This Week's Practice Exercise

Solitary Journey

Prepared by: Alice Folkart
Posted on: 26 February 2012

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Write a scene, in 400 words or less, with a character who has embarked on a journey. In the scene, the character must be walking and must be traveling alone. Give the character a goal or task.

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Is the character searching for something? Or someone? Is this a pleasure jaunt, a hiking expedition, or is the character fleeing a Siberian labor camp? Show the landscape through the character's eyes. Is it a tropical jungle in South America, a dense forest in Europe, the Sahara Desert or the Australian Outback? Maybe your character has been separated from a hiking party on a treacherous mountain pass in the Alps? Is it scary and threatening or is it beautiful and breathtaking? Is it night or day, stormy or calm, hot or cold? Is the character good or evil? What will happen if the character does or does not achieve the goal?

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Write a scene, in 400 words or less, with a character who has embarked on a journey. In the scene, the character must be walking and must be traveling alone. Give the character a goal or task.

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In your critique, tell the author how you felt as you read the story and why. Were the character and the story believable? Would you read on? If the piece did not work for you, what could the author do to make it better?


These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writing Workshop.