STAR Writers' Program (Season 2) - Scene & Dialogue Challenge

STAR Writers' Program (Season 1) - Scene & Dialogue Challenge

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AIB First Draft (Season 1) - Scene Challenge (Without & With Dialogue)

Write a scene (in not more than 500 words) based on the following outline: Wife
is at home. Husband enters. They have not been talking for some days. One of them
tries to cajole the other. The other withdraws. The first one goes back to doing what
he/ she was doing. The other comes to the first one and kills him/her.Please note
that the scene cannot have any dialogue. So you can only write the scene-
description.

Re-write the same scene between the husband and the wife with dialogues. The
dialogues can be in Hindi or in English. (Max 1000 words.)

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Write a scene (3 pages) in which a prop is used in two drastically different ways. The prop should
originally be given as a gift or good-will gesture. Then, at the end of the scene, it is reversed and
used to express anger or a change in sentiments.

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A character disobeys an order

A character has to say goodbye to a good friend without actually saying s/he is leaving and
won’t be back

A character says “I love you”… without using the words “I love you”

Lovers quarrel where something gets broken

A scene between a senior citizen and a child

A scene in which a character uses a computer

An apology

An interrogation scene

The first line of dialogue: “That’s the guy, right there”

A post-sex scene
A scene using flashback and voice-over narration

A scene with just one word of dialogue

Adult answering a child’s questions

An accusation

An adulterer out for a meal with his/her spouse sees his/her lover enter the restaurant

A scene where the entire conversation takes place off-screen

An intervention

One character has to break bad news to the other

Strangers biding time in a hospital emergency waiting room

A parent-teacher conference

An adult just happens to run into their middle school bully

“I want a divorce”

Someone discovers their mate is having an affair

Someone gives a driving lesson to an amateur driver

Strangers stuck together in an elevator

A scene inspired by this photograph

A scene involving a dead body

A scene involving a secret

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CHARACTERS :-
1) Write about a character who does something they swore they would never do.

2) Write about two characters angry at each other, but have both of them
pretend the problems don’t exist. Instead, have them fight passive-aggressively,
through small, snide comments.

3) Write an argument where a husband or wife complains of a physical ailment,

but their spouse refuses to believe it’s real.
4) Write a scene where a stranger stops your main character, saying that they
know them, and insisting your main character is someone they are not.
Describe exactly how this case of mistaken identity makes your character feel.

5) Write a personality-revealing scene with a character inside a public restroom.

Do they press a thumb against the mirror to leave a subtle mark? Do they write
a plea for help on the inside of the stall door? Do they brag about the size of
what they’ve just dumped off?

6) Have one of your main characters come up with an idea for a comic book,
and tell a close friend about the idea. What about this idea would surprise the
friend, upsetting what he thought he knew about your main character? Also,
what would the main character learn about himself from the comic book idea?

7) Think of an illness someone you love has suffered from. How does your
character respond when someone close to them has this illness?

8) Write a scene where a man hits on a woman, and although the woman acts
repulsed and begs her friends to get him away from her, it becomes apparent
that she likes the attention.

9) Write about a 20-something confronting his parents over their disapproval of

his lifestyle.

10) Have your character faced with a decision witness a rare, awe-inspiring
event, and describe how it helps them make their decision.

11) For the next week, watch strangers carefully and take notes in your phone
about any peculiar gestures or body language. Combine the three most
interesting ones to describe a character as she goes grocery shopping.

12) Imagine if your character met for the first time his or her long-lost identical
twin. What personality traits would they share and which ones would have
changed because of their unique experiences?

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DIALOGUE :-
1) Describe two characters having a wordless conversation, communicating
only through gestures. Try to see how long you can keep the conversation going
without any words spoken, but end it with one of them saying a single word,
and the other one repeating the same word.
2) In a public place from the last vacation you took, have two characters
arguing, but make it clear by the end of the argument that they’re not arguing
about what they’re really upset about.

3) Write a scene composed mostly of dialogue with a child talking to a stranger.

Your mission is to show the child as heartbreakingly cute. At the same time,
avoid sentimentality.

4) Have two character have a conversation with only a single word, creating
emphasis and context so that the word communicates different things each time
it is spoken. The prime example of this is in the television show “The Wire,”
where Jimmy and Bunk investigate a crime scene repeating only a single
expletive.

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EMOTIONS :-
1) Make a list of the top five fears in your life. Write a character who is forced
to confront one of those fears.

