Category: writing exercise

writing exercise

Finding Inspiration Right Where You Are

carolyncordon

Whether you are sitting at home, at work, or out at a cafe or library, you will find inspiration and things to write about right there, where you are, no matter what. You have to hold on to attitude of wanting to write though, and have pen and paper (or electronic equivalent), so you will be ready when the words start coming.

I find coffee aids in my finding of inspiration, but it isn’t actually necessary, just nice. Having a comfortable place to sit is important, and as mentioned, something to write on and with. Whether you want to write a poem, a short story, an article, or something longer, you have to set your mind free, and just let the words come.

Getting some words written is the most important thing, when you are in the initial early stages of writing. You wake up your creativity, and you play with words! Getting it all neat and finished is the job of your internal editor, but we are a long way away from that stage.

Exercise One

  • Pick up a book, and turn to page 28. On that page, locate a noun, a verb, and write them down, then remember the first dog you ever knew in your life. Whether a pet, or some other dog, one on TV perhaps, write the name of that dog down too. We are going to write a flash fiction story in less than 150 words, using the three things you have written down.
  • In your story, that dog’s name is your character’s name. A story has a beginning, a middle and an end, but in flash fiction, the elements are stripped right back, and you get into the story Bang! straight away.
  • In my story, my character’s name is Lucky, the noun I’m using is forest, and the noun is sing. One, two, three, go:
  • Lucky trotted along for a few minutes, looking around, wondering, what would he find in the forest today? Then there was a sound, a high pitched Ahhhwoooo! Lucky couldn’t believe it, another dog, a howling dog, that sounded like it wanted a friend. Ahwooo? he called, and the other dog called Ahhhwwoooooooo! sounding like it was getting closer and closer as it howled.
    The dogs sang their howls at each other, to each other and then there they were, together. The howling stopped, and happy little yips of pleasure came from them both.
    Lonely dogs no more, both explored each other, sniffing, licking, reaching out paws, then they ran, and ran, and ran, leaping and running, running and leaping, yipping with pleasure.
    Lucky was finally not the only, lonely dog in the forest, he was the one of the two dogs in the forest, and they both had a friend now …

the end

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Wow, I had no idea what I was going to end up with there, but I quite like this little story,, a children’s story perhaps, maybe even a picture book! How did you go, did a story come out for you?

Exercise Two

  • For this second exercise, I expect a poem will arrive. It may be a fine poem, it may be the best ever written, it may be a load of not much at all,  but it will be a poem!
    So if you always say, I’m not a poet, but wish you could actually be able to call yourself one, read on!
  • Remember your childhood years, and write down the things you used to do that were fun. only a couple of things, will be enough, if you can remember lots of aspects of those things.
  • Use a new verse for every single ‘thing’ and put down as many emotions and senses in that you can remember, using a new line for each separate thought.
  • This is my list of ‘things’ I remembered when I did this exercise myself a few years ago:
    I remember riding my bike, with my best friend Wendy. One particular day, we rode from our homes in Klemzig all of the way to the Adelaide Zoo. We got in for free, using the zoo tickets my dad had, and spent ages sitting with the two dingoes that lived at the zoo. These dingoes, and male and a female, were very tame and loved being scratched behind their ears, just like any other dog likes. I was such a fun time, and we both felt almost blessed to have these dingoes feel so secure with us.
    Going to the Torrens River as a kid, with my brothers and their friends was always fun too, catching creatures and either keeping them or setting them free again. Yabbies were the main creature we didn’t release back to the wild, they came home with us, for dad to cook and eat.
  • Almost Dogs, and Yabbies for Dad
    Riding my bike with Wendy –
    best friend and I, off to the Zoo
    with Dad’s medallions, in for free,
    to see our zoo-time favourites
    the dingoes, a lovely tame pair
    blessing Wendy and me, they way
    those almost dogs loved ear scratches
    just like all dogs did!Down to the Torrens, our river
    almost every Christmas time day –
    my brothers and I, with their mates.
    Me, an almost accepted almost boy,
    & all having fun, in the water, and out –
    catching things, letting them go,
    but always bringing home for Dad
    the yabby “Catch of the Day”!
  • Can you see the way I stripped back lots of the initial words, cutting out what wasn’t needed to make the points I wanted to make about it all. I am happy with this new poem, and I’d love to know how you went with making a poem out of your own words.
  • Note also the casual way I bring the two stanzas of this poem together, through the mention of my Dad in them both.
  • This is a free verse poem, but with careful line endings, so that the important words gain prominence, by being first and last words in most lines.
  • Notice too that I don’t need to put in every single detail from the initial words written, only using what I felt I needed to make each stanza, and the poems as the whole, work.
poetry, writing exercise

Covering Same Issues

carolyncordon

With these writing prompts, that I write on every new day, I don’t know at the the start which direction my muse may take me. But the direction I headed straight away today, was to a place I’ve been before. Thoughts on ‘Hidden’ things have been a huge theme for my creative writing, and have brought good results, of various types, financial, therapeutic, and for the broader community too.

I have written more about the kind of thing I write about in today’s poem, on another of my blog, this one. I created that blog to help with promoting my poetry collection of the same name.

I don’t think I need to go to much further here now though, the poem I wrote for today, which is Day 6 of #poemadayfeb, will tell the story. I have been very much enjoying being involved with this daily poetry writing idea, & I hope I definitely stick with it to the rest of February, and perhaps beyond, using writing prompts from somewhere else. I have a box of writing prompts hidden away somewhere, and I have plenty of time to find them …

 

So here it is, my poem for this sixth day of February:

 

Finally Healing

 

It hurt so much, you