During his interview with the Write the Book podcast, Donald Antrim suggests a writing exercise based on an excerpt from his book, One Friday in April: A Story of Suicide and Survival. In the book, Antrim introduces a discussion of mental illness by listing all the ways it’s described: “Depression, hysteria, melancholia, nervousness, neurosis…”. The list continues for two pages.
As an exercise, create a similar list of words that reflects an aspect of your current work. How can you use this list to make a point? How can you make it interesting to read, evocative, or lyrical? Once you’ve made your point, how can you transition back to your text?