2) Think about a time in your life when you felt shame. Now write a character
in a similar situation, trying to make it even more shameful.

3) Write a paragraph with a character struggle with two conflicting emotions

simultaneously. For example, a character who learns of his father’s death and
feels both satisfaction and pain.

4) Write a paragraph where a character starts in one emotional register, and

through a process of thought, completely evolves into a different emotion.

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Forty Dialogue Exercises

Below are forty dialogue exercises. Pick one and start writing. You don’t have to know who
the characters are, where they are, or why they’re at odds. Dialogue is one of the best ways to
learn more about your characters. Maybe one of these will even lead to a new story.

1. “I thought you were supposed to call me.”

2. “I never, ever want to hear you say that again.”
3. “Don’t just stand there looking at me.”
4. “Do you like my country?”
5. “My back’s killing me.”
6. “How much longer till we’re there?”
 7. “You have to tell her. It wouldn’t be right not to.”
8. “It doesn’t do any good to get worked up.”
9. “How much does he want?”
10. “I know it’s a little expensive.”
11. “Home is where they have to take you in. Am I right?”
12. “Your mother wants us to come down for Christmas.”
13. “I caught your cold.”
14. “Finish what you’re doing. We have to talk.”
15. “Could you not walk ten steps in front of me for a change?”
16. “How much longer is lobster season going to last?”
17. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought.”
18. “Give me the remote.”
19. “Could you please not use that tone of voice?”
20. “Little pitchers have big ears.”
21. “Hey, there. Are you in the witness protection program, or what?”
22. “Set me up.”
23. “When was the last time we had a real conversation.”
24. “You’re big and strong.”
25. “I’m so sick of all this gloom and doom. Why can’t people just be happy?”
26. “Look. There’s a place to park.”
27. “In my next life, I want to come back as a butterfly.”
28. “Do you know what today is?”
29. “I been thinking we should move to Alaska.”
30. “Ten bucks for this piece of crap!”
31. “You first.”
32. “I’m not cold in the least.”
33. “What’s your problem?”
34. “You’d be late for your own funeral.”
35. “You’re not my mother.”
36. “You know you’re wrong.”
37. “He’s a moocher, all right.”
38. “Why do you have that look on your face?”
39. “You should have seen it coming.”
40. “You’re going in there right now and apologize.

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1) Write about a situation in which plans go awry, leading to disastrous consequences.

Did you go to college anticipating success, only to flunk out? Does a character fall in
love with the wrong person, leading to a difficult breakup?

2) Write about a situation involving an attempt to gently or modestly explain something

illegal, outrageous or lewd to someone who might find it offensive, disturbing or
problematic.

3) Write a scene that includes a character speaking a different language, speaking in a

thick accent, or otherwise speaking in a way that is unintelligibe to the other characters.
(Note: You don’t necessarily need to know the language the character is speaking—be
creative with it!)
4) Write a story or a scene about one character playing a prank on another. Describe
the scene from both characters’ points of view.

5) Considering the passage above, write a scene or story about a character who has
committed a misdeed—a crime or a more minor indiscretion—and must decide whether
to face the consequences and make amends for the act, or to conceal or avoid it.

6) Craft a story or scene about two people—or other nonhuman characters, if you
prefer—from very different backgrounds sharing a meal together. What do they learn
about each other that they weren’t expecting?

7) Think back to a moment where you’ve come to the end of the road with something
important in your life—a relationship with a lover; moving out of your childhood home;
graduation from school; etc. Write a scene wrapped around that moment, describing
how you felt (good and bad) and how you closed the door on that chapter in your life.

8) You’ve been going to the same bar every night for the past five years. In fact, you’re
such a regular that when you enter the, the other patrons yell your name and the
bartender already has your drink waiting for you. But then one Friday you arrive and
no one seems to recognize you, not even the bartender. What’s going on?

9) Write a story about a character who finds out that he or she is dying and has been
knocking things off his/her bucket list and has finally reached the last item.

10) Try it with one of these “feeling” prompts. Write a scene based on one of the
phrases, allowing the character to express the emotion without using the word feel
or felt. Or if you’d like, comb through one of your own pieces looking for the words feel
or felt and expand on that feeling with more depth. (Hint: Avoid thoughts; stick to
action, dialogue and images.)

 He felt sad to hear the news.

 She felt angry when he yelled at her.
 I had never felt so embarrassed before.
 His expression made her feel afraid.
 Her words inspired a feeling of dread.
 I’d never feel joy again.
 You always feel sick.
 We never felt loved.