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105 Creative Writing Exercises To Get You Writing Again

You know that feeling when you just don’t feel like writing? Sometimes you can’t even get a word down on paper. It’s the most frustrating thing ever to a writer, especially when you’re working towards a deadline. The good news is that we have a list of 105 creative writing exercises to help you get motivated and start writing again!

What are creative writing exercises?

Creative writing exercises are short writing activities (normally around 10 minutes) designed to get you writing. The goal of these exercises is to give you the motivation to put words onto a blank paper. These words don’t need to be logical or meaningful, neither do they need to be grammatically correct or spelt correctly. The whole idea is to just get you writing something, anything. The end result of these quick creative writing exercises is normally a series of notes, bullet points or ramblings that you can, later on, use as inspiration for a bigger piece of writing such as a story or a poem. 

Good creative writing exercises are short, quick and easy to complete. You shouldn’t need to think too much about your style of writing or how imaginative your notes are. Just write anything that comes to mind, and you’ll be on the road to improving your creative writing skills and beating writer’s block . 

Use the generator below to get a random creative writing exercise idea:

List of 105+ Creative Writing Exercises

Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again:

• Set a timer for 60 seconds. Now write down as many words or phrases that come to mind at that moment.
• Pick any colour you like. Now start your sentence with this colour. For example, Orange, the colour of my favourite top. 
• Open a book or dictionary on a random page. Pick a random word. You can close your eyes and slowly move your finger across the page. Now, write a paragraph with this random word in it. You can even use an online dictionary to get random words:

• Create your own alphabet picture book or list. It can be A to Z of animals, food, monsters or anything else you like!
• Using only the sense of smell, describe where you are right now.
• Take a snack break. While eating your snack write down the exact taste of that food. The goal of this creative writing exercise is to make your readers savour this food as well.
• Pick a random object in your room and write a short paragraph from its point of view. For example, how does your pencil feel? What if your lamp had feelings?
• Describe your dream house. Where would you live one day? Is it huge or tiny? 
• Pick two different TV shows, movies or books that you like. Now swap the main character. What if Supergirl was in Twilight? What if SpongeBob SquarePants was in The Flash? Write a short scene using this character swap as inspiration.
• What’s your favourite video game? Write at least 10 tips for playing this game.
• Pick your favourite hobby or sport. Now pretend an alien has just landed on Earth and you need to teach it this hobby or sport. Write at least ten tips on how you would teach this alien.
• Use a random image generator and write a paragraph about the first picture you see.

• Write a letter to your favourite celebrity or character. What inspires you most about them? Can you think of a memorable moment where this person’s life affected yours? We have this helpful guide on writing a letter to your best friend for extra inspiration.
• Write down at least 10 benefits of writing. This can help motivate you and beat writer’s block.
• Complete this sentence in 10 different ways: Patrick waited for the school bus and…
• Pick up a random book from your bookshelf and go to page 9. Find the ninth sentence on that page. Use this sentence as a story starter.
• Create a character profile based on all the traits that you hate. It might help to list down all the traits first and then work on describing the character.
• What is the scariest or most dangerous situation you have ever been in? Why was this situation scary? How did you cope at that moment?
• Pretend that you’re a chat show host and you’re interviewing your favourite celebrity. Write down the script for this conversation.
• Using extreme detail, write down what you have been doing for the past one hour today. Think about your thoughts, feelings and actions during this time.
• Make a list of potential character names for your next story. You can use a fantasy name generator to help you.
• Describe a futuristic setting. What do you think the world would look like in 100 years time?
• Think about a recent argument you had with someone. Would you change anything about it? How would you resolve an argument in the future?
• Describe a fantasy world. What kind of creatures live in this world? What is the climate like? What everyday challenges would a typical citizen of this world face? You can use this fantasy world name generator for inspiration.
• At the flip of a switch, you turn into a dragon. What kind of dragon would you be? Describe your appearance, special abilities, likes and dislikes. You can use a dragon name generator to give yourself a cool dragon name.
• Pick your favourite book or a famous story. Now change the point of view. For example, you could rewrite the fairytale , Cinderella. This time around, Prince Charming could be the main character. What do you think Prince Charming was doing, while Cinderella was cleaning the floors and getting ready for the ball?
• Pick a random writing prompt and use it to write a short story. Check out this collection of over 300 writing prompts for kids to inspire you. 
• Write a shopping list for a famous character in history. Imagine if you were Albert Einstein’s assistant, what kind of things would he shop for on a weekly basis?
• Create a fake advertisement poster for a random object that is near you right now. Your goal is to convince the reader to buy this object from you.
• What is the worst (or most annoying) sound that you can imagine? Describe this sound in great detail, so your reader can understand the pain you feel when hearing this sound.
• What is your favourite song at the moment? Pick one line from this song and describe a moment in your life that relates to this line.
•  You’re hosting an imaginary dinner party at your house. Create a list of people you would invite, and some party invites. Think about the theme of the dinner party, the food you will serve and entertainment for the evening. 
• You are waiting to see your dentist in the waiting room. Write down every thought you are having at this moment in time. 
• Make a list of your greatest fears. Try to think of at least three fears. Now write a short story about a character who is forced to confront one of these fears. 
• Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for a famous villain of your choice. Think about the crimes they have committed, and the reward you will give for having them caught. 
• Imagine you are a journalist for the ‘Imagine Forest Times’ newspaper. Your task is to get an exclusive interview with the most famous villain of all time. Pick a villain of your choice and interview them for your newspaper article. What questions would you ask them, and what would their responses be?
•  In a school playground, you see the school bully hurting a new kid. Write three short stories, one from each perspective in this scenario (The bully, the witness and the kid getting bullied).
• You just won $10 million dollars. What would you spend this money on?
• Pick a random animal, and research at least five interesting facts about this animal. Write a short story centred around one of these interesting facts. 
• Pick a global issue that you are passionate about. This could be climate change, black lives matters, women’s rights etc. Now create a campaign poster for this global issue. 
• Write an acrostic poem about an object near you right now (or even your own name). You could use a poetry idea generator to inspire you.
• Imagine you are the head chef of a 5-star restaurant. Recently the business has slowed down. Your task is to come up with a brand-new menu to excite customers. Watch this video prompt on YouTube to inspire you.
• What is your favourite food of all time? Imagine if this piece of food was alive, what would it say to you?
• If life was one big musical, what would you be singing about right now? Write the lyrics of your song. 
• Create and describe the most ultimate villain of all time. What would their traits be? What would their past look like? Will they have any positive traits?
• Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: Every time I look out of the window, I…
• You have just made it into the local newspaper, but what for? Write down at least five potential newspaper headlines . Here’s an example, Local Boy Survives a Deadly Illness.
• If you were a witch or a wizard, what would your specialist area be and why? You might want to use a Harry Potter name generator or a witch name generator for inspiration.
• What is your favourite thing to do on a Saturday night? Write a short story centred around this activity. 
• Your main character has just received the following items: A highlighter, a red cap, a teddy bear and a fork. What would your character do with these items? Can you write a story using these items? 
• Create a timeline of your own life, from birth to this current moment. Think about the key events in your life, such as birthdays, graduations, weddings and so on. After you have done this, you can pick one key event from your life to write a story about. 
• Think of a famous book or movie you like. Rewrite a scene from this book or movie, where the main character is an outsider. They watch the key events play out, but have no role in the story. What would their actions be? How would they react?
• Three very different characters have just won the lottery. Write a script for each character, as they reveal the big news to their best friend.  
• Write a day in the life story of three different characters. How does each character start their day? What do they do throughout the day? And how does their day end?
•  Write about the worst experience in your life so far. Think about a time when you were most upset or angry and describe it. 
• Imagine you’ve found a time machine in your house. What year would you travel to and why?
• Describe your own superhero. Think about their appearance, special abilities and their superhero name. Will they have a secret identity? Who is their number one enemy?
• What is your favourite country in the world? Research five fun facts about this country and use one to write a short story. 
• Set yourself at least three writing goals. This could be a good way to motivate yourself to write every day. For example, one goal might be to write at least 150 words a day. 
• Create a character description based on the one fact, three fiction rule. Think about one fact or truth about yourself. And then add in three fictional or fantasy elements. For example, your character could be the same age as you in real life, this is your one fact. And the three fictional elements could be they have the ability to fly, talk in over 100 different languages and have green skin. 
• Describe the perfect person. What traits would they have? Think about their appearance, their interests and their dislikes. 
• Keep a daily journal or diary. This is a great way to keep writing every day. There are lots of things you can write about in your journal, such as you can write about the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of your day. Think about anything that inspired you or anything that upset you, or just write anything that comes to mind at the moment. 
• Write a book review or a movie review. If you’re lost for inspiration, just watch a random movie or read any book that you can find. Then write a critical review on it. Think about the best parts of the book/movie and the worst parts. How would you improve the book or movie?
• Write down a conversation between yourself. You can imagine talking to your younger self or future self (i.e. in 10 years’ time). What would you tell them? Are there any lessons you learned or warnings you need to give? Maybe you could talk about what your life is like now and compare it to their life?
• Try writing some quick flash fiction stories . Flash fiction is normally around 500 words long, so try to stay within this limit.
• Write a six-word story about something that happened to you today or yesterday. A six-word story is basically an entire story told in just six words. Take for example: “Another football game ruined by me.” or “A dog’s painting sold for millions.” – Six-word stories are similar to writing newspaper headlines. The goal is to summarise your story in just six words. 
• The most common monsters or creatures used in stories include vampires, werewolves , dragons, the bigfoot, sirens and the loch-ness monster. In a battle of intelligence, who do you think will win and why?
• Think about an important event in your life that has happened so far, such as a birthday or the birth of a new sibling. Now using the 5 W’s and 1 H technique describe this event in great detail. The 5 W’s include: What, Who, Where, Why, When and the 1 H is: How. Ask yourself questions about the event, such as what exactly happened on that day? Who was there? Why was this event important? When and where did it happen? And finally, how did it make you feel?
• Pretend to be someone else. Think about someone important in your life. Now put yourself into their shoes, and write a day in the life story about being them. What do you think they do on a daily basis? What situations would they encounter? How would they feel?
• Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: I remember…
• Write about your dream holiday. Where would you go? Who would you go with? And what kind of activities would you do?
• Which one item in your house do you use the most? Is it the television, computer, mobile phone, the sofa or the microwave? Now write a story of how this item was invented. You might want to do some research online and use these ideas to build up your story. 
• In exactly 100 words, describe your bedroom. Try not to go over or under this word limit.
• Make a top ten list of your favourite animals. Based on this list create your own animal fact file, where you provide fun facts about each animal in your list.
• What is your favourite scene from a book or a movie? Write down this scene. Now rewrite the scene in a different genre, such as horror, comedy, drama etc.
•  Change the main character of a story you recently read into a villain. For example, you could take a popular fairytale such as Jack and the Beanstalk, but this time re-write the story to make Jack the villain of the tale.
• Complete the following sentence in at least 10 different ways: Do you ever wonder…
• What does your name mean? Research the meaning of your own name, or a name that interests you. Then use this as inspiration for your next story. For example, the name ‘Marty’ means “Servant Of Mars, God Of War”. This could make a good concept for a sci-fi story.
• Make a list of three different types of heroes (or main characters) for potential future stories.
• If someone gave you $10 dollars, what would you spend it on and why?
• Describe the world’s most boring character in at least 100 words. 
• What is the biggest problem in the world today, and how can you help fix this issue?
• Create your own travel brochure for your hometown. Think about why tourists might want to visit your hometown. What is your town’s history? What kind of activities can you do? You could even research some interesting facts. 
• Make a list of all your favourite moments or memories in your life. Now pick one to write a short story about.
• Describe the scariest and ugliest monster you can imagine. You could even draw a picture of this monster with your description.
• Write seven haikus, one for each colour of the rainbow. That’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. 
• Imagine you are at the supermarket. Write down at least three funny scenarios that could happen to you at the supermarket. Use one for your next short story. 
• Imagine your main character is at home staring at a photograph. Write the saddest scene possible. Your goal is to make your reader cry when reading this scene. 
• What is happiness? In at least 150 words describe the feeling of happiness. You could use examples from your own life of when you felt happy.
• Think of a recent nightmare you had and write down everything you can remember. Use this nightmare as inspiration for your next story.
• Keep a dream journal. Every time you wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning you can quickly jot down things that you remember from your dreams. These notes can then be used as inspiration for a short story. 
• Your main character is having a really bad day. Describe this bad day and the series of events they experience. What’s the worst thing that could happen to your character?
• You find a box on your doorstep. You open this box and see the most amazing thing ever. Describe this amazing thing to your readers.
• Make a list of at least five possible settings or locations for future stories. Remember to describe each setting in detail.
• Think of something new you recently learned. Write this down. Now write a short story where your main character also learns the same thing.
• Describe the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your whole life. Your goal is to amaze your readers with its beauty. 
• Make a list of things that make you happy or cheer you up. Try to think of at least five ideas. Now imagine living in a world where all these things were banned or against the law. Use this as inspiration for your next story.
• Would you rather be rich and alone or poor and very popular? Write a story based on the lives of these two characters. 
• Imagine your main character is a Librarian. Write down at least three dark secrets they might have. Remember, the best secrets are always unexpected.
• There’s a history behind everything. Describe the history of your house. How and when was your house built? Think about the land it was built on and the people that may have lived here long before you.
• Imagine that you are the king or queen of a beautiful kingdom. Describe your kingdom in great detail. What kind of rules would you have? Would you be a kind ruler or an evil ruler of the kingdom?
• Make a wish list of at least three objects you wish you owned right now. Now use these three items in your next story. At least one of them must be the main prop in the story.
• Using nothing but the sense of taste, describe a nice Sunday afternoon at your house. Remember you can’t use your other senses (i.e see, hear, smell or touch) in this description. 
• What’s the worst pain you felt in your life? Describe this pain in great detail, so your readers can also feel it.
• If you were lost on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, what three must-have things would you pack and why?
• Particpate in online writing challenges or contests. Here at Imagine Forest, we offer daily writing challenges with a new prompt added every day to inspire you. Check out our challenges section in the menu.

Do you have any more fun creative writing exercises to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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50 Fantastic Creative Writing Exercises

Good question.

Creative writing exercises are designed to teach a technique. They are highly specific, more specific than creative writing prompts, and much more specific than story generators.

Creative writing exercises for adults are not designed to lead the writer into crafting a full story, but are only designed to help them improve as a writer in a narrow, specific category of writing skills.

I’ve broken the exercises below into categories so you can choose what category of skill you’d like to practice. Can you guess which category in this list has the most prompts?

If you guessed characters, then you’re right. I think characters are the heart blood of every story, and that a majority of any writing prompts or writing exercises should focus on them.

But I also think any of these will help you create a narrative, and a plot, and help you generate all kinds of dialogue, whether for short stories or for novels. These writing exercises are pretty much guaranteed to improve your writing and eliminate writer’s block. 

Also, if you’re a fledgling writer who needs help writing their novel, check out my comprehensive guide to novel writing.

Enjoy the five categories of writing exercises below, and happy writing!

1. Think of the most deafening sound you can imagine. Describe it in great detail, and have your character hear it for the first time at the start of a story.

2. Have a man cooking for a woman on a third date, and have her describe the aromas in such loving and extended detail that she realizes that she’s in love with him.

3. Pick a line from one of your favorite songs, and identify the main emotion. Now write a character who is feeling that emotion and hears the song. Try to describe the type of music in such a beautiful way that you will make the reader yearn to hear the song as well.

4. Have a character dine at a blind restaurant, a restaurant in pitch blackness where all the servers are blind, and describe for a full paragraph how the tablecloth, their clothing, and the hand of their dining partner feels different in the darkness.

5. Select a dish representative of a national cuisine, and have a character describe it in such detail that the reader salivates and the personality of the character is revealed.

7. Describe two characters having a wordless conversation, communicating only through gestures. Try to see how long you can keep the conversation going without any words spoken, but end it with one of them saying a single word, and the other one repeating the same word.

8. In a public place from the last vacation you took, have two characters arguing, but make it clear by the end of the argument that they’re not arguing about what they’re really upset about.

9. Write a scene composed mostly of dialogue with a child talking to a stranger. Your mission is to show the child as heartbreakingly cute. At the same time, avoid sentimentality. 

10. Have two character have a conversation with only a single word, creating emphasis and context so that the word communicates different things each time it is spoken. The prime example of this is in the television show “The Wire,” where Jimmy and Bunk investigate a crime scene repeating only a single expletive.

11. Pick an object that is ugly, and create a character who finds it very beautiful. Have the character describe the object in a way that convinces the reader of its beauty. Now write a second version where you convince the reader (through describing the object alone) that the character is mentally unstable.

12. Write down five emotions on slips of paper and slip them into a hat. Now go outside and find a tree. Draw one emotion from the hat, and try to describe that tree from the perspective of a character feeling that emotion. (Don’t mention the emotion in your writing — try to describe the tree so the reader could guess the emotion).

13. Describe a character’s bedroom in such a way that it tells us about a person’s greatest fears and hopes.

14. Root through your desk drawer until you find a strange object, an object that would probably not be in other people’s drawers. Have a character who is devastated to find this object, and tell the story of why this object devastates them.

15. Go to an art-based Pinterest page and find your favorite piece of art. Now imagine a living room inspired by that flavor of artwork, and show the room after a husband and wife have had the worst fight of their marriage.

16. Pick a simple object like a vase, a broom, or a light bulb, and write a scene that makes the reader cry when they see the object.

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17. Make a list of the top five fears in your life. Write a character who is forced to confront one of those fears.

18. Write an entire page describing the exact emotions when you learned of a happy or calamitous event in your life. Now try to condense that page into a single searing sentence.

19. Think about a time in your life when you felt shame. Now write a character in a similar situation, trying to make it even more shameful.

20. Write a paragraph with a character struggle with two conflicting emotions simultaneously. For example, a character who learns of his father’s death and feels both satisfaction and pain.

21. Write a paragraph where a character starts in one emotional register, and through a process of thought, completely evolves into a different emotion.

Characters:

22. Create a minor character based upon someone you dislike. Now have your main character encounter them and feel sympathy and empathy for them despite their faults.

23. Have a kooky character tell a story inside a pre-established form: an instruction manual, traffic update, email exchange, weather report, text message.

24. Write about a character who does something they swore they would never do.

25. Have a character who has memorized something (the names of positions in the Kama Sutra, the entire book of Revelations) recite it while doing something completely at odds with what they’re reciting. For instance, bench pressing while reciting the emperors in a Chinese dynasty.

26. Write a paragraph where a character does a simple action, like turning on a light switch, and make the reader marvel at how strange and odd it truly is.

27. Have a couple fight while playing a board game. Have the fight be about something related to the board game: fighting about money, have them play monopoly. Fighting about politics, let them play chess.

28. Write about two characters angry at each other, but have both of them pretend the problems don’t exist. Instead, have them fight passive-aggressively, through small, snide comments.

29. Describe a character walking across an expanse field or lot and describe how he walks. The reader should perfectly understand his personality simply by the way you describe his walk.

30. Write a first-person POV of a character under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and try to make the prose as woozy and tipsy as the character.

31. Describe the first time that a character realizes he is not as smart as he thought.

32. Describe an hour in the life of a character who has recently lost their ability to do what they love most (a pianist who has severe arthritis; a runner who became a quadriplegic).

33. Write an argument where a husband or wife complains of a physical ailment, but their spouse refuses to believe it’s real.

34. Write a scene where a stranger stops your main character, saying that they know them, and insisting your main character is someone they are not. Describe exactly how this case of mistaken identity makes your character feel.

35. Describe a small personality trait about a person you love, and make the reader love them, too.

36. Write a personality-revealing scene with a character inside a public restroom. Do they press a thumb against the mirror to leave a subtle mark? Do they write a plea for help on the inside of the stall door? Do they brag about the size of what they’ve just dumped off?

37. Give your character an extremely unusual response to a national tragedy like a terrorist attack or natural disaster. Maybe have them be aware their response is unusual, and try to cloak it from others, or have them be completely unaware and display it without any self-consciousness.

38. Have one of your main characters come up with an idea for a comic book, and tell a close friend about the idea. What about this idea would surprise the friend, upsetting what he thought he knew about your main character? Also, what would the main character learn about himself from the comic book idea?

39. Think of an illness someone you love has suffered from. How does your character respond when someone close to them has this illness?

40. Have your main character invent an extremely offensive idea for a book, and show their personality faults through discussing it with others.

41. Have your character write down a list considering how to respond to their stalker.

42. Write a scene where a man hits on a woman, and although the woman acts repulsed and begs her friends to get him away from her, it becomes apparent that she likes the attention.

43. Write about a 20-something confronting his parents over their disapproval of his lifestyle.

44. Have your character write a funny to-do list about the steps to get a boyfriend or girlfriend.

45. Have a risk-adverse character stuck in a hostage situation with a risk-happy character.

46. For the next week, watch strangers carefully and take notes in your phone about any peculiar gestures or body language. Combine the three most interesting ones to describe a character as she goes grocery shopping.

47. Buy a package of the pills that expand into foam animals, and put a random one in a glass of warm water. Whatever it turns out to be, have that animal surprise your main character in a scene.

48. Have your character faced with a decision witness a rare, awe-inspiring event, and describe how it helps them make their decision.

49. Imagine if your character met for the first time his or her long-lost identical twin. What personality traits would they share and which ones would have changed because of their unique experiences? 

50. If a character got burned by a hot pan, what type of strange reaction would they have that would reveal what they value most?

Once you’ve taken a stab at some of these exercises, I’d recommend you use them in your actual writing.

And for instruction on that, you need a guide to writing your novel . 

That link will change your life and your novel. Click it now.

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33 comments

John Fox, you have some excellent resources, and I thank you. I read your comments, then scrolled down to glance at the list of 50 exercises. The FIRST one, “loud noise’ is already in my head. My Hero is going to be side swiped in my Cozy. I was side swiped on a state highway here in Virginia a couple of weeks ago and, although the damage was minor, the sound of that big SUV “glancing” off my little car was SCARY!!! I once heard a fast-moving car REAR-END is stand-still car; that sound was something I’ll never forget. So, your exercise is very timely. THANK YOU!!!

This is a great list! Thanks!

You know what would be motivating? If we could turn these in to someone and get like a grade lol

I’ve been thinking a lot about “how to master writing,” and this is the first time that I found an article that makes it clear the difference between prompts and exercises. I fully agree with you. These are bound to make you a better writer if you focus on doing a variation of them daily.

An excellent list – thank you very much. I run a small writing group and we’ll be trying some.

Yes, thank you. I too run a small writing group and you got me out of a slump for tomorrow’s group!

yes,thank you . It’s good for improve your writing skills.

• Pingback: Writing Exercises for Adults That Can Help You Write Better

What a lovely list! I am working on the final draft of my very first novel, and am constantly working at improving the final product. Your exercises are just what I need to kickstart my writing day. Thank you so very much.

Thank you very much When I turned50 I received my diploma from Children’s Institute in West Redding Ct I got my inspiration from being near water however now that I am in Oregon I have had a writing block thanks to your list my creative juices are flowing

I suppose I better have good punctuation, seeing this is about Writing. Thank you for this great list. I am the Chair of our small Writing group in Otorohanga and we start again last week of Feb. I have sent out a homework email, to write a A4 page of something exciting that has happened over the holiday break and they must read it out to the group with passion and excitement in their voices. That will get them out of their comfort zone!

A formidable yet inspiring list. Thank you very much for this. This is really very helpful. I am from India, and very new to writing and have started my first project, which I want to make it into a Novel. This has been very helpful and is very challenging too. Prompts look sissy when compared to this, frankly speaking. Thank you very much again.

Where can I get the answers for these?

There aren’t “answers.” You create responses to these exercises.

Thank you so much for the detailed suggestions focusing on HOW to put the WHAT into practice; really helpful & inspiring.

Just started rough drafting a story I’ve always wanted to write. Do you have any advice for someone writing their first real story? I’m having trouble starting it; I just want it to be perfect.

I consider this very helpful. Just started my journey as a creative writer, and will be coming back to this page to aid my daily writing goal.

I have always loved writing exercises and these are perfect practice for my competition. I have tried lots of different things that other websites have told me to try, but this by far is the most descriptive and helpful site that i have seen so far.

This is really a creative blog. An expert writer is an amateur who didn’t stop. I trust myself that a decent writer doesn’t actually should be advised anything but to keep at it. Keep it up!

I’ve always enjoyed writing from a little girl. Since I’ve been taking it a bit more seriously as does everybody else it seems; I’ve lost the fun and sponteneity. Until now…..this is a marvelous blog to get back the basic joy and freedom in writing. Or should that be of?:) These exercises are perfect to get the creative juices flowing again…..thank you:)

These are interesting exercises for writing.

These are fantastic! I started reading a really awesome book on creative writing but it just didn’t get any good or easy to follow exercises. So I found your site and having been having a lot of fun with these. Exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

creative and inspiring, thank you

I always wanted to have an exercise where a friend and I each wrote a random sentence and sent it to each other to write a short story from that beginning sentence, then exchange the stories for reading and/or critique. Maybe both writers start with the same sentence and see how different the stories turn out.

Thanks for these exercises. Some are really challenging. To truly tackle them I’m having to spend as long beforehand thinking “how the HECK am I going to do this?” as I do with ink on paper. Would be a great resource if other authors submitted their replies and thoughts about how they went about each exercise.

Start the conversation: submit one of yours.

I think I can use these to inspire my students.

Hi there. Thank you for posting this list- it’s great! Can I ask you to consider removing number 42 or perhaps changing it somewhat? I teach sex ed and every year am shocked by how many young people don’t understand issues around consent. Stories about woman who ‘say no but really mean yes’ are deeply unhelpful. Really appreciate your post but felt I had to ask. Thanks.

What’s wrong with the number 42?

It promulgates the belief that when a woman says no, she doesn’t mean it, potentially resulting in sexual assault.

I just make this list a part of my teaching in Creative Writing Classes. Very good list of ideas!

Thank you so much for posting this! I have used it to create a creative playwriting activity for my high school creative writing class–so much good stuff here for me to pick through and select for my kiddos that will allow them to shine and improve their knowledge of writing as a craft!

These exercises are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂

Every writer NEEDS this book.

It’s a guide to writing the pivotal moments of your novel.

Whether writing your book or revising it, this will be the most helpful book you’ll ever buy.

25 Great Creative Writing Exercises To Awaken The Senses

• January 23, 2023
• Craft , Inspiration

I’ve written about the importance of sensory imagery in writing before, specifically for developing characters, in my blog: Use The Five Senses and Bring Your Characters to Life.  

But it’s not just for developing your characters; sensory imagery is needed everywhere if you want your readers to engage with your story. 

What is sensory imagery?

When we tell a story, we create a world in the reader’s mind, and by using specific, definite, and concrete details, we enable the reader to enter this new world. 

A detail is  definite and concrete when it appeals to the senses. It should be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched.  

Whether you are writing non-fiction, fiction, poetry, or plays, getting in touch with your senses, and using imagery that relates to them, will serve you well. 

Experience using sensory imagery.

This post aims to give you the experience of engaging with each sense and letting it take you somewhere unexpected. It’s all very well to understand the concept of using the senses and even be convinced that it’s important to include them in your writing. Still, until you’ve taken the time—10 minutes is all you need— to experience the nuances of each sense, you might not fully understand why using sensory imagery in your writing is essential and how it works. 

How to start: Choose a writing prompt and write it  at the top of your page.    Set your timer for 10 minutes. Read the prompt and begin writing immediately, without thinking—follow the first thought and go wherever it takes you. No editing, no judging, just writing.

Keep your pen moving. 

Don’t stop until the time is up. 

Suspend judgment. 

Be curious. 

Tip: Write by hand.  Writing by hand connects the brain and body and, I believe, the heart. It’s especially helpful in getting those first thoughts onto the page.

Remember:  you can always write from the POV of one of your characters.

25 Great Sensory Writing Prompts.

The sense of smell.

More than any other sense, smell can connect us intimately to the past in a way our ideas cannot. A scent can initiate a flood of memories regardless of how unexpected or fleeting. A whiff of your mother’s perfume on an old sweater can catapult you to a long-forgotten memory of weekly drives to ballet class, the last kiss at bedtime, tears over a science project, or your wedding day. 

