“The first order of business is to plan something your artist will enjoy. The second goal is to romance yourself a little. A date is something you look forward to. This means your Artist Date should be planned ahead of time. You are out to woo yourself.” (Julia Cameron, The Miracle of the Artist’s Date)
Writing Exercise: “Wooing Your Character”
In this exercise, inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Miracle of the Artist’s Date, you will explore techniques for deepening your characters’ interiority and designing scenes that reflect their desires and vulnerabilities. By focusing on what “romances” your character—what they yearn for, fear, or secretly crave—you will uncover fresh ways to develop your story and its emotional stakes.
Key Writing Practice Development Techniques
1. Understanding Desire as Motivation
Cameron’s idea of “wooing yourself” parallels a writer’s need to know what their character desires most deeply. Desire drives motivation and action, revealing a character’s complexity.
2. Creating Rich Internal and External Dynamics
The “artist date” concept teaches us that meaningful experiences occur both internally (emotions, thoughts) and externally (action, setting). Strong scenes weave these layers together seamlessly.
3. Crafting Anticipation and Tension
Cameron’s emphasis on planning and looking forward creates an opportunity to build anticipation. Writing characters who grapple with hope, expectation, or the fear of disappointment adds tension to your work.
Writing Prompt (500 Words)
Write a scene in which your protagonist plans or experiences a personal “artist date”—a moment they design to nurture themselves emotionally, creatively, or spiritually. The date should reflect their greatest desires, vulnerabilities, or unmet needs.
The scene must:
• Begin with the protagonist actively planning their outing, revealing their internal motivations and hesitations.
• Transition to the actual experience, including sensory-rich descriptions and a key moment that reveals an unexpected truth about the character.
• End with the character reflecting on whether the experience fulfilled their expectations—or failed to.
For example:
• A reclusive artist attends a gallery opening to see a painting they adore but finds the social dynamics overwhelming.
• A single father takes himself to a diner, hoping for peace, but overhears a conversation that changes his understanding of loneliness.
• A corporate lawyer visits a botanical garden, yearning for beauty, only to confront a memory they’ve tried to bury.
Evaluation Criteria
1. Character Depth
• Strong: The protagonist’s desires and motivations feel specific, multi-faceted, and authentic.
• Weak: The character’s motivations are vague or overly familiar without unique elements.
2. Sensory and Emotional Detail
• Strong: The writing vividly depicts the setting and experience, creating a multi-sensory immersion that aligns with the protagonist’s emotional state.
• Weak: The scene feels generic or lacks sensory engagement, failing to reflect the character’s inner world.
3. Narrative Tension and Discovery
• Strong: The scene reveals an unexpected insight or emotional shift, deepening the character’s arc.
• Weak: The scene is static or predictable, offering no significant change or revelation.
Follow-Up Questions for Workshopping/Revision
1. Does the protagonist’s desire feel specific and compelling? How might it be refined or heightened?
2. How effectively does the scene integrate external action with internal reflection? Could one be more developed?
3. What unexpected elements emerge during the date, and how do they challenge or transform the character?
4. Are there opportunities to add more sensory or emotional detail to make the scene more immersive?
Recommended Reading
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
This short story exemplifies how a seemingly simple event—a man drawing a cathedral with a blind guest—becomes an intimate, revelatory experience. Notice how Carver develops tension, uses sensory detail, and connects external action to internal transformation.
By focusing on “wooing” your character in this exercise, you’ll learn to craft scenes that resonate deeply with both the characters and the reader.
Regards,
RAR
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