Exercise of the Week for Book Writers

John Gardner, author of The Art of Fiction, wrote, "We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images." Ask yourself, what's the primary image in my book so far? It may be an object (a favorite pen, jackknife, vase, wooden toy), part of the landscape (a river, cliff, apple orchard, path through the forest, side of a graffitied building), something worn by a person in your story (sunglasses, black leather jacket, tattoo). Spend 20 minutes writing everything you know about this image.

For more about The Art of Fiction, visit http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fiction-Notes-Craft-Writers/dp/0679734031