Prompt 1.    What’s the most unusual smell you’ve ever encountered?

Prompt 2.    What’s the first scent you smell upon entering your home?

Prompt 3.    What is the most dangerous smell you can think of?

Prompt 4.    If you were holding your favorite stuffed animal from childhood, what would it smell like?

Prompt 5.    Peel an orange, inhale the scent and write about the first memory that comes to mind.

For more on smell, read the blog How the Sense of Smell Can Enhance Your Writing .

The Sense of Touch   

Touch is a basic human need, and it’s the first sense we develop upon entering this world and the last sense to go as we depart this world.

It is also one of the least used senses in writing, perhaps because it’s the most difficult to describe. But think about how often we confirm what we see by reaching out and touching. A reader can more easily engage with a character’s world if they can touch it. I’m using the word touch rather than feel because the term “feel” tends to lead us to emotions, and while that’s important, it’s not what we’re aiming for here. 

Prompt 1.    Write about the last time you touched wet . 

Prompt 2.    Write about something you want to touch but can’t or shouldn’t.

Prompt 3.    Imagine you can describe a sculpture by how it feels as you run your hands over it.

Prompt 4.    Write about the earliest touch you can remember.

Prompt 5.    Write about something you can’t pass by without touching it.

For more on the sense of touch, read the blog How To Use The Sense Of Touch In Your Writing .

The Sense of Taste

Taste might be the least used sense in writing but think of all you can learn about your character through their tastebuds. The sense of taste and the act of tasting can be highly evocative, taking your reader from delight to disgust with a mere nibble.

Yes, it may be challenging to describe taste without using the senses for sight and smell, which are inherent in taste but challenge yourself to see where taste alone might take you.

Prompt 1.    This exercise will prime you for the following four prompts  Choose something you like to eat, a piece of fruit, a square of chocolate, and most anything will work. Sit quietly and take a few slow breaths. When you’re ready, take a bite or place the food item in yo r mouth and let it sit on your tongue. Take note of physical sensations, flavor, and sound. You may discover new sensations and ideas for enriching your descriptive details.  Now, write a description of what you experienced. 

Prompt 2.    Write about your favorite childhood meal and how it might ta te today.

Prompt 3.    Think of two of your favorite foods. Now write about how they might taste together.

Prompt 4.    Write about the experience of tasting a foreign dish for the first time.

Prompt 5.    Describe the taste of your favorite dessert without revealing what it is.

For more on the sense of taste, read the blog, How To Use The Sense Of Taste In Your Writing .

The Sense of Hearing

Second, to sight, hearing gives us a primary experience of the world we live in. Sounds enrich our environment; we depend on them to help u  interpret, communicate with, and express the world around us.  

While not as evocative as smell, familiar sounds can stir memories and transport us to another time and place. What more powerful tool could a writer ask for than auditory details that offer nuanced layers to a scene?

Prompt 1.   What would it sound like if  you amplified the sound of snow falling on the roof?

Prompt 2.    Describe the sound of a family holiday dinner.

Prompt 3.    Play a piece of your favorite music and write from the first image that appears in your mind.

Prompt 4.    Sit quietly for 2-3 minutes until you can identify the sound that is the farthest away. Describe it without naming it and go wherever it takes you. 

Prompt 5.    What sound do you most like/dislike?

For more on the sense of hearing, read the blog How To Use The Sense Of Hearing In Your Writing .

The Sense of Sight

The sense of sight is the sense we use most often in writing.

If you’ve ever tried to describe something without referring to sight, you’ll know just how challenging that is to accomplish. 

Perhaps this is because 70% of the body’s sense receptors cluster in the eyes, and it is mainly through seeing the world that we appraise and understand it. 

​​A visual image can be a trigger for memory and emotion. A painting can take us back to a time in history replete with triumph or tragedy. A gesture captured in a photograph may symbolize love, loss, or confusion.

Remember, sight is not only for description and scene setting; showing how your characters see the world and how they feel about it will capture your readers’ attention.

Prompt 1.    Describe your face as you might see it reflected in a pool of water.

Prompt 2.    Describe someone who doesn’t know you are watching them.

Prompt 3.    If anger were a creature, describe it.

Prompt 4.   Describe your ideal writing place.

Prompt 5.   Choose a painting and describe it without using the sense of sight  Use every other sense.

For more on the sense of sight, read the blog How To Use The Sense Of Sight In Your Writing .

I hope you find these prompts useful—let me know how it goes.

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Thanks for these useful prompts.

I’m glad you found them helpful!

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Hi, I’m Kathryn Kay, the founder of A Writer Within. I offer support and inspiration to women writers through one-on-one coaching, editing services, and week-long retreats in Tuscany. My focus is on getting writers into the creative flow, beyond their internal critic, and their very best stories onto the page. If you have a writer within, let’s set her free!

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The best writing exercises bring out our latent creativity. Especially if you ever feel stuck or blocked, making creative writing exercises part of your daily writing practice can be a great way to both hone your skills and explore new frontiers in your writing. Whether you’re a poet, essayist, storyteller, or genre-bending author, these free writing exercises will jumpstart your creative juices and improve your writing abilities.

24 of the Best Free Writing Exercises to Try Out Today

The best creative writing exercises will push you out of your comfort zone and get you to experiment with words. Language is your sandbox, so let’s build some sand castles with these exercises and writing prompts.

Write With Limitations

The English language is huge, complicated, and — quite frankly — chaotic. Writing with self-imposed limitations can help you create novel and inventive pieces.

What does “limitations” mean in this context? Basically, force yourself not to use certain words, descriptions, or figures of speech. Some writing exercises using limitations include the following:

• Write without using adverbs or adjectives.
• Write without using the passive voice – no “being verbs” whatsoever. (Also called “E-Prime” writing.)
• Write a story without using a common letter –  just like Ernest Vincent Wright did .
• Write a poem where each line has six words.
• Write without using any pronouns.

Among exercises to improve writing skills, writing with limitations has the clearest benefits. This practice challenges your brain to think about language productively. Additionally, these limitations force you to use unconventional language – which, in turn, makes you write with lucidity, avidity, and invention.

Freewriting & Stream of Consciousness

What do you do when the words just don’t come out? How can you write better if you can’t seem to write at all? One of the best poetry exercises, as well as writing exercises in general, is to start your day by freewriting.

Freewriting, also known as “stream of consciousness writing,” involves writing your thoughts down the moment they come. There’s no filtering what you write, and no controlling what you think: topicality, style, and continuity are wholly unnecessary in the freewriting process. While the idea of freewriting seems easy, it’s much harder than you think – examining your thoughts without controlling them takes a while to master, and the impulse to control what you write isn’t easy to tame. Try these exercises to master the skill:

• Do a timed freewrite. Start with five minutes.
• Freewrite until you fill up the entirety of something – an envelope, a receipt, a postcard, etc.
• Freewrite after meditating.
• Freewrite off of the first word of today’s newspaper.

Among daily writing exercises, freewriting is one of the best writing exercises. Poets can use freewritten material as inspiration for their poetry. Prose writers can also find inspiration for future stories from the depths of their consciousnesses. Start your writing day with freewriting, and watch your creativity blossom.

Copy What You Read

Plagiarism is still off the table; however, you can learn a lot by paying attention to how other people write. This is what we call “reading like a writer.”

Reading like a writer means paying attention to the craft elements that make an excellent piece of literature work. Good writing requires different writing styles, figurative language, story structures, and/or poetry forms, as well as key word choice.

When you notice these craft elements, you can go ahead and emulate them in your own work. As a fiction writer , you might be drawn to the way Haruki Murakami weaves folklore into his stories, and decide to write a story like that yourself. Or, as a poet, you might be inspired by Terrance Hayes’ Golden Shovel form — enough so that you write a Golden Shovel yourself.

• Read a favorite poem, and write your own poem in the same poetic form.
• Blackout poetry: take another poem, cross out words you don’t want to use, circle words you do, and write a poem based on the circled words.
• Copy a single sentence from a favorite novel, and write a short-short story with it.

Among free writing exercises, this is a great way to learn from the best. The best kinds of exercises to improve writing skills involve building upon the current canon of works — as Isaac Newton said, you achieve something great by “standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Write From Different Perspectives

The conventional advice given to writers is to “write what you know.” We couldn’t disagree with that statement more. The best creative works force both the writer and the reader to consider new perspectives and learn something new; writing from a new point-of-view makes for a great exercise in expanding your creative limits.

Try these ideas as daily writing exercises:

• Write a story with the same plot, but with two or more perspectives. For example, you could write a lover’s quarrel from two different view points.
• Write from the point-of-view of a famous historical figure.
• Write a story or poem from the perspective of an object: a statue, a doll, a roomba, etc.
• Write from the perspective of a person you dislike.

While playing with perspective makes for a great fiction writing exercise , poets and essayists can do this too. Patricia Smith’s poem “Skinhead,” for example, is a persona piece written from the perspective of a white nationalist, but the poem clearly condemns the speaker’s beliefs.

Thus, perspective writing also works as a poetry exercise and an essay writing practice exercise . If you’re stuck in your own head, try writing in someone else’s!

Write Metaphor Lists

All creative writers need figurative language. While metaphors, similes, and synecdoches are more prominent in poetry , prose writers need the power of metaphor to truly engross their reader. Among both exercises to improve writing skills and fun writing exercises for adults, writing metaphor lists is one of the best writing exercises out there.

A metaphor list is simple. On a notebook, create two columns. In one column, write down only concrete nouns. Things like a pillow, a tree, a cat, a cloud, and anything that can be perceived with one of the five senses.

In the other list, write down only abstract ideas. Things like love, hate, war, peace, justice, closure, and reconciliation — anything that is conceptual and cannot be directly perceived.

Now, choose a random noun and a random concept, and create a metaphor or simile with them. Delve into the metaphor and explain the comparison. For example, you might say “Love is like a pillow — it can comfort, or it can smother.”

Once you’ve mastered the metaphor list, you can try the following ideas to challenge yourself:

• Create a coherent poem out of your metaphor list.
• Turn your metaphor list into a short story.
• Try making lists with a different figurative language device, such as personification, pathetic fallacy, or metonymy.

Any free creative writing exercise that focuses on figurative language can aid your writing immensely, as it helps writers add insight and emotionality to their work. This is an especially great creative writing exercise for beginners as they learn the elements of style and language.

Daily Journaling

Of course, the best way to improve your creative writing skills is simply to write every day. Keeping a daily journal is a great way to exercise your writing mind. By sitting down with your personal observations and writing without an agenda or audience, a daily writing practice  remains one of the best writing exercises , regardless of your genre or level of expertise.

Consider these ideas for your daily journal:

• Track your mood and emotions throughout the day. Write those emotions in metaphor — avoid commonplace adjectives and nouns.
• Write about your day from the second- or third-person.
• Journal your day in verse. Use stanzas, line breaks, and figurative language.
• Write about your day backwards.
• Write about your day using Freytag’s pyramid . Build up to a meaningful climax, even if nothing significant seemed to happen today.

Learn more about keeping a journal here:

How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily

Writing Exercises: Have Fun with Them!

Many of these writing exercises might feel challenging at first—and that’s a good thing! You will unlock new ideas and writing strengths by struggling through these creative challenges. The main point is to have fun with them and use them to explore within your writing, without indulging too many monologues from your inner critic.

Are you looking for more exercises to improve your writing skills? Our instructors can offer prompts, illuminating lectures, one-to-one feedback, and more to help you improve your craft. Check out our upcoming creative writing courses , and let’s put these skills to practice.

Sean Glatch

Thank you for this. I’ve been stuck for months—more than that, actually, and you’d think that a pandemic stay-at-home would be the perfect time to do some writing. But no. I’m as stuck as ever. In fact, the only time I seem able to write consistently and well is when I’m taking one of your classes! I’m still saving my pennies, but these exercises will hopefully get me writing in the meantime. Thanks again!

Hi Kathy, I’m glad to hear some of these tips might spark your creativity 🙂 I feel the same way, I was hoping the stay-at-home order might spark some creativity, but we shouldn’t push ourselves too hard – especially in the midst of a crisis.

The best part about writing: all you have to do is try, and you’ve already succeeded. Good luck on your writing endeavors!

Bravo….!What a great piece! Honestly I learnt a lot here!

I picked interest in poetry just a week ago after reading a beautiful piece which captivated my mind into the world of writing. I’d love to write great poems but I don’t know anything about poetry, I need a coach, a motivator and an inspiration to be able to do this. This piece really helped me but I will appreciate some more tips and help from you or anyone else willing to help, I am really fervid about this.

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for your comment! I’m so excited for you to start your journey with poetry. We have more advice for poetry writing at the articles under this link: https://writers.com/category/poetry

Additionally, you might be interested in two of our upcoming poetry courses: Poetry Workshop and How to Craft a Poem .

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at [email protected] . Many thanks, and happy writing!

[…] 24 Best Writing Exercises to Become a Better Writer | writers.com  […]

Hi, kinsey there. Thanks for giving information. it is a very informative blog and i appreciate your effort to write a blog I am also a writer and i like these type of blogs everyone takes more knowledge to check out my essay writing website

As a writer, I often struggle to break free from the chains of writer’s block, but this blog has gifted me with a map of inspiration to navigate through those creative storms. It’s like being handed a box of enchanted writing exercises

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Learn story writing from the masters

Creative Writing Prompts

26 Remarkable Comments

Welcome to the creative writing prompts page! What you can find here is a MASSIVE collection of 63 quality writing exercises (basically, each one is a mini-story of its own, with a twist). This is going to be so much fun, and all while you improve your story writing skills.

You can find all kinds of creative writing exercises here. All of them are fiction writing prompts, and they cover almost every genre, plus you can find creative writing prompts about dialogue, characters, plot, for writer’s block, and much, much more…

Interesting Writing Prompts

This is not the usual stuff. I tried to make these writing prompts intriguing. Most of them are complete scenes and even mini-stories.

You can have them. Yes, you own all the rights, even if you base your entire novel on them and get it published and earn a million dollars for the movie rights. They are all yours.

To become a really good story writer, there is only one thing you need to do: Write! And these creative writing prompts should inspire you to write. They should fire your brain up and make your fingers itch.

With each of these prompts, you can train one specific aspect of your writing; either a genre, or your dialogue or story starter skills, etc…

Post Your Prompt

Also, pick your favorite creative writing prompt, do it, and post it in the comments! Let’s make this a page for everybody to share their creative writing. The more you guys comment and actually do these prompts, the more prompts I will add in the future.

Creative Writing Prompts PDF

To top it all off, you can also download these prompts. Find a neat PDF collection of all the prompts here:

Fun Creative Writing Prompts – Index

(Click on the genre to get to the prompts)

1. Romance Writing Prompts

2. Mystery Writing Prompts/Suspense Writing Prompts

3. Fantasy Writing Prompts

4. Science Fiction Writing Prompts

5. Horror Writing Prompts

6. Thriller Writing Prompts

7. Adventure Writing Prompts

8. Action Writing Prompts

9. Historical/Medieval Writing Prompts

10. Dialogue Writing Prompts

11. Character Writing Prompts

12. Plot Writing Prompts

13. Short Story Writing Prompts

14. Writing Prompts with Pictures

15. Writing Prompts for Writer’s Block

16. Story Starters Writing Prompts

17. Unusual Creative Writing Prompts

Bonus: Other Writing Prompts Websites

Writing Prompts that don’t suck: List of Writing Prompts

Romance writing prompts.

[ Read detailed tips about how to write a romantic scene her e . ]

Writing Prompt 1:

On the night before his marriage, Robert gets a visit. It’s Rachel, the girl that grew up next door and has been his best friend ever since. They had always pushed back any feelings for each other, “we are just friends.” (Yeah, right…!).

Now Rachel bursts into is home in a last, unexpected try to convince Robert he is marrying the wrong woman and she and he are meant for each other. But a ceremony for 150 guests is already arranged. After a lot of passionate talk and tears, Rachel gets him to agree to a game: “Can you guess what I would do…?” They both jot down 10 questions plus their hidden answers. Whoever can guess more of the other’s answers right, wins.

Will Rachel win and they will spend the night on a bus, escaping the wedding? Or will Robert win and watch devastated Rachel walk off into the night, frustration in his heart and tears in his eyes? You decide!

How you can make this scene shine:

Make the scene captivating by showing the reader why these two are meant for each other: Let them remember what they appreciate so much in each other (show, don’t tell), the special moments they shared, show the missed romantic opportunities, and how they complement each other perfectly.

Your reader will hope and fear with them and be hooked to your scene like it was her own love story.

Writing Prompt 2:

Gwen and Christopher have been married for 20 years. One night Gwen finds bright red lipstick on the collar of his jacket. Infuriated, she grabs one of his golf clubs, and swings at his car till it looks worse than a bicycle under a freight train.

When she is exhausted and breaks down crying, Christopher can finally explain what happened: Christopher had been with his Chinese language student group. They all had been on their way to a Chinese restaurant for a change, and it had been raining. He lent his jacket to one of his Chinese language students to protect her from the rain. That’s when the lipstick got on the shirt.

Will Gwen believe him and end up sobbing and relieved in his arms? Or will she not believe one word and soon continue with Chris’ Chinese porcelain collection? You decide!

Leave the reader in the dark about why the lipstick really is on the jacket as long as possible, keep the suspense vibrant. Describe Gwen’s pain and the destruction of Chris’ beloved car in energetic detail, so the reader will live with them as if it was their own (heart and car).

Writing Prompt 3:

King Kong, the giant, roaring ape, falls in sweet love with his female counterpart, Queen Kong. While he was terrorizing New York, she was keeping Chicago on its toes. They meet for a date somewhere in the middle, in a dreamy forest (burning trees instead of candlelight, etc…).

They share a romantic dinner (living cattle, farmers…) and discover their common interests: They both love tearing down skyscrapers, putting police cars on top of billboard ads and eating humongous bananas. And oh, don’t even get me started on the sex…

Will these lonely apes form a bond that helps their love survive against all odds/outer resistance? Or will the egomaniacs in them gain the upper hand and tear their love apart? You decide!

How do you express your love when you are a hairy monster the size of a skyscraper? What would be different, what would be absurd? Emphasize the strange contrast between tender feelings and a gigantic physique. Your reader will find their obstacles very different, but equally painful to his own, and love you for it.

Writing Prompt 4:

Lucas has fallen in love with his dentist. His teeth are very healthy, but he is coming into Jasmin’s practice for the third time within three months, in the hope he will be capable of asking her out in a quiet moment, when nobody is listening.

Unfortunately, the doctor has three assistants and one secretary, and even the door to the waiting room doesn’t look too soundproof… Lucas feels like he is on stage in a Shakespearian comedy. Jasmin, on the other hand, lightly makes fun of him, calling him a hypochondriac.

Will Lucas finally have the balls to follow through with his plan? Or will he have to come for a fourth time? Will Jasmin sense what’s up, and will she be attracted or just annoyed? You decide!

Emphasize the contrast between the nonchalant everyday business of the doctor and her assistants, and Lucas’ timid desire to ask her out. Whatever angle he takes, he is running out of time and of Jasmin’s professional attention. How does he feel? Describe his troubled inner life, and your reader will identify strongly and feel for him.

Additional Romance Writing Prompt:

Also see the SF bonus prompt here . It’s a double prompt for two genres, romance and science fiction.

Mystery Writing Prompts/Suspense Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 5:

Animal-loving Naomi is at her parents’ holiday home. She is observing a small hut at the forest edge. A van shows up there on three nights back to back. Each time, it seems to pick up something. Naomi sees dark silhouettes sneaking around with flashlights.

One night she decides to sneaks closer, and through a gap in the curtains sees a stack of antlers and fur: She has discovered the sinister doings of poachers. Will Naomi alert the police, or will she be so furious she decides to act on her own? Will she stay undiscovered once the van’s headlights show up on the hill? You decide!

Make the readers wonder “What the heck is going on…?” as often as possible, it will make for a suspenseful story. Show how kind, smart and brave Naomi is, so readers fear for her life. Then make the bad guys come.

Writing Prompt 6:

Paris, 19 th century: Detective Beaumont follows his suspect Forestier, who is wearing a long trench coat. He believes Forestier to be the long hunted for “rose murderer.” That murderer always leaves the rare rose variety “Farewell” on his victims’ bodies. The rose can only be bought in one shop in Paris, and if Forestier walks to that shop today, it is almost certain he is the murderer.

Indeed Forestier’s ways lead him to the flower shop in question. When he comes out, the detective follows him into a narrow street to arrest him. He lays his hands on his shoulders, but once he turns him, he sees that it’s not Forestier – he has been played! The real Forestier must have left the flower shop through a back door, and is now up to who-knows-what…

Will that second person have another trap in store for Detective Beaumont? Will the detective get to Forestier before bad things happen? You decide!

Get into the detective’s head! Show his enthusiasm about finding the long sought-after murderer, his doubts, his shock at the discovery! Show the looming danger he is in. It will make for a terrifyingly good scene…

Writing Prompt 7:

Jeremy has a neighbor whose wife has been missing for months. Jeremy is sitting in his living room, watching a documentary about the most beautiful graveyards of the world. It says that the human body and bones are excellent fertilizers and make plants grow like crazy.

He looks out the window and that huge, blooming rose bush in his neighbor’s garden catches his eye. It’s elevated on a small hill of loose soil, and it’s even more striking, as the rest of his garden is barren ground. Suddenly, Jeremy remembers that the name of his neighbor’s wife is Rose…

In this scene, a lot is happening on a mental level, and little on a physical level. Dive into Jeremy’s somber thoughts and his shocking suspicion. But at the same time, remain some outside stimulus going: E.g. Describe images of the documentary, the landscape of the garden, a clock striking ten, etc… It makes for a well-balanced scene.

Fantasy Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 8:

The four goblins Hukput, Paddycest, Nixxle and Klozzik are on their way to the cave of the Redwing dragon Isidur. They carry a delicious moore rabbit steak with minty potatoes. They plan to present it to him as humble offering of submission, but in reality the dish is soaked with a sleeping potion so they can rob his enormous pile of golden cups, chains and ducats. Will Isidur smell the bait? Or will his loud snoring fill the cave while the goblins hastily get away with as much gold as they can carry? You decide!

Describe how the deceitful goblins try to get suspicious Isidur to devour their dish. Which tactics do they employ? They are so small, and the dragon is so powerful, but will they nevertheless outsmart him? Describe the wide, majestic nature of the landscape and the cave. Tricky and powerful creatures as well as moody sceneries make for a great fantasy story.

Writing Prompt 9:

Magician Axius is potent, old and absent-minded. He wants to put a spell on his best cooking spoon so it should cook his favorite meal, chicken with sweet pepper. But he gets a detail in the spell wrong. The spoon starts to brutally attack all of the chickens in the patio.

Which unlikely places does the spoon go to while Axius is after it? How does Axius make his way through the terrified flock of chickens? And which spells does he use when trying to calm down his good spoon? You decide!

Time to try some “cute,” homespun fantasy! Lay out the small worries of a big magician. Even he needs to take care of overexcited pets and unruly household goods some time. It’s just that he has more powerful ways to deal with them…

Writing Prompt 10:

Two bored dwarfs, Onyx and Hafax, guard a castle’s entrance. They get into an argument who can throw stones further. While they prove their skills to each other, unfortunately a stone hits a giant who is sleeping in the castle ditch. She comes after them furiously. Will she smash their surprised faces to porridge, or can the resilient dwarfs talk her out of it? You decide!

Show the simple, but competitive nature of the dwarfs. They feel strong and then suddenly very weak… Describe the frightening power of the giant. Show your readers a world of many wonders that only exist in fantasy.

Writing Prompt 11:

The ogre Grawczak is invited to a talk show about strange creatures. Believing in the best intentions of TV and eager to help make races understand each other better, he accepts. The vicious questions on air take him by surprise: “Why do ogres smell so bad; don’t they care other people are disgusted?” and “What does human flesh taste like?”

Will Grawczak just freeze in face of the bright studio lights and endure the process? Will he let them provoke him and look really bad? Or will he just eat the moderator with some spices? You decide!

Describe how helpless the big ogre feels in face of the media. Contrast it with the sensational malice of the moderator. If you can paint the ogre as a likeable being, your readers will root for him strongly. If only we understood ogres better, the world would be a more peaceful place!

Science Fiction Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 12:

It’s an intergalactic poker tournament. Different races from different galaxies have come together. On one of the tables, the only players left are Froggosaurus, The Big Dust, Rhonda Seventeen-Tentacle and the Red Snailman.

Snailman is doing really well, too well for Rhonda. She suddenly reaches out behind his ear and pulls out a mindreader chip! Will the angry players grill Snailman, or will he be able to flee? Maybe an angry/apologetic dialogue ensues that ends with a bargain? You decide!

Writing Prompt 13:

In 2230, humans have conquered Mars. Automated skytrains run through its red desserts. One of these is stopped by a technical glitch at rush hour. The doors are stuck. When the passengers hear the voice of the control system robot through the loudspeakers, they realize the full extent of the disaster…

The system has come to the conclusion that it’s now superior to its creators, and it is planning to take over. It will open the hydraulic doors for the passengers and allow them to leave, under one condition: They have to chain three programmers in the group to a grabpole in the train and leave them behind. It becomes obvious that the system wants to eliminate the last persons that could still endanger its rule: The most talented programmers…

Will the passengers yield to the insane robot’s demand in order to save their lives? Will they try a trick and risk it all? You decide!

Writing Prompt 14:

Zwooshers look like fluffy, pink, door-high pet giraffes – you just want to cuddle them. But their looks are deceiving! They are actually plundering, reckless space pirates.

In the meeting hall, their captain Haab (eye patch, ruffled plush fur, wooden foot, spacemaid tattoo…) holds an inflammatory speech to hype up his crew. They are about to take the freight space ship that showed up on their radar. The ship must carry at least 65 tons of wood shavings, and Haab wants to take them all!

The crew is all hyped up and ready to go, when Haab trips over his wooden leg and falls off the stage. It looks pretty pathetic for a heroic leader. Will the crew just take this as a sign that chaos and plundering can now ensue, and storm forward? Or will this end the captain’s authority and make the horde want to feed him to the Spacephins? You decide!

Writing Prompt 15:

In 2075, the company Cryptofreeze™ offers the simplest, most effective method to time-travel into the future: They freeze your complete organism and defrost you after the desired period of time. Raul Morales was president of Payadua for 12 years. The laws state that he can’t run for office again for the following 4 terms (24 years). His solution is to get frosted for that period.

He is unfrozen in a big televised show that is transmitted directly into the communication chips of the population’s brains. The show features his frozen body in a transparent casket, lasers, dancers, etc… It should be one huge campaign appearance for the upcoming election.

His rivals do their best to make him look bad though: They smuggle in their own audience to boo and ask the wrong questions, they sabotage the lightning, etc… Will they succeed in derailing his campaign, or will Morales’ reputation shine brighter than ever before? You decide!

Bonus Prompt 16: Romance/Science Fiction Writing Prompt

But Cryptofreeze™ also attracts clients with a completely different set of problems: Henry loves Leila and is sure she is the girl he wants to be with. The problem is that she is 19 and he is 58.

Write two scenes:

Henry wants to talk to Leila and finds her on the running track (where the inner track travels less distance than the outer track, but they are still running side by side…). They jog next to each other, which painfully exposes their age difference. He confesses his love to her, she tells him she can’t live with the age difference, and he tells her he has booked his spot with Cryptofreeze™ and that she should make sure she will be free in 30 years. They say farewell in tears.

Henry is unfrozen, but something has gone horribly wrong: Because of a technical failure he has been frozen double time, for 60 years. Leila is now 79, while he is still 58. Roles are reversed, but it’s not as fun as it was supposed to be… Devastated, Henry visits Leila in her nursery home. She is kept in a large metal box, taken care of by robots who drive her out into the garden once per day.

Will they rediscover their love for each other, or will the circumstances have changed them too much? Will the thought of having missed out on all that precious time just kill them? Or will the make the best of it and find happiness? You decide!

Writing Prompts PDF

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Horror Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 17:

Joanna has won a vacation weekend in an old castle. Not many guests are there. Wandering the wide halls, she learns about Count Brookhart, the 16 th century owner of the castle. He stole another nobleman’s wife, started a war, and was beheaded. He is rumored to be roaming these halls as a ghost. The castle’s ancient chronicles state that he will only be redeemed if a living woman kisses him on her knees. Sounds pretty strange, doesn’t it…?

