Writing Exercise: “The Art of Spectacular Inaction”
Techniques to Develop
1. Contradiction as Engine
Strong fiction leans into tension born not from plot mechanics but from emotional or moral contradiction. Characters should want conflicting things or respond unpredictably to stimulus.
2. Spectacular Inaction
Build a scene where stillness—hesitation, paralysis, refusal—holds greater power than dramatic movement. Reveal interiority through what a character withholds or delays.
3. Resonant Minimalism
Let prose breathe. Strip away exposition or overly constructed plot moves. Listen for the “quiet line”—a sentence that lands not because it’s loud, but because it’s true.
Writing Prompt (500 words)
Write a scene in which a character arrives at a crossroads but doesn’t act—at least not in any obvious or plot-advancing way. Perhaps they overhear something, open a letter, find an object, or confront someone from their past. Let the weight of what’s unsaid or undone carry the scene. Give the reader full access to the character’s internal contradictions. Use setting, gesture, and silence to build tension. Avoid plotting your way out. Instead, stay with the uncertainty and render it beautifully.
Evaluation Criteria
Success indicators:
• The character is internally conflicted in a way that’s specific and emotionally real.
• The moment of inaction is earned, charged, and resonant—not simply passive or vague.
• Prose is pared back without being empty—every line listens for truth.
• The scene feels complete despite a lack of decisive external action.
Common weaknesses:
• Contradictions feel generic or imposed (“she loved him but also hated him”) rather than lived.
• The inaction comes off as writerly avoidance, not character-driven paralysis.
• The language is overworked or undercharged—either too ornate or too flat.
• The scene reads like buildup to a plot beat that never comes, instead of an ending that stuns with stillness.
Follow-up Questions for Workshopping/Revision
• What, specifically, is the character withholding—from others, from themselves, from the reader?
• Could you deepen the tension by focusing on sensory detail rather than exposition?
• Where does the contradiction live: in desire, memory, obligation, shame?
• Does the quietest moment carry the most emotional weight? If not, where does that weight fall—and should it?
Recommended Reading
“The Depressed Person” by David Foster Wallace
A masterclass in psychological contradiction, recursive thought, and spectacular inaction. Every sentence traps the character deeper in herself without ever breaking into action.
Strong vs. Weak Examples
Strong: A woman receives a letter from the man who disappeared twenty years ago. She reads it. She folds it. She makes tea. She doesn’t call. The story ends with her staring out at a backyard she hasn’t stepped into since he left. The whole thing hinges on a single look at a swing swaying in the wind.
Weak: A man finds a note on the windshield and spends the scene debating whether or not to follow the instructions. He ends up walking away, but the scene has no stakes, no emotional dissonance, and the prose exists only to get to the next beat that never arrives. There’s no contradiction, only delay.
Spend the full two hours immersed in hesitation. Don’t break the tension. Hold it. Let the quiet line emerge.
AI Disclosure Statement:
This writing prompt was created in collaboration with ChatGPT, an AI model by OpenAI, to support creative practice. ChatGPT assisted with idea generation and drafting; the final text was edited by the author. The illustration was created using Google Gemini.
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