Fiction writing exercises for story building

Fiction writing exercises can help you discover storytelling techniques and provide ideas and inspiration for your fiction writing projects.

For writers who are young or just starting out with fiction, these exercises provide practice and experience. For more experienced writers, these exercises offer inspiration and can help you see a story from new angles.

Today’s fiction writing exercises are carefully chosen to help you develop some of the most critical components in a story. If you can create a few characters; identify a conflict, climax, and resolution; and choose a theme, you’re well on your way to writing a short story or novel that will resonate with readers.

These exercises are similar to assignments you would complete in a college-level fiction writing class, exercises that push you in the direction of writing material that can be submitted or published. You can tackle these exercises separately but I recommend using them to develop ideas around a single story.

1. Character Exercise: Sketching a Protagonist and an Antagonist

We often think of them as the bad guy and the good guy or the hero and the villain, but those terms are becoming outdated as modern storytelling increasingly embraces protagonists who are highly flawed and antagonists who aren’t especially evil.

The Exercise: Sketch two characters who are in conflict with each other.

Do not identify a protagonist or antagonist, just create two characters. Both characters should have the potential to be good or evil. Start with physical descriptions, then get inside the characters’ heads to establish their inner landscapes, and finally, work up a bit of backstory for each of them. Remember, these two characters have a fundamental conflict with each other. What is it? The core of this exercise is identifying that conflict.

If you’ve never done a character sketch or have trouble coming up with details for your character, check out this character development worksheet.

2. Plot Exercise: Conflict, Climax, and Resolution

The three-act structure is one of the simplest and most effective way to break down a story. Often, the acts are 1) Setup, 2) Confrontation, and 3) Resolution. I think of the three-act structure as 1) Conflict, 2) Climax, and 3) Resolution because those are the three pinnacles in each of the three acts. In the first part of a story we learn what the conflict is. The second (and largest portion) of the story builds up to a climax in which the conflict hits boiling point. Finally, the third act resolves the conflict.

The Exercise: Determine a conflict, climax, and resolution for a story.

You can use the two characters you created in the first exercise for this.

Conflict examples: Two people vying for the same job, a natural disaster, people-eating aliens landing on Earth.

Climax examples: In a big showdown, one job candidate smears the other and knocks the opponent out of the race. A natural disaster claims the lives of half of Earth’s population. Humans engage in a final battle with the people-eating aliens!

Resolution examples: The job candidate who got smeared makes a comeback and gets the job. Earth’s survivors rebuild after a planet-wide natural disaster. Against all odds, humans win the battle against aliens with superior technology.

3. Theme Exercise: Universal Ideas

Theme is difficult to explain, but Wikipedia does a good job:

A theme is a broad idea, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character, setting, and style, theme is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction.

I usually think of theme as the big questions that a story asks or its underlying philosophy.

The exercise: Choose a theme and write a list of ways in which a theme can be executed through the course of a story.

You can choose a theme for the characters you sketched in the first exercise or for the three-act structure you developed in the second exercise. For example, in a story where two characters are vying for the same job, the theme might be dream fulfillment (if it’s one or both of the characters’ dream job).

As an alternative, try to identify themes in other stories. Think about your favorite books, movies, and TV shows and make lists of some themes you’ve found in storytelling.

Fiction Writing Exercises 

Do you think about character, plot, and theme when you’re working on a story? Do you plan these elements in advance or let them unfold through discovery writing? Who are some of your favorite characters? Can you think of a truly original plot in modern storytelling? What themes in fiction appeal to you the most? And finally, do you use fiction writing exercises and if you do, how have they helped you improve your writing?

Stretch your writing muscles with poetry writing exercises

If you’re going to exercise, it’s a good idea to warm up first. That way, you’ll get your body geared up to do the heavy lifting, the hard running, and the strenuous workout.

Writing’s no different.

Poetry writing exercises are ideal for times when you’re feeling uninspired or lazy, or maybe your poetry is getting stale and you need to take it in a fresh direction. Maybe you’re getting ready to embark on a big, long writing project and want to warm up first.

Today’s poetry writing exercises are good starters and don’t require you to know anything about poetry or have any experience writing poems. In fact, some of these exercises are just that — exercises — no poetry writing required.

Poetry Writing Exercises

These poetry writing exercises are designed to get you thinking about rhythm, language, and imagery in your writing. Let’s jump right in!

1. Alliteration and Assonance Lists

Create a list of word pairs and phrases that are built around alliteration or assonance. Remember, alliteration is when words in close proximity start with (or contain) the same consonant sound (as in pretty picture). Assonance is when words in close proximity echo vowel sounds (bent pen). Try to come up with at least ten of each. The more, the better.

Bonus exercise: Use the words from your lists to write a poem.

2. Metaphors for Life

Make a list of significant life events – birth, death, graduation, marriage, having children, starting your own business. Next, come up with a metaphor for each of these events. Remember: a metaphor is when we say one thing is another thing. A simile is when we say one thing is like another thing.