At night, Joanna gets up to look for the bathroom. She only hears wind; a book falls from a shelf out of nowhere. And these heads on the old portraits all seem to turn after her…

She looks into a mirror – and freezes. Behind her is the Count, his eyes beseeching her for a kiss. And she would have to kneel to kiss him, because he is carrying his head under his arm, blood-dripping… Does Joanna feel like redeeming the count? What will happen if she does/doesn’t? You decide!

Describe the setting, the emptiness and the uneasy details. Let Joanna wonder what is going on and show her fear. In the end, go for the terrible shock effect!

Writing Prompt 18:

Gina’s beloved cat Tiger has been feverish and dizzy lately. At a fair, Gina sees a tent with a sign “Voodoo Healings $5.” Inside, she finds an old, hunched woman. She sits down in a strange chair with split rods, and her hair gets caught. The hag speaks a spell and gestures with her hands, then motions Gina to leave.

Outside at the fruit stands, Gina suddenly feels very sick, and it occurs to her what her hair could have been used for… Will she return to demand every single one of her strands back? Or will she already feel too sick and go for a more extreme solution? Will the old woman be gone or deny everything? You decide!

Don’t describe Gina’s fear, but instead describe what makes her scared: Show details of the witch’s looks and how the witch acts, describe Gina’s physical condition. Show how awful it is not to know where the horror is coming from. It will make your readers feel it strongly.

Writing Prompt 19:

When Lucy comes home, she finds her daughter Luna sitting on the floor sobbing, surrounded by broken glass. Luna has just smashed every single mirror in the house. She tells her mother that she saw ‘The Eater’ appearing behind her shoulder in the mirrors: Some dark silhouette that was coming to take a huge bite out of her.

Lucy tries to calm down her hysterical daughter, and is already going through a list of psychiatrists in the back of her head. In the evening, after cleaning up the house, she is applying make-up to go out for an important business dinner. Suddenly she notices huge black teeth appearing behind her in the little mirror…

Will Lucy shake it off as her imagination running wild? Or will she smash the make-up kit? How will she try to save herself and her daughter? And for how long can you avoid mirrors, which surround us… everywhere. You decide!

Have you ever had the feeling that you don’t know what’s going on? Pretty unsettling, right? Give disturbing, moody details about the silhouette, its appearances and effects, but don’t explain the why this is happening. We don’t know why terrible things happen to good people. And that’s scary.

Writing Prompt 20:

Zombie apocalypse has arrived. TV stations finally have the audience they deserve… For the zombies, it’s one huge party, and the humans are desperately holding onto their arms and socio-economic systems.

Four zombies are robbing a bank. Their advantages: Bullets don’t bother them, they really don’t need masks, and they have a natural gift to scare the shit out of the employees. Disadvantages: They are just so damn slow. Imagine a bank robbery in slow motion, and a couple of limbs falling off the robbers on their way out… Will the rotten gang get away thanks to their ‘Shock and Awe’? Or will the guards be quick-witted and find a way to protect themselves and attack? Where is the hunt going? You decide!

Show how absurd this scenario is. How is it different from an ordinary bank robbery? Think it through, and you will get to a couple of interesting scenarios.

Thriller Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 21:

Jeff is the bloodhound type of a prosecutor. He is currently prosecuting the big ice cream company “Freezelicious.” They are accused of using harmful ingredients. Since Jeff took on that trial, he has been having the feeling that somebody is following him. Yesterday at the gas station, today during the break at a restaurant, and now this Mercedes has been behind him for 20 minutes.

He makes two daring and illegal maneuvers with his car, but just as he thinks he got rid of the Mercedes, it appears in his rearview mirror. He parks at a shopping center and disappears into the bathroom. After a while, the Mercedes driver comes in, and Jeff smashes him against the wall and starts to interrogate him. Turns out the guy isn’t sent by Freezelicious, but by their cheaper competitor Mega Cream. They want to make sure nothing bad happens to Jeff, because they are afraid Freezelicious wants to get him out of the way. Will Jeff just be pissed and throw the guy out? Or will he be secretly grateful? Has Freezelicious indeed planned an assassination? You decide!

Write Jeff’s inner dialogue in short sentences throughout the scene, and alternate it with action bits. Let him wonder whether somebody is following him (yes, no, yes, no) and what they could want. Show his anxiety and uncertainty.

Writing Prompt 22:

Seems like Amanda’s new co-worker Gregory does not waste any time: On his second day in office he asked her out. She declined, and the next week he asked her again with flowers in his hand. She explained he wasn’t her type, no hard feelings.

Today, when she leaves her house, she finds a shocking image: Somebody nailed her cat to the trashcan! In tears, she pulls her lose and buries her in the backyard. On the bus to work, dreadful thoughts race through her head: How can a human be capable of doing something like this? Did Apple suffer for long? Was it just some cruel and mindless kid? Is she in danger? And did she forget to close the bathroom window…?

At work, Gregory sticks his head into her office: “So how is your cat?” he asks… How will this terrible poker game continue? Can Amanda keep cool? You decide!

Again, get into Amanda’s head and play with her uncertainty. How would it make you feel if your co-worker was a dangerous maniac? Grief, terror, vengefulness, remorse… you can draw from all of these strong emotions.

Writing Prompt 23:

Herbert wants to call his son Gerd in from playing in the garden. But he only finds Gerd’s teddy with the head missing, and a note to bring 100,000 € to the Zombie House at the amusement park. If he informs police or doesn’t pay, he will get his son back like his teddy…

Four days later, police are waiting outside the Zombie House, while Herbert roams its eerie corridors, with a backpack filled with 100,000 €. Suddenly, out of the dark, a moldy looking hand grabs his backpack, while his son appears at the end of the corridor. He lets the backpack go and walks towards his son, who suddenly disappears… Will a wild chase between zombie masks ensue? What is waiting in the dark? Will the kidnappers notice the police, and what will they do then? You decide!

Uncertainty and mood! Describe the horrible thoughts of a father fighting for his son. Describe the dark, frightening atmosphere of the Zombie House. Here, your worst nightmares come true…

Adventure Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 24:

An expedition into the jungle has gone wrong. Desmond is an intrepid, bearded explorer who set out with his team to explore the tropical wild. But they got caught by aborigines.

Then something strange happens: Affectionately, they are asked to put on shoes made of parsley and onion necklaces… Seems like these aborigines are hungry.

Jungle-smart Desmond knows their best bet is to make themselves look toxic. He orders his team to rub violet berries and black roots all over their bodies, to punch a couple of each other’s teeth out and to writhe and babble like an insane person. Will the wild tribe be disgusted, and what will they decide to do with them? Or will they just laugh and proceed to produce a tasty casserole? You decide!

Writing Prompt 25:

Four women are stranded on a small, rocky island. To their dismay, the boat they came in is leaky. The extreme situation makes their masks come off and exposes the true nature of each one:

Ellen freaks out. She blames Ruth for booking a damaged boat and Mary for forgetting to take walkie-talkies with them, even though she had been in charge of equipment.

Ruth can’t stop sobbing, she is pale and shaky and can’t be moved from the rock she is sitting on.

Mary tries to bring all of them onto the same page, so they can work together. She holds Ruth in her arms and sings to her.

Bethany makes a list of possible actions to take and tries to assign tasks to everyone (look for food, try to repair boat, look for material for smoking signal, etc…).

Describe the group dynamics. It could be an upward or a downward spiral. Will the women work together and find a way out of this? Or will they become worked up against each other and start to fight? Will a rescuing boat show up once they are at their lowest point and make them all feel shocked about themselves? You decide!

Writing Prompt 26:

Tobias and Rafael, two colleagues, are trying to reach the top of a mountain in the Himalayas. They are close to the peak, but Tobias knows it’s too dangerous to continue. Once they reached the top, it would get dark and cold, and the descent would be very dangerous. He decides to turn around, but he can’t get Rafael to come with him.

At night he is in his tent and hears Rafael asking for help over the walkie-talkie. The poor guy is sitting high up there in a freezing cold cave without food, and it’s not clear whether he will survive the night. Will Tobias risk his life for a colleague who has disregarded all safety rules? Or will he just encourage him over radio and pray? Will there be calm conditions the next day? You decide!

Action Writing Prompts

[ Read detailed tips about how to write an action/fight scene her e . ]

Writing Prompt 27:

Alfredo is a celebrity cook who loves the good life. That’s why he owes the mafia money.

One day, two gentlemen shaped like bull dozers in suits pay him a visit. They quickly surround him and send him friendly reminders to pay with their brass knuckles and baseball bats. But Alfredo is quick and flexible. He rams a cucumber into their ribs, then quickly jumps over the big counter in the middle of the kitchen.

The weapon of a cook is food… He throws some butter at their feet, so they slide and stumble, and scatters pepper into their eyes. Howling, disorientated and furious, they speed in opposite directions around the block. Alfredo quickly jumps onto the counter, and coming from opposite directions, they crash into each other like colliding trains and stay on the floor unconscious. Alfredo goes on to cook a celebratory cake.

Will the two suddenly wake up and go for Alfredo again? How will he get their heavy bodies out of there? Or is this won already? You decide!

Mix the threat and pain of the cold-blooded torturers with quick dynamic phrases of action (verbs of movement; commas not full stops; graphic descriptions).

Writing Prompt 28:

Prison break time is the best time of the year: Hector, Axl, and Hans have been digging their way to freedom for months. Tonight, they lift the tiles for the last time, hastily crawling through the narrow tunnel. Stuck in the middle, they hear an alarm going off. How were they discovered so quickly? When they block the tunnel behind them with earth and debris, it feels like filling their own graves.

They hear guards crawling after them while rapidly digging the last tunnel part. Once out in the forest, they run! They discuss splitting up, but Hans refuses. They hide in trees, but are discovered by police quickly. They jump into a river, hearing police dogs behind them. Flushing down the river, a waterfall comes up. Whaaaam, freefall! Surely no policeman or dog can follow them here, so they feel safe finally! Until they are washed right into the arms of police waiting at the shore… How is that possible?

The cops have handcuffs for Hector and Axl, and a towel for Hans, who takes a tracker out of his sock… Will the other two try to strangle him? What will be his reward, and how could he have the guts to betray his companions? You decide!

Make it a big surprise and mystery how the cops always know where they are. And give us a taste of what it feels like to be human prey: Use short, quick, hectic sentences to give a sense for the quick pace of the hunt.

Writing Prompt 29:

The “Three Apples” hospital is in flames. On the 9 th floor, nurses Jenny and Linda try to save the babies of the preemie ward. The way downstairs is already blocked by flames, and there is only one way left: Up!

The girls are on the rooftop with the babies, and Jenny brought a container, and a sheet they use as a “cable.” She ties one end around a chimney and sails over the gap onto the neighbor building with a blood-freezing jump. They push the babies safely to the other side one by one like on cable cars, until only Linda is left. But she has major fear of heights, and now the babies are safe, her body has time to panic. The flames come closer.

Will Jenny be able to help her out with another trick? Will she find her courage, or will a helicopter rescue her at the last moment? You decide!

Babies and puppies are your best pawn! Make your reader fear for these helpless little creatures, and fall in love with their brave and quick-thinking helpers. You can heighten that effect by giving the girls very distinctive personalities, and showing their inner struggles. They are no superheroes, they have to earn this!

Historical/Medieval Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 30:

The middle ages. One of the famous “morality plays” is played in the village. These are basically thinly veiled guidelines for the people on how to behave. This one is for kids though, and very short to allow for their attention span. It tells kids how to behave properly, so mom and dad will love them and they won’t go to hell.

The play features Adam, the good kid, clean and in white like an angel; and Roger, the bad kid, looking nasty in rugs and always misbehaving. Several allegories are also around: Obedience is a thin figure in a long, flowing dress, always looking down. Diligence is a muscular guy with rolled up sleeves and leather apron; Adam tries to be like him, while Roger bites his leg. In the end, Adam is showered with candy toys and even a pet calf, while Roger gets a bloodletting and an ass-whipping. But suddenly the kids in the audience start to cheer and stamp: The calf has lifted its tail and peed all over Adam!

Do the kids get their own morality out of that play? How will the director and authorities turn this around to keep them in line? Will independent thinking or order prevail? You decide!

Create a couple more figures for the “play within the play.” If you constantly switch between the reality of the village and the reality in the play, it will make for nice variety. Get creative on both ends!

Writing Prompt 31:

Francis is a troubadour all girls have a crush on, kind of the Justin Bieber of the 12 th century. He has been courting charming Amalia night after night under her window. Tonight, he sings her his romantic poem “Thou Art the Bellows of Mine Heart.”

Amalia is enchanted, but soon rumbling is heard in the house: Her father has woken up, and that usually leads to him chasing Francis around the house with a rolling pin. He is a wealthy merchant and doesn’t approve of her tie to a penniless poet. The rumbling becomes louder while they speak.

Finally, merchant Robertson rips open the front door and screams up at his daughter: “What happened to the rolling pin!!?” Turns out Amalia has wisely hidden it… Will merchant Robertson get even angrier now? Or will he be charmed by his baby’s wit? Will he do damage to her poor suitor? You decide!

Love is in the air, so describe how and why these two are sighing/yearning for each other: The longing, the flirting, the plans. Draw from romances in your own life, because love never changed throughout the centuries. Disrupt that romance with an angry, drowsy man for great effect!

Writing Prompt 32:

Ancient Rome: On a big “forum” (square), a slave auction is held. Huno, a big, muscular Alemannic slave in heavy chains is next in line. Gaius, a newly rich plebeian, wants to acquire him so he can wear himself out on his construction sites by pulling heavy blocks. Gracelanus, a town clerk, would treat Huno much better and use him as a body guard.

Huno is ordered to demonstrate his power, and he breaks thick logs of wood over his thighs. Gaius lets out humiliating comments like “Work it, proud animal!” or “All the brains are in his upper arms.” He gives him the whip several times to test his resilience. Gracelanus, on the other hand, remains quiet, only to applaud the demonstrations.

When the bid goes to 800 sesterces, these two are the only bidders left. Gaius is hesitating for a moment, and suddenly Huno turns to the side of the stage and lets a heavy log fall on Gaius’ feet. Screaming and swearing, Gaius jumps in circles, while the bid goes to Gracelanus. Will Gaius accept his defeat, or will he get back at them? If Huno is provoked further, can he keep his cool? You decide!

Slavery is disgusting to the modern reader. It has an even bigger effect, if you, the author, don’t judge. Just present the auction as everyday life. Huno’s humility to his own fate, Gaius’ cruelness… try to describe it without emotions.

Dialogue Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 33:

Punker girl Samantha (pierced tongue, “Anarchy” tattoo, etc…) is detained for stealing a skateboard bit by bit from a sports store (wheels first, then axle, etc…). Her attorney George is a seasoned vet. At his office, he tries to explain to the stupid brat what’s about to happen and what he wants her to do in front of court: Explain that she had just been bored and curious how to dissemble a skateboard, wanting to prove herself, and that she would have brought the complete skateboard back. Samantha is not too concerned about all of this and wishes the old man was a little more chill.

Write their dialogue and show how differently they speak about their agendas, different words they use, tone, rhythm, etc… Will George hammer some sense into the teenager? Or will Samantha stay unimpressed and make him lose his cool? You decide!

What it’s good for:

It’s important your characters’ voices sound different from each other. This exercise trains you to give each character their distinctive voice.

Writing Prompt 34:

Greta has lent her pick-up truck to her cousin Iris to transport some furniture. Unfortunately, a little accident happened: The truck perfectly fit around the pillar of the gateway.

Iris enters the kitchen, where Greta is cooking. At first, she is afraid to confess and wants to cheer up Greta’s mood with some enthusiastic compliments. She hesitates and finally confesses.

Greta is busy and hectic when Iris enters, to get dinner ready before guests arrive. She is happy to see Iris return and asks about the furniture buying, then wants to rush her out of her kitchen. After Iris confesses, Greta feels like everything is going wrong on that day and becomes hysteric. Will Iris be able to calm her down? Or will the two women get into a big fight, just before the guests arrive? You decide!

This scene takes the two protagonists through a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It will train you to always let your characters express their feelings and to insert a lot of emotions into your scenes.

Writing Prompt 35:

Fibby & Fozzy are twins. Their mom has died recently, and their uncle Gerald wants to trick them out of the largest part of their inheritance. He just presented a new, fake will that would only leave them a small heritage. They discuss what steps they could take against their uncle’s scam, and they speak about it at their mom’s favorite place on earth, the zoo.

Show them walking through the scenery in a way that the animals provide some subtle subtext for whatever they are talking about. E.g. when they talk about how ruthless their uncle is, they watch a lion tearing his meat apart; when they talk about how they love their mother, they are watching a cute baby panda, etc…

This should improve your sense to connect what your characters are talking about with their environment. Adding a bit of subtext is easy and makes your scene deep and rich.

Writing Prompt 36:

A popular comedian sits on a park bench. He is the type that shocks and amuses his audience with outrageous ideas. A bum sits down next to him. The comedian asks the bum for change. Is this just a lighthearted joke that will ease out into a philosophical discussion about humanity? Or will the bum be seriously offended and react? You decide!

Train your characters to sound real with this one. When the erratic, playful, ruthless comedian clashes with the tired bum, you can lend your characters raw and realistic voices.

Character Writing Prompts

A. Writing Prompt 37:  Shading

Jeff is a very analytical-thinking stock broker; people call him cold-blooded. Sheryl is an elementary school teacher with a big heart. Andy is an always positive and slightly naive flight attendant.

Describe their characters and add one trait to each of them that doesn’t look like them at all. Describe why they have this trait.

Giving your characters an unexpected trait is called “Shading.” E.g. the wealthy, stingy man, who often gives to charity, so he can have the feeling his life has more meaning. If the unexpected trait makes sense, it will give your character a lot of depth and make her look very three-dimensional.

B. Writing Prompt 38: Description

Romeo is a young private detective who dresses like a college boy, with baseball cap and saggy clothes (excellent disguise!). Lana is a stressed restaurant manager. Hannah is a street-artist selling her artwork on a busy corner.

You are having coffee on a lazy Sunday afternoon and are observing each of them separately. Describe their looks, clothes, movements, etc…, so we get a sense for who they are.

Train to describe your characters with this one. Give your readers a sense for who your figures are, simply by listing observations about them. This is pure “Show, don’t tell!” and satisfying for your reader, as she feels like the observer herself.

C. Writing Prompt 39: Backstory

Mariella is an arrogant high-society lady with an expensive fur coat and a little poodle. Henry is a pickpocket with the body language of a beaten dog. Susan is a “speedy reporter,” always driven by the desire to get the latest news first.

Describe their backstories in a couple of sentences each: How did they grow up? What are their biggest fears and desires? What made them who they are? How were they hurt?

This prompt will get you into the habit of rooting your characters in a strong backstory. It will make them look as embraceable as your best friend.

D. Writing Prompt 40: Behavior

Hans is a funny hot-dog street vendor who likes to entertain his customers. Tia is a tax inspector who always welcomes expensive jewelry from companies. Laura is a waitress who is really good at making her customers feel welcome.

Show us how each of these characters would react to the following situations: Somebody carelessly shoving them on public transport. An acquaintance (not friend) asking them to borrow some money. Finding a beautiful rare snail during a bike trip.

Here you are letting your characters act out of their distinctive personalities. We all react very differently to the same situations. Let your figures express themselves!

Plot Writing Prompts

Take the following words and construct a story plot around them. Use them in any order. Describe a short plot summary. Try to add something: Characters, locations, subplots, details, twists. The more you add, the more colorful your story will become. The only rule is that you must use all of the words. Slashes mean you can pick between words.

Writing Prompt 41:

Suitcase – traffic jam – star – contract – drug – celebration – stairs/piano/autograph – beggar – apple

Writing Prompt 42:

Library – rodent – love/hobby/fanatic – magic – flowers – legend/fairy tale/rumor – birthday pie – clock

Writing Prompt 43:

Monastery/Brewery/Pet shop – breeding – tears – wheel – green – rebel – friend – cozy/thick/dirty

Writing Prompt 44:

Cigar – anger – policeman – pill – polite – celebrate/encourage/humiliate – husband – double-edged

Short Story Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 45:

James and Agnes are throwing their engagement dinner. James’ ex Dina is invited too. Secretly, she still loves him and hates Agnes. During the dinner, she spreads the rumor that Agnes scammed her boss Dimitri out of money/cheated on her fiancée with several of her co-workers/infected people at her office with some disgusting disease. At the after-dinner reception, Dimitri shows up unexpectedly, which leads to really awkward situations for a couple of people.

How will the guests look at Dimitri, Agnes and James? Which awkward misunderstandings and accusations will it lead to? Will somebody clear this up and get Dina kicked out, or will James lose all his trust in his fiancée? You decide!

Writing Prompt 46:

Bruno and Benedict are two kids selling lemonade at their street stand. It’s not going well. A stranger in a trench coat, with a wig and huge sunglasses stops by. He offers to buy all of their lemonade, if they do him a quick favor: Over there on the park bench, a guy with a big sports bag/lady with an expensive jewelry necklace/businessman with a black briefcase is sitting. They should threaten him/her with the knives they use for cutting lemons, and bring him the sports bag/necklace/briefcase. He says it’s a prank for a TV show.

Will the kids agree, and will they actually pull through? If yes, will the wigged guy escape untroubled? Or will the little ones be smart, maybe talk to the guy/woman on the bench? You decide!

Writing Prompt 47:

Randolph is a casino supervisor. He has a crush on that new croupier Lara. Lara on her part has a plan to take her own extra salary from the casino… The two stay after closing hours and get into a risky game: They will play one hour of roulette. If Lara wins, Randolph will turn a blind eye in the upcoming month while chips “disappear.” If James wins, Lara will sleep with him.

Who will come out in front? Or will they call it a draw and declare two winners? And how will the dynamics between the two of them develop during the game? You decide!

Writing Prompt 48:

Gary has been sleepwalking lately. When he wakes up in his bed, he doesn’t remember where he has been, but he finds oily car parts/squashed chocolate/earthy bones in his bed (depending on the genre you want to write in).

Gary’s nephew Walter is working at the car repair shop/chocolate factory/graveyard of the village. Gary asks him to stay at night after his shift, and observe what he is doing in his sleep. But is it even a coincidence Walter is working there? Is Gary subconsciously trying to tell his nephew something, to warn him, help him, or even sabotage him? Will Walter discover something funny or terrible, and can he even tell his uncle the truth the next day? You decide!

Writing Prompts with Pictures

Write a story around the following image:

Writing Prompt 49:

Writing Prompt 50:

Image: Interior Design/Shutterstock

Writing Prompt 51:

Image: LaCozza/Fotolia

Writing Prompt 52:

Image: anibal/Fotolia

Writing Prompts for Writer’s Block

If you are troubled by writer’s block, try one of these exercise. You will find your mind flowing freely again.

Writing Prompt 53:

Think of a very happy day in your life. Describe what happened on that day and how it made you feel. Were you anticipating it when you woke up, or did you have no idea? What did the people around you say or do?

Just write and don’t overthink. What you write really doesn’t matter. This exercise is designed to get you excited and get your juices flowing, and that’s the only thing that matters.

Writing Prompt 54:

Hansel walks up to Gretel and asks her if she wants to go to the lake with him. She says yes. They dance off into the sunlight.

The most commonplace plot in the world.  Your job is to write the entire scene as badly as you can. Uninteresting characters, predictable dialogue, action that makes no sense… Please make sure to mess it all up. The worse, the better! If everybody who reads it cringes, you have succeeded. And if you want, send it to me, and I will tell you how awesome it is you finally got back to writing: alex at ridethepen dot com.

Writing Prompt 55:

Pick the window that’s closest to you right now, as you read this. Look through it. Describe what you see in detail!

For this exercise, completely turn around at least one of your writing rituals: If you usually write at a desk, write on the couch or the floor; if you usually write by computer, write by hand; etc… The new approach will give you a fresh start.

Story Starters Writing Prompts

[ Read a post with 31 ways to start your story here . ]

Write a story starting with the following sentences:

Writing Prompt 56:

Anderson knew Amanda as a cheerful person. But on that Wednesday, when she came into the office, she was carrying a big basket, and she looked really sad.

Writing Prompt 57:

Kai looked up at his scary task. This was the craziest thing any contestant of “Where there’s a will, there is a million” ever had to do. It was because he was first! Nobody had ever gotten one step from the million…

Writing Prompt 58:

“Once bitten, twice shy.” That’s all Emma could think while looking at handsome Luis and his bullterrier with the huge jaws. “Once bitten, twice shy.”

Writing Prompt 59:

The day Iggy came into Jasmine’s life, the postman rang twice. That was very unusual, and the reason why it happened was unusual too.

Writing Prompt 60:

Getting stood up at the altar is every bride’s worst nightmare. But what if it happens the other way around? On the day of her wedding, Sophie was nowhere to be found.

Writing Prompt 61:

“I’m so happy, Uncle Albert!” Priscilla screamed into her cell phone as her train was speeding towards London. At that moment, nobody knew that a far-reaching confusion would take place on the train soon.

Unusual Creative Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt 62:

Imagine you are a dog. Now tell me about a day in your life from your perspective. How do you spend your time? Waiting, going for a walk with your owner, hunting a cat? Which emotions do you feel? What concerns you, what makes you happy? What matters? What do you want? Follow your wet snout and describe a typical day.

Writing Prompt 63:

Kurt and Sarah are neighbors in the same building, and they are arguing in the hallway. Kurt thinks he lent Sarah three eggs she never replaced. Sarah claims she replaced them a long time ago.

Emma, an elderly lady, passes by and feels obligated to join: Sarah owes an egg, but it’s just one. The two of them tell her to keep walking, as it’s none of her business.

Erin, a student, passes by, and tries to get all of them to make up in the name of peaceful neighborhood.

Charles, a stressed dad, shouts at all of them to shut up.

Finally, the police comes by and issues a citation against all of them because of public disturbance.

Describe this absurd scene, in which each new participant tries to resolve the quarrel, but tops it up by one additional level. What a mess! Show the good intentions of every party, and how the dialogue finally draws them into the argument. Have fun!

Creative Writing Exercises PDF

You can download a complete collection of all the prompts on this page on a neat sheet. Enter your email here for your PDF of printable writing prompts:

For Your Consideration…

Check Out These Interesting Writing Prompt Pages As Well:

The Wealthy Writers Club  features a list of over 100 very creative prompts (most of them are short ideas).

26 Remarkable Comments. Join in!

26 Comments

Hey Riders,

I wrote this sometime back, and thought it’d be best if I shared it with y’all. I’d already gotten a review from (the amazing) Alex, and he encouraged me to put it up here for all to see. Anyway, hope you like it. comments and recommendations are welcome (positive, and if cutting, then constructive).

Happy riding!

