Random Writing Exercise #29
Write down 5 possibly story settings. These can be any place, real or imaginary, a whole country or one house. Then, write down 5 times; a time of day or a season or a year, in the past or future. Now, you have 25 possible places and times for a story setting. Write an opening [...]
Look Everywhere
Out of ideas? Stuck in a plot hole? Or lost your desire to finish a story? A good remedy and inspiration for this is to watch people, events, and your surroundings in general. Take a notebook with you everywhere you go. Here are ideas of some things to keep track of in your notebook: – [...]
Index Cards
These perfectly sized thick pieces of paper have been used by writers since they were invented. Perhaps writers just used paper before that. Why do index cards work so well? They give just enough room for a few sentences describing a scene or character or setting, they can be organized and numbered, easily reordered, and [...]
Writing a Death Scene
Death scenes are probably one of a beginning writer’s biggest pitfalls, right up there with love scenes. It’s very hard to write a long, serious and detailed death without someone laughing at your description, just like Little Nell’s death by Charles Dickens. The best advice for writing a death would be to keep it short [...]
Random Writing Exercise #17
Pick a job or occupation. It doesn’t necessarily have to be boring or exciting, but whatever you pick, invent a character that, for whatever reason, loves his or her job. It doesn’t matter what it is, but for either an obvious or simple reason, they enjoy working at their job. Now write a short scene [...]