Metaphor: Life is a dance.
Simile: Life is like a box of chocolates (as a metaphor, this would be life is a box of chocolates)

Tip: Choose metaphors that are visually interesting. Metaphors for life as a dance or box of chocolates are both concrete and easy for readers to visualize.

Bonus exercise: Write a poem about one of your life events using only the metaphor you have chosen. When it’s done, your poem should be a bit ambiguous; a reader will wonder whether the poem is literally about the metaphor or metaphorically about the life event.

3. Lyrics and Musicality

Choose a catchy song that you enjoy and rewrite the lyrics, but stick to the rhythm and meter. Try to go way off topic from what the original lyrics were about. You can play the song while you work the exercise or search for the lyrics online and use those as your baseline. The idea is to get your mind on the musicality in your writing.

These poetry writing exercises are meant to be helpful and fun. If you used any of these exercises, feel free to share your experiences in the comments. And keep on writing!

Do you have any poetry writing exercises to share? Have any special requests for exercises that deal with specific areas of writing? Leave a comment!

Writing exercises in brevity

Brett Legree, who blogs at 6 Weeks explains why blogging for profit is like collecting underpants.

Brett talks about love of craft but he never does ask (or answer) the question that’s on everyone’s mind: boxers or briefs?

Well, I’m here to tell you why some briefs belong on the page and not in your pants.

Boxers or Briefs?

If writing for the web has taught me anything, it’s brevity. I’ve always written short poems. In fact, my poems are so small, I could slide them up my legs and wear them like a bikini. But my other writing tends to be a bit wordy, more like boxers.

And like boxers, wordy writing is long, and that’s no good, especially for online writing.

Sometimes lengthy writing is necessary and it certainly has its place in many different types of writing, like literary novels. However, on the web, most people scan rather than read, so keeping text short and concise is beneficial because your readers will be able to quickly absorb your points without having to stare at the glaring screen for too long. You can also help your readers scan by including sub-headers and breaking up your text into short paragraphs.

But what if you have a tendency to write extremely lengthy prose?

A Writing Exercise in Brevity

Most writing exercises are designed to get creativity flowing. But this writing exercise challenges you to take a long piece and make it short and sweet.

Luckily, it’s easy. With a few well-placed edits, we can turn boxers into briefs in no time.

Here’s an example of some original text I pulled from one of my many unfinished short stories. I have gone through and crossed out parts that can be eliminated without compromising the integrity of the piece:

Saidra turned her head and took a good hard look up the street.Where were the walkers and joggers that usually passed by throughout the day?She looked the other way.Where were the mommies, with strollers and toddlers in tow, walking their young schoolchildren to their classrooms?She stared straight ahead.Every day, the little old lady across the street came out with her coffee, picked up the newspaper and enjoyed both on her front porch, under a basket of pink and lavendar fuscia.After a quick trip inside, Old Rose, as she was known, always spent the first part of her day tending the garden.Today she was nowhere to be found. The entire street was deserted.

Once I trimmed away the excess, I dressed it up a little, just to make sure it still sounds good and makes sense:

Saidra looked up and down the street.Where were the walkers and joggers?Where were the mommies, walking youngsters to the nearby school?She stared straight ahead.Every day, the little old lady across the street picked up her newspaper and enjoyed it with a cup of tea on her front porch. Today she was nowhere to be found. The entire street was deserted.

How do you like that? I took this from 119 words down to just 64, and in less than ten minutes. It’s like a strip show for word lovers! Hey, who says writing exercises can’t be sexy?

Take it Off

Now it’s your turn to tackle this writing exercise. No, you don’t have to take your clothes off. Then again, the weekend’s almost here so maybe you should. You do, however, have to unclothe a piece of your writing.

Pick a poem, story, or blog post that you’ve written. Go through and get rid of words and phrases that aren’t absolutely necessary. Then go through it again, reconnecting everything and rearranging the words that remain so they are compelling. See how short you’re willing to go.

Or, tackle my paragraph and make it even shorter and show off your skills in the comments section. Come on, I dare you!

If you have a writing exercise to share, feel free to post it in the comments or send it in as a guest post.

photo credit: mallix

How comfortable are you with your writing?

Many writers specialize in a genre or niche. Creative writers are focused on fiction or poetry, copywriters specialize in web writing or marketing, and technical writers are steeped in jargon and code that other writers might find impossible to decipher.

Sure, some of us explore various types of writing, but how deeply are we willing to immerse ourselves in unknown waters?

A novelist might dip her toes in web writing. A copywriter might wade in children’s literature. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dive into a completely new form of writing, or what it would be like to deeply explore a form you’ve only tested? Today’s writing exercises will challenge you to do just that.

Do more than test the waters

I’m often proud of the fact that I’ve tried my hand at so many different types of writing. I am an experienced poet and blogger. I get paid to write articles, website copy, and press releases. I’ve written some fiction. And here’s where I always stop and hold my breath. Right when I get to the F-word. Fiction.

