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10 Creative Writing Exercises To Get you Writing Again

By on June 21, 2016
10 Creative Writing Exercises To Get you Writing Again - Writer's Life.or

If you have taken a little break from writing, or are just feeling a bit uninspired, sometimes it is good to go back to basics and try some creative writing exercises to free up your mind, give you new ideas and generally get those creative juices flowing once more!

Here are ten useful creative writing exercises that will help you get back to writing once more.

1. 7x7x7

This can work for any writer, regardless of what genre or type they are hoping to write. So whether it’s a poem, short story, novel or something else why not give this a go?

Head to your bookshelf and pick the 7th book, open it at the 7th page, and find the 7th line. Begin a poem or start a story that begins with that line, and let you imagination run wild. Sometimes all you need is a unexpected opening to get you started! (Of course you can use any book and line you like so if 7 isn’t a great number for you choose another!).

2. Use the dictionary

Grab your dusty old dictionary from the shelf and open it up on any page. Find a word you have never heard of before, and, without looking at the definition, make one up yourself. Repeat this until you feel inspired once more!

3. What happened first?

Life is full of firsts. So why not use them in your writing? This can be the first time you went to a dance, your first kiss, the first time you remember having a fight. Write about it and see where it takes you!

4. Freewriting

Sit down with a blank sheet of paper or document on your computer and just write. Write absolutely anything that comes into your head. It can be utter nonsense but just keep going! If your mind goes blank, simply keep typing or writing the last word you wrote until your mind frees up again. Of course, you might want to set a time limit for this, but you’d be surprised how many great ideas come from doing this exercise.

5. Flick through a newspaper or magazine

Find interesting words, phrases, and images. Cut them out and make a collage with them. Then, at random, pick one to start writing about. Task yourself with writing a mini-story about it, no more than a page long. Then pick another one, and repeat!

5. Spin the globe

Or find an atlas or even a map online. Close your eyes and point your finger on a place. Wherever you land, look it up. Find out some key details about it and then write a story or poem about it. Pretend you have had a weird experience there and see where you go from there.

6. Write a lonely heart

Pretend you are a single person looking for love. Write a lonely heart ad for a magazine or newspaper and see what kind of character you can come up with.

7. Write a letter to child you

Writing a letter to yourself can be therapeutic and creatively freeing. What would you say to yourself now you know all you know?

8. Write a letter to future you

This works similarly to the above. What are you hoping for? What mistakes do you want to avoid? How do you imagine your world will be when you are older? All these questions can help inspire you to write creatively again.

9. Sit on a bus

Get an all day bus or train ticket and sit there for as long as you like. Make notes of everything. The people that get on and off, the things you see and hear. Training yourself to take notice of the things going on around you can help you to perfectly capture  all the little details that make your creative worlds believable.

10. Start a journal

If you find it hard to find time to write then why not start a journal? You can make it as mundane or personal as you like - it only has to be for you. The more you get into the habit of writing every day, the more you will want to keep on practicing!

These creative writing exercises can really help get you back in the writing game. So next time you are feeling in a writing slump why not give them a go and see where they take you?

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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