Writing Exercises

[Astrocyte]

ITT we post creative writing exercises.
Writing is circular -- the more you write, the more you want to write! Sometimes inspiration hits you, and sometimes you need a little something to draw out the inspiration. That's where creative writing exercises come in.
Post whatever exercises you use to help you write, or exercises you'd like to try.
Maybe if people really like one, we can do it as a community (start a new thread and post what we come up with).

(My story? Years ago, I used to love to write all kinds of things. I have just gotten back into writing after a 7 year dry spell, and I'm going to try doing at least one exercise a week, and work up to doing at least one every other day.)

[Astrocyte]

The First Line

There are two ways to do this exercise.

1. Take the first sentence from a book (preferably one you haven't read, so that you're not biased by that book's story). Start a story with that sentence.

2. Get a friend to write a sentence, any sentence. Start a story with that sentence.

[ZergKing]

so do we do it here?

[Astrocyte]

People and Places

Think of, or randomly choose, or get a friend to choose a type of person. The "type" can be a profession or job, an attribute (angry person, rich person, tall person), or anything else you would use to classify a person.

Think of, or randomly choose, or get a friend to choose a place. It can be a very specific place, a general type of place ("a city" or "a store"), a type of climate, a geographic place, whatever comes to mind as a "place."

Write about that person in that place.

[Astrocyte]

The Phone Book

(I originally did this exercise back when people actually used phone books, haha... If you don't have a phone book, try to find a list of names of people you don't know and who aren't celebrities. Maybe a complete list of movie credits from IMDB (go down toward the bottom), or your job's phone directory, or something.)

Pick a name at random.

Based on the name alone, imagine the person. Write about it.

Done already? Pick another one, imagine that person, and write about him or her interacting with the first person.

[Astrocyte]

(Last one I remember tonight)

Pairs
(You need at least two people)

Number a list from 1 to 5. Number a second list from 1 to 5.
Put 5 adjectives in the first list. Put 5 nouns in the second list.

Trade your adjectives with someone else's adjectives, OR trade your nouns with someone else's nouns.
Match their #1 with your #1, etc.

Think about each pair and what it might mean. Talk about it too, if you'd like. Whichever one you like best or find most interesting, write something about it or write something using it.

Another (harder) way to do it: Use adverbs and verbs instead of adjectives and nouns.

[maverixk]

Others can post ideas right?
Well here's one:(i dont have a name)
Have a friend pick a line of dialogue from a tv show, movie, etc. And just start writing and don't stop until the story is finished. Not when you're finished, but when the story is finished. (Unless of course you absolutely have to.)

[Astrocyte]

Others can post ideas right?

Of course!