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Daily Exercises for Writing Creativity
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Combine improbable elements, such as genre, setting, character, plot, or voice.
A Western set on an alien planet (as with an episode in the original Star Trek series), or a soap opera with a clown as the main character, will be a departure from the mundane. This technique may at first seem ridiculous, but try it, even if you simply write for yourself initially. You may later decide to “tone it down,” but by that point, you will have explored possibilities you had never before considered. True invention comes from seeing those possibilities! |
| 2 |
Let a child tell your story.
The world of a child is simple, yet filled with the magic and mystery of the unknown. What an adult might not notice, a child often finds irresistible. And what a grown woman dismisses as ordinary becomes a thing of marvel or fear to the toddler. For the child in the darkness of night, the trees and bushes of the backyard morph into hideous creatures of horror. In the daytime, those same trees and bushes transform themselves into space ships and covered wagons. Through a child’s eyes, your reader can once again experience the wonder of an age ruled by imagination.
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| 3 |
Play with your words.
By using evocative words with emotional power, you can let your reader feel rather than simply know. Don’t simply call your villain evil, but describe him slithering away from the light. Draw on easily-understood words, but place them into an unusual context. Your would-be Romeo, then, would not demand a kiss, but would extort one instead. Whenever you write, don’t be afraid to experiment!
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| 4 |
Rearrange the chronology of your story, or experiment with chronology.
Narratives tend to be related in chronological order. That tendency is not surprising because the modern world almost demands that we experience life in terms of time. Changing the sequence for our readers, however, allows us to emphasize particular moments in a way that is impossible in a straight-forward narrative. The results can be intriguing. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. employed this technique in his 1969 novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. Director Quentin Tarantino is known for presenting his movies, like Pulp Fiction in 1994, out of sequence chronologically. |
| 5 |
Take time to look—really look!
Most of us wander through life without really paying much attention to the details around us. In servitude to the clock, we find ourselves scampering about, never noticing the cacophony of colors, scents and textures relentlessly tramping alongside us. It’s not just the roses we bypass unobserved and unsniffed. Millions of details surround us, wherever we are. Before we can write, we must take time to look, to feel, to listen—to breathe deeply of the drama unfolding around us. Select something in your home, and look at it. Feel it, smell it, observe it. Then think about it, and what it means. Finally, write about your experience. |
| 6 |
Experiment with tone.
The most effective writers convey their meaning on multiple levels. We may read a story about a contest between two boys, or between two teams, but if the author does nothing more than relate the events, we will not be drawn into the story. When we sense the sting of the summer sun on our necks, together with the protagonist, we feel an urgency to the contest. On the other hand, the gentle caress of a spring breeze can convey confidence, and pelting blows of rain hurled from a darkly oppressive sky add to a sense of foreboding. Weather is just one tool that helps set the tone of a story. Light and shadow, colors, scents and aromas, and sounds can all establish and support your tone. |
| 7 |
Use symbols, but do so carefully.
Symbols can enrich a story, leaving an impression on the subconscious that enhances conscious understanding. For example, blood, both real and imagined, symbolize guilt in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. During the play, we see the actual blood from the murder of the king, but we also see Lady Macbeth, distraught to the point of madness, vainly trying to wash away the imagined blood on her hands. This washing of the hands suggests the image of Pontius Pilate washing his hands before the crucifixion of Christ. Symbols should not be overused, nor should they be confusing, complex or arbitrary. Draw on easily understood images from our culture. For this exercise, select a common symbol, and weave it into a story you’ve already written. |
| 8 |
Play with parallel structures.
Parallel expressions offer your reader a satisfying rhythm as well as multiple paths to understanding your meaning. In his Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln said “the world will little note, nor long remember....” These two elements reinforce one another, giving the whole structure greater impact than either element alone. Biblical poetry is known for parallelism. The beloved 23rd Psalm is a classic example. Referring to the Lord as Shepherd, the psalmist wrote, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.” Parallel structures satisfy with rhythm, but they also allow the reader time to grasp your meaning and provide a greater context for comprehension. |
| 9 |
Don’t forget the details!