P.S. I had some of the stuff for Gwen’s inner dialogue written in italics… not so sure how to do that here, though. Hoping you will get the drift though. P.P.S. This is prompt #2 ————————————————————————————————————————– Gwen sat at the dining table, sipping her coffee, choking back the bitter taste it left in her mouth. Not as bitter as what I am feeling now. She gazed at the large window that would fill the house with glorious, golden light on bright, sunny days. Now, the storm that was raging outside clouded the skies, and the panes dripped with rain whose fate was sealed. She sipped at the coffee, and swallowed painfully, forcing the black liquid to pass the lump that had formed in her throat, and fan out hotly behind her heart which she felt sure was turning to ice. By the window was Chris’ seat. His wickerwork chair he had bought from China during a trip with his student group. She snickered. How long did he think I was not going to find out? Idiot. She sipped at the coffee, and swallowed. The jacket she had bought for him was sprawled on it. Prime leather, as black as sin. And his heart, too. Twenty years of loving the man poured into buying that jacket, only for it to be poured out like spent coffee grounds. She sipped at her coffee, and looked at the clock. Two minutes past six. He always left the bathroom at two minutes past six. As if on cue, he walked into the room, clad in his thick cotton bathrobe. “Whew, what a day it’s been!” he sighed, slipping his hands into the pockets of the robe. Gwen chose not to listen to him; her attention was fully on the jacket. “Sweetie, is there any more coffee? I need the warmth,” he continued, before his voice became as smooth as oil. “Or will you substitute the coffee?” “Why have coffee, when you have the option of green tea?” Gwen sipped at her coffee, slowly turning to face him. His rich brown eyes were puzzled for a moment, before the corners crinkled in amusement. That did it. She flung the coffee mug at him, and he ducked just as fast. The mug exploded on the glossy white wall, coffee streaming down it like rotten blood from a sore wound. “How dare you find this funny?” she screamed, rising up and walking to the wicker chair. She picked up the jacket, sodden and heavy, and tossed it at him across the length of the room. “Explain that, Chris. Explain why you would do this to me!” “Sweetie, what do you mean?” His voice was filled with worry, fear; did she detect a slight quiver? He turned over the jacket, then his eyes widened in realisation. He knows I know, the lying bastard. The lipstick on the collar, red as his neck would be in a few minutes. “Honey, I can explain…” he started, but Gwen could not bear hearing him call her that. How many more has he called sweetie, or honey? She screamed, anger almost blinding her. Or was it the tears? The hurt? She couldn’t say. “Chris, how could you? Twenty years is nothing to you, is it? All we’ve been through, all we’ve faced, and you decide to have it with a whore. A whore, Chris! A slut whose name you can’t even remember!” She picked up a fine porcelain vase Chris had gotten for her birthday. “Gwen, please, calm down, and I can explain everything.” His tone wa soft, almost pleading. Pleading for forgiveness, which I won’t give today. She flung the vase at him. either he didn’t see it coming, or was slow to react. The vase shattered against his head, the shards burying deep into the thick black locks of his hair. He cried out in pain, then crouched down low. Gwen felt a shocking stab of triumph. Why am I enjoying this? “Gwen, what’s gotten into you? Trust me, it’s not what it seems!” Chris got up, a tiny rivulet of blood oozing across his forehead, into his left eye. “Give me a chance to explain everything!” “As far as I know Chris, you have never gotten into me, for as long as I can remember, and you decided to, what’s the word, get ¬into someone else.” She picked up a golf club from its bag – his bag – next to the chair of iniquity. She glowered as she saw him cower back in fear. “Gwen…” “No, Chris, this isn’t meant for you, though the thought of crushing your cunning serpent, along with his nest of eggs, would greatly satisfy me.” She saw his neck muscles cringe at the description. “Gwen, please. I can explain everything – JUST GIVE ME A CHANCE, WOMAN!” She screamed, a feeble attempt at drowning him out, before pushing past him and running out of the house, through the door and into the rain. She spotted his car; his beloved Kia. Did he do it in our car, with that slut? She yelled in anger, anger that seemed to seep out of every pore and element of her being. A scream she felt must have been last used by a Viking berserker; primal and raw. She smashed in the window, the shards mixing with the rain like diamonds. The next swing landed on the bonnet, denting it and taking a big scrape out of the primer. The third shattered the windscreen, and it fell like a delicate fractal plate of ice. She stopped counting after eight, and by the time she was done, the rain had soaked the interior, the system console was cracked, and the steering wheel was awkwardly askew. She was taking in deep gulps, gasping for air. It’s cold, invisible barbs poked at her throat, mixed with the taste of coffee, rage and blood. She realised she had bit her lip, and the blood was dripping onto the wet driveway in big splotches, mingling with the rain. Chris came up from the dry safety of the porch. If he was angered about the car, she couldn’t see it. She began to sob, and fell to the paved driveway, too exhausted to keep standing. She felt Chris’ warmth, smell and presence surround her. “Gwen, it’s alright. Just give me a chance to explain, please.” “I told you, no, Chris. I can’t keep on living if you were to leave me for another.” She let out another sob, and suddenly felt cold. She held on to Chris, even though he was as drenched as she. Still, she needed to feel if he was real; the Chris she knew would never cheat on her. “Gwen, I was with my students, and for a change, we decided to go have our classes at Wong’s over a light lunch.” His voice was soothing, comforting, real. She pulled him closer. She needed that reality more than anything. “The day began so wonderfully, Gwen; the sky was as blue as your eyes, and I felt it would be best to wear the jacket, and think of you and us.” Now my eyes are red, and puffy. Could he still want me? She felt his tender hand push away wet strands of her hair from her face. She didn’t want to look at him; the very idea of seeing his lips mention that he had slept with another woman – or one of those students? – revolted her. “When we were leaving, it started to rain, and I had to make sure my students got home dry and safe. I gave Nessa my jacket – you remember Nessa; she came to see you at the hospital – to cover herself as we walked to the bus stop. I saw her off, then rushed to my parking spot at the café we always use for our meetings. She had some lipstick on; she was from a date with her fiancé before the class began. It must have rubbed off on my jacket” He wrapped her in his big arms, and she could smell the fragrance of the soap he had used. “I swear, I would never walk out on you, Gwen. Never.” “But I had a miscarriage, Chris. Twenty years, and no children. I thought you didn’t want me anymore, now that we can’t have children…” she sniffled, pushing back the memories of the hospital. The smell of antiseptic, green walls, overly sympathetic nurses… the pain associated with them haunted her still. Haunting me to a point where I’d think my husband would never love me? Yet here he is, with me in the rain, even though I’ve smashed our car to pieces. “Chris, I’m sorry I could never be the wife you wanted. You always wanted kids, even before we got married, you’d say how much of a father you wanted to be. Because of me, you can’t have that dream become a reality.” She began to cry, before Chris gently shushed her. “Before I wanted kids, I wanted you. And as long as I have you, Gwen, well – this is cheesy, but – I don’t need anything else. You’re the most perfect, most amazing woman I know. You are the wife I’ve always wanted.” He chuckled at his feeble attempt of professing love. She found herself giggling. He had always made her laugh with his corny declarations of affection. Probably that’s what I’ve always about him; he is real, and honest, and true. “Can we stay here a bit longer?” She nuzzled up to him. “We haven’t done this since college; our vain attempt at recreating The Notebook.” “Oh, yeah; remember when we almost got struck by lightning?” He laughed, and Gwen smiled up at him. What more could I ask for?

Hey Eddie, good to see you posting this here, because… somebody has to go first, right?

And like I wrote to you via email, this is a great piece of writing. Love the psychology, the dynamics and the details. Plus, you have a wonderful feeling for metaphors, similes, images, etc… Nice!

So who’s next…?

I want to post my prompt and to get it published too. I have two prompts I have finished writing.

Sounds good, just post your prompts here in the comments. Go for it, I’m curious to see what you have got!

Alex, these are the best ever!

Prompt 52 I think is my favorite. Two of the subjects I enjoy are stone-age fiction and science fiction. What nice marriage that prompt brings. Oh, hmm, maybe there could be a real one in that story, seed and egg age difference of 40,000+ years and still viable. No, I gotta quit now. Too much on my desk to handle immediately.

I’ll try to come up with a good prompt in perhaps a week. Kinda busy here at the moment.

Number 16, perhaps Cryptofreeze™ could have a companion, Cryptoflow™ to un-age. Wouldn’t that be really something, the two of them keeping on missing each other by several decades; ironing out their schedule and venue misunderstandings and trying again.

Eddie, I’m going to come back and read yours.

Thanks, Will! Oh, you are thinking along the lines of a love child in space and stone. And number 16, yes, that would be awkwardly tragic and funny. Imagine the thought of just waking up from a couple of decades in the freezer, slowly learning to move your limbs again, and buying some flowers to show up at her doorstep – only to learn that you have to do the freezing all over again…

I know, these exercises take more time than the prompts I usually publish in my posts. But when you are ready, I would love to read yours.

Hey, Alex, writing writing prompts is hard. I feel an urge to keep writing rather than stopping at the prompt. When I promised I’d make one, many days ago, I didn’t know what I had let myself in for.

Your blog sends me a copy of every comment posted on this page. They’ve served as prompts to write a writing prompt.

Writing Prompt # (no particular genre):

He knew he shouldn’t do it, even as he did it. But it was too delicious a thought to be abandoned. It simply had to be created to share with others.

It was a bad, bad habit, he had. A divine idea would arrive, an idea so clear and insightful and, well, full of awesomeness, that it must be manifested. Somehow. And the first step in the direction of that “somehow” was to make a promise to do it. Not a self-promise that nobody else knows about and is easy to neglect, but a promise to someone whose goodwill was important.

As expected, he did it again, true to his habit.

Immediately after he stated the promise, making it irrevocable, he had a sinking feeling.

Your assignment, dear reader who is also a writer, should you choose to accept it, is to unveil the promise and the consequences the poor bloke experiences because of it.

And now, Alex, let me make another promise. That I’ll write a short little story from one of your prompts. Perhaps the cave man prompt I mentioned earlier.

Hey Will, it happens to the best. Your prompt now is to take your time and write whenever you are ready. It doesn’t have to be very long, btw. Sometimes a couple of imaginative paragraphs create a great story in the reader’s mind.

Well, if it happens to the best, then I must be the best, right? 🙂

This story simply would not cooperate. It refused to become a “stone-age human meets space-suited human”. And insisted to finalize at 1700+ words.

Be all that as it may, here is what the story insisted it must be.

=====================================

Wzzt, the Martian

If they were translated, the whistles and grunts would have meant, “Wzzt, it has been decided that you will welcome the interlopers.”

Wzzt’s protest sounded like a wounded pig. A foreign listener would not have been much deceived.

——

“Base, I see tracks.”

Mars. Every dream, every night since he could remember, from little boy to adult at expedition training, Sam dreamed about Mars — although he could never recall specific details. And here he was.

“Well, I hope you see tracks. You’re following Opportunity’s path.”

“No, these are light tracks on top of what the dust storm left way back in 2018. Round, about the width of my hand, with marks that might be toes or claws.”

“Well, take some pictures and we’ll figure it out when you get back.”

Joe smirked, thinking his trainer was making a fool of himself. On this, their very first mars external operation. He gloried in anticipation of discrediting Sam. Joe had seen the tracks, too, but Sam reported it to base before he had a chance to do so. For once, he was happy not to be first.

It’s impossible, of course, Sam thought. Decades of satellite and robot explorations had proved Mars habitat is inimical to life more complex than bacteria. The track must be something else.

Sam and Joe, trainer and trainee, proceeded along Opportunity’s path, approaching the base of a cliff. In the shadow of the cliff, the two stopped short.

Sam forgot to draw a breath until his body reminded him.

“Base, there is a creature in front of us. It is about half my height with a roundish body, no neck, three short legs with feet that could have made the tracks we saw earlier. It waddles. And it is slowly approaching us.”

“Shit. Pull your weapons, but don’t shoot unless you are in danger. Raise the gain of your mikes. And activate those external speakers we were told we had to have.”

The thing waddled to a comfortable distance, about five times its own height.

It said, “The first humans have arrived on Mars.”

Joe, wanting to be first with the asounding fact, reported, “It speaks English!”

Sam thought, “Shit. This one has tech.”

He followed his thought with, “Base, it played a recording of our arrival transmission to Earth. On our very own comm channel!”

Base responded with, “Yes, we heard it. It seems we have a spheroid waddler with enough tech to intercept our radio transmissions to Earth, record them, and play them back to us on our comm channel. What the hell is it!”

Joe felt deflated. “Well, it did speak English!”

Base ignored Joe, following Sam’s lead like it always had during training and practice.

The thing said, “It speaks English! Base, it played a recording of our arrival transmission to Earth. On our very own comm channel! Yes, we heard it. It seems we have a spheroid waddler with enough tech to intercept our radio transmissions to Earth, record them, and play them back to us on our comm channel. What the hell is it! Well, it did speak English!”

Base told Sam, “That was not a recording. The same voice repeated what all three of us said. There is high intelligence.”

The things said, “Wzzt.”

Base, “What the hell was that!”

Sam, “Base, I think it refers to itself, it’s species or perhaps it’s name.”

Sam bent his knees, pointed at himself, and said,”Sam.”

The thing raised one of its legs and clumsily pointed at itself. “Wzzt.”

“Base, it seems that it’s name is however that word is pronounced.” Sam chuckles and continues, “Maybe we can introduce vowels to its language.”

Wzzt used a leg to point at Joe.

Sam looked at Joe. Joe was shaking.

For the millionth time Sam wondered how Joe got past the psych tests this mission put them all through. Maybe somebody really was bought off, someone who knowingly endangered the first manned mission to Mars by letting Joe slide into the team.

Sam activated Joe’s speaker and said, “Joe.”

Wzzt said, “Sam. Joe. Follow me to my cave,” turned around, and started waddling back the way it had come.

Sam grimmaced as the thought about psyche tests flitted through his mind. An utterly irresistible compulsion contrary to his innate sense of integrity had compelled him to ensure without doubt that he would be posted as head of Mars External Operations.

Sam said, “Base, it originated something. None of us ever said ‘Follow me to my cave,’ or at least not on a radio. It must have learned by listening to us.

Base, “Follow it. But carefully!”

Sam hurried forward, saying “Yes, Base.”

But Joe didn’t move. He seemed to be rooted.

Suddenly, Joe yelled, “It’s an abomination! Humans are the only intelligence! I’ll rid the world of this mad disease!”

Joe raised his weapon to do just that. Base, alert, deactivated it before it could fire.

Base, “Sam, proceed. Please be carefull. I don’t want to lose you.”

Base continued. “Joe, stay where you are. That is an order. Sam will accompany you back to base on his return.”

Then, “Sam, this is private. As you suspected, there were psyche test anomalies. Confirmation came in just before you met Wzzt, however that thing is pronounced.”

“I realize you have no first contact training,” Base continued. “Who would have thunk you’d need it; here, of all places! Use your own judgement and do what you think is right. If we delay for a partner to join you, this opportunity may be lost.”

Wzzt led the way to the cliff.

“Base, there’s a small hole in the cliff, behind a jut and under a rock shelf. Surveilance would have found it only by being within sight on ground level.

Wzzt held up a foot, a clear signal to stop. Then pointed his foot toward the hole.

“This is my cave.”

Wzzt lowered its foot, re-balanced itself, and continued, “If you come in, radio is lost.”

“You are welcome to come in.”

“Base, you heard Wzzt. It is civilized enough to give me a choice. I’m going in, if I can squeeze through that hole.”

“I don’t like this, Sam!”

“Base, you gave me authority.”

“Agreed.”

Wzzt entered the hole.

When Sam entered, it seemed as if the hole expanded to let him through.

Once inside, the light was dim. But he sensed it was a large cavern.

When his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Sam got a surprise. There was Opportunity, taken apart; but not haphazardly. The pieces were laid out in an orderly fasion, each piece labeled.

A dozen creatures of Wzzt’s shape were standing along the wall.

“Base,” Sam started. Then remembered he had no comm signal.

Two of the creatures along the wall stepped forward with an apparatus, setting it near Sam. A dial was turned.

Wzzt said, “Radio found.”

Tentatively, Sam says, “Base, Wzzt tells me we have comm.”

“Clear and no distortions, Sam.”

“Base, Opportunity is in this cave. Taken apart. By experts. No wonder we couldn’t find it after that dust storm. I’ll send you some visual.”

“Sam, are you okay? There are a lot of Wizzes in that cave.”

“Base, they are friendly. They provided the unit that established our comm from within the cave.”

“Sam! Joe has moved. He is running toward your cave. He’s going inside.”

Joe popped through the entrance hole. He grabbed Sam’s weapon, pointing it at Wzzt. Before Sam had a chance to react, Wzzt shriveled into char.

Sam launched himself toward Joe to take him down.

Suddenly, he halted in mid-flight, suspended. He didn’t and couldn’t move. Neither could Joe, being frozen in a leaning-back defense stance. The two were in a static space of some kind, a total absence of motion.

One of the creatures walked over to Wzzt’s ashes and collected them with a deep bag on a handle reminisent of a butterfly net.

The creature waddled over and forcefully put the bag over Joe’s head all the way down to his shoulders.

In less than a minute, the bag was removed and Joe was able to move. He almost fell down, then regained his balance.

When Joe spoke, it was Wzzt’s voice, “Sam, I am Wzzt. The Joe entity forfeited its right to exist when it tried to take my life.”

The Wzzt/Joe bent, straightened, and twisted, as he got familiar with the new body.

“Humans have strange bodies.”

Then from the radio, blared a frantic, “Sam! Base is lifting! The rockets are firing. According to the instruments we’re headed for rendezvous with Orbiter.”

“Sam, we have no control of the rockets or our trajectory.”

“Sam? Are you there? Talk to me!”

Sam desperately wanted to respond. But he couldn’t move. Nor could he make a sound.

“Base, this is Wzzt speaking through the body you knew as Joe. The life essence that was Joe is no more. It used its every effort to kill me, reducing my body to ashes.”

“We will no longer tolerate you and your kind on or near our planet. Except Sam, who we have chosen to learn from.”

“For decades we have watched you and learned about you. Monitoring established your Earth citizens to be capricious and destructive, at odds with each other, and focused on individual benefit, a mad melee reminding us of the animals that finally reduced themselves to extinction on this very planet you call Mars.”

“Do not come back. If in the future Sam wishes to return to Earth, he will be provided with transportation.”

The communicator was removed and Sam’s stasis was released. He noticed his gun was fully charged. He felt normal, healthy, energetic.

He looked at Wzzt, who was still becoming familiar with his new body.

“What now, Wzzt?”

Suddenly, with a silent, thunderous mental bang, Sam remembered everything.

Wzzt said, “Now you remember, friend Zzzt. Your mission was a success. It will be a long time before humans land on our planet again. We will be fully prepared.”

Sam/Zzzt suddenly felt awkward in his body, but quickly regained control.

In a moment, Zzzt emitted whistles and grunts that meant, “You know, friend Wzzt, they really are a strange species. There is little cohesion.”

Zzzt looked around. All the creatures in the cavern, his people, his friends and some new ones, were ringed around him, one leg raised pointing at him in a silent salute.

Will Bontrager

Oh how strange we have become. We are the aliens.

That was a fun read, Will!

All of those writing prompts sound fun and wonderful. it is going to hard to pick just one to write on. 

 Thank you 

That’s great to hear, Bruce.

Have fun with them!

Really useful…. 🙏thanks

Awesome! You are welcome!

Thank you for all the great resources. I am new to writing and have written a couple of pieces for the Show don’t Tell section on your site. Cheers, Tilly

Kayla was a talented piano player Kayla Vlasov sat at the grand piano, her back straight, her delicate hands poised on the shiny black and white octaves. The audience in the front row noticed how Kayla’s legs hung demurely from the stool, her feet barely reaching the pedals. Kayla’s expression was focussed. Nothing else existed when she was about to play the piano. With her right index finger, she struck middle C. The vibration went through to the audience’s marrow and sent a shiver down their backs. Thunderous applause. This would be an evening to remember.

Winny felt shy Winny held her mother’s hand, as they walked through the gates of Newtown Primary School. A teacher with a warm smile and auburn hair bouncing along with each step came towards them. The child hid behind her mother, wishing she could disappear between the folds of her skirt. Warm tears gathered in Winny’s eyes and she lifted her other hand to her mouth, hoping the teacher wouldn’t notice her quivering bottom lip.

Hi Tilly, these are excellent!

Not only do you “show” what’s the matter, but these are also fun pieces full of atmosphere.

If anybody is wondering where the prompts come from, it’s this post about “Show, don’t tell”: https://www.ridethepen.com/show-dont-tell/

Thank you Alex for the great prompts

You are welcome, Maria! 🙂

I would like to use Freezelicious. For a villain name.

Sounds like evil ice cream!

Lol it is. I want Freezelicious. To be a villain in a spy book I’m writing.

I really have a problem with prompt 24 on the adventure prompts. It feels very dehumanizing to indigenous peoples to portray them in that way and it perpetuates harmful stereotypes. I would suggest removing it because it is insensitive.

Hi Jessica, your comment is heard, but I would consider this excessive political correctness, of which the world already is seeing too much nowadays.

Everything is a stereotype – especially in a writing prompt! Your job as a writer is to then lay out a colorful story that draws the reader in, precisely because it’s so far away from any stereotype, which makes it interesting.

Looking for something else?

Hi Alex. Paragraph

I live in a senior residence and have taken on the adventure of coordinating a creative writing group. We have completed a year and I am very enthusiastic about the level of commitment and effort the students have put into all the assignments. This coming year we will be offering to include more people in the group. but since a number of people will be returning I have been looking for some different kinds of exercises to prompt and teach the students.

The prompts seem like a splendid opportunity for all the people in the group to try their hand without having to create new material right off the bat. I will let you know the kind of responses I get. Thanks for putting this together

Hey Pat, sounds great, I imagine in a senior residence people have plenty of time to write. Plus, you are living next door to your critique partners. Would be interesting to hear what came out of it and which prompts were used the most.

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11 Creative Writing Exercises To Awaken Your Inner Author

I believe there’s a writer inside of all of us.

Even if you don’t think you write well, you do have something to say.

You have a story to tell, knowledge to impart , and experiences to share.

You’ve lived a full life that’s packed with observations and adventures, and you shouldn’t exit this Earth without chronicling them in some way.

Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, your life is the laboratory for creating a great book or story.

If you can talk, you can write — even if you need to brush up on grammar and spelling. You’ll naturally become a better writer the more you write.

You’ll learn how to organize ideas, make smooth transitions, and expand your vocabulary.

Reading also improves your writing, so if you have the tiniest desire to write well, read a wide variety of books in different genres.

You can accelerate your writing competence with some simple writing exercises.

Your inner creative muscle needs exertion to stay fit and strong — but writing exercises don’t need to be drudgery.

They can be fun and exciting as you see how much creative juice you have just waiting to be squeezed.

These creative exercises should be practiced without self-judgment, inner filters, or concern about what a reader might think.

The purpose is to allow your creative mind complete freedom to cut loose.

You don’t have to show these writing exercises to anyone if you don’t want to.

It’s a good weekly practice engage in writers exercises to what catches your imagination and awakens your inner author .

1. Answer 3 questions.

2. write a letter to your younger self., 3. use writing prompts., 4. write about your expertise. , 5. write a stream of consciousness page., 6. write a story told to you., 7. pretend to be someone else. , 8. write about something or someone who changed your life., 9. describe your surroundings., 10. pick a number., 11. describe a dream of yours — or the life of your dreams., what are creative writing exercises.

“Perfect” writers don’t exist. Even Ernest Hemingway and Alice Walker honed the craft right up to their waning days. Growth, improvement, and experimentation are the clarion calls of professional and aspiring scribes. And those who succeed put in the work.

That’s where creative writing exercises come in, as they’re designed to help you play with words in a non-judgmental environment.

Common “craft-sharpening” writing games and tools include:

• Prompt prose
• Timed freewriting
• Stream-of-consciousness exercises
• Vocabulary teasers / mad libs
• Restricted writing (i.e., every sentence must start with a verb, certain words cannot be mentioned, et cetera)

Serious writers — and people serious about becoming better writers — are perpetually composing pieces that will never see the light of day. But just as a tennis player hits thousands of serves during practice sessions, writers scribe thousands of short language exercises. To continue the sports analogy: Writing exercises are the equivalent of an athlete stretching before a game or match.

Here are 11 creative writing exercises to get you started:

In this exercise, you’ll use three questions to stimulate creative thought. You can write these questions yourself, but I’ll give you some examples to show you what to do.

You want to answer the questions as quickly as you can, with whatever ideas pop into your mind.

Write as much or as little as you wish, but just allow the words to flow without pondering too much what you want to say.

• Who just snuck out the back window?
• What were they carrying?
• Where were they going?
• Who is Ethan?
• Why is he crying?
• What is he going to do about it?
• Whose house is Julia leaving?
• Why was she there?
• Where is she going now?

In this exercise, you are writing to yourself at a younger age. It can be your childhood self or yourself just a few years back.

You can offer advice, compassion, explanation, forgiveness, or praise.

Or you can simply recount an experience you had and how it impacted you as your adult self now.

Try to see this younger self as a real and separate person when you write the letter. This exercise helps you think about your reader as a real person with emotions — a person who can be moved and inspired by your writing.

Again, try not to overthink this exercise. Spend a few minutes deciding the core message of the letter, and then just start writing without filters.

A writing prompt is an idea that jumpstarts the writing process.

The prompt can be a short sentence, a paragraph, or even a picture, but the purpose is the same — to ignite your creativity so you’ll begin writing.

Writing prompts can help you when you feel stuck while writing your book.

If you take ten minutes to work on a writing prompt, you can go back to your book writing primed to get down to business. It stimulates ideas for a writer and releases the creative process.

Here are a few prompts you can use:

Think about something you know how to do well. It can be anything from washing the dishes to selling stocks.

Write a few paragraphs (or more if you wish) explaining some aspect of how to do what you do.

Assume your reader is completely ignorant about the subject.

This writing shouldn’t sound like a dry instruction manual. Try to write in a conversational style, as though you’re verbally explaining the process.

Break down the steps in a way that makes the reader understand exactly what to do, without using business jargon or buzzwords.

This is an easy and fun exercise. You want to write it in longhand rather than typing on your computer, as handwriting slows down the process and allows more time for your creative brain to do its work.

Grab a pen and blank pad and simply start writing. Write down whatever comes into your brain, no matter how nonsensical or disjointed.

There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages — they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page…and then do three more pages tomorrow.

In this exercise, you want to recount a story told to you by another person.

It can be a story one of your parents or grandparents shared about something that happened many years ago, or it can be a more recent event a friend or family member recounted.

Or you can tell a story you learned in school or through reading about a well-known person or event.

The story can be funny, sad, or educational — but it should be interesting, entertaining, or engaging in some way.

Whether your book is fiction or non-fiction, readers love stories.  They enjoy relating to the lives and experiences of other people.

When you share stories in your writing, you humanize your writing and take your readers on a small journey.

In this exercise, you’ll practice writing from another person’s perspective. You can choose a person you know well, or you can write from the point of view of an imagined character.

Put yourself in this person’s shoes, see things through their eyes, and react the way they would react.

Choose one situation, encounter, or setting, and write what you see, hear, think, and feel about the scenario. Get inside of this person’s brain, and try to be as descriptive as possible.

You can write a paragraph or several pages if you’re inspired.

In this exercise, rather than telling the story of someone else or pretending to be another person, you want to share your story from your perspective.

Write about a person or event that has profoundly impacted you and changed your life.

Rather than simply recounting the situation, talk about how it made you feel, what your reactions were, and how you were changed on the inside as well as the outside.

Pour your heart into this writing. Remember, you don’t have to show it to anyone, so be completely vulnerable and real in this exercise.

More Related Articles

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252 Of The Best Writing Prompts For All Writers

17 Things to Write About For Your Next Nonfiction Book

Simply write a paragraph or two about your surroundings.

You can write in first person (“I am sitting at my desk, which is littered with papers and old coffee cups.”), or write in third person, simply describing what you see (“The room is bleak and empty except for one old wooden chair.”).

Challenge yourself to use descriptive language to set the scene.

Rather than saying, “The light is shining through the window,” you might say, “The morning sun is streaming through the window, spotlighting a million dancing dust particles and creating mottled shadows on my desk.”

Whether you write fiction or non-fiction , you want to write intriguing descriptions that invite the reader into the setting so they can “see” what you see.

Even numbers can serve to inspire writing. This exercise combines numbers with something else you probably have at your disposal.

Pick a random number between 1 and 30. We’ll call it number n. Then look to your bookshelf (real or virtual) and choose the nth book.

( Note: If you have more than 30 books on your shelf, you can choose a bigger number).

Then you’d open that book to the nth page and go to the nth sentence on that page.

Write that sentence down and make it the first sentence of a new freewriting exercise. Just write whatever comes to mind for the next sentence and the one after that, and so on.

Write at least as many sentences as the number you chose.

Think of a dream you remember and describe it in as much detail as you can recall.

From there, you can take that dream and turn it into a story or play with possible interpretations — serious or just for fun.

Or you can write about the life you dream of living. Describe a perfect day in that life, from the time you wake up to the time you lie back down.

Describe the home in which you live or the places you want to go. Imagine you’re living there in the locale of your choice for as long as you wish.

Don’t bother trying to make it sound realistic.

Just let the words flow, and enjoy the ride. Part of the fun of learning how to practice writing fiction is letting your imagination take over — without any heckling from your inner editor.

How These Exercises Can Make You a Better Writer 

At first explanation, writing exercises may sound a tad tedious. But people who do them improve by leaps and bounds. 

