From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Moral Dilemmas
Creative writing exercises: Moral dilemmas
Today’s creative writing exercise comes from 101 Creative Writing Exercises, my recently published book on the craft of writing.
This book guides writers through an adventure in writing. You’ll explore different forms and genres of writing, including freewriting, journaling, memoir, fiction, storytelling, poetry, and article or blog writing.
101 Creative Writing Exercises imparts proven writing techniques while providing writing practice and creative inspiration.
Today, I’d like to share an exercise from “Chapter Nine: Philosophy, Critical Thinking, and Problem Solving.” This creative writing exercise is titled “Moral Dilemmas.” Enjoy! Read more
Genres in Fiction Writing: Literary Fiction vs. Everything Else
How do you classify creative writing, or do you?
In creative writing, we talk about form and genre. Form is what we write: fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Genre is how we further classify each of these forms.
In fiction writing, there’s literary fiction and everything else.
In fact, literary fiction and all of the other genres are so at odds with each other that some writers simply say they are either literary fiction writers or genre writers. But what does that mean? Isn’t all fiction considered literary?
Yes and no. Read more
Proofreading and Editing Tips to Improve Your Writing
Proofreading and editing will help you improve your writing.
From the archives…
The best way to achieve better writing is through daily writing and reading, but proofreading and editing are near the top of the list too.
If you want to improve your writing, it’s imperative that you review each piece to check for typos, mistakes, context, and tone.
Creative writing tips often fail to mention the mechanical side of writing. It’s fun to focus on language, plot, characters, and rhymes, but polishing your work diligently will make you a better writer. And once you nail grammar and develop a habit of proofreading, you can focus on coming up with creative writing ideas rather than worrying about the technical aspects of your work. Read more
Writing Tips: Write What You Know
Writing tips: write what you know.
If there’s one piece of writing advice that took me years to truly understand, it’s write what you know.
When I first heard this instruction, I thought it was odd. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I do remember thinking that as far as writing tips went, it was absurd.
What about writing from your imagination or your feelings? How do genres like science fiction and fantasy fit into the idea that you should only write what you know? Read more
Creative Writing Prompts from Far-Off Places
Creative writing prompts for travelers and dreamers.
Travel and adventure are the themes behind some of the greatest poems ever written and best stories ever told.
Blockbuster movies like Star Wars and the Indiana Jones franchise, TV shows like Lost, and books such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn all use adventure as a premise to telling a riveting tale.
Today’s creative writing prompts are designed to get you out of the house and away to a far-off place. You can go anywhere you want — some of these places are fantastical while others can be found on any map. Read more
101 Creative Writing Exercises – Kindle Edition on Sale for 99 Cents
101 Creative Writing Exercises
Do you have a Kindle or smart phone? If so, you can get a copy of my book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises for just 99¢ now through Sunday 4/29.
The paperback is also on sale for just $5.99.
About 101 Creative Writing Exercises
101 Creative Writing Exercises takes you on an adventure through the world of writing.
You’ll experiment with fiction, poetry, journaling, blogging, and more. Each exercise imparts literary terms or writing techniques, so you’ll learn about the craft of writing as you make your way through the book.
In any craft or career, practice is essential. Surely, by now you’ve heard that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at any craft. That means you’ll spend 10,000 hours writing before your working at the expert level. Writing exercises are an excellent way to gain practice and practical experience. Read more
How to Find and Choose Ideas for Writing a Book
Are you in search of ideas for writing a book?
Every writer on the planet wants to write a book.
Some have finished a manuscript and others are already published, but many more dream, talk, and think about completing a full draft and seeing their name on a book cover.
Some already have a book in the works while others have several half-finished drafts floating around. Some can’t even get started. They have too many ideas to choose from, or they are waiting for the right idea. Read more
Ten Grammar Rules and Best Writing Practices That Every Writer Should Know
Some of the most overlooked grammar rules and best writing practices.
The more experience I gain as a writer, the more I’m convinced that writing is one of the most difficult skills to master. It’s not enough to tell a great story, share an original idea, or create an intriguing poem; writers are also obligated to pay diligence to the craft. While the content (or message) of our writing is paramount, the way we use language can be just as critical.
