From the article: Creative Writing Exercises
Is there a creative writing exercise you love we have listed? Please contribute ideas you've used in classes, found in books, or just dreamed up. Share Your Exercise
Timeless Encounters
- Sometimes when writers hit a block, there are simple writing excursions one can take to break out. This exercise is simply the challenging task of creating a short story, 1-2 pages (or more if you are feeling inspired) that gives no indication of time period or direct location (as in specific cities or even countries) it could take place in. The difficulty of removing those simple distinctions and details provide an enjoyable challenge to inspire the mind to think through some crutches we may have as writers. What you will have accomplished at the end is a story that relies on your ability to write outside of the box and may take a few revisions to catch all of the details we impart without realizing it.
- —Guest Stacey Coombe
A way to get writing
- I'm really into quotes, you know? Who isn't? But sometimes you can put a whole different story behind the quote. One so different than what was intended. Like Roosevelt's "The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself" Can you put a new meaning to fear? Like J.K. Rowling's dementors and Boggarts, what can you twist Fear into? Or reading real stories is good, too. My Science teacher told the class about three brothers who went to war, and only one came back. I've written a story to put behind that... It's more fantasy, though. Try it. Explore. One sentence can create a whole story in your head... I know from personal experience. Go for a drive. One empty, shadowy field can put a full novel into your brain... Look into the sky. How do you know one of those birds isn't a completely different creature, flying high enough to appear small... Explore. Find your writing style. Keep working until you have your way to get going. =)
- —Guest FunAndRandomness
