“I sometimes joke with my students that if they find themselves trapped in exposition, writing pages and pages in which their action doesn’t rise, all they need to do is drop this sentence into their story: “Then something happened that changed everything forever.” The story has no choice but to respond.” (George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain)

The Art of the Turning Point: A Character Development Exercise

Based on George Saunders’ insight about narrative momentum

Core Techniques Explored

1. Narrative Disruption: The deliberate use of unexpected events to force character growth and reveal deeper truths about personality and values
2. Character Response Mapping: Tracking how a character’s established traits, beliefs, and habits either transform or prove resilient when faced with sudden change

Writing Prompt (500 words)

Write a scene that begins with a character engaged in their normal routine, something they’ve done hundreds of times before. Then, introduce an unexpected event that “changes everything forever.” The key is that this event should not be externally dramatic (no deaths, disasters, or violence) but rather something seemingly small that takes on enormous significance for this specific character.

The change might be:

• Finding an old photograph that contradicts a treasured family story
• Overhearing a fragment of conversation that reveals a long-held belief is false
• Discovering a minor but unusual ability (like suddenly being able to taste the emotions of whoever cooked their food)
• Noticing something previously overlooked about their daily environment that can’t be unseen

Focus on detailing both the before and after states of the character’s consciousness. How does this small moment ripple out to affect their understanding of themselves and their world?

Evaluation Criteria

Strong Responses Will:

• Establish clear, specific routines and patterns before the turning point
• Choose a catalyzing event that is both surprising and believable
• Show (rather than tell) the character’s shifting internal state through concrete details, physical reactions, and changed behaviors
• Maintain psychological continuity while allowing for genuine transformation
• Use precise, sensory language to make both the ordinary and extraordinary moments vivid

Weaker Responses Typically:

• Rush through the “before” state to get to the change
• Rely on melodramatic external events rather than meaningful personal revelations
• Tell readers directly how the character feels rather than revealing it through action and detail
• Make the character’s transformation too sudden or complete
• Use vague or clichéd language to describe the character’s experience

Workshop Questions

1. Where do you see the first hint that change is possible in this character’s world? Could this foreshadowing be strengthened?
2. What specific aspects of the character’s personality make this particular moment so significant for them?
3. How might the scene change if you wrote it from a different character’s perspective?
4. What parts of the character’s routine could be made more specific or unusual to better set up the transformation?
5. Where could you add more sensory details to ground both the ordinary and extraordinary moments?

Model Text

Read Alice Munro’s “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” (first published in The New Yorker, December 27, 1999). Pay particular attention to how she handles the shift in Grant’s understanding of his relationship with Fiona. The story masterfully demonstrates how a change in perspective can reframe an entire life’s worth of memories and assumptions.

Time Management (2-hour session)

• 15 minutes: Close reading and discussion of the Saunders quote and exercise parameters
• 20 minutes: Character development prewriting (establish routine, traits, values)
• 45 minutes: First draft writing
• 20 minutes: Self-evaluation against criteria
• 20 minutes: Revision focusing on strengthening before/after contrast

Extension Activity

Write a second scene showing this same character six months after the turning point, focusing on one small way their life has changed. This helps cement the understanding that real character transformation often manifests in subtle, lasting changes rather than dramatic moments.

Regards,

RAR