Writing Exercises
Here are some things you can do to help your creative juices to keep flowing and improve your writing skills. Writing exercises are especially useful when you are in a writing rut. During periods of writer's block, they help you to continue the momentum of daily writing. Best of all, many wonderful writing ideas can emerge from writing exercises.
If you have any writing exercises that you feel other writers can benefit from, feel free to send it in. Just go to our submission page. Don't forget to send your personal information with it, so you can get credit for the exercise.
FREE WRITE
With free writing, just sit down and write something,
anything, even if it doesn't make sense. The act of free writing
allows you to tap into your creative mind. Excellent story ideas
can often emerge from free write sessions. Another benefit of free
writing is that it's often recommended by psychologists to help you release
your inner conflicts. It's great for getting things off of your chest.
ARTICLE CONVERSION
Flip through a magazine and newspaper until you find
an article that interests you. Now, imagine the people in the article.
Imagine what their lives are like and how they ended up in a predicament
that landed their names in a publication. Now write this down!
The great thing about this exercise is that the plot is already there for
you to grab.
VOCABULARY PUZZLES
We all know about crossword puzzles, scrambled words,
and word hunts, but a vocabulary puzzle can be more than these. Go
to a dictionary and randomly select about 20 words. Write each word
on a small piece of paper (with its definition if necessary). Figure
out how you can place all of these words together in a short story so that
the story actually makes sense and the words are properly placed.
This exercise not only increases your vocabulary, but it also forces you
to look at chaos in a new, organized, creative way.
DREAM JOURNALING
This is something you'll have to do immediately when
you wake up. Try to recall the dreams you've had throughout your sleep
and write them down. It doesn't matter how crazy the dream was or
how embarrassed you are by it. It will be for your eyes only, anyhow,
and you already know how weird it was. By doing this, you will be
able to tap into your creative subconscious and exercise your "creative
muscles."