For starters, it all comes down to the human brain’s wiring. In short, every thought and idea we have is conducted by electrical impulses that torpedo around our nervous systems. When we practice something, the associated “circuits” grow myelin, a biological cushion that protects nerves. The added shielding optimizes the relevant electrical paths, rendering them more efficient. 

In other words: The more you do something, the better you’ll get. It doesn’t matter if you have an IQ of 80 or 180. Practice yields results. With writing, the more you do it, the better work you’ll produce. 

Specifically, creative prose lessons also:

• Keep your creativity muscles limber
• Help exercise your vocabulary
• Present opportunities to think about ideas and situations from different perspectives
• Help writers workshop characters, plots, and ideas

Final Thoughts

No matter how experienced you are as a writer, you can always improve and tap deeper into the wellspring of your own creativity.

You can always learn new ways to express yourself and delight your reader.

View these writing exercises as a means to opening doors of insight and imagination and enjoy the process of becoming a better writer.

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✍️ Writer's Block Writing Exercises

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We found 33 writer's block exercises that match your search 🔦 reset

The Hammer and the Hatchet

A stranger walks into the general store and buys a hammer, a hatchet, some rope, and an apple. What does he do with them?

Writer's Block

Picket fence.

Describe your house - or the dream house you hope to get some day.

Telephone Directory

It is commonly known that a telephone directory might be the most boring text in the entire world. Here is your challenge: write a page of a telephone directory and figure out SOME way to make it interesting.

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Pick a fiction book from your shelf. Go to page eight and find the eighth sentence on the page. Start with that sentence and write an eight-line poem that connects in some way to your work-in-progress. For instance, write from the POV of a character, or set the poem in a story setting. Don't worry about poetry forms. Just write eight lines of any length that flow and explore some aspect of character, setting, or theme.

• You could say it began with a phone call."
• Michael had watched them both for weeks."
• She remembered the way it was the first time she saw the prison."
• Midsummer, no time to be in New Orleans."
• With the dawn came the light."

Break Through The Block

• Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths. Connect.
• How do you feel?
• Nervous because you're coming up on a tough scene?
• Starting to wonder why you embarked on this project?
• Bored with sticking to your thorough outline and not wanting to admit it?

At the root of all writer's block? Fear. You'll recognize it by the questions you ask yourself when you sit down to write: Can I really finish an entire story? Am I a good enough writer to pull this off? Will this story matter to anyone? Or am I wasting my time? And what if I sound dumb? But the specific fear doesn't matter if you know how to soothe it. Here's what to do: Lie down. On the couch. In bed. In the tub (Hey, don't knock it! Sometimes it's the only place writers can find some time alone!). Lie down where it's comfortable and quiet, and write fifty words.That's it.Either the exercise helps you break through the anxiety, and you keep writing. Or you have fifty words more than you had yesterday, and you try again tomorrow. Either way, lie down and write fifty words.

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Unleash the Magic Within You

The Best Writing Exercise Books to Dust Off Your Creative Bone

Has your creativity been hibernating lately? Most days I do? some? form of writing, whether it’s a blog post, an email to my list, or a sales letter. Creativity, though, is rarely the main objective. Even when I’m working on my fiction, which is supposed to be creative, it often feels like I’m going through the motions: sprinkle in a description here, some conflict there.?Creative writing exercises can be an effective tool for rediscovering that spark. While you can find lots of free prompts online, I’ve found books help you really dig deep. The best writing exercise books have a precise purpose behind each prompt, whether it’s to eliminate overused adjectives, avoid cliches, or take your dialogue to unexpected places.

Now, when I say writing exercises, I’m not talking about the generic ones like, “Write about your happiest memory.” Over the years, I’ve found some truly inventive ones that have catapulted my writing into new dimensions. They’re also lots of fun!

Exercises aren’t just for fiction writers, either. If you’re a blogger or copywriter, they can help liven up your writing and set you apart from others in your niche.

How Exercises Make You a Better Writer

1. be more original.

When we first start writing, we mimic authors we admire. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, a great way to learn the craft is to copy a page from your favorite writer word-for-word (just don’t publish it under your name!). Or if you’re feeling uninspired, you might leaf through a book on your shelf to get in the mood.

But at a certain point, you must develop your own voice. Otherwise, you end up with a whole genre of books that sound like watered-down Hemingway or Steinbeck or (fill in the blank).

One way exercises help us find our voice is through sheer practice. Just as physical exercise builds muscle tone and chisels away at our body fat, writing exercises help us to refine our craft, peeling away the lazy metaphors and uninspired descriptions to reveal the crisp phrases and evocative imagery underneath — the writing we are all capable of.

Additionally, because exercises?provide you with a prompt to work with, you’re naturally more inclined to rely on your own writerly devices as a source of fuel.

2. Step outside of yourself

Many writers, whether directly or indirectly, write about their own experiences. Writing about real life can certainly lend an authenticity to your voice. And if you’ve got a great story to tell, by all means tell it! In fact, one of my favorite books of all time, Celine’s Death on the Installment Plan , is so raw and vivid precisely because of its autobiographical qualities.

But your writing shouldn’t read like a diary entry, either. Writing to strangers isn’t like telling like an inside joke to your best friend. You can’t assume your readers are going to find your story entertaining or moving just because it happened to you.

In order to realistically understand others and inhabit their world, whether these be fictional characters or your readers (if you’re a blogger/copywriter), you need to step outside of yourself. And this is where writing exercises come in handy.

3. Stop censoring yourself

We all have blockages. For instance, I grew up in a small town and have always avoided using the names of old classmates — even those I barely knew — for fear they’ll think I’m writing about them. Of course, many of us are hesitant to write about sex or violence or anything dark because we worry what our friends and family will think of us.

But these blockages can also occur on a subconscious level. In The 3 A.M. Epiphany (more on that below),?author Brian Kiteley explains how even the great Donald Barthelme , at the height of his writing career, feared criticism from his father. He’d dream of his father hitting him over the head with his books, telling him to “get a real job.”

Exercises can help us to break out of self-censorship mode because we are drawing from a depository outside of our usual collection of memories and associations.

4. Get out of your comfort zone

If you’re a fiction writer, this could mean exploring new genres. If you write nonfiction, this might mean writing in a different niche or simply trying out a new voice.

When I competed in the NYC Midnight Writing Challenge , which randomly assigns you a character, setting, and genre, I was assigned a comedy and given only three days to complete the story. This didn’t come naturally to me at all. But I got some help from my boyfriend, who encouraged me to watch I Love Lucy episodes.

In the process, I learned techniques that could be applied to the horror novel that I was working on. Really, any genre could benefit from more comedic elements, but in horror it’s particularly valuable as it provides relief from the tension.

5. Beat writer’s block?

Obviously, exercises cure blank page syndrome because they give you something to write about. Of course, you still have to get from Point A to Point B. But that’s where timers (10-20 minutes seems to be a good baseline, depending on the complexity of the exercise) and a group come in handy. Knowing that you’re going to share what you wrote with a group helps keep you accountable, and, from my own experience, elevates the quality of my writing immensely.

There’s something magical and super inspiring about writing in a timed setting and then sharing your writing with others. Normally for me, writing (as much as I love it) is a labor intensive process and everything seems to take quadruple the time I anticipated. In these group writing exercises, though, I’m always amazed by what my fellow writers and I can pull out of us in such a short period of time, given all the constraints.

Interestingly, constraints actually free up your mind in a way. Whereas normally you’d be racking your brain trying to come up with a storyline and characters, exercises take care of that part for you, giving you more time to work on the fun stuff — the details!

6. Be more playful

When I do writing exercises with my students — mostly in the 10-12 age range — they leave me in the dust every time.

It’s often said that children are naturally more creative than adults. Why?

Because they aren’t afraid to sound ridiculous, and they’re not under the illusion that they have? say something.

I remember the first “real” short story I wrote (the stories about talking animals didn’t count). It was a hybrid of Joseph Conrad and Kurt Vonnegut. The title was, “There Are No Smoothies in Murinosa.” I was very proud of it. On the last day of 12th grade English, we passed around our stories to share with the rest of the class. I expectantly gaged others’ reactions as they picked up my story, waiting for them to tell me how brilliant it was.

To my dismay, each of my classmates set my story aside before finishing the first page. “Too deep,” was one of their replies.

I reassured myself that they were too immature to appreciate my profundity. But looking back on it later, I realized “too deep” was a euphemism. In truth, it was boring as all hell.

The stories I wrote in my first writing workshop were similarly overwrought. I was trying so hard to make a profound statement that I ended up saying nothing at all.

It wasn’t until I took Aimee Bender’s writing workshop that I learned to loosen up. Her exercises thrived on randomness, like “pick up a green book on your shelf, turn to page 4, and the fourth sentence on that page is the first sentence of your story.”

My style became much more relaxed as a result of these exercises. While I’m not in love with every story I wrote, each one represented a move in the right direction.

And this brings up an important point about writing exercises. Not all of them are necessarily going to be publishable material. However, each one will help to unlock qualities that had?previously been latent.

My Recommendations for the Best Writing Exercise Books

1. Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

This book is far from a run-of-the-mill manual on how to write fiction. With an abundance of stimulating illustrations, all I have to do is flip through the pages to get that jolt of inspiration I need to begin a new writing project or power through a difficult one. It’s more than a collection of pretty pictures, though. Each illustration has a precise instructive purpose.

The above illustration, for instance, shows how inspiration is a convergence of many factors, both internal and external. In addition to detailed instructional art on narrative design, world building, and characterization, the book also includes essays by Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Karen Joy Fowler.

One series of exercises, called “Cannibalism & Constraint,” involves chopping up the work of another writer to gain inspiration. For instance, you could “retype the passage from memory alone. Try to recreate its vividness using your own words. Compare the original to yours. What better choices did you make? What choices seem worse?” This is a great way to inhabit the mind of the author and absorb some of his decisions!

You can get it on Amazon below.

2. The 3 A.M. Epiphany

What I love about this book is that the exercises are divided into categories, allowing you to finetune your craft. These include point of view, images, internal structure, and stories in progress. For each category, author Brian Kiteley provides an explanation of the category and its purpose. In the chapter on internal structure, for instance, he writes, “These exercises should help you to break with the tired idea of linear progression.”

My favorite exercise to do when I’m having trouble finishing a story is called “Outrunning the Critic:” “Write one hundred short sentences about a character in a piece of fiction. Don’t lift your pen from paper (or fingers from keyboard) for one hundred sentences (then go back exactly twenty-four hours later and revise). The sentences should not connect; nor do they need to follow one another logically. This exercise forces you to outrun your own thoughts, intelligence, and critical mind.”

This exercise has done wonders for my short stories and even novels!

3. Naming the World

This book, edited by Bret Anthony Johnston, features a treasure trove of prompts from Joyce Carol Oates, Steve Almond, and Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, among others. Each writer provides the story that inspired his/her prompt. The book is divided into larger categories such as character, plot, and setting. The titles of the exercises have intriguing names like “Bullies I Have Known,” “Your Five Seconds of Shame!”, and “Destroying What You Love,” making you eager to dive into them.

One of my favorites, called “Thickening the Plot,” comes from Jacob M. Appel. It involves selecting a small group of people and having them describe “the strangest thing that has ever happened to them.” Next, you write another paragraph about what these strange events have in common. Finally, you write a short story incorporating these elements. The goal of the exercise is to find connections between seemingly random events or people.

4. Unjournaling

This book is great for the classroom. Not only do the typical classroom writing prompts (“write about a time when you felt left out”) get a bit stale, but it can be uncomfortable for adolescents to write about personal experiences. Plus, I’ll always get the inevitable, “But that’s never happened to me.”

But I use the Unjournaling exercises with my students, and they’re always a hit! They may not be as in-depth as the exercises in the other books, but they still encourage you to stretch your craft.

Here are some of my favorites:

“Describe the gunky stuff that gets caught in the basket at the bottom of the sink. Don’t use the words disgusting or gross .”

“Chris walks into a room. By describing only the reactions of the others in the room, let us know something about him.”

“Some people can’t smell. In one paragraph, make them understand ‘skunk.'”

I can tell my students over and over not to describe everything as “good” or “nice,” and it all goes in one ear and out the other. But these exercises naturally get them to express themselves in more inventive ways.

Plus, us adults can get lazy with our words, too. These prompts challenge us to think outside the box. When I do them with my students, I often get stumped!

5. Now Write!

Like Naming the World, Now Write! is a collection of exercises offered by a variety of respected authors and divided into categories. Featured authors include Jill McCorkle, Robert Olen Butler, and Amy Bloom. The main difference is that the explanations preceding the exercises are less in-depth, so if you’re ready to start writing immediately (true to the title), this is the book for you. Also, it’s great to have a back-up when you finish the exercises in the other books!

One exercise I’ve found particularly effective is David Michael Kaplan’s “Smushing Seed Ideas Together.” It involves taking three seeds — “things you’ve overhead, seen, been told, have happened to you, whatever” — and weaving them into a narrative. He advises you to avoid vague, abstract ideas like “man in a moral quandary.” This exercise helped me overcome the problems that plagued my early fiction and evolve as a writer.

Tell me–what is your favorite writing exercise or book of exercises?

Published by Kate Findley

I have long been a student of self-help and genuinely believe that our thoughts create our reality. As a freelance copywriter, I specialize in personal development and education. Want to work with me? Learn more at www.wordarcs.com. I also write fiction. My works are a blend of horror, sci-fi, slipstream, and magical realism. I?m particularly drawn to themes of mind control and magic portals. Check out my work at katefindley.authorreach.com. View all posts by Kate Findley

11 thoughts on “The Best Writing Exercise Books to Dust Off Your Creative Bone”

Really great Site.Thank you so much for sharing Insights with us.Trully appreciated.

Thanks, Sunil!

I love, love, love this post! I am always looking for the next creative spark and thrive on finding activities and experiences to re-awaken that muse inside?in fact, that IS the entire premise of our blog! ? I am pinning this post and subscribing! One activity that I just learned about this week is to write a response to a song?s theme. (we?re songwriters first, so this REALLY appealed to us.) For instance, if a song?s theme is ?Why don?t you love me?,? then your response would detail all the reasons you don?t love the person. I think that?s genius and will be trying it this weekend. Thanks so much for sharing! ?

Thank you so much, Vox! I’m so glad you found it helpful. And I love the idea about the song theme! The Unjournaling book I mention has several fun prompts dealing with songs lyrics and rhymes.

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This was a great read. I am still in the process of finding my own voice and style of writing. I often find myself staring at a blank screen trying to come up with something good to write about for a new blog post. Writing prompt exercises never even crossed my mind so I may have to try a few of those just to get the juices flowing and try something new.

Thank you! Yes, writing exercises can be a great way to overcome blocks for sure. Many of the exercises in these books also involve drawing upon personal experiences which is why I think they can be suitable for non-fiction.

I absolutely love this! Saving it for when I truly need it. I haven?t felt too blocked lately but we all know that time eventually comes. Really great post with wonderful suggestions. Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for reading! When the time does come, I hope you find the exercises helpful–and fun, because really, that should be the main goal!

Oh dear! I don’t do any of this. Maybe I ought to. Admittedly, being retired, I don’t ‘need’ to write full time – it’s more to stop me getting bored, so I only write when it’s a fun thing to do. Not good, I know.

I don’t think you should do exercises, or follow any writing “rule” (including the oft-quoted “write every day”) out of obligation. I mostly like exercises because they’re fun and a good way to get out of a slump when I’m feeling uninspired. I think the pieces you write for your own website, in a certain way, are structured kind of like writing exercises in that they adhere to a set of constraints: you base your writing off a photograph of nature and, if I recall correctly, limit yourself to 200 words. I’ve always found these pieces quite inspiring, so perhaps you should publish your own book of writing exercises!

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Writing Prompts & Exercises

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The Time Is Now offers three new and original writing prompts each week to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. We also curate a list of essential books on writing —both the newly published and the classics—that we recommend for guidance and inspiration. Whether you’re struggling with writer’s block, looking for a fresh topic, or just starting to write, our archive of writing prompts has what you need. Need a starter pack? Check out our Writing Prompts for Beginners.

Tuesdays: Poetry prompts Wednesdays: Fiction prompts Thursdays: Creative nonfiction prompts

Get immediate access to more than 2,000 writing prompts with the tool below:

Organic Insinuations

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“All too often, on a ‘poetry scene,’ people prioritise ‘subject matter,’” says John Burnside in a 2023 interview about his writing process by Jesse Nathan published on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. “I am sure that, as I am working, environmental concerns insinuate their way into the content of a poem organically, as other concerns will—but I would never start from there.” Inspired by the late Scottish poet, who died at the age of sixty-nine on May 29, write a poem that springs not from a predetermined topic or subject matter, but instead allows you to “trust in the sounds, the rhythms that come out of the day-to-day, the sheer immediacy and truth of the quotidian…and the images that lead, sometimes via fairly roundabout paths, to metaphor.” Later, as you reread and revise, what do you discover is the subject of your poem? What might have organically insinuated itself into your poem?

The maintenance or restoration of native plant and animal species has long been at the heart of many ecological and conservation projects, and has historically been a focus of land and environmental stewardship principles held by native and first peoples all over the world. But what if a beloved plant or animal is considered invasive, like the palm trees of Los Angeles or the cattle of Texas? What are the effects or consequences of centuries of existence with this invasive species in a particular locale? This week reflect on the notion of belonging—what are various places and times when you have felt a strong sense of belonging, and situations when you did not feel you belonged? Consider your own perspectives and responses when you encounter someone or something else that seems invasive or does not belong.

In Stephen King’s 1983 novel, Pet Sematary , a doctor moves into a remote house in Maine with his wife, two young children, and their pet cat, and learns from a neighbor about an ancient burial ground nearby cursed by a malevolent spirit which gave it power to reanimate those buried there. This is put to the test first by the family cat, and then by members of the family who die throughout the course of King’s horror story. While each formerly dead being is returned to the land of the living, they don’t come back quite the same. Write a story in which a creature or person returns from the dead, either in actuality or under circumstances in which their reappearance feels as if they are “back from the dead.” What familiar traits remain the same and what is disconcertingly different? Is their return ultimately for the better or the worse?

“I told a friend about a spill at the grocery store, which—the words ‘conveyor belt’ vanishing midsentence—took place on a ‘supermarket treadmill,’” writes Madeleine Schwartz in a recent essay published by New York Times Magazine about her experience of negotiating with and toggling between the French and English languages after moving from New York to Paris. In the piece, Schwartz notes that as she became more comfortable with living and thinking in French, she noticed a blurring of her linguistic capabilities, including a muddling of her articulative abilities in English. Think about a time or situation when words have failed you, or you’ve drawn a blank as to the mot juste. Write a poem that traces or enacts a loss of language, perhaps using invented words, phrases, and spellings or experimenting with font sizes, line breaks, and spacing.

Edible Memories

Many foods, flavors, and dishes hold a wellspring of emotional associations because they remind us of loved ones, habits and traditions, specific locales, and a different time of our lives when we were different people. Write a series of flash nonfiction pieces this week with each segment focusing on an edible item that evokes particularly resonant memories for you. You might begin by jotting down lists of foods you ate regularly growing up—breakfasts, school lunches, vending machine go-tos, favorite fast-food joints, diners, late night spots, home-cooked specialties—as well as a few momentous meals. Who are the people you associate with each one? Aside from taste and smell, consider the surrounding environment, atmospheric sounds, time of year, and who you were at that point in your life.

Wheels and Nails

While the American proverb “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” may be one you’ve heard time and again, often in reference to the idea that whoever raises or vocalizes a criticism the loudest will be appeased, there is a Japanese saying that translates to “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” which points to the positives of conformity in order to maintain a productive and humble society. It can also refer to putting someone who has become too successful back down in their place. Write a story in which your main character diverges from a group of people, and sticks their neck out, so to speak. Perhaps they vocalize a contrary perspective, protest something they feel is unjust, or simply present themselves in an unconventional manner. What are the consequences? Does your story lean toward one proverbial lesson or the other, or does the conclusion demonstrate more ambiguity?

Night at the Museum

If you could spend a night at any museum, which would you choose, and why? The French publisher Editions Stock has a series of books that begins with this premise—each author selects a museum, arrangements are made for an overnight stay, and a book is written about the experience. In Jakuta Alikavazovic’s Like a Sky Inside , translated from the French by Daniel Levin Becker, she spends a night at the Louvre in Paris, where childhood memories of visits with her father are vividly recalled. “From March 7 to 8, 2020, I spent the night in the Louvre, alone. Alone and at the same time anything but,” writes Alikavazovic. Write a poem that imagines a night at a museum of your choosing, anywhere in the world. What memories will you excavate from this imagined, solitary experience?

Chosen Family

Although the origin of the term is unknown and can be defined in many ways, a chosen family is made up of a group of people who choose to embrace, nurture, and support each other despite conventional understandings of biological or marital relationships. Oftentimes a chosen family is formed to take the place of a biological family, however, in some cases, these relationships are formed to expand a family. Write a personal essay about a relationship you have with a chosen family member. How did you first meet? Was there a particular incident that catalyzed what would become an inextricable bond? Has your commitment to each other been tested in ways big or small? Reflect on past memories and experiences you have had with this special person and how your relationship has evolved over the years.

Kingdom of the Planet

In the 1968 science fiction film Planet of the Apes , which is based on French author Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel and has spawned several sequels and a recent reboot, a crew of astronauts crash-lands on a planet ruled by apes who have developed an advanced and hierarchical civilization, complete with systems of governance, labor, scientific research, and a military force. In this far-off place, humans have been reduced to mute primitive beings who are subjugated and kept captive as workers for the primates. Write a speculative story that takes place in another universe with a premise revolving around a role reversal. What are the rules and governing structures of the society that you invent? You might decide to approach your narrative with a tone of horror, satire, or comedy to emphasize your perspective on stereotypical assumptions and social expectations.

Another Country

“I love these raw moist dawns with / a thousand birds you hear but can’t / quite see in the mist. / My old alien body is a foreigner / struggling to get into another country. / The loon call makes me shiver. / Back at the cabin I see a book / and am not quite sure what that is.” In these eight lines that comprise Jim Harrison’s poem “Another Country,” which appears in his final collection, Dead Man’s Float (Copper Canyon Press, 2016), the late poet moves between observations about a natural outdoor setting and the speaker’s own bodily presence, arriving in the final two lines at a sentiment that expresses a feeling of defamiliarization at the seemingly mundane sight of a book. This week write a poem that explores the concept of being so absorbed in one environment or circumstance that to behold a different scene is like traveling to a strange and unknown realm.

Self-Healing

A recent study in Scientific Reports journal revealed that, for possibly the first time, a nonhuman wild animal was seen using plant medicine to heal an active wound. In a rainforest in Indonesia, a Sumatran orangutan was observed ripping off leaves from a climbing vine plant, chewing them, and applying the plant sap to treat a wound on his face, which then healed after a few days. Write a personal essay on the theme of self-healing. Think about experiences when you’ve witnessed another person perform this task, or particularly resonant memories that pertain to your own past behavior. What are the primary emotions present throughout this process? What instances of self-treatment or self-medication in film, art, or literature created an impression on you?

Campus Story

Take inspiration from the concept of a campus novel—which takes place in and around the campus of a university and often involves the intertwined dynamics of students, professors, and conventions about learning and power—and write a story that engages with a school setting, whether prominently situated in the context of the plot or used for a particular scene. Some recent additions to the campus novel canon include Elif Batuman’s The Idiot (Penguin Press, 2017), Xochitl Gonzalez’s Anita de Monte Laughs Last (Flatiron Books, 2024), Kiley Reid’s Come and Get It (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024), and Brandon Taylor’s Real Life (Riverhead Books, 2020). Will you include a character who is a student, teacher, administrative staff member, custodial worker or caretaker, or possibly an alumni revisiting the past? Consider the multitude of ways the incorporation of an educational environment might permeate the atmosphere of the narrative.

The Last Friend

“The day the last friend / dies / we sit alone. / A visitor / from outer space / tries hard / to summon us. / Someone says / EAT DEATH. / I fish around for answers / but the questions / still won’t come,” writes Jerome Rothenberg, who passed away in April, in his poem “The Last Friend.” Included in his collection of one hundred poems, A Book of Witness: Spells & Gris-Gris (New Directions, 2022), the poem presents a list of statements and observations, many of which refer to death or dying in some personal way, though the connections are enigmatic and the logical progression is oblique. Try your hand at writing a poem that mentions its subject directly, but which also deliberately obfuscates or remains ambiguous in its intentions. How might using the “I” as a witness include the reader into your point of view?

Mind Your Manners

The New York City culture and news website Gothamist recently asked New Yorkers about their thoughts on sidewalk etiquette in the crowded, bustling streets of their beloved city. What are the rules, who has the right-of-way, and who should yield? Respondents focused on always walking to the right of the sidewalk and to “move quickly and never stop.” One thoughtful respondent considered the cultural differences of sidewalks used for recreational strolls versus commuting. But the overall consensus was that among nine-to-fivers, tourists, parents with kids, dogwalkers, bicyclists, and groups, seniors deserve the right-of-way. Write an essay about the unwritten rules or etiquette you have observed in your daily surroundings. How have these common practices adapted to fit the needs of different people? Do they evolve over time as social norms change? Consider some of your own experiences with how public etiquette has helped or hindered harmonious community life.

The term sub rosa means “under the rose” in Latin and refers to something said or done in private. The rose has been associated with secrecy since ancient times, a decorative symbol often carved and painted in places like meeting rooms, banquet halls, and confessionals as reminders of confidentiality. This week write a short story that revolves around a conversation or discussion that occurs sub rosa in an enclosed space. Does a certain detail get leaked out or overheard? How might the secretive nature place a burden on your characters? Consider the ways in which the atmosphere and tone of your story feel distinctive in the time and space of your sub-rosa conversation versus the scenes that take place before or after the talk.

Wisdom in Translation

In the anthology Another Room to Live In: 15 Contemporary Arab Poets (Litmus Press, 2024) edited by Omar Berrada and Sarah Riggs, multinational and multilingual poet-translators challenge foundational narratives and rework mythologies through poetic expression. Yasmine Seale’s poem “Conventional Wisdom (Arabic Saying Translated Twenty Ways)” is composed of translations of an ancient aphorism expressing the inextricable place of poetry within Arab cultural heritage. Each line presents a variation on the truism: “Poetry is the record of the Arabs / The art of poetry is Arabs, collected / Good poetry is a list of Arabs / To speak in verse is to remain in Arab memory / To surpass another poet is the Arab odyssey.” Write a poem inspired by this idea of translating a proverb or maxim—either from another language or from English into English. How might you creatively interpolate different “translations” of the saying by incorporating connotations and riffing on free associations and personal experiences?

In Response

In a recent interview with Aria Aber for the Yale Review , when asked his thoughts on the responsibility of the poet, Jackson Prize–winning poet Fady Joudah says, “I often think that the responsibility of the poet is to strive to become the memory that people may possess in the future about what it means to be human: an ever-changing constant. In poetry, the range of metaphors and topics is limited, predictable, but the styles are innumerable. Think how we read poetry from centuries ago and are no longer bothered by its outdated diction. All that remains of old poetry is the music of what it means to be human.” Write a creative nonfiction piece that presents your personal theory of the responsibility of a writer or an artist. To construct an expansive approach, you might use observations about how different creative disciplines overlap in their goals, or consider what has remained resonant as the arts make their mark throughout various eras.

Earth to You

In honor of Earth Week, write a scene that revolves around a character who experiences an unexpected moment in a natural environment that produces a sensation of wonder, perhaps an unusual encounter with wild flora or fauna. You might contrast the elements of this scene with others in your story in which the character is interacting solely with humans or only attuned to the sounds, rhythms, and sights of city life and densely packed civilization. Is the occurrence mind-bogglingly quick and then reflected upon in hindsight, or does time slow down in the scene? How do you manage or manipulate the pacing and rhythm of your prose to draw attention to the emotional and psychological response of the character?

From Dirt Level

In Sharon Olds’s poem “May 1968,” the speaker recounts the memory of spending the night with other protesting students, who lay down their bodies on a New York City street at a university’s campus gates in order to obstruct the mounted police force that had been called in. While “spine-down on the cobbles,” she observes the city and surrounding scenery—the soaring buildings and the police and horses’ bodies—as she gazes upward, thinking about the state of her pregnant body. Write a poem this week from the vantage point of lying face-up, “from dirt level.” What circumstances bring you into this position? How does this upward point of view transform what you see, and how you feel about your own body?

