Knowledge Base » Writing Exercises

 

Exercise: Past, Present & Future

 

Some of my favorite stories when I was young truly cultivated my imagination. These stories included images of flying cars and video phones and all sorts of other technological advancements. We may still be a few years away from a flying car, but there’s no reason why you can’t touch

Exercise: The First Time!

Before I became a writer, I started off as an actor. I think that being an actor can teach you a great deal about characters and stories in general and I highly recommend taking a class someday if you haven’t. One piece of advice I heard as an actor was

Exercise: Getting Unstuck

Sometimes we get stuck developing a character, creating a setting, or deciding what happens next in the plot. Here are two exercises to help open the flow of ideas.

           

CLUSTERING

Clustering is a diagramming method for gathering and organizing ideas that you do on paper, a brainstorming method

Exercise: Is Your Protagonist Worth Writing About?

Part One: Spend a few minutes with a notebook in a public space where children and families are present. Simply write down a few notes about some of the children you observe, what they’re doing, and who they interact with.

Part Two: Pick one of the children to be your

“Show, Don’t Tell” Exercise # 2

Take a character from your book and place him or her in a familiar setting (your character’s room, classroom, backyard, etc.)

Write a scene in which your character moves through that setting, and show that he/she is angry without ever using the words “angry” or “anger”. Now place your