The Thanksgiving holiday is almost here. I love this holiday, as it’s a national event, so everyone can be a part of it.
I live near Central Park, and get to see the parade each year. A collective experience becomes rarer and rarer since the advent of the Internet, so there is something soul satisfying about being in a crowd of joyous children and parents.
Taking time to give thanks when you consider what is going well in your life is always a plan, and making written lists of the good stuff is a good exercise to do daily.
Your personal Thanksgiving can also be a way to expand your knowledge of your imaginary characters by comparing how your main characters and obstacles would celebrate, or not, and how they feel about their lives.
The exercise is best done writing for five minutes for each question. I recommend using a timer.
- Describe your own Thanksgiving.
- What are you grateful for?
- What is your favorite Thanksgiving food and why?
- What are your opinions about what Thanksgiving means?
Repeat this exercise for your hero or heroine, for your villain/obstacle, and then the buddy/sidekick/romantic character. Write in the first person as if you’re the character. Put this aside for a day or so, then review the answers. You’ll enjoy the insights you’ll receive.
Here are a few of my favorite Thanksgiving movies.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving-https://youtu.be/8w7vkbxTqF4
Addams Family Values– https://youtu.be/NQ5uTP7Rf_s
Hannah and Her Sisters-https://youtu.be/0ANCVh7dw_A
Home for the Holidays– https://youtu.be/y47gf-tE_cc
Planes, Trains and Automobiles-https://youtu.be/SwOYzLWS0Kw
Rocky-https://youtu.be/PZ0a2tUh4Nc
She’s Gotta Have It- https://youtu.be/c9i-YSNnlzs
The Big Chill- https://youtu.be/8h2VeXbFWTo
The Gold Rush– https://youtu.be/nt-_DXC-aik
The Myth of Fingerprints –https://youtu.be/NRzz9DOm1G0
You’ve Got Mail-https://youtu.be/59itQbSOz48
We’re taking the holiday week off and will resume on December 1.
Happy Turkey Day!
Here’s to your successful writing!
Professor Marilyn Horowitz