More, please? Or, no more, please? In The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without (Avid Reader Press, 2024), John Oakes recounts his personal experience conducting a weeklong fast and examines the practice’s history and place within a wide range of religions and philosophies. The book also explores the act of self-deprivation and the potential transformative benefits of subtracting rather than adding to one’s life. “The act of fasting…won’t stop routine, but impedes it for a bit, signifying a shift and a determined unwillingness to follow standard operating procedure,” writes Oakes. Use this idea to consider your personal relationship with consumption—of food, conversation, media, clothes, space—and write a personal essay that reflects on what you might otherwise take for granted.

All in Your Head

In “Table for One,” a short story from Korean author Yun Ko-eun’s new collection of the same name, translated by Lizzie Buehler and published by Columbia University Press in April, a surreal quality seeps into the tale of a lonely office worker who enrolls in a course to make solitary dining easier. Tips from the course include: “Target corner tables rather than those in the middle. Seats at the bar are also good. Hang your coat or bag on the chair facing you and take advantage of tools like a book, earphones, a cell phone, or a newspaper.” The fantastic element of the story lies less in the oddity of the premise than in the narrator’s meticulously recounted neuroses and detailed rendering of processes that become seemingly cyclical. Write a scene that focuses on your character’s minute observations as they attempt to overcome something debilitating. Does the situation lend itself to a quirky or dark sense of humor?

Neither Questions nor Answers

“Where is the homeland / to lay a cradle for the dead / Where is the other shore / for poetry to step across the end point / Where is the peace / that lets the days distribute blue sky...” In Sidetracks , forthcoming in May from New Directions, the Chinese poet Bei Dao begins his book-length poem with a list of twenty-five enigmatic questions that dance around mythological, philosophical, and existential subjects. In Jeffrey Yang’s translation, the speaker’s questions lack the end punctuation of the original text, with question marks omitted. Through these unanswered questions, the poet conjures loss and nostalgia. Loosely following this structure, write a prologue to a poem that poses a series of questions gesturing toward your most pressing uncertainties. While Bei Dao’s lines are mysterious and mystical, allow your poem the tone and allusions that feel instinctive to you.

With Certainty

In a 1789 letter, Benjamin Franklin wrote the phrase, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Franklin was reflecting on the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, which he said promised to be durable, as well as his own ailing health and mortality. This week write a personal essay that riffs off this proverb, reflecting on your own worldview about what can be certain. You might start off with the prompt: “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and ______.” Tell the story of how you arrived at your own ideas about what you can always count on, whether good or bad. What past experiences, encounters, or memories seem to reinforce your belief?

Spring Ephemeral

Spring ephemerals are plants—generally wildflowers native to deciduous forests such as tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths—that bloom only for a very short period in the early spring during the brief window of time when the sun’s light and warmth can extend to the forest floor while the trees have bare branches. Once the overhead canopy is full for the season, the flowers usually die back to dormancy with only their underground parts intact for the remainder of the year. Write a short story that revolves around the theme of an occurrence with a similarly limited time span—and one that happens only rarely. Does knowledge of its fleeting nature compel your characters to perceive or value it in different ways? Is there the possibility of a reoccurrence, however infrequently?

A Few Things

“Though you have known someone for more than forty years, though you have worked with them and lived with them, you do not know everything. I do not know everything—but a few things, which I will tell,” writes Mary Oliver about her partner Molly Malone Cook in her book Our World (Beacon Press, 2009), which celebrates their life and home together in Cape Cod through Oliver’s essays and Cook’s photography. Write a poem about someone you have known for a long time, but who is no longer in your life. Begin first by forming two lists: one list for the things you knew about this person and a second list of what you did not know. Select several items from each list and compose a poem that paints a portrait through the lens of your relationship. What are the things that were shared, imparted, revealed, and hidden?

This Fun Creative Writing Exercise Will Change Your Life

by Joe Bunting | 212 comments

I'm sure this never happens to you, but there are times when I don't feel very creative. A few years ago we'd just had a new baby  (our second), bought a house (our first), and were busy managing a thousand new details. I felt like I had nothing to give to my writing. And life hasn't slowed down any since then. All the busywork and bill paying leaves me feeling like all the creative juices are dried up.

But no matter how un-creative I'm feeling, there's one creative writing exercise that never fails to fire up my writing.

Why We Need Creative Writing Exercises Like This

Over the last ten years, I've worked with thousands of writers, and  in that time, I've there is one thing that stops more people from writing than anything else.

“This is so bad,” we think after one particularly difficult sentence. “Why would anyone read this? Why would I want to read this? I thought I was better than this. I thought I was talented. So why am I producing such crap?”

Sometimes, writers don't even allow themselves to go through this kind of painful monologue. Instead, they put off writing altogether, procrastinating until the very last minute, then whipping something together that may not be very good but at least it's done!

So while you can still use daily journal writing or creative writing prompts to jump start your writing process, the creative writing exercise I'm going to talk about in this post is designed specifically to combat that kind of perfectionism .

Where Does Perfectionism Come From?

Perfectionism begins with pride. “I'm so talented how could I not  write the next great book? Bestseller? More like best book of the century.” (Full disclosure: this used to be me.)

Or, for the slightly less narcissistic, “I may not be the best, but I have the best idea . And what's more, I  care  the most.”

Unfortunately, this kind of pride doesn't survive “contact with the enemy”: the blank page.

I've watched so many writers be humiliated and completely demoralized by the process of writing.

“I never want to do this again,” they confess to me, usually when they're about two-thirds of the way through writing their first book. “Writing is horrible. Miserable. I'm  horrible! Why did I ever think it was a good idea to write this? to write at all?!”

Neither of these two postures—pride and despair—are helpful if you want to create great work.

What's missing? What's the secret ingredient writing in a way that both displays your natural that is both an absolute joy to write and your best possible work?

The secret ingredient is PLAY.

That's right, the same thing that toddlers are so good at is the key to writing your best work.

This Writing Exercise Brings the Joy Back to Writing—Here's How

How do you play with writing?

Two words: modernist poetry . *

Pioneered by poets like Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, modernist poetry often makes very little sense. In fact, it can sometimes even seem like gibberish, like a Rauschenberg lithograph .

And that's what makes it such a great exercise. Because it allows you to play with words in a way that the perfectionistic side of your brain won't be able to stop.

5 Steps to This Writing Exercise

I've broken it up into five steps so simple a two-year-old could follow them:

• First, get out a blank page.  Feel free to open a new document on your computer, get out a pen or a blank piece of paper, or even whip out your old-school typewriter (the preferred method!)
• Next, write the first word that comes to your mind.  When I did this exercise this morning, the first word I thought of was “Boom.” Why not?! So I wrote it down.
• Then, the hard part: write another word.  Why is this hard? Because for this exercise to work, the second word  must  be random and disconnected from the first. This will completely piss off that perfectionistic little writer in your head. Do it anyway!
• After you write the second word, write a third, fourth, and so on. After a few words, you can start a new line. It doesn't matter where you break the line. Just do it when it feels right. And as you write, don't forget the most important step of all…
• PLAY . When you do this exercise, write with the  sounds  of words in mind, not their meaning. Try out movie/historical/song/literary references, mashing them up with gibberish rhymes (e.g. “ Twain's hammersaw is bringing me low slow like a long bow “). Make up new words. Pay attention to the sounds of words. Try to come up with the most random noun you can. Then, put it next to a list of five verbs. DON'T use punctation (unless that sounds fun to you, of course).

* I'm of course using the term modernist poetry very loosely here. Good modernist poetry is about much more than random gibberish strung together.

Embarrassing Examples of My Own Attempts at This Exercise

To give you a sense of how your poems might look, and to hopefully give you much room to improve upon, here are two of my worst attempts at this exercise (for humor's sake, it's best to read these aloud in the sincerest voice you can muster):

Boom story Simple reason hides the only response to holiness tears and I'll love you I'll love you Asparagus dream tell me I'm happy Bromate the worn door Catalyst of evergreen I'll sing it all dusk Thiery weeps Allspice leaves Kroner folder brning Someday I'll participate in wishful thinking

Amazingly bad, right? Here's the next one (I actually like this one):

bloom you folly seeking pinwheeling song stealers float your lilly feelings youround a hold and follow the starring problem holder

Ready to write yours?

Why This Creative Writing Exercise Is Genius

When you finish—after ten lines or a hundred— read your poem out loud. You'll probably be surprised at how good it is!

That's why this exercise is so perfect. Because when you try to write badly, you free up your creativity and end up making surprising connections.

Sure, some of your lines will be horrible, embarrassing, and never to be read again. But others will be much better than you expected.

Finally, with your new playful spirit, you'll be able to go back to your work in progress with a new level of creativity.

How about you? Do you ever play with words?  Share in the comments !

Ready to try out this creative writing exercise? Use steps above to write a modernist poem. Make sure to PLAY!

When you're finished with your poem, post it in practice box below and offer feedback to three other writers. (Come on, it can't be worse than mine!)

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

212 Comments

Sounds like a great idea and definitely worth a try. I’ll be going to a writing retreat in June, so I’m printing this out to take with me. My goal will be to use this exercise to get the creative juices flowing. Thanks for the playful nudge!

Wow, Joe. Though new house and new baby are exciting additions, but are STRESSFUL (she says from experience).

Creepy sushi dancing Wisps of smoke prancing

Die, bastard, die! Comforter comforting me now

Wash adrift the sand Turning pages of my life

Sandals wanting time Laughter make it mine

Wanting more Wanting less Wanting…

This is good brain relief. I like your choices Marcy.

Thanks, Susan. You should try it. It was FUN!

Hahah, I love that you started with creepy sushi! What a random thought: wonderful! Yours is certainly more together than my little pieces I wrote, but I didn’t want to have to think too much longer. It’s the weekend lol

Glad you enjoyed it, Matt. I really did like creating this.

Interesting exercise. My perfectionist brain and definitely my English teacher brain are unsettled by the idea of it, but here goes:

Feathers stream Rockets spread unseen Lockets touching foes unbreaking Feathers spray and need Feed the blue buttons

Wow. That is terrible. Fun exercise though.

Hey, I think it’s great! I really liked the “rockets spread unseen.” Kinda creepy and majestic. 🙂

Thanks. I wouldn’t have thought of it that way, but glad you did 🙂 Thanks!

There could totally be a song for that one. Maybe a new Bruce Springsteen original?

I can hear it now!

Ha! This is great. Feed the blue buttons, but not the green ones, those pigs.

Haha! Thanks, Joe. Strange what comes out when you’re not thinking ahead.

Never tried this before, but it sounds like fun.

boast most helpful dope lean bean is really mean come down come around and be the day play as we may all the day nachos ate grouchos at the grill til morning light with fright in the night she wails while he’s in jail

This is FUN! Thanks

I LOVE that line–“nachos ate grouchos at the grill til morning light”

Players weep on trees Into the gilded forest eggs cry Maybe in the future planes will crawl If only I know when I die

Agonizing grapes pull a ward from the hen Please have the finish, each screams One tangle of empty forges after another Flip and fall to hell

Eight and every page of guards Death and door come to yield Of my apostles one hath died Never rise again

Open girth weighs the justice Golden feathers flim and glide Beguile the dragons in my ankles, And you will be the saint of pyres.

Forest justice ever black Into my heart slack and die Make sure the door is locked my friend The statue thief’s here.

Chinese bells tassels scarlet swaying winds on horseback in Mongolia Leather gauntlet falcons grip with strong talons Cheese drip curds steaming face bent good and hot On a cold winter night on the mountains Snow-covered steppes step back front door and look out to the horizon horses drive towards the mud and centre of our camp Girls wrestle in embroidered helmets on Lacquered heads black as silk satin and moth wings

I was listening to a documentary on medieval China while I wrote this. It’s scary to do this, but very interesting.

A wisp of memory Fading fast Tinges of red and orange Surrounding the evening Memory escaping Irrelevant now Nothing necessary Sustaining Pain Useless to my wellbeing Forget Move on Look at the flowers They don’t weep Yesterday Does not exist There is only My happy heart Free

Beautiful Open Bright Sad Free (i.e. I loved it!)

(Love your summary! Thanks)

mm, beautiful is right! i love how you have the single-word lines. powerful. wonderful to see a longing end in freedom!

Thanks Matt…

I loved the flow of it! Very nicely written!

Thank you Lisette!

Lifeboat don’t sink Speak louder dishwasher Don’t ignore the soap Once upon a time I lived in a treehouse By the sea In a boat Eating popcorn With my best friend’s sister After we met By the seashore Watching chickenwings dance Like chiropractors Eating mustaches I think I’m weirded out By this poem The end.

I love that chicken wingsdance!

This poem paints word pictures. (Smiling)

I’m glad it made you smile. 🙂

Joy, I loved it! I like having your name above your entries… It’s like titling every thing ‘Joy’! I especially like the line ‘speak louder dishwashwer’. What a neat personification you do there!

Thank you, Matt! I’m so glad it brightened your day. 🙂

Wind blown hair Sudden smells Dirt caked fingernails Keep the blood flowing Listen well all of you Faded days of youth Slowly crawling down my hands

Drops slither down the lines of them

The sidewalk will end The days do grow short The sun will someday set You better start running Nothing will keep your heart beating The terror of the inky blackness Slipping towards you Like a unseen hand Pulling towards the sky Silent breathing Eyes looking Holding on to something Anything that seems like hope Dropped from a hundred feet Slammed on top of the fear and anger

Of those looking for it Never to be found Whispers in your voice The voices try to speak

Lovely idea, tried doing this but end up with like freewriting exercise, not poetry. I wonder if I’m doing it right though, would someone mind to let me know?

As you can see, mine is more like a threads of words that sort of rhyme imperfectly together, I’m not sure if I’m doing this exercise right.

Should we rush the next word without 2nd thought like in brainstorming/freewriting, or should we take the time to ponder which next word that can describe the previous word & 2nd word must rhyme?

Is it ok if we have spelling errors, i.e. we make up some words along the way?

Thanks, this is my piece: boom clap boom boom pow fowl fowler spoiler lier spelling error rubbish gibberish nonsense random blank space getting better improve dance fun run hike trial fire hire never say never Justin Bieber tin dean jean man motivational speaker fooler fuller occupational redeem receipt resit deceive deceit damn realm delve elf power grip rip drip dip sip nim numb rum wine alcohol dollar dine sky high fly fry rye nice buy fine nine mine fine right cents sense make fake bake aiks ache cite poetry poem focus circus amazing Britney Spears songs

Hi Alisa 🙂 You’re definitely not doing it wrong! Art is, almost by definition, to be defined by the artist (that’s you 🙂 I’m guessing you were going for the rhyming and that the author’s mention of ‘sound’ guided you toward that specific type of sound/poetry. Well poetry doesn’t have to rhyme, certainly doesn’t have to have any lines working with each other…. but one beautiful thing is that it CAN!

The best part about this is that the rule is there are no rules. Needless to say you did it perfectly. I laughed out loud at this, “

Seems right to me. I think theepoint exercise gets the brain off the right wrong good bad wagon and allows for the revolving of the word flow wheels, creates writing momentum.

Thanks so much guys for the positive enforcement, was pretty fearful actually that I’m doing this wrong, especially after I’ve read many other writers’ comment on this page which seem like poetry to me.

spaghetti soon twitches forknife held below knight night gnight long vacuous overwhelming consistency contstantly spaghetti but that is that how too yearn is rending still

vacuum space unrelated frequency dulled roar riptide rush bloated watermelon belly crying infants smiling sadness empty full long the two fight

hug me hurt me hide me rid me of the actions of the past the ones so now long forgotten belkin summit of faith radioplate maneuver fan running walking stillness complete grain texture paper thin neighbors credit cards fight plastic battles are the swimming seagulls

sleep yellow over long side ways dream a dream facesfacesfacesfaces who questions keep chanting smoke signals carrier pidgeons wood pidgeon harry potter sunrise sunsets full to empty nevermore ravenclaw harry potter slytherin dauntless teen fiction rests above elbows not betwixt

brains are concrete solidly cementing gray matter into dark matter elmer’s legends trip the nation glue that murdered many factionless fathers forget daughterless mothers highlighted on paper numbers alone

notetaking has never neared the precipice starbucks mcdonalds Disney world songs of the weekend amazing handsome always faith window clotheshanger lightpole crosschair living lives left of lines leaving lines write of lies

Wonderful images Matt – “brains are concrete…..” love this.

Thank you Jeanne!

“notetaking has never neared the precipice.” Not sure what it means, but love the sound of it. Great images throughout.

thanks Tom! i have no idea either. of course, as an english teacher you and i could likely come up with something for it. eg. there has never been enough note taking; notetaking is only as good as the bottom of the mountain… etc

lol, thanks again Tom, you’ve become faithful at commenting on my non-make-sensory posts!

Spaghetti sounds good right now… Great job Matt!

haha, right?!

it’s not that late, and it sounds real good to me too :)) thanks for the comment, lisette!

Anytime! It could never be too late for spaghetti!

Better not let any psychologists get a look at this free-association writing we’re doing here – they could have a field day!

Here’s a snippet of mine – what it reveals of my inner demons, I have no idea:

Fuchsia correct killing thyme Sun son jumping giants handle fun Haricot wimples forget-me-nots queen rapier juniper lungs Yesterday warrior bungle contemporary sweat linguine

However, having done that (and a few more lines of equal gibberish), some of the words resonated and I wrote an actual poem – not normally my thing at all. Here it is:

Celebrity cooks, killing thyme, Randy writers, striving to rhyme. Fossilised footballers, can’t keep them down, Rejected representatives, doing nothing but frown. My box is just full Of these unwanted folk. Won’t somebody tell them They’re nowt but a joke?

I loved both of these poems Alex! In the first I especially enjoyed all the crazy nouns. Haricots? Wimples? Juniper lungs? Awesome.

And the second is almost just as crazy! Representatives and footballers in your inbox? Great image! These were lots of fun, Alex. Great job!

For clarity, Joe, where I come from “box” means “television” …

Alex, I so enjoyed hearing your thought process during the writing, and then also enjoy the writing. Thanks for sharing!

Those were both very enjoyable poems! That was great! Thanks for sharing!

Interesting explanation,

Spices, are the most common flavore used to give the recipes a good taste

ninja use nunchaku whack the baby whack Bruce Lee write a song sing sing sing on stage rap swim fly dragon in the pond fly fly up with balloons land shaolin master punch matrix blue red laptop iphone smash medicine pills poets ted choose give up fly disappear forrest musics guitar horses flowers bill gates wheat weed whip whisky michael jackson fly fly fly fly

Ooh, I like this….

Cane Shut up curl

Keep try hop run

Jury Jig try dig

Methos fin help learn love

Delve done truck hug

mushroom bathroom in a line mask violate stop came in time grab grapple free sew line slow feverish tinkering mess all over feet globe car shadows blank squeeze fan top red bump in the road cemetery almost done pancakes shuffle indentation

Firstly get away guitar laying down fluent strings play pencilled drawings in graphite where it weeps the songbird relents ongoing tide in long ago fields of green someday wishful thinking may happen

This brought a smile to my face….

This is beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

when I wrote down my ongoing may happens, I was thinking it was a long month! with a bunch of things happening in May… and it’s not over yet!!! 🙂 great minds think alike!!!

Ripples sunlight rocking across time forgetting wisdom teeth falling out left and right and interdormand rushing giants planting tin cans frequent sighs undeserved highs racking up moments laughing hate spinning monumental focus pointless and proud

Rollercoaster Dreams I’m beaming at the seams.

Moving quickly at the speed of light I’m crawling out of my skin with fright.

People screaming, I hear My turn is getting near.

Do I actually want to ride? There’s no where to hide.

I take a seat in the rear Everything is becoming clear.

We take off with a jerk Maybe closing my eyes will work

to keep me from getting sick Maybe that’s the trick

My stomach turns My heart burns

http://www.shesallsmiles.com

To free write and simultaneously rhyme is no mean feat. I am envious of your ability! Wow!

Oh! I love roller coasters, so I especially liked reading this! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

Now that’s marvellous for a quick writing exercise!

What a good peice of writing, I wish I have the same ability of writing.

Would be a great Rap song!

Cute piece!

I’m beaming at the seams!?! This is gorgeous!

I want to steal juniper lungs and sandals wanting time… After just putting the words that popped up down, I wanted to then use them within a line, so did it really quick to stop my conscious brain having any of the fun! It has made me want to go back to poetry after years away…..

Credible, cheerful, possible cream

Cauliflower people, treading mice

Like flowers popping tears tear in soulful

Cake will play because foe

Archipelago chant swear carry notice

The archipelago of my fractured mind

Gives chant to each spiralled thought

I swear I will sin again

Carry the panniers of hope

Until I notice the emptiness.

This is harder than it seems trees shoot out light beams its rays cause puss to ooze from ears and eyes multicolored tears soon begin to fall easy to say not to do brain filters raise defeat and letters emerge from holes galore

Okay yea this was weird and maybe not right so I’m off to the kitchen to fetch a bite. May attempt this later I might, but it will be well into this night.

Cool! multicolored tears soon begin to fall, trees shoot out light beams. I don’t think there is a right way to do this exercise. You write what comes to mind and cool/ weird things start happening. 🙂

yea my editor was fighting me all the way.

This remembers me of the last scene of Frank, with the song I Love You All. He creates the song based on loose phrases about the place he is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOt6ppIBOd4

Pace Breathing rapidly Tongue twisted around silk Silently contemplating Ifs and ands? Forever is temporary Tonight will change forever Night falls, dawn cracks Missions are possible.

Writing gibberish is a wonderful way to loosen up the old writing muscles. I have been doing this for years. I call these exercises “SOUPS” (like a minestrone of words 🙂

Here’s a ‘soup’ I prepared earlier:

I have hooks for ears. A fox for breath. I am alive but not for much longer. Passion over, I followed the posts, but lost her in Hades. The last words she spoke tore at my soul and were consumed in flames. I have tesserae eyes.

And here’s one I just did. (So much fun!)

How the red fruit became a violent blue. Cause and effect. Holodecks and bears. There’s a fly buzzing around my antlers. Drinking heavy water by the container ship full.

(Preface – This was ridiculously fun…)

Sisyphus expels fiction

Portable headstones rumbling nowhere

Fused opinions laugh at sweat

Mangle Josephine and Scarlet and Rastafarian hats

(Not even sure if that is a word, I continue)

Rain doesn’t come here

Snow doesn’t come here

Pacifists don’t come here

Snaggletooth and mulberries are frowned upon

over there though their new wall and

attempt at visibility works

Voo doo doll paves the way

So this is how this works?

First shots. Not a dunk or lay up

Hula hoop falls down the hips

Too many EL Fudge cookies

leave her belly trapezoidal

I’m not sure if this was what it was supposed to be, but what the heck. Here it is:

Wings darkness glow beauty

Eyes hear broken staccatos

Brainless batteries contain wealth

Eat hearts oil and sadness

Pray stay with contrite expectations

I can’t save me, why save you?

Breathe a breath, save yourself

Talk up to the sky, Sing to the clouds,

You are alone, we are alone, let me be

Hold a chainsaw gently against a pine tree

Keep a cigarette between the teeth, but don’t blow

Thoughts a whirling, don’t slow down, keep thinking

No regrets but no life as well

Don’t fail, don’t trust

Printers lay out a formal foundation

Of ink splattered on a page, rhythm to it

Like bongos, tambourines, a circus of stupidity

Why the formality? Just breathe.

Ok, I doo’d it. I tried to disconnect just write random words. The app I used has a Hemingway mode which will NOT let me go back and correct. So here it is in the raw:

fabulous bang twins supperbanner moon mistriss cold laubchlaunch cart bicycle haeart hart fart fifteen minutes foervroforever as arghhhh terry telephone wizards stupid magic radar neck crackle creakle arthritis ouch ouch ouchouch age apain in the ass still random arrggghhh fifte en minutes!!!! ocoffee coffeecake telephone terry newspaper crossword kids running on the street raining rain falling umbrellas red and blkblue morning gratgrey drizzle falling people walking coffee holding starbusks and caribou barns and noble refugee writing nonsesnenonsense geern of spring why do I keep connecting words!!!! I’m a sentence pig that should be green of spring random words hah blue whit umbrella pblue cap pink shirt white pants black man pololder cell phgone smartphone everine on a phone

This is fun, I’m curious what app you use for the Hemingway mode? Do you like it or does it tend to just force more editing after the fact?

draftin.com

This was gold! Thanks for tuning us into this part of the brain again. I had some rhymes and even a made up word that I had to write down. Some of my words were more connected than I realized after close examination. I think I’ll do it again and keep trying for more and more obscure nouns and verbs. Very fun.

Here’s my first attempt:

Buzz fuzz no flibbery slippery to trees knees acid foreign plastic pom Dom cray lips bend send Growl fowl my Galaxy bar forage skip tip mandible crime time yes Fall

Plenty of rhymes and certainly some connections. Fun connections too! My favorite line is “growl fowl my galaxy bar’

I decided to give mine a title. Very fun exercise. Writed

Hat hormonster tea says That is yours ill elcaire Crane frejuices hotdog on Very long train blank your eye Free fee to honk poink grr Grass hit shovel to joy Little carber yet kinger Questest am I

HA! I feel like I’m reading a combination of Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss! I enjoyed how you verbified the word hotdog – as in the “crane frejuices hotdog on”. so many wonderfully unique and made up words, as well as not being constrained by grammar: “Questest am I”

Thanks! It was very fun!

After first draft, I felt happy. I added some connecting words.

Cormorant Languishing on the rocks I watch from the theater of trees carrier, freer, flier

beyond, a boat on the foam, full of hope, stable before, a blue jay, sneaky, to the wren feeder, pecking, tipping, flapping to stay afloat.

I get to Barnes and Nobles and realize that there most likely will not be a prompt today from Joe, new baby and all. So I said why not do Fridays again. So I did. I have no idea what this is but it was fun, which I think is the whole point.

I am a sentence pig. I grovel in words. I wallow in phrases. I show fields of green using appositives where paragraphs are ecstacy. I long for chapters. I pray for a novella Oh my what would I give for a novel. A tome of sci-fi, of memories of west Texas, of a curmudgeon just mumbling on a keyboard.

Well, there sort of was! But I’m glad you wrote this instead. This is publishable Gary! The first line and last two lines are especially wonderful.

A very creative piece with a lovely touch of humor.

Beautiful and such talent in this!

Wow! This is such an intriguing metaphor. I love it!

I loved this exercise…it felt great not to criticize the words I wrote…freeing…thank you!

Trees avenue go Paper pens and doors Wooden leaves swing Flowers sign loudly Anger rises Mad men scream Wishes take turns Mashed potatoes scream, cream and laugh Head full of noise Make it right, write

I’m pretty good at being random so here I go ….

random atom batman cat living loosely bill need a boosty can’t fathom random matter rather ponder infinite father you know, y’all, this random thinking has my inner brain’s eyes a-blinking tac namtab mota modnar line one backwards written makes even less sense this is only a test of my inner randomness but random it is scary it is i think i thunk i thought it was kind of fun but book seems long way off still

Fireworks miss you the forever paper friendly happy I’ll make the move rain oil painting tell me story earthquake end new house cucumber fence Gerber thinking crazy daisy patio fan

and glue smile together sunshine hides at hard rock flirty guitar stage tony danza

ongoing may happens

Heather Guidry

Carefully crafted canvas, smeared by my own hand, as I tried to perfect the image.

Beacon of light, luminous thought. Darkness tamped down.

I think this ended up being more cohesive than random…random words do come to mind once in a while though, and I make note of any interesting ones if I come across them (in order to use it later on).

——————-

Uncertain eyes look to yonder Over the gleaming horizon of sparkling grays and blacks. No whites. Just in between – the uncertainty of color.

Managing stark cold hands, Voices linger behind bedridden backs, Calling “Up! Up!” Back to who we are.

The dark suits hang on dressers, Image of the callback days of loose shirts, Untucked and fondly wrinkled. Memories of play.

The uncertainty of color persists.

