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IWW
Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: Money
is the motive
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 Writers Workshop
(http://www.internetwritingwor
kshop.org/).
Prepared by: Carter Jefferson
Posted on: Sunday, January 6, 2008
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Exercise:
In 400 words or less, write a scene in which a character takes a risk
out of
greed or need for money, showing the reader what leads to that choice
or what
results from the action taken.
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"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows."-- 1
Timothy 6:10 (KJV). Despite that admonition, most of us, Christian or
otherwise,
don't mind picking up a few bucks now and then, and some have become
downright
greedy.
Mysteries, thrillers, memoirs, literary novels--all those genres
include stories in
which characters pursue wealth, or somehow act out of desperation,
seeking to gain
money only to end up in difficult straits. For this exercise, you
are to write a scene
that shows a character facing or succumbing to the temptation to pull
off a monetary
coup, or suffering the consequences of doing so.
You have lots of latitude, but make sure the reader understands the
character's
motivation, and wants to know more about what happens. The character
can be
someone like a mugger or a bank robber, a mother desperate to feed her
children, a
businessman seeking power, or anyone else who decides to take a chance
in order
to make a monetary gain. If you choose to show the consequences, they
need not be
dire or even very serious, but they must make clear that the character
involved pays
a price.
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Exercise:
In 400 words or less, write a scene in which a character takes a risk
out of
greed or need for money, showing the reader what leads to that choice
or what
results from the action taken.
-------------------------
In your critiques, note whether the character comes alive, and whether
you can see
the motives behind the character's actions.
Web site created by
Rhéal Nadeau and
the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Greg Gunther.
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