START THE WEEK with a writing exercise using the power of ART and GOOGLE
Today it’s time for an ekphrastic exercise – writing about or inspired by a painting. In Dostoyevsky’s novel The Idiot, characters see a painting of Christ that is supposed to … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a creative writing exercise – reclaim the word NICE
Hope’ is the thing with feathers –That perches in the soul –And sings the tune without the words –And never stops – at all – And sweetest – in the … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a creative writing exercise – start a memoir with a drawing
There’s a big difference between thinking about a story concept or the way a character develops and thinking with a pen in your hand. Writing – even when you know … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a creative writing exercise that will work for ever and ever….
Actually, this isn’t a writing exercise at all. It is a writing prompt. There’s a difference: an exercise is designed, it is crafted and – ideally – should be tested … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a writing exercise: a character lucky dip
I love the random nature of this exercise. Most of the time it is just writing practice, exploring how to reveal emotion and develop character, but it is a bit … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a writing exercise: Creating a Dark Character
AS WRITERS WE NEED people to do bad things: they create story. They may not be the heart of your writing, the central core, but they kickstart action and reaction. … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a creative writing exercise and your main character is drunk…
Write two versions of the same scene. The setting is a work place and the main character is someone who turns up very, very drunk. First version: write in the … Continue reading
Written a short story on the theme of solitude?
Indy publishers Everything With Words are publishing a book of short stories in spring 2021 on the theme of solitude.Submissions should be between 2,000 and 6,000 words long. There is … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a Creative Writing Exercise
A very straightforward creative writing exercise …all you have to do is write and keep on writing until you’ve managed to incorporate all the words on the scrabble board. To … Continue reading
Lockdown Writing Competition…think short, short, short
The wonderful people at Fish Publishing – who organise some of the best international writing competitions – have come up with a project that tries to capture the strange times … Continue reading
An exercise that can help you travel back in time – sensory description in memoir writing
Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon – E.L. Doctorow Adapted from Back to … Continue reading
Opening Lines – A Writing Exercise
I’m going to post writing exercises at regular intervals because I’m convinced that writing can help if you’re worried and under stress….and right now that describes most of us. The … Continue reading
Being Creative in the time of Corona
I haven’t yet spent a whole 24 hours without seeing someone I care about, but I will if not today, (I’m expecting a supply of Earl Grey tea via my … Continue reading
My New Year present… a link to a short story that might just change the way you write or what you want to write about.
Ok, the statements in the heading of this post are so sweeping they could clean your whole house. And you’ve probably instinctively flinched because who likes to be told how … Continue reading