Bad grammar is a distraction. If you can write a riveting story, readers will probably overlook a few grammatical problems. However, each mistake or incorrect construction will momentarily yank readers out of the story. Sure, they can jump back in, but it makes for a negative or unpleasant reading experience. Read more
Self-Expression in Creative Writing
Do you use creative writing to express yourself?
A lot of young people first come to creative writing because they have a burning desire to express themselves. Emotions are running high, ideas are flying, and opinions are in full supply. What better way to get it all off you chest than writing it down?
Personal expression is the heart and soul of all forms of creative writing from fiction and poetry to memoirs and essays. We combine our inner thoughts and feelings with what we perceive in the outer world and put it into words.
When we balance what’s happening inside of us with what’s happening outside, real magic happens: that’s the sweet spot where we connect with readers.
For some of us, self-expression couldn’t be easier. Give us a pen and a piece of paper and our ideas will come pouring out. For others, putting thoughts and feelings into clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs is a challenge. Everything comes out garbled and only the writer can make sense of it. Read more
How to Become a Better Writer
How to become a better writer.
There’s more to writing than pushing a pen across a piece of paper, and there’s more to being a writer than having written.
These days, everyone’s a writer. We write emails, text messages, and lists. A free blog is just a few clicks away. Self-publishing has drawn tens of thousands of dreamers who have scrawled stories and uploaded them to the web for all to read.
Everyone’s a writer, including you. But how do you differentiate yourself? How do you stand out from the crowd? How do you make your words and ideas resonate with a reading audience?
Becoming a Better Writer
There’s more to becoming a better writer than improving your writing, although that’s certainly part of it. Here are a few ways you can become a better writer:
1. Make the commitment: sometimes the difference between a working writer and would-be writer is as simple as making a commitment to writing (and then sticking with it).
2. Do the work: write as often as you can, every day if possible. Spend more time writing than talking about writing or thinking about writing.
3. Engage with other writers: they will keep your fire burning, and they can help you with your writing. Find a writing buddy or group of writers and swap critiques.
4. Study the craft: there’s always more to learn. Writing is a complex and intricate field. I don’t think anyone can learn it all in one lifetime, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying!
5. Read: the single best way to improve your writing, develop ideas, and stretch your imagination is to read.
6. Know the industry: if you plan on being a professional writer, you should familiarize yourself with the business side of things. Make it your business to learn about submitting your work, publishing, and marketing.
7. Be diligent: revise, edit, proof, repeat. Nobody wants to read your rough drafts, including agents, editors, and fellow writers who are critiquing your work or helping you with proofreading and editing.
8. Build a platform: thanks to the Internet, it is cheaper and easier to build a platform today than it ever was before. Learn how to market yourself, find your readers, connect with them, and sell your books!
9. Know your audience: I like to think of a reading audience as a group of people connected by a common interest or passion. Who are your readers?
10. Be yourself: don’t write what’s hot, write what’s in your heart.
How much effort do you invest in improving your writing? Do you take steps every day to become a better writer? What steps have you taken to develop your craft and grow as a writer? Do you have any tips to add to this list? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment, and keep writing!
From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Your Gang
From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Your Gang.
Today’s writing exercise comes from my book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises.
This book takes you on an adventure through the world of writing. You’ll explore different forms and genres while learning practical writing techniques. You’ll also get plenty of writing experience and ideas for publishable projects.
Each chapter focuses on a different form or writing concept: freewriting, journaling, memoirs, fiction, storytelling, form poetry, free verse, characters, dialogue, creativity, and article and blog writing are all covered.
Today, we’ll take a peek at “Chapter Three: People and Characters” with an exercise called “Your Gang.” Enjoy!
Your Gang
Writing about one or two people in a story or piece of nonfiction isn’t too hard. Even a scene with three or four characters can be well executed by a beginning writer. When you start approaching casts and ensembles with seven, eight, nine primary characters, you risk turning your story into a riot. Everybody gets out of control.
Ensemble stories in fiction tend to be epics; they span long periods of time (sometimes several generations). Often in these stories, there are many main characters but only a few are in focus at any given time. You’re more likely to find a good ensemble on television or in a movie than in a novel. But in all mediums, there are great stories about groups and families.
