, anti-cipation, grief). The scene should not name the emotion, but instead reveal it through the character’s hyper-awareness of the specific sounds in their environment.
- Best for: Creating atmosphere, deep point of view, and the “show, don’t tell” principle.
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