So far we have kept it pretty simple so there was quite a bit of room for interpretation. I've looked at some online and I just bought a book that might have some good ideas, but so far the book is geared for an individual with various small exercises.
So if you have some you liked please share them.
LDS
One I chose to do has become a short story of 2500 words that I might get to the point of submitting - at least, some people are urging me to do so (in my on-line writing class/group). So I think the selections are worth checking out!
(fixed link I hope)
[This message has been edited by punahougirl84 (edited February 27, 2004).]
If you don't mind my asking, what sorts of writing exercises are we talking about here?
All simple with the desire to keep it short, the goal is one page with a max of 1000 words.
LDS
www.coffeehouseforwriters.com This one is off-line at the moment, but as the webmaster indicated a desire to relaunch at some time I went ahead and included it.
"Pencil Dancing" by Mari Messer (Walking Stick Press)
"The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron (Tarcher/Putnam)
"Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott (Anchor)
"Writer's Digest" magazine
[This message has been edited by punahougirl84 (edited February 27, 2004).]
It was the funnest and hardest thing I've ever done. We were required to write exactly what we were thinking, no matter how sporatic or confusing it was. If my thoughts jumped tracks...so did my writing. If we got stuck and couldn't think of anything else to write...write that down and then repeat it over and over until you came up with something else.
quote:
Okay, I'm sitting here, thinking about what to write. I'm on my break at work. It's hard answering phones and trying to write at the same time...guess I'm lucky I can do it though. Edwenia just said she's got a cold. I hope I don't catch it. She talks a lot. *chuckle* Sharon is funny too. She talks to herself a lot. Mumbles and complains no matter what. I hate this keyboard. I need a new one. Could use a new computer too. I just overheard someone say the weather is supposed to be good this week. Yay! It's about time! I'm tired of all this cold weather. Yuck. I hate the smell of coffee. That's the bad thing about cold weather is the people around me seem to drink 10 times more coffee just cause it's hot. I'll take hot chocolate thank you. Mmmm, chocolate. I've got some chocolate leftover still from Valentines..I'll hafta raid it when I get home tonight....
Like that. It's easier to do when you're typing but it's a lot more fun and a lot harder when you just use a paper and pencil. Your thoughts move a lot faster than a pencil does!
Darkstorm, those exercises sound a bit...well, like the sort of thing that you have to put into any story. I'm not sure how they differ from just regular writing.
I'll trade a couple of ideas I've tried, though. One is writing a story based exactly on events in a turn based computer game session (X-Com). Hey, it worked for me. Another thing that works for me is writing a detailed review of a movie or some kind of performance art (I've been assigned these in the past). The important thing is that it be a review, not a summary.
Some of them are quite simple, things like "Describe the sounds of a large family dinner."
Some are more complex, like "Write about someone who is faced with a family member they still love, but who has hurt them in some way and shows no remorse."
Some students don't like doing the exercises, because they prefer to spend the time working on their main project. (That's fine, since the class isn't graded.)
I like the exercises for several reasons:
1. They give me a specific thing to write, which is helpful when I don't feel like writing.
2. They stimulate my creativity, because I like to try to put a twist on them.
3. They improve my writing, by forcing me to write about sensory impressions and emotions that I might not usually think about.
4. They give me "seeds" for possible future stories. In fact, I just sold a short story that began as an assignment: "Write about two people with opposite personalities who are still friends."
I agree with Eric, they do help get me writing things I would probably not normally write.
LDS
1. Stick a pin into a random word in your dictionary. Write as much as you can based on using this word as a title for ten minutes. This is an ideal excercise for doing in a group because you can all do it and then read your results out. Before I tried it, I didn't think I would be able to do it, but the idea of sitting there and admitting I couldn't think of anything forced me to come up with something...
2. Write a descriptive scene of 250 words using only one adjective or adverb.
Anne dragged the heavy tome across the table, and searched for the next recipe. The pagination was not always in concert with the table of contents, so it took her a few minutes to find what she needed. The carefully prepared butterfly weed lay in a tray on another table, the bright orange petals muted by the low light in the workroom. Anne started adding ingredients to a bowl. The aroma of wood pulp permeated the air as she kneaded the mix. She glanced to the side, assuring herself her deckle was ready for this newest experiment in paper-making. . . .
I haven't done it in a while - must do one later today - it is fun, and you gotta love the learning aspect
You might want to add that one to our word thread. (I won't give it away.)