Final Sneak Peek at 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Body Language

101 Creative Writing Exercises is slated for publication in early February.

This book of creative writing exercises will take writers on a journey through different forms and genres while providing writing techniques, practical experience, and inspiration.

Each exercise teaches a specific concept and each chapter focuses on a different subject or form in writing: journaling, storytelling, fiction, poetry, article writing, and more. Every exercise is designed to be practical. In other words, you can use these exercises to launch projects that are destined for publication. Read more

Creative Writing Exercises: Report It

Today, I’m sharing another sneak peek into my forthcoming book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises. Writing this book has taught me a lot about publishing in general and self-publishing more specifically. The final proof is on my desk now, and once I give it a good, solid polish, publication will be right around the corner.

This exercise comes from “Chapter Two: It’s Personal.” The creative writing exercises in this chapter focus on writing of a personal nature: personal essay, memoir, and journal writing. I chose this exercise because it’s challenging and fun. It asks you to look at your own life from a fresh perspective and make yourself the subject of a news report.

Give it a try! Then, come back and tell us what you learned and how this exercise worked for you. Read more

Sneak Peek at 101 Creative Writing Exercises

I’m putting the final touches on my forthcoming book, which is titled 101 Creative Writing Exercises.

These exercises take writers on a journey through different forms and genres.

Each exercise teaches a specific concept and each chapter focuses on a different subject or form: journaling, storytelling, fiction writing, poetry, article writing, and more. All of the exercises are designed to be practical. In other words, you can use these exercises to launch projects that are destined for publication.

Today, I’d like to present one of the exercises to give you a taste of what to expect from the book. I hope you like it! From “Chapter Six: Storytelling,” this exercise is called “Oh No He Didn’t!”

Oh No He Didn’t! (from 101 Creative Writing Exercises)

Plot twists, cliffhangers, and page-turners. Oh my! These are the sneaky techniques writers use to keep readers captivated. And we’ve all been there: It’s late, and I’m tired. After this chapter, the lights are going out. Then there’s a cliffhanger, a shocking development in the story. Forget sleep! I have to find out what happens next.

Some writers are criticized for overusing these devices or for planting twists that are contrived or forced. But a good plot twist or cliffhanger is natural to the story and doesn’t feel like the writer strategically worked it in.

Some stories feature major twists in the middle of chapters. It’s placing such a twist at the end of chapter that turns it into a cliffhanger. Soap operas and television dramas are known, loved, and loathed for their application of these devices. It’s how they hook viewers, and it’s a way you can hook readers.

Each writer has to decide whether to use these techniques in storytelling. You might think they’re too formulaic or rob your story of its artfulness. Or, maybe you like the exciting edge that a good twist or cliffhanger brings to a story.

The Exercise

Write an outline for a chapter that ends on a cliffhanger. You can also use a TV episode as your model or a serialized short story. Approach the cliffhanger by building tension to the moment:

Bad guys are chasing the good guys. The bad guys are gaining on them. They’re getting closer! One of bad guys draws his gun, lifts it, cocks it, and aims right at our hero. He pulls the trigger. See you next week!

You can also plant a cliffhanger that comes out of nowhere. The chapter is winding down, everything is moving along as expected and suddenly a character walks into a room and tells her ex-lover that she’s pregnant and he’s the father. Uh oh!

Both types of cliffhangers work equally well.

Tips The best cliffhangers leave huge questions hanging in the air. Who did it? What just happened? Will they survive? How is that possible? What will happen next?

Variations: You can expand on this exercise by writing out a scene that ends on a cliffhanger. To expand further, write the follow-up scene and satisfy readers’ curiosity by answering the big questions raised by your cliffhanger.

Applications: If you want to be a commercially successful author, you will probably find that mastering the cliffhanger is a huge asset to your writing skills. The cliffhanger is almost mandatory in horror and mystery genres, so if that’s what you want to write, you’ll need to be able to execute a good clincher.