Harboring Lost Thoughts By Kiki Stamatiou a. k. a. Joanna Maharis

The doormat brings with it it’s own excuses For harboring lost thoughts Of my vengeance.

Forever embraced by the hallow deeds Of raspberries filled with scornful melodies Inside their core, their bitterness stings My tongue with a sourness overcome By vicious melodies bombarding my Mind so listlessly.

I’m melting in the sun so filled with It’s buttery decree. I’m left dancing outside like a mundane Archer taking aim against vicious levities Of the outright political game.

I’m embalmed with the crucifix burning My flesh with starved convictions. I’m famished by the powers withholding me And feeding me to the hungry sharks Swarming around my cage.

I’m lost in a watery grave Where only the sadistic survive The maze of the harpoon. Dying carp freeze in the ice. I’m withholding my heart Until tomorrows spring.

For I’ve learned to dance in the snow When the burrow brings forth it’s own song. Let the rich melodies pour out of your Grave, and bring me into the hourly tides.

I’m ever floating across the lake of your Misery. Allow me to bring my party hats, so I can Topple over you mind with the fruitfulness Of lush shrubbery with all their essence.

I’m driven by the fires burning up my soul With evergreens throbbing against my heart. For they bleed out the grail pouring forth Unto you, my friend.

If only you’ll learn to hobble once you’ve Been stung on the foot by a bee.

I create my own task master. For it is none other than me. I’m left standing there holding your Heart on a pole.

I’m ready to consume the vilest taste Of your herbs, if only you’ll sedate me So I no longer have to feel the pain Of your leaving me behind.

I’m drifting in the foulest pools Of consciousness when the melody Stops breathing. I’m the delft parted across the sea Of the fires.

I long to be cast aside by the nets Holding me prisoner to the night, But the song they choose to play Is the feverish hours of the stars Blinking their light into my eyes.

I’m gone overboard, because I lost My grip on life. I’m sailing across the sea with no one To guide me to you.

How can I bring for the misery unto You when you’ve left me nothing but The hollow log I sleep in on a cold night.

The waters thirst for survival in the grave Of your rite, but I’m left winded after Trying to tread on water for so long a tide.

I’m sifted by the breathing fire coming From your nostrils when the harpoons Engage themselves in the shark meat Ready to be pounced upon.

I’m the grave holding myself prisoner To you. For I know nothing else better than To sing of the wisest miser ever created By the Creator himself.

I’m strong, but I’m fragile all At the same time.

Help these seeds grow you left Planted in my heart. For they torture me at night with Their bite. I’m helpless in the darkness when Striving to breath in wicked breaths Of fire. Every time the rain goes away,

You take a piece of my sight with you.

Each day passing by me, I’m overcome With the hunger to seize your wild heart, And devour it’s passion with my tired spirit. Bring me back into the lion’s den So my song will continue to be heard.

Let me be the one who lets you into the Coasting plight of this miracle dancing Before us. For the captor is none of than the waves Crashing upon our heads when disease Of the soul echoes on in the realms of the dead.

© Copyright, Kiki Stamatiou, 2015

Time stands still Until it can tip no more And then the days move on Until you lips bleed lore The birds hone down their beaks And the water is low The boats begin to leak With what failed to show I hope with all kindness Genuity and trust That we lack what makes us better That is Until we know what we have lost Because with pride comes the end And as they say The end is the beginning It’s only in the new start Can we begin to see meaning

Fickle beans tasty trophy Force winds and rings tomorrow Gentle sabbath soaring greenly Froth and spirits sending dreams of chairs and inspiration Karma subtle and sorcery bright as foggy lenses Crime and candy dabble in forts of cheesecloth and dandelions Bear crawls for when it has none

Thanks for the idea. It was a lot of fun!

This was a lot of fun! Hippo java maps connects

My boom excites telephones

Rapidly energize terribly memorized

Backpack table cama pillow candles little tables

Life stipe’s the dog and kidnaps the night

Relentless stripes remarkable marbles scattered

Where is the man That purposely punched pilots Of spoiled roses And oscar cigarettes

From the steps he fell Fluffy clouds float Don’t look him in the eye It’s the devil in a goat

Frolic in the fields The sweater astrewn Dream catchers above Still wondering about the man in blue.

(Yeah random and fun exercise)

Busted bread gulls gaping gushing Gucci over moonbeans Muppets bruising, black buckets belting, bucketing, melting, Droplets pelting, pelts, Cigarettes high, rise of smoke of fabric blokes Muscles choke, mice pedal, broke, Wrappers soak Wrap me up, warm, torn, tongue worn and eyes sore, Fingers of lore, written in pores, shivers delivers Knuckles raw on wooden doors.

Sloshed and moshed and fever caboshed Rick Rack, thistle, high jack, delve, dig, seethe, heave Wrist watch, moss, laden toast Butter creamed and curdled and hurdled at strangers On bikes Come in Be gone Be sworn this is yours Its ours – our seething mess, our rubber ringworm test Of time.

Culture gone forgotten Who what am I Where do I come from Here, there, I cannot be from everywhere Lost in a line Pen investigates Discover insight, delightful I am Content with me

Practice moon green deliverance when I loved full but empty I thought I knew, I knew what I thought signing sounds on the wind christmas, crackling flowers druzy quartz sleep grey is silver a song isn’t a voice love is in crisp leaves in autumn smell pain and loss red, blue and purple veins sing a song of merry and bright scream shadows and lust revenge and deception and outrage meditation out of a void experience touch and sound walking children forest dark blues gasping for love remembering you remembering us.

Love killer season pie Melon dew drop Hug me lemon pink dye Books rob heart man Warmth in the blue snowflake Stars drown in lake boat Shy girl dress up dress out Dark sunlight blue sky

Catheter betrayal Why bottle bowl spritz spoon Long bright breezy Simple calm sound Magazine in the trash Water never drunk Purple towel, folded, untrusted Never betrayed Like he had I trusted him in the bed And not the towel But the towel never betrayed He did

Food is food. And I am I. Phones are cool. See eye to eye. Don’t you know how good it feels. To finally be as free as a bee. Love is hate and hate is sorrow. Yolo my friends so be okay. Piglets are weird and so are bowties. But don’t be afraid, my sick little fry. Yolo my friend, you don’t know what it’s like to be me. I am a fry, and so are you, bee. Okay okay where should i go if ye who wanders, Not to far from thee. I am pretty cool, not gonna lie. Omg um yeah cool. Love is food and food is love and i am asparagus. Cheese cheese wonderful cheese to yee who wanders… I’m not really a twat just it’s complicated, okay? Life is stars and stars are life yasss queen work okay Tyler oakley is stupid and kinda is not a queen So is joey and shane and grade I should be a teacher cuz im cool and i grammar right Piglets are dumb No they’re not What am i saying Okay okay i’m okay Fault in our stars is actually a good movie Wattpad is awesome

I long to no longer long. I long to chase my shadow I long for that moment when the sun takes its light and the shadow becomes one with darkness. I long to stand in darkness, panting and laughing at the absurdity of my chase.

life fleeting ships red burning winter’s deep asparagus peel back the layers while finding the bird’s song pinecones a layer of dust she breathes until dawn shining on your back my heart crumpled i pander to your soul the most esoteric fragments of my fingertips radiate and suddenly we are one

Huglesnort prediction elevation anger redevelopment spitfire unadorned clickity-clack barn meadow racer acclimation result thinking adhd motherhood replace learn become Aldrenation replicated meshining verbiage dumper

whisper down the swallowing stream, aloft from the earth, sea green angelic melodies, no desire for the smothering day, nauseating glimmers of a sense of feeling, but there is no more there is no more

Okay, I gave this a try. Here is what I came up with:

Singing a rain of showers Holding the clovers Wishing upon the jar Look the seeds are brining Fool heart incontent Slam slimming silliness Shapes come by hard Shall we ride now pard Hope do not despair Poop on the stairs

LOL Okay, I’m done.

That was fun. I might try this daily to get the juices flowing. Thanks Joe

Holes always look to never Emptiness knows no more clever On life’s machine I lever So pull no more punches And ties no more sever Never say ever Today is much better Present gifts push tomorrows buttons So no loving all of a sudden Butchers chop no muttons Or see self esteem plunging The pen is an extension of my hand So stretch your arms out do it dance to life’s music or die in life’s silence sight.

I was really skeptical for some reason when starting this exercise. I was doubting myself and the process, but something happened to me once I got going and this is what I came up with. There are definitely some crap lines, but true to what Joe claims, there are also some keepers!

Lust crust stuck to my nose. A seed planted where wild things grow. Now I have no room to breath. Rub elbows while desires seethe.

Polarity creates a daunting rift. Between extremes I seek, I sift. Close my eyes and there I find. The alleyway that is my mind.

Wedged between a corner store. And failing rotten tavern door. Graffiti art laments the day. That all we see should turn to grey.

Hypodermic desperation. Apathetic consternation. Should I share my deepest thoughts? With the naked body I’m draped across.

Rejection looms beyond the mist. Savagery consumes our tryst. Explosive climax from both ends. Meets the middle spectrum trends.

Morning brings mundane expressions. Forgotten by the twilight lessons. Of what to do when passions raw. Begin to rip, and tear, and gnaw.

Thanks! That was fun!

Here it is: fast taken long yellow road funny laughter dog takes a wheel of cheese boom goes the cat in winter wintery gloomy sad and desperate final dinner sees broadcast trucking along in the winter snow capped feelings it’s all allowed it’s all aloud cheese strings of death scary and morbid spooky and wrongly written bitten apple snow and white

I stumbled upon this post two years later, but thought I’d join in the creativity. Arriving fashionably late to the party…

Miraculous Ezra writes now And never did he whistfully boast Loud cymbals dampen darkness Lulled by sweet melancholy trees Torn amber flickers in kerosine Forgotten resorts listless in new days Harpoons by night Enslaved carvings hangers of folly Miracle girl Paisley lover Blinded and languid forever mine Shells and shambles balloon or fray Liquid ignition and lusty eyes Pooling careening cereal magic Employing adoring your bickering teeth Pliable queens of utmost sincerity Important or pleasurable it matters not Sandy hearts quake and shudder in time

Me foolish window was astonished Right poster under my keyboard tried to be sympathy Pen afterward might seek another coaster Hello if my chair help me to kick the wire off vegetable sicks coal sky

FUCK PERFECTIONISM words trickle ever so light sounds seem sharper tonight emotions cutting edges thank God for freedom long walks nighttime stories laughter the world moves slowly in the distance i see a perfect stranger in front of me she wears nothing but black with a devious smile & ready to attack eyes as sharp as daggers but a laugh so beautiful it puts my french horn to shame she walks with pride in every step, taking her time soaking in her surroundings gratitude is an action word and to be breathing today is more than I deserve

what are your interpretations? i’m interested

Ton bam landfill mining on a truck Unsure what the jar has struck On the grass a settle petal We sat lavishing flowers in sight To old and young, They all played In songs of mass and greed We stood like pires Eating the way for those saddened In the dormant spaces of their lives Unlucky and solemn Truth be told we aren’t the saints That paper sent us through disdain

Random, chair, purple, millenium falcon, buzz, silver Double, fingers, contact, nod, blank, empty, crack, Jump, tweet, snore, light, cat, breath, duplo, criss-cross Applesauce, orange, wood, song, island, coaster, basket, Egg, video, stupid, dumb, nonsense, soda, dim, car, morning, Awake, early, email, thoughts, tasks, day, ahead, drudge Time, scared, moron, promising?, not, dictionary, web, blog, feather, Kettle, knife, bowl, lunchbox, time, slow, poor, worthy, light switch Ceiling, floor, table, rug, avoid, tray, card, lego, figure, television, Books, breathing, silly, impossible, another avenue, keep, trying?, Exercise, practice, hi-low, plug, outlet, moving, awake, resolve, Undecided, laundry, dust, webbing, sad, afraid, anxious, inferior, Awful, no use, boring, coffee, progress, no, banana, wii, hat, Swallow, fingernails, click, snap, bulb, roar, big, engine, fast, Dawn, light, street lamp, trees, branches, dark, binoculars, Slow, view, pop, nothing, inhale, exhale, move, suddenly, Time, a.m., what, meaning, tires, pavement, stop sign, Text, edit, white, black, housecoat, feet, decision, waste, Possible, not, last, minute, keep, forward, sometime, Expression, money, job, administrate, look, busy, nothing,

Pain and failure easy to come difficult to go it’s just a phase, really?

Coldplay- hope and kindness generosity and love music happiness, calmness

crazy ideas implementation overpowering fear negative to positive long lost dreams.

words, words, words time not enough lost in transition waiting to be found

curious minds to care or not to care here or there now or later to create or not don’t know

New excersize for me, but what fun. Cant say mine makes a bit of sense, but here it is:

Running through the leaves Hyper on my life Hoping past hoping that pain will be Put to rest Open wide Feel free Slide in home Cheaters tea

It seems difficult, yet you must face it, feels likes it never going to end, but you have to get to the end to prove that, when it looks too long, all you need to do is to walk all the way to see how short it actually is… Such is life, we must learn to overcome our fears daily; be rest assured that every unpleasant situation will definitely end, and walk confidently through every daunting and challenging experiences to see how helpful they have been. I think that’s what I’m going to do…. I’ll keep overcoming the fears, enjoying the process, and celebrating the fulfillment of my writings so that someday, I’ll look back and be amazed at how much I have written in a short time….. I hope I’ve been able to walk through these few lines to show that my writings can become better.

So after my Physics lesson I wrote this for fun..

Your soul was embedded within every particle of my being Thus with a kiss my body caught alight From one phase to another my bonds broke Until I was one with the air

You lifted me up

Drifting aimlessly, until you breathed me in slowly I flowed inside of you, through every inch of you Until you were consumed by me

I brought you life

Full I fell in well of will But There is alot n lots thrill.

I love this exercise: it’s fun and it greatly helped with my creative slump. I had a go at it. Here are my results (warning: contains swearing (hope I’m not breaking any rules).

Watch out for the smack attack; making a jam.

If you’re in first class, I’ll put some glass in your ass.

Vroom vroom bam, doing the jam slam.

I’ll beat you till you spew faecal; coming out like treacle.

Gonna end this poem like I did your dick.

Don’t forget this brutality; my formality is a fatality.

Next time I’ll beat you with a stick. (damn right that was sick).

Atop my tower Gazing in despair at all my hands wrought. I strove to raise a better order. Slowed by hubris of the oligarchy. Heads rolled as I pressed on, the weak cowed into place. Behind my back they plot my fall. I am betrayed by all, and I betray all.

All I want Is to shout Really loud Because I’m so mad and sad Since I was bit by a turtle when I was a young lad Make me clap See me slap That ugly turtle face It’s such a disgrace messing up that place

… well this was fun.(Ps. I love animals I swear, it’s like my hand wrote on its own)

I thought this was really good. You seem to have a flair for poetry.

proud victorious free

Soaring high above trees

Beady eyes watchful frilly

It was fun to be silly

the treasure of sound by dancing trees from the swinging wind

the treasure of smell by dropping water from the falling rain

the treasure of taste by refreshing life from the rising sun

the treasure of sight by coloring sky from the varying lights

the treasure of smell by blossoming petals from the growing flora

Post modern poem

Sketch elephant shoe

Badoom badoom baddom

Jukebox millionare

Becky with the guitar hair

And suddenly, I’m soaring

Poop boop and cute

You’re raining and your snoring

Gravy pad thai pouring

Luke warm Jonathon cold

Badoop badoop badoop.

Spirit rider Pickle in syrup Jump out of your skin Pull the rope to freedom Roar like the sister wind Waves of emotion Perfectionism sucks….

Chewy Furry boy Big boy Bad boy Loveable boy Playful boy Handsome boy He’s my boy Loves to look outside at the pretty birds, Wonder what he would do if he were to ever catch one? Headbutting, bread kneading little boy Fat boy, furry boy, does he know how much I love him? Chewy is my handsome, loveable, furry CAT

Eerie palms swinging in the northern breeze Endless summer leaves are playing to the wind The relatively of relatives just brings me in this awful place of hill where sun does not shine either on your door or mine I still hope that the city dream would tell me to sing But I can’t do the party animal I can sing all the genres of dreams Let me do this for you

She was standing over there , chewing her gum , when the old man stumbled on his face on a rainy day , and she sarcastically started to laugh louder, louder and louder , and merly she was trying to help him , what a sorrow to be such sarcastic and regretful at the same time , the man was barley looking at her with eyes full of shame .

So I take a random word. Then write another word disconnected. And then just let it go. Sounds really good. just clarifying.

Emeralds form in my heart Rubies and rainbows show in the dark Crazy molasses engraved in my skin Elevated munchkins makes it harder to kin

Justice prevails, to you I love to hail I am a woman and you are a male Courageous enough to show that I care This is goodbye, get out of my dare

Baby diapers are Fuel for cars Carnation corsage for her Hotrod partner Swimming is fun for Cats who like to skate Honorable mentions for Meticulous wheels Of happiness outfitting Our highways

Thank you for this. I’ve been wanting to write but don’t really know what to write and where to begin. This was an enjoyable way to begin though. Here is my very first attempt with this exercise:

Surging pain for the demented brain Never underestimate the fate of the absurd Words have meaning but why do I care Follies of life and static despair Where is the bag of time wasted When do we trade this agenda for mourning Laugh and you shall see The tears that run through me For I can’t believe anymore I had faith but realized it was fruitless Time can heal but I still remain rootless Fly in the breeze to separate thoughts Grounded for life until I take flight Energize your procrastination to delay the inevitable Chaos ensues we are the idols of temptation

That is amazing

liked the last two sentences

Energize your procrastination to delay the inevitable. Wow great!

Wow!!! This is really great! Your choice of words is inspiring! (It makes way more sense than mine!)

What a nice exercise, I like how random it is. The results are terrible though 😀

mirror is a random word stars and rainbow windows the wet dogs sleep maroon Mr Swish is waterbottlishly pale I like to be sad sometimes is never as good as trees the lasagne contains the summer and Brutus runs as top speed drummer cats wail in narrow alleyways I like words radish radish softly blood when cavernous halls sing piano and the taste of iron my key hole is black chocolate leaves verbs are missing Jesus is not here today my mind spins spoons running time out of setting stage work and French class under the weapon shot Kenmare ink blood navy feather table blue glue sandwich green ocean cold my door is open splashing No! out of tune like the big fish and the past and the future we are laughing laughing still

Jeopardy, what’s this word A lot to think about this torn world He wouldn’t even talk to me A new topic to envy

Wishing upon my diaries I never went fishing with such families Climbing stories and craving lamenities Leverage powers of beauty custodies

I am a woman, or maybe just a girl Crying in depth for when I twirl With sentiments of a wiggly ride Slowing down with a sudden pride

Louminous hearts so bright as to see to jolt is to wander, an unending tavern While darkness hold to what it is told Lies the secret where truth never gets old

Shall I perish? How bout today? How bout tomorrow? Tired as the dog who journeyed restless Chasing the devil who stole sight nevertheless

Allow the highness to judge you of what you are Or what you could have done to save someone drowning

Its u and me today. But not tomorrow.

I do this fun exercise now and then whenever i didnt have the motivation to contine my WIP or there werent just any ideas coming up.

Reading my peoms, I sound smart ass to myself. It’s like reading something very fine and well thought – “Wow, those words are deep!” – but really there’s not much of an effort put there.

It really was fun and helpful.

Thanks, Joe

Spring like morning Dust like wind Feel your mind Wander within Think about The emptiness inside You will find nothing within.

Broken wings, like a strangling theme.

Wanting to be green, In a deserted dream.

The wings that I wear, Were once white and fair.

Now stained with despair, they look dark and glare.

Rubbing the stains, To get them off.

I end up realizing, My hands are also stained dark.

I love this idea and the freedom it brings. Here is what I strung together.

Maine bears eat ice cream From the hands of children To see if they will cry They lick it sweet and Suddenly find The tree and rope to hang it by The furry feet of mothers fretting Will keep us busy and fight for meaning in the night

Crazy but fun! Thanks Joe.

This is such a fun poem! Main, bears, and icecream? Oh my!

Boldly the endless nighttime waits

For tricking tears and synapse connections

Stop fearing It longs to hold you

To free you from your body’s

Fleshy envelope Break apart

Shatter in the glass and be free Darkness passes.

It feels so mysterious. I love the flow of this poem. Thanks for sharing!

I might have missed the point of this exercise by taking so long, but here’s what I wrote.

demolition garden fate a residue keeps its promise some people are far under sea I imagine their tents are ragged live to starve when she eats the fire bowly poley nobody likes me sad that sailboats aren’t more popular what a waste now, people don’t care salvo codec lips eat the rose thyme we live in a deceitful world where presidents are from TV where poetry sucks and the ends justify the means never say always, it always is never right so say the sunken swollen sorry sallow sot air at the mountaintop is thin but the sun can be beautiful on the clouds he with he and she with me how many hidden sets they give to them when their own did that with him and me she didn’t even reply to those dark deeds boat in the fog she leapt off as always, nobody cares air is filled with water matter is filled with me suck it and the morning and the evening were the twenty-first day.

I spent way too much time making it unexpected, but it sure was fun!

Apple. Alms. Rib cage nuns fall in the Dark of day looking for a way Today a heart thaws and hurts raw World blurs feel so small A doll on a staircase childhood memories like sand in my hand Words burns towards nothing low blow Angry frothing doe eyed Cocoa dark Honey in the night Rib cage tight pretty sight Mage bites a knife Circus call backstage brawl Crawl away skin bright tonight Black and blue and purple too White elephant fly high die specify Ivory burst sorts retorts shorts Reaching his knees these people Stones and moans groans in pain Worthless street rat in a fancy shy hat die in glory tell his story ain’t an allegory remembered by none no friends till the ends funeral flowers every hours sours his name sins weigh a ton everyone cries lies say they won’t forget about that I have my doubts. Someone shouts in the back Golden boy rusted never suspected Him of this sin never let it Rejected motivations dissected Like a frog in biology class That was never kissed missed So close to last year’s Christmas Laughs burn the tongue so young Last laugh worth frothing nothing If nobody to share it with.

Love board it happens Phone rings now Can marker paper love Water flowing randomly We are present We are absent Could I be that Picture flowers Girl getting moving dancing crying Where do you go Am I funny or am I not Is it real or is it not

Hello simmering thinking Eye arises clicks sees Silent tears no fear Heart strong quiet warrior stone Black white words shine fight conquer Breathe die live Bell rings toxic fume Mystical ramblings and foes Fantasy reality illusion. Dreams.

Kitten Birmingham fossils share Brimming torture fairly there Wither so the bees dew frown Spinning fruit from wayward cow socks and parrots collide until Fevers surging writing well Cancel pain from yonder square Fancy prancy all the daywear

This is a great idea for starters like me. Thank you.

Roar ocean loud You powerful prudent proud Dusk towards fire She goes nowhere Leaves burning astray I’ll love you today Tomorrow stars will play Dark fading day Fairies sing lilac tears I’ll wait years

Flower: of mine planted in the Ground: To grow and stretch and Beach: itself in a truly fine Wood: That aromatic substance is not Amiss: To a fresh pressed garment sprayed with Starch: A garment that sits up around the neck and chaffs the Chin:

I’ve got a terrible cold right now and my head doesn’t feel quite right, but I thought I may as well give this a go. It was very fun once I got into it! Here is my first one, not really sure where it all came from but I suppose that’s the point!

Stumbling tumbling with yet dawn lawn on shallow peaks some yet speak but some yet don’t humbling lounges spiraling peaks Who might Shoe might Shulamite miss With wide brass buttons and a harrowing kiss close quarters

“Shoe might Shulamite miss”

LOVE it! Are we talking Abishag here?

Exercise #3 The lights are out. The coffee has been drunk. The phone is ringing, The computer is on. The dog is snoring and so is the cat. The paper came The news was checked There’s a desire for dreams.

No great imagination here!

I love the passive voice here: “The news was checked”

So, here is something that I managed to write, using your prompt and my brain working with no expectations whatsoever :D.

Bridge monologue news anchor Lies and tries the fifth Heavy headset rumbling Pantless actor’s face Words blasphemy roll Fear the enemy no 1 Danger we all face Heartless jerk in mic Eyes empty on the cup Thoughts on a coffee sip News anchor sitting up Weather forecast amiss Raining lies wash away Truth in it’s making Realise the bridge monologue Of the puppets and a puppetier Strings and strands Pulled by the fifth king

Delightful smiles Optimistic Non-stop fun Take a break Wipe the few that escape Overwhelmed Rest your mind Replenish energies Youthful spirit Ignite a flame Make the most of the day Funny jokes Incessant laughter Never breaking Every day the same game

excellent is word you want to hear from people for you Pakistan is my lovely country: Mirror can describe you face not your personality, attitude, behavior and inner soul:

I don’t really know what does this means but I enjoy it:

Make it top Stop Evil drops Crops and the bots I care Bear the pain Cain ain’t rain Main system Get together Love it better Leave the mice Spaghetti Leave it I can’t Bear the pain You should know For you Closed

When I awake, I see the light And if I don’t, then it is night Too much tv is bad for the mind Just spot the difference Then you will find Love is blind But so am I Like a diamond In the sky I wrote this poem for you Because the internet told me to.

I wrote this in Messenger and immediately sent this to my sister. Ahhh well.

In a dark forest far far away from the truth. A deadly husband waits alone for his wife. Alone, and drunk in despair, dream terrors at night are his companions. And now the end is coming soon. Everything he wanted for his life was to receive some love, but now it is too late, all too late, all is doomed.

… A little disturbing but really fun to write!

Stop drop tired

blop glop ayer

what is that

this is so bad

crude brood

read and brood

tense happy angry and sad

all the reaction when I read

will they be there when you read

My violena major upgrade senior quality Ten thousand hore radishes eating popcorn why must I beg I shall not go to the zoo with monsoon rain brian burger main chimpzoobam chichichinese why must I be the source of misery misery alli oop Arcana my cana chi cana everybody jutsu ray say ray gun rain May scary play of course the dang blang demented as a hoodlum I acquire a plan tum Jump off the cow Into my arms You dog

Thanks a ton! this was amazing and fun! I always wanted to write something of this style and finally i got to know the mantra. here is something that I wrote just in five minutes. Thanks to you.

sound of the soul loud and clear shines so bright in the dark sky never blame it for your actions close you eyes and feel the sensation try not to tame it free bird flies high so does the soul far from the destination but closer to the realization breathe in breath out let the peace be all yours

I feel like I should print this and read it again from time to time.

I did this one a couple of days ago foe similar reasons(i felt stuck but wanted to keep on writting) I am at the edge waiting I know i must jump I want to jump But I pause There’s rocks down there My bones will shatter There’s water down there My lungs will falter But there’s also grass And a whole new life Maybe I wont die Maybe it wont hurt to crash I wanna jump I’m gonna do it So Help me god Faith as my fuel I can do it I’m doing it I jump

***** I enjoyed writting it. It felt like describing a dream.

Thanks, Mr Bunting! This exercise is fun indeed. It took a decade for my next ‘poem’. I’m weird at it, so here it is. 🙂

unserious this, please logger dee, logger done twisty legger gum lettuce risen, damage dome fractions munchies calleth sie Zed makes weatherly weasels in to the suncorn megadeers and teenage tentacles to whiperdone and tiny bababas riped with abstract peopees how is the glue Hank achieved? bristing breaching broth reacus propelled pud-ding liberation fungae, clouds of joy champion of life is tot pocket oh, the last escape! jurney knocked china ware spacege cracks inself wieseldorf a bee an a, a c through tyne enterprise euny pewney cow need a shrinky sauce brutalized canvas steer globe around is fear or is ith, dearling tooz? cangashnouze statues work pensil hack up underdust cut off the deal me a ninja skill

Greetings to all from Slovenia!

Grand new start Beautiful beginning Sunrise so peaceful Ready to work Writing at best Looking forward at the rest Same spirit of fluency Guided at best

Straining night Wine before dawn Cat goddess is the only oath Book stacks are craving for fire Peony blossoms yet nobody cares Illusion you saw Weaknesses I sought Fade away In the songs of white birds You are here, my darling, Wander in the wild

Lesson #3 writing practice assignment #2 “modernist poetry”

compare final plans with initial brainstorm prepare night fight right, is it delight? brisk frisk makes fakes angri-nervy singing ringing hinging binging etiquet music in my ears famous woodwind quartet there are no saints here, only strange and queer people from the steeple, who wait for the second shoe drop that gat Looey, watch out! it’s gone kablooey lotta hooey if you ask me take your “poem” and climb up a tree distract compact and also retract I break I bend here lies the end

Reworked this and I like it better.

