Writing Exercises

Sometimes we all need a little boost to get us going. So today I'm posting three writing exercises - maybe one will work for you.

My goal is to light a tiny fire of inspiration in your writing soul.

Exercise 1
First Line - You complete the story.
The old woman hobbled toward the checkpoint, a net bag swinging from her shoulder.

Exercise 2
List at least ten things about each of these words. Your ten things may be synonyms, related items, emotions, moods ... whatever comes to mind. Write a story using at least one thing you derived from each of the starter words.

powder     
factory 
empty
accident
hair
love
toy
grinder
malnourish
dawn

Exercise 3
In one paragraph, describe one of the locations in List A from the point of view of one of the characters in List B. Mix and match and do as many or as few as you want.

List A
beach
mall
hospital room
arcade
unfamiliar living room

List B
firefighter
thief
man late for meeting
sculptor
pregnant woman

Have fun with these.

And WRITE!

Comments

Aubrie said…
I love writing exercises! Sometimes they turn into great short stories, and even novels. :)
Joanne said…
I like these! It's a good idea to keep a little file of prompts like these, for those times when the words are resisting our best efforts. Thanks :)
Talli Roland said…
What great exercises, Carol! I've just finished my writing stint for the day but I may set these aside for tomorrow. Thanks!
Carol Kilgore said…
Aubrie - I love when an exercise turns into a real story!

Joanne - A file is a great idea.

Talli - Glad you like these.
Terry Odell said…
When I first started writing, an on-line group at iVillage used to do Monday "Open the Envelope" writing exercises. One of mine evolved into what is now offered as a Free Read from Cerridwen Press. It's called "The Other Side of the Page" and you can find it here.
Carol Kilgore said…
Helen - Gotta stay fresh :)

Terry - That's great!
Interesting prompts! Fortunately the fire was lit for me this weekend and I am off and running.
Mason Canyon said…
Great exercise. Sometimes when we focus on something new, what we were working on becomes clear again.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex - Awesome! I'm happy for you.

Mason - That's so true.

Elspeth - LOL!
Good prompts. I plan to keep these and try one or two in the morning.
Southpaw said…
These are pretty cool. May...need...to borrow...
Carol Kilgore said…
Jane - Cool!

Southpaw - Go...right...ahead...
Anonymous said…
Those are great exercises, Carol. Thanks!
Carol Kilgore said…
Glad you like them.
Anonymous said…
I always enjoy a good writing exercise to get started. Somehow, it warms you up for facing the WIP and it gets you really focused on what you are doing.
Thanks for sharing these.

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