Writing a true ensemble piece requires considerable mastery in writing. As the author, you have to constantly keep all your characters in play, rotating them and managing their complex personalities. You can’t forget about any of your characters and you can’t let any of them hog the spotlight. It’s a balancing act.
The Exercise
Choose an existing ensemble from a book, movie, or TV show and write a long scene or a short story featuring all of the characters. Don’t retell some story about the characters from the source material. Take the existing characters and make up your own story or scene for them.
As an added challenge, relocate the characters to a different setting. For example, take the cast from a book and put them in the setting of a movie.
The minimum number of characters you should work with for this exercise is six. Aim for eight.
Tips: You can write big scenes with all characters present. You can also put the characters in different locations and write a series of scenes that take place in these various locations. One example would be a huge family gathering for a holiday weekend. The characters will disperse to different rooms. You have to move through the house showing the reader what everyone is doing, and it all has to tie together in a meaningful way.
Variations: Come up with your own ensemble. Write a series of short character sketches and establish a setting in which these characters would be thrown together. They could be family, coworkers, passengers on a subway, or students in a classroom. You can also attempt this exercise with real people and write either a scene from a real-life experience or make up a scene featuring your friends and family (a holiday gathering, school field trip, or work meeting). Make sure you give all the characters equal weight. Remember, it’s an ensemble.
Applications: If you can write an ensemble scene, you might be suited for television writing!
Adrienne Rich (1929 – 2012)
Adrienne Rich (May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012)
“The serious revolutionary, like the serious artist, can’t afford to lead a sentimental or self-deceiving life.” ― Adrienne Rich
Last week, the brilliant poet and pioneering feminist Adrienne Rich passed away. The world has lost a profound voice, but Adrienne’s poetry and prose will certainly live on.
I first read Adrienne’s poetry in a class on women writers, which was easily my favorite literature course during college. We read “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” as one of our assignments, and I fell in love with the poem. In fact, it was one of the first poems that I truly studied, reading it over and over to absorb every nuance.
The poem does exactly what I think poetry is supposed to do: it paints a picture, it’s rich with emotion, it uses symbolism and metaphor, and it carries a subtle but deeply meaningful message. It makes you think. It invites you to read it aloud and to read it again. To this day, it remains one of my all-time favorite poems.
“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is presented in full (on page two) of the New York Times obituary: “A Poet of Unswerving Vision at the Forefront of Feminism.”
Remembering Adrienne Rich
The Los Angeles Times also published an obituary highlighting Adrienne Rich’s contributions and accomplishments:
She came of age during the social upheavals of the 1960s and ’70s and was best known as an advocate of women’s rights, which she wrote about in both her poetry and prose. But she also wrote passionate antiwar poetry and took up the causes of the marginalized and underprivileged. (from the Los Angeles Times obituary: “Adrienne Rich dies at 82; feminist poet and essayist“)
The Poetry Foundation has assembled articles and essays commemorating Adrienne Rich’s life and legacy: “Remembrances of Adrienne Rich Abound.”
New Verse News has published a poem by Bill Sullivan, which is simply titled “Adrienne Rich (1929-2012).”
Adrienne’s Language
“When a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her.” ― Adrienne Rich
To celebrate Adrienne Rich’s life and legacy, I thought I’d share a poem that I wrote many years ago, shortly after I first discovered her work. This was for a class assignment in which we were asked to write a creative response to a poem of our choosing. I chose “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” and wrote a response in the voice of Aunt Jennifer.
Adrienne’s Language
A Creative Response to “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich
Adrienne’s language settles across the page
Black symbols of her thoughts embedded,
engraved in deliberate books. Unafraid
of readers’ mindful eyes. Her lovely lullabies
sing and cry. Brave
niece – she grips the pen in hand,
scrawling the notions of life and
the images of living. Her heart lay
open for all to see, for me, my tigers.
Her words set the scene: tales alive
and breathing. Recount the memory, recount.
Counting stitches of her stories – her own
tapestries, done up in Adrienne’s language.
By Melissa Donovan
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.” ― Adrienne Rich
*All quotes are from Goodreads
-
Enter your email address:
-
-
101 Creative Writing Exercises
Explore the world of creative writing by experimenting with fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction through fun yet practical exercises that inspire and build skills. Honors & Awards