French writer Gustave Flaubert wrote that “Le bon Dieu est dans le detail,” or “God is in the details.” This expression has been quoted by other notable figures, but what is most important is the sense. What makes literature, or art, or any creative endeavor stand out is attention to detail. In this age of texting, famous for abbreviations and shortcuts, we tend to leave out what we consider nonessential. A writer must resist this temptation. Instead of taking shortcuts, the writer must include all salient information. Don’t write that your character is nervous, but paint a picture that includes perspiration beading on his brow, eyes darting around the room, and feet shifting uneasily. Detail is important! |
| 10 |
Withhold details to build interest and suspense.
At first, this exercise seems to be a contradiction of Exercise 9, but it is actually an extension. The best writers not only know which details to include, but also know when to include them. Too much information up front overwhelms a reader, or even worse, eliminates any desire to continue reading. The trick is to include details that capture the imagination, but also leave enough out to arouse curiosity. A writer may reveal missing details throughout a story, or wait until the climax to reveal them. For this exercise, rework some element of a story you’ve already finished, but this time leaving out crucial details that will raise questions for your readers. |
| 11 |
Add texture to a story by foreshadowing.
Just as the shadow of an approaching object can precede that object, suggesting what is to come, the literary device of foreshadowing hints at important plot developments. This element of a story can be clear and direct, as in Oedipus the King, a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. In this play, Laius, the king, receives an oracle warning that he will be killed by his own son, and years later this prophecy comes true. Often foreshadowing is more subtle, merely hinting at what will develop. Through this technique, a good writer not only prepares the reader for the action of the story, but also builds suspense as well as texture. For this exercise, write a story including a minor event or symbol that presages the climax of your account. |
| 12 |
Limit the number of adjectives and adverbs in your story.
Rely instead on strong nouns and verbs. To achieve this goal, you must choose words carefully. At times it is possible to convert an adjective into a noun, making a weak noun unnecessary. For example, a whistling sound becomes a whistle, and a charming personality becomes charm. In the same way, you can exchange a feeble verb-adverb pairing for a stalwart verb. Rather than asking your protagonist to hold tightly, ask her to clench. After comparing adjectives and adverbs to fat, and nouns and verbs to muscle, in Steering the Craft, Ursula K. LeGuin offers this exercise: write at least 200 words “of descriptive narrative prose without adjectives or adverbs. No dialogue.” Try this challenge and notice the difference! |
| 13 |
Avoid cliches like the plague!
These little pests invade from many realms. Some come from mythology, such as “Achilles heel.” Others may be famous quotations, such as “a rose by any other name,” from Romeo and Juliet. Cliches may be sports terminology: “knock it out of the park.” Some are folk proverbs passed down through the generations, and still others are from observation of the natural world. Unfortunately, cliches populate our conversations and intrude on our creativity. Only the lazy writer relies on them. For this exercise, however, you will use a cliche of your choice. Write a paragraph or short passage turning one of these common expressions on its head, perhaps with a touch of humor or passion. If your hero is arrogant, for example, you could mention his Achilles ego. Just have fun! |
| 14 |
Don’t obfuscate the meaning of your literary endeavor...
with
pretentious semantic dalliance. Use short, simple words and sentences instead. Perhaps these two sentences gave you a chuckle, or at least brought a smile to your face. If you stop and think about your experience, you’ll realize that the chuckle, or the smile, came with the second sentence. Unless you have an extensive vocabulary, or you are the rare individual who looks up every unknown word you encounter, understanding came with the second sentence. Complex words exist for a reason, and there are times you’ll need to craft more complex sentences. However, if your writing never includes simple and straightforward language, you will lose most of your readers! Master that one concept, and your writing will become crisp and alive! For this exercise, write a 250-word passage. Half of your sentences must contain no more than 10 words. Also, use no more than five words that a typical eighth-grader would not understand. |
| 15 |
Try the What if? approach.
Alternative history is a hybrid genre, incorporating elements of historical fiction and science fiction. Writers in this genre change history for their stories. For example, Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, teamed up with William R. Forstchen to write alternative histories of the U.S. Civil War and World War II. Alternative history need not involve such a dramatic departure from truth, however. The Frank Capra classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, is fictional, but uses this approach. The movie looks at a man on the verge of suicide who learns the positive effect of his life on virtually everyone in his little town. For this assignment, think of a turning point in your own life, writing about this time, but with a radically different outcome. |
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Copyright © 2010 Little Frog Publishing |
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The list above is brand new. We will add new exercises periodically.
Check back whenever convenient to you, and try these exercises for yourself! |
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