Lesson #3 writing practice assignment #2 “modernist poetry” version #2

compare final plans with initial brainstorm prepare for night fight, am I gormless or gorm? brisk frisk makes fakes angri-nervy singing ringing hinging binging topsy-turvey music in my ears famous woodsy wind quartet beef steak and kidney pie, finger bowls and pretty etiquette there are no saints here, only stranges with not-a-clue-ish people from the steeple, waiting for the second shoe-ish to drop that gat Looey, watch out! it’s all gone kablooey if you ask me it’s a lot of hooey take this “poem” and stare at a fractal distract compact and also retractal I break, and broken I bend here lies welcome, this is the end

This poem is for my daughter who’s always curious with everything

Hovering into the screen Wide eyes, feelings melting into one Dawdling like a cat purring in the ground Screaming, gnarling feisty feline Up she rose, up she goes Totally immersed into the pooling water of depth How was she to know when the music stops? How was she to know when all things would last? She’s just there, staring, sitting into the bewilderedness She’s just there, feeling the tick of the clock of eagerness Now and then, the bell will rang But she would not bear the raging sound Alas! The time has come to an end! And then she stood again She prowled into me with eyes like diamonds Snuggly, relaxingly came into my embrace As I slowly uttered these words as I say “ What do you have been dreaming my dear?” “ Come here my darling” “ Let’s venture forth and sail”

smooch pooch when coffee quivers write out of sight down deep delving sleep hope for now unturning turn twist toasting tumble flip and sigh. Sleep short sweet shiver sleep soon surest shout ships and skips come shooting through a starless sky, bible black, and blue.

My love Your not alone Running in the the uphill battle I will be silent Till the day I die Take me somewhere nice Bring me the horizon Seize the day I see star My chemical romance Leave me blind My love I’d like to write a love letter in your arms I hate you, I love you I don’t want you Just give me a reason A war inside my head Broken open I’m yours Yet I’m still broken holding-on

Sanity Chaos Dreams Living life in what seems Spiraling up then down again Always moving never proving

Ive told that little girl before When you grow up this will be no more But here I am yet again Drowning Swimming oops..Suffering I promised her on many nights Those thieves would never steal her light I need to fix this make it right I promised her we would always fight.

I really don’t know what i came up with..!! 😀 may be a mordern rap. Here comes my first attemp.

Shape the wire practice at office

Door with the write privilege is the politics of the car

auto made of cabbage taking charge meet the idea of mid-brain

avengers of the scent shop is the pickup

app that chirp fan could walk cloth sing, spoon flap

motor of fish rain bike was a fraud

[bump horn] Sun just honked

Font that wireframe zoom at the article

contestant can check smile with smule

run for the missed ad be like a snail in Facebook

Phew said Phil from boomerang

He blew a thrill so slang

Confused so full of twang

Bulbous frills swing till I sang

So many pills in my hand

Crazy in love til I’m mad

To show how much good to the bad

Filled with surprise till I hang

Dead from the ceiling fan

That was fun!!

Muten gelingen traute Versagen

zeig nicht genügend

Sinn sinnieren transzendental

tausend brillieren versanden zum Ziel

ohne ein Leuchten Paläste und Schwärme

Sanftmut verwundbar zertreten im Staub

Großes gebären Brombeeren nur Mut

Taglicht gesendet rasch kräftezermürbend frömmelnd vergleichen

plaudern zum Troste Rüschen gereichen

…well, it’s German, my second try, but I certainly had fun and I loved most to play with the sounds – the most incredible words flowed out of me, interestingly many quite oldfashioned words that I never use in my day-to-day language. Wonderful! I take it as a beautiful wordfinder and certainly as a good practice whenever creativity seems to be sleeping 😉 Thank you!

Just amazing! is all I can say!!! this method relaxes that internal ‘perfectionist’– completely sacks it really. I kind of like my rendition…sort of poetic:

Picking Up Down It goes Where up your nose Silly as it seems to be Why ask what happened to me

Tip toe in the dawn tulips A blip goes blop and ends in slop Why whistle when the wind wildly wings where No one sings

Purple dermis does a do for you Far away it scatched and sizzled Sinking Rising over the rainbow Far Far Away working while we wink

This tis tarry til tall tail tell Signs sickly sink sound Down dares deeply distressed Crossword carries Carmel convenience

I think this exercise was great fun! Here’s one I came up with

Cant handle the night Hope is a nightmare Dressed in leather and steel Lace and taffeta laugh at the night Boots stomp on the moon Sheep smell the fear of the farmer

#1 hoorah lets get there somewhere to get free and have a bit of coffee and shall not have to pay the fee for everything there is free free

#2 waves of the sea always in motion they are always at work is everyones’s notion when there is a storm they are at commotion when you find that you are stuck up in emotions peace to the heart is what we get on observing the waves devotion

wire put fire truth pour lyre soar drier (i had to work so hard to not write higher over here) mere crier sheer liar pasty admire hasty prier

Foam scared blue Love you too Don’t dive in Love is mean Floor jump sky Feet can fly Disconnected My heart has fainted I wish it was worth it I wish I was worth it

What do you think? I have mixed feelings about it

Halo on high Silver stag midnight woods Time slows Bittersweet snowflakes hang Mutual missing Longing stinging wind Howl under night’s cowl

Wow. Reading all the poems here and then looking at mine= definitely not motivating 😉 I’m going to post it anyway though…

Fall candy sweaters Makes me laugh With sadness Pencils destroy me Coffee an addiction Of despairing minds Paper is linked with Letters and words unmanageable Glasses of kindness Fill my heart with joy Speakers speak with perfectionism Destroy me When people stoop Or slouch and bend So stand straighter

I dream as I lay From last night’s play I wore armor That feels warmer To fight the enemy And win for my army I shout in victory That has become history

this was a terrible one

I blink aim and target With knife that made me feel joy As clear as death Dad claim bed Shout stop gloom Laid slain in clean mid marsh Shave hand and claim bold Chomp stop and dance

Awesome exercise, perfectionism is definitely a force to contend with.

Mind tool freak teak speak geek Hello computer find me where you roam Ventually you step through the foam of life and home Recover not what you once knew but what you will Whereto are the masters of the abyss End of new comes strength and resilience Btw this is was supposed to be gibberish Foiled again damn creative mind

Here’s my poem using random words:

Folly fools eat forest leaves Lyrical leaves fall gushing blur confusing watchers Birds tweet longingly to distant hills Falling wings soar endlessly Fragile features form in tree tops amongst the clouds Dropping tender tears onto branches Sip my nectar slowly

Here is my try at it: Telephone mushroom giveaway morning eagle closet green danger value rose entry speeding blank tube window future whispering hidden modern trembles plastic jokesters parables onion storm demanding eternity venues zero mixtures nibbling honesty general spanning blowing thrust inclement product

Nothing could be more embarrassing than this one. But it’s fun, life is better when you’re laughing.

Water in Mumbai, Happiness sensation. Awkward moments! Formed creative bonds Made artistic expressions Experience art and architecture Different bond with passion A joyful trip captured. Work hard and travel, Wellness through satisfaction. Enjoying writing having fun! Forget limits and recapitulate childhood, Free as an infant, could go to everyone in the neighborhood.

Let me start by saying the last word of every line was the random word. Except for the last line, the last line is the name of the poem. And this is probably dumb sounding but it’s more of a KIDS’ poem, so it’s supposed to be weird and maybe funny. I don’t even know if it counts as a poem because the last word of every line doesn’t rhyme, but whatever. It’s more like a bunch of incomplete sentences… Well, here goes: UNFORTUNATE Heard Biscuit, my dog, Biscuit had my shirt. I had bed-head, Had slept in my closet. Ran into the sink, Last night at the skating rink. Got home on the bus, Sat on a pencil. Broke a mirror, And a doorknob. Tripped on a bouncy ball, Lost a yo-yo. Can’t watch TV. Popped some balloons. Found dirty headphones. My dog ripped a pillow, He tore up the grass, Messed up the rocks, Then chewed my sock, Ripped the head off my doll, Crashed my model airplane. But when he sits on the chair, I know I’m not totally, Unfortunate.

It’s true; it is a fun exercise! Here are the words I wrote down, and I did a bit of straightening up to them:

Ghouls smile to girls Like wolves they twitter Whitewashed curtains Behind wreaths and dolls

But teenage games Have copious spice Like a box of ginger and flowers Crumbs and cables Goad ghosts

But we worn-out tires Hair stiff split flat crooked and parted Await the amorphous death Bright as the moon

I enjoyed the exercise! Thank you for posting! Here’s my first attempt . . .

Bum with rum Tantalize your mind Bust a move, not original, but worthy of movement Sound-ra-la Post much sound waves, talk a lot Be free, run far – don’t get caught Smile with style and hitch it Beyond my dreams, I live Trees and stars Black as night, right as rain, clearly not original but descriptive Abate do not rate Something inside squirms Bringing the A back A time line stopped and reset Refresh to start over Again with the A Stoic empathy Brave beyond fear Sympathy sucks, love is real

I don’t know exactly why most of these things popped into my head. But they did. So here you go. Enjoy!

Apples! They shall rue the day For morning comes after night Red blood shall rein true For the night is young And we shall bogey to our hearts content Cease and desist all intrusions! For it takes only two to tango And one more to be rude Yay verily! For the day is short Shorter than expected Because it’s like that And that’s the way it is Pity the fool who’s never watched the A-team Ed Sheeran should be King of Westeros Spoiler Alert! This life weird Annotations are key Antonio Banderas is lord Shut the gates! Let’s do this! Logang for life Thank you #Pleased

Holy shower devours hours Mannequin brains strain until they fade Believable bars of sand can afflict the conscious Markers of grain make gains upon the day Optimist birds float upon dandelions of smoke Golden spires of ancient dust reflect unjust days

This exercise is amazing! Here’s my poem. Pineapple chair doodles peanut Can flair mixed poodle rut Dinosaurs weep Tiddlywinks sleep Day draws long of noodles or cuts Freckle Pickle Fun Page flip harness his slip Face diet checkers whiz hip Munch lid ponder Wide-eyes wander Doorknob squishes priss lip Peace Crease Run

I wrote this in the comments section. The starting of each line is the word I came up with. Then I fleshed out with minimal thought. Wonderful exercise thank you!

pain is inevitable life is complicated with hopeless promises curry stimulates the senses painting yellow stars in the brain strife fuels courage fueling greatness peel the skin of perfectionism and expose the priceless flaws foam bleeds white cuddling bubbles and picturesque mirage brain fiends optimum success but the line above average houses gold fight the fear of failure white knight throwing worded spears village like happiness no technology just you and the greenery procrastination insidiously creeps up on you, quick stop while your ahead vacuum your mind of negative thoughts barely stop and you’ll be a perfect writer!

duck boomerang never laughing

macabre brain riot

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5 Exercises From Famous Authors That Will Sharpen Your Writing Skills

Published February 7, 2020 | Last Updated April 10, 2024 By Nicole Bianchi 10 Comments

Pianists practice scales to strengthen their skills like rhythm and timing. Artists might sketch a hundred human hands until they’ve mastered drawing that body part realistically. Dancers will practice a dance move countless times until their footwork and technique are flawless.

Just like those other artists, writers can sharpen specific skills through deliberate practice.

Are you struggling to write vivid descriptions? Or craft concise sentences?

In today’s post, I’m sharing five powerful creative writing exercises from famous authors that will help you practice those essential skills and many more.

Let’s get started.

1. The C. S. Lewis Exercise for Writing Vivid Description

In 1956, beloved fantasy writer C. S. Lewis replied to a letter from a young fan and shared his five rules for writing well.

You can read more about that letter in my article here and discover all five of Lewis’s writing rules.

The fourth rule in his letter makes for an excellent writing exercise:

Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”

Here’s how to turn this into a writing exercise: Choose a final draft of a recent writing project or a draft you’re currently working on. Look for places where you describe something using only adjectives like “wonderful” or “terrible”. Try to replace them with vivid description.

Additionally, see if there are any places in your writing where you’ve described something with an adjective that is already understood in the noun, for example, “white snow.” Obviously, we all know that snow is white so the adjective is redundant.

Is there a more vivid way you could describe the snow? Perhaps with a metaphor or a simile that makes us feel as if we are seeing the snow for the first time? Or maybe the snow isn’t even white anymore but brown and muddy.

In my article here , I share three descriptive techniques that you can use to replace weak adjectives with more evocative words.

2. The Ernest Hemingway Exercise for Sharpening Your Observational Skills

In the 1930s, a 22-year-old aspiring writer named Arnold Samuelson traveled to Florida to see if he could get some writing advice from the author he idolized: Ernest Hemingway.

Hemingway ended up inviting Samuelson along on a fishing trip and sharing writing advice during their time at sea. In this video , I detailed the three-step writing exercise Hemingway gave Samuelson.

Essentially, Hemingway challenged Samuelson to pick a situation to observe and then try to retell it on the page. For Samuelson, this was fishing. For you, it might be an event that happens when you’re commuting to work or shopping at a store or eating at a restaurant or playing with your kids.

Pretend you’re an artist heading out with your sketchbook to capture what you see and feel. Pay close attention to everything that is happening and the emotions that you experience.

Hemingway said,

Watch what happens today. If we get into a fish see exactly what it is that everyone does. If you get a kick out of it while he is jumping, remember back until you see exactly what the action was that gave you that emotion. Whether it was the rising of the line from the water and the way it tightened like a fiddle string until drops started from it, or the way he smashed and threw water when he jumped. Remember what the noises were and what was said. Find what gave you the emotion, what the action was that gave you the excitement. Then write it down making it clear so the reader will see it too and have the same feeling you had. Thatʼs a five-finger exercise.

This exercise forces you to avoid vagueness in your writing. Don’t just tell us catching a fish is exciting. Be specific. Show us why.

3. The Damon Knight Exercise for Creating a Captivating Setting and Mood

No matter whether you’re writing a novel or you’re working on a story to include in a nonfiction book or in a speech or on a sales page, it’s essential that you set the right mood for your piece.

Establishing a mood will not only make your writing more enjoyable to read, but it will also help your readers connect emotionally with your words.

Usually, when we write, we’re trying to evoke a specific emotion in our audience. Maybe it’s fear or sadness or happiness or awe.

By creating a convincing mood, we give our readers cues for how they should feel. The mood also helps pull our readers right into the story, just like when you find yourself glued to the screen when you’re watching a suspenseful scene in a movie.

Award-winning sci-fi writer Damon Knight filled his book Creating Short Fiction (Amazon affiliate link) with many helpful writing exercises. One of these he designed as a way to practice crafting a strong setting and mood:

Imagine a character who is sitting or standing, alone, in the room you are now in. See the room through his eyes; write a page or so of pure description of the room, without mentioning the character or referring to him in any way, but bearing in mind as you write that he has just had a phone call notifying him of a promotion and a raise. (Assume that the person lives here, if the room you are in is part of a house or apartment; if it isn’t, assume that the job has something to do with this room.) How does his emotional state color his perceptions? Remember that you are not allowed to refer to the character, even by using a pronoun (“I looked at the furniture,” for instance). Tell only what he sees. Now describe the same room as seen by a person who has just had a phone call from a homicidal maniac: “I’m coming to kill you.” Follow the same rules as before.

This exercise is an excellent reminder to always tie your description back to the story or emotions of your character. Don’t just include description for the sake of description. Use it to set the mood.

In this article , I share more tips for how to create a captivating mood in your writing.

Bonus Exercise:  If you enjoyed that exercise from Knight, you might also enjoy his exercise that will help you turn an idea into a story. I share all about it in my video below:

4. The Toni Morrison Exercise for Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone and Practicing Empathy

In an interview with NEA Arts Magazine , Nobel laureate Toni Morrison shared this exercise she gave to her writing students at Princeton,

When I taught creative writing at Princeton, [my students] had been told all of their lives to write what they knew. I always began the course by saying, ‘Don’t pay any attention to that.’ First, because you don’t know anything and second, because I don’t want to hear about your true love and your mama and your papa and your friends. Think of somebody you don’t know. What about a Mexican waitress in the Rio Grande who can barely speak English? … Imagine it, create it. I was always amazed at how effective that was. They were always out of the box when they were given license to imagine something wholly outside their existence. I thought it was a good training for them. Even if they ended up just writing an autobiography, at least they could relate to themselves as strangers.

This exercise is a fantastic method for sharpening your skills at creating well-developed characters, no matter if you are writing fiction or nonfiction. It will also help you practice empathy, the ability to understand and be sensitive to the feelings of others, to be able to see the world through another person’s eyes.

You could use this exercise in conjunction with a list of questions like the Proust Questionnaire . Come up with a character completely unlike you and imagine how they might answer the questions.

Damon Knight has several similar exercises in his book (affiliate link) ,

Write a story about some painful episode in your own life, but transfer it to an invented person distinctly different from yourself. Change the character’s sex, age, occupation, or all three. Adapt the episode to your character’s nature and circumstances… Think of someone in your past for whom you felt only anger and hatred. Write a story from the viewpoint of that person, treated with sympathy… These exercises are designed to break you out of any easy rut you may have got yourself into — writing only about people of one sex, or only about pleasant things, or only about people who resemble you. Unless you force yourself to do difficult things, how will you grow?

5. The Jack Hart Exercise for Crafting Concise and Powerful Sentences

Finally, let’s conclude with a quick little editing exercise that will help you make your writing more precise and your sentences easier to read.

In award-winning journalist Jack Hart’s wonderful book Storycraft (Amazon affiliate link) that I recently reviewed , he shares this editing advice,

Any word that doesn’t advance a story slows it down. Which is reason enough to avoid expletives. Contrary to popular misconception, the term “expletive” refers to a whole class of empty words, not just gratuitous profanities. Most expletives simply fill out the syntax of sentences. The most common are “there are,” “there is,” “there was,” “it is,” “it was,” and so on. Think about a sentence like “there were two airplanes on the runway.” What’s the “there” refer to, anyway? Nada. It just serves to turn “two airplanes on the runway” into a complete sentence. You don’t violate any grammatical rule when you use an expletive, and each expletive is of no great consequence. But they pile up, and eventually they slow your storytelling. Why not introduce a real verb that generates an image by writing, “two airplanes taxied on the runway” or “two airplanes idled on the runway,” or even “two airplanes sat on the runway”? …

Here’s how to turn this into an exercise: Take one of your recent drafts and go on a hunt to see how many empty words you can eliminate from your writing.

Hart observes that even a word like “began” might not be necessary to a sentence when describing action. For example, instead of writing “He began to walk around the room”, you could just write, “He walked around the room.”

You can often find empty words in phrases that use connecting words like at , by , for , in , it , of , to , and with . Here are some more examples .

The Takeaway

Ray Bradbury once observed,

I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true — hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice.

These five exercises are a fantastic way to give your writing skills a workout. Through deliberate practice, you’ll take your writing to the next level, communicating your message more effectively and inspiring your readers.

If you’ve enjoyed this post, you might also like my post that shares four more writing exercises from famous authors .

Do you have another writing exercise from a famous author to add to my list? Let me know in the comments.

And if you enjoyed this post, please share it on social media and with a friend who you think might find it helpful too. Thanks for reading!

Did you enjoy this post? Get the free eBook!

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Lars M says

October 7, 2021 at 3:20 pm

This was a splendid article! Thank you very much

Nicole Bianchi says

October 18, 2021 at 6:28 pm

Thanks so much, Lars!

lyndon says

March 23, 2020 at 11:19 am

My first ‘super hero’ writer was Jack Kerouac. The original manuscript of his book ‘on the road’ was a 30 foot long continuous scroll of paper taped together. The scroll was written stream of consciousness, single spaced without paragraphs and little if any punctuation. His manuscript was written in three weeks!

The scroll was packaged up and shipped to a publisher. The publisher contacted Kerouac asking permission to publish his book. That was that. LOL!

March 24, 2020 at 1:07 pm

Thanks for commenting, Lyndon. I enjoyed reading On the Road a few years back. Such a cool story about how he wrote it.

Eric Nilsson says

March 21, 2020 at 7:14 pm

Hello, Nicole. I’ve looked at the list above. You are missing Dashiell Hammett. I am trying to write of a bygone event using the Hammett style (protagonist is unnamed). Have you any suggestions?

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Eric Nilsson

March 24, 2020 at 1:12 pm

Hi, Eric. I do not think I have heard of that technique. Even if the character is unnamed, maybe you can refer to him by a nickname in the story so the reader has a way to identify him. For example, in “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, the protagonist is nameless but referred to as “Blondie” by other characters. Just a thought.

Meraki S says

March 3, 2020 at 9:02 am

Thank you for this article. Very helpful.

March 24, 2020 at 1:13 pm

You’re welcome, Meraki! 🙂 Thanks for your comment.

Marv Waschke says

February 10, 2020 at 9:47 pm

Ursula LeGuin put a set of powerful writing exercises in her book “Steering the Craft.” My favorite is “Write a descriptive paragraph without using adjectives or adverbs.” It forces you to think about hard about nouns and verbs.

March 24, 2020 at 1:14 pm

That’s a great exercise. Thanks for sharing, Marv.

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Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies Paperback – November 10, 2014

Purchase options and add-ons.

Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies is a step-by-step creative writing course designed to hone your craft, regardless of ability. Written by the founder of the Complete Creative Writing Course at London's Groucho Club, this activity-based guide walks you through the process of developing and writing in a wide range of genres including novels, short stories and creative nonfiction. The book includes writing prompts, exercises, mind maps, flow charts and diagrams designed to get your ideas flowing. You'll get expert guidance into character development, plot structure and prose, plus extensive insight into self-editing and polishing your work.

Whether you're a new writer with a seed of an idea you would like to develop, or are looking to strengthen your creative writing skills, this book has you covered. Covering every aspect of narrative, from setting initial goals to formatting a manuscript, Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies provides the tools and instruction you need to make your story the best it can be.

• Learn to spark your imagination and sketch out ideas
• Create compelling characters and paint a picture with description
• Develop your plot and structure and maintain continuity
• Step back from your work and become your own ruthless editor

The rise of e-books has opened up the publishing world, even to non-established writers. If you have a story you're dying to tell but aren't sure how, Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies is the clear, concise solution you need.

• Print length 384 pages
• Language English
• Publisher For Dummies
• Publication date November 10, 2014
• Dimensions 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
• ISBN-10 1118921054
• ISBN-13 978-1118921050
• See all details

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From the inside flap.

Whether you’re a new writer or looking to strengthen your skills, this step-by-step creative writing course is designed to help you hone your craft, spark your imagination and become your own ruthless editor. Inside, you’ll find writing prompts, exercises, flow charts and diagrams designed to get your ideas flowing – and put on paper.

• Take first things first – set your writing goals, define your genre and start using some writing exercises to brainstorm and sketch out your ideas
• Know your characters – get guidance on creating believable and in-depth characters, developing your dialogues, exploring points of view and effectively conveying your characters’ thoughts
• Map the world of your story – find out how to paint a picture with words, from describing senses and actions to observing objects and creating suspense
• Plot your course – discover how to expertly develop your writing’s plot and structure, keep up the tension, expand the narrative and tie up loose strands for a killer ending
• Put on your editor’s cap – get helpful tips on revising and editing your own work to make it shine

From the Back Cover

About the author.

Maggie Hamand, a novelist, journalist and nonfiction writer, is the founder of the popular Complete Creative Writing Course at the Groucho Club, London, and has been teaching aspiring writers there for 15 years.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ For Dummies; 1st edition (November 10, 2014)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1118921054
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1118921050
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
• #449 in Authorship Reference
• #1,086 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)

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Maggie hamand.

Maggie Hamand is a journalist, novelist and non-fiction author. She was the winner of the first World One-Day Novel Cup and her novel, "The Resurrection of the Body", was first published by Michael Joseph and has been optioned for film and television. She has also had short stories published and shortlisted for prizes. She taught creative writing at Morley College, was Writer in Residence at Holloway Prison, London and a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at London University of the Arts. She founded and was director of the acclaimed small independent publisher The Maia Press. She runs the Complete Creative Writing Course at The Groucho Club and has published "Creative Writing For Dummies" and "Creative Writing Exercises for Dummies". Her novels, "The Rocket Man" and "Dr Gavrilov", are now available as ebooks.

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What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers

by Melissa Donovan | Oct 25, 2022 | Writing Resources | 2 comments

What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers.

Good fiction includes many different elements: believable characters, realistic dialogue, and a compelling plot. Every decent story has a beginning, middle, and end. Intriguing tales are built around conflict and are rich with themes and symbols. And those are just the basics.

It can be pretty overwhelming.

Fiction writing is hard work. It requires a complex and diverse set of skills. Stringing words together into sentences only scratches the surface of what goes into good fiction writing. Fiction that is truly worthwhile is layered with meaning. It’s made up of an infinite number of tiny parts. Most importantly, it has a sense of truth and realism that the real world often lacks.

Mark Twain said, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.”

And Stephen King said, “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”

Writing Exercises for Study, Practice, and Inspiration

It takes years to master the craft of fiction writing, to get so good that you make it look effortless.

Other than reading plenty of fiction, one of the best ways to master this complicated craft is through writing exercises. I have found that the best fiction writing exercises offer three benefits:

1. Tools and Techniques: it’s not enough to be given a writing assignment that does little more than get you to scrawl words on the page. A good writing exercise imparts useful tools and techniques that, once learned, will stay with you forever.

2. Practice: writing exercises force you to do more than study the craft; they also give you practice and experience. They work your writing muscles, which is why they’re called exercises.

3. Inspiration: inspiration often comes when we suddenly see the world in a new way. Good writing exercises point you in a new direction and push you toward fresh ideas from broad story concepts to minute details that enrich your narrative.

The book What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers provides fiction writers with all these benefits and a whole lot more.

I picked up my copy of What If? as required reading for a fiction writing class that I took in college. Ironically, we didn’t use the book much in class, but I’ve kept it close and often turned to it for insight and inspiration. Since it’s a college textbook, it’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth every penny. Here’s what you get:

• 115 fiction writing exercises: Everything you could want, including tools and techniques that strengthen your writing, practice for gaining experience, and inspiration for new projects as well as projects you’re already working on.
• 24 short stories: From the likes of Jamaica Kincaid, Margaret Atwood, Raymond Carver, Alice Munro, and Tobias Wolff, these stories were written by some of the greatest writers in literature, and they serve as excellent examples for demonstrating concepts presented throughout the text.
• Selected bibliography: this book could keep you busy for years, but if you want more, the selected bibliography will point you in the right direction. It’s packed with fantastic writing resources.
• Wisdom: many of the exercises include insightful quotes or recommendations for further reading.
• Examples: Almost all the exercises include student examples, which demonstrate how the exercise can be successfully executed.

When I first got the book, my favorite thing about it was that it got me thinking about fiction writing from new angles. Later, I found that the exercises were good practice for developing my writing and storytelling skills. Even now, when I read through a few exercises, I’m inspired, not just with ideas, but I’m actually inspired to write. I can’t wait to get to work.

Sample it for Yourself

Here are summaries of some of my favorite exercises from What If? :

Image Notebook

Keep an image notebook and write down one image every single day by asking yourself “What’s the most striking thing I heard, saw, smelled, touched, or tasted today?”

Put Your Characters to Work

Write a story in which your character’s personal problems are played out at his or her workplace. This exercise is a good reminder that too many stories ignore the mundane in order to focus on the extraordinary.

Go Ahead, Yawn

Give your character a physical problem to cope with. The example given is a nun who has a piece of dental floss stuck between her teeth all day. It’s not the central conflict but constant reminders of her discomfort keep readers engaged at a visceral level.

What are some of your favorite fiction writing resources? How have writing exercises shaped your fiction-writing skills? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment, and keep writing!

I have an earlier print of this book, and I love it–wouldn’t part with it for the world. It’s gotten me past writer’s block more times than I can count. Another of my favorites, I believe now out of print, is “Fast Fiction: Creating Fiction in Five Minutes” by Roberta Allen

Thanks for the recommendation!

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