Thursday, February 21, 2008

Writer's Game! Be a TV Guide Blurb-Monkey

A combination of Colleen Lindsay's recent post and S. E. Ward's comment upon that post has given me an idea for a quick and fun writer's game: Write an approximately 25-word blurb for a fictional television show using TV Guide's writing style.

What makes this a useful exercise is that you have to capture an engaging conflict in one or two very tight sentences. It provides practice both in writing strong pitch paragraphs for your query letters and in recognizing the essential ingredients of a gripping scene or storyline.

As an example, my entry on La Gringa's (Ms. Lindsay's) blog was:

11pm, Roar Masters. Trina discovers it was Jayden, not Amanda, who spiked her A.C. with bodily fluids, but she can't confront him until after they win the truck rally.


Would you watch that? (Probably not, if you have any taste, but note the time slot: good taste wanes exponentially after bedtime.)

If you're game, please post one or more of these in the comments! Something funny is always welcome, but the important thing is to create a blurb that is both concise and intriguing. (Bonus points for sticking your blogging buddies in a sitcom!) If you're really brave, write a blurb for an "episode" from one of your own stories.

Feel free to vote for your favourites and we'll declare a winner later! (Um, no prizes except for internet glory, mind you. :-D )

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