"Hello and welcome to my
creative writing excercises you small person. I am Pepe (peppy) and
I will guideyou on your writing journey. Know that I am the king of creative writing
and am the personal
muse to many greats. Hey, you don't think Shakespeare thought up all those plays by
himself do you?
Anyways, pay attention and maybe you'll learn something."
The
Excercises
Instructions:
Keep a separate, (a little spiral bound one works well) notebook for each
exercise
so you can use your writings later. Glue exercise instructions in the front of the
appropriate book.
Excercise 1:
Get a timer and write for five minutes. Write whatever comes to
your mind no matter
how silly it is. Keep a notebook for just this excercises. If you ever have writers
block, refer to it, perhaps you’ll get an idea. Like I said, write whatever’s on
your
mind, even if it’s the breakfast you just ate.
Printer Friendly Exc. 1
Excercise 2:
Get a piece of fruit/vegetable and sit it in front of you.
Step 1: Examine it. Write it’s color(s), does it really just have one color? Write about it’s texture, size, any inconsistencies, whatever. What might it taste like? Does it have a use (like lemons make lemonade)? Think of other questions.
Step 2: Imagine it’s a person (a lemon might be just a head or a chubby man). How might they sound? What’s their favorite food, movie, book, type of music, etc.? What’s their family like? Are they married? A parent? Where do they live? Think of other questions.
Step 3: Imagine the fruit is a planet. What’s it’s climate? Does it have inhabitants? Who? Think of other questions.
Printer Friendly Exc. 2
Excercise 3:
Examine a picture or paitning. Write about it. Like if there’s a
picture of an empty clearing in the woods write about why it’s empty, was anything
ever there, tell a story about what happened here. Be sure to notice details of the
picture, like if there’s a bird in one of the trees or something.
Printer Friendly Exc. 3
Excercise 4:
Keep a notepad with you at all times. Ideas come at odd times
sometimes. Write down a funny or touching scene you witness or just an idea that popped
into your head. This is in my opinion the most valuable tool.
Printer Friendly Exc. 4
Excercise 5:
If you have a great idea to start or end a book write it down in a
"Story Starters" notebook. If you ever just want to write but can’t think
of a good story to start, check your notebook.
Printer Friendly Exc. 5
Excercise 6:
Keep a notebook or even a tape recorder by your bed. If you wake
up from a
dream/nightmare write it/record it and save it for later use. (Note: it’s good to
review what
you wrote/recorded the next morning, it may not make sense in two weeks when your
looking for ideas.) Make any changes or add to it if you get an idea. Dreams often make
great stories.
Printer Friendly Exc. 6