Sometimes I say that poetry is my first love because that’s what I started writing. But the truth is, my first love was fiction, because that’s what I read and what I’ve been reading for longer than I can remember. It stands to reason, then, that as a writer, one of my goals is to write a novel or get some short stories published.

But fiction seems to elude me, which is odd, considering I’ve read more fiction than anything else. It should be a breeze but I’ve always struggled with it. It’s not like I can’t do it. I can and I have and usually whatever I write is somewhat decent. But I have a hard time finishing a piece of fiction. I’m great at character development (you wouldn’t believe how many character files I’ve got). I’m not so great at coming up with villains though. And plots – forget about it. Every time I come up with a plot, I scratch it out because I feel like it’s already been done.

Setting Goals

Over the past few years, my apparent inability to complete a piece of fiction (even a short story) has created a huge barrier for me. It’s almost like the fact that I haven’t been able to master fiction has made me want to avoid it or just put it off for an unknown length of time.

This is a problem since I really, really want to write a novel.

One of my goals for this year is to step out of my comfort zone and get real cozy with fiction writing. I’ve spent time thinking about my strengths and weaknesses in this area and I’ve promised myself that I will participate in NaNoWriMo this November and attempt to produce a 50-thousand word manuscript, complete with plot and villain.

Writing Exercises

For this week’s writing exercises, your objective is to explore unfamiliar territory. Are you one of those people who only get in the pool if it’s more than 80 degrees (Fahrenheit)? Then get yourself into the freezing waters of the northern Pacific Ocean! Choose some type of writing that you’ve never attempted before or choose something that you’ve only toyed with. Or, choose a writing style that you’ve struggled with in the past. Just pick something that you have not mastered and then set yourself the goal of developing your weaknesses in that type of writing.

It doesn’t take long:

• Write a piece of flash fiction under 1000 words
• Write a 250-word poem
• Write a brief, 2000-word essay
• Compose a newspaper column
• Write a page of a script

If you turn off the TV, unplug your video games, and close your web browser, you could probably do all of these writing exercises in a single weekend.

What are you waiting for? You’ve got your Friday writing exercises. Now go start writing!

If you have any writing exercises to share, feel free to post it in the comments or send it in as a guest post.

Writing exercises in musicality

Have you ever read a poem, story, or article that lacked rhythm? If a piece is lifeless, despite the fact that it uses vivid imagery, clear and expressive language, and a sympathetic voice, there’s a good chance that it’s off-beat in terms of musicality.

A well-written piece in any genre has cadence. This means the sentences vary in length as do the individual words. To achieve musicality in a written work, a writer must be aware of syllables and stresses. The overall result is a written piece that sings and makes the reader’s imagination dance.

Today’s writing exercises encourage you to pay closer attention to the rhythm in your writing. If you can infuse your work with a bit of musicality, you can make your readers want to dance through your pages.

Writing Exercises in Rhythm for Readability

These two writing exercises will help you generate written material that has rhythm. Try these and you’ll find that your work becomes more readable when it has a beat backing it up.

The first exercise is systematic, and asks you to go through a piece of writing intentionally checking it for rhythm. The second approach is a bit looser, and only requires that you listen to your writing and try to determine its musicality by ear. Complete both of these writing exercises or just try one of them.

The Systematic Approach

Select a short piece or an excerpt from something you’ve written or are working on (under 250 words). This could be a couple of paragraphs from your novel in progress, or a short story you wrote for school. It can be an essay, a poem, news or magazine article, even straight copy from your website.

Draw a line down the center of a sheet of paper. Label the right side WORDS and the left side SENTENCES. The words column will show the number of syllables for each word and the sentences column will show the number of syllables for each sentence.

Now, go through the piece and count the syllables. In the left hand column enter a number for each word, representing the syllables. In the right hand column, enter the number of syllables for each sentence. When you’re done, the left hand column should be considerably longer.

Example

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

WORDS | SENTENCES
1 ………………11
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1

Not a very rhythmic sentence. When working with several sentence, you want to see great variations in the sentence syllables. Within each sentence, the syllabic count of the words should also vary between one and four syllables.

This is a very systematic approach to evaluating the rhythm of your writing.

The Creative Approach

If you’d rather not deal with numbers, then try this:

Read a piece aloud, tapping along as you do so. You can tap your pen against the surface of your desk, or you can get really fancy and pull out an instrument such as a tambourine or bongo drum. You could even improvise with a wooden spoon and a couple of pots and pans. Bang out the syllables as you read the piece aloud, hitting harder on syllables that warrant greater emphasis.

Example

The quick brown fox jumps o-ver the la-zy dog. (Emphasis on bold syllables)

That’s how I read it anyway. By reading your piece aloud in this manner, you’ll notice quickly where it is lacking in terms of rhythm.

How Did These Writing Exercises Work for You?

If you decide to give one or both of these writing exercises a shot, come back and discuss what you learned. Or, try writing a piece from scratch that is rhythmic and melodic. Share an excerpt or share your thoughts in the comments.

If you have any favorite writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments or send them in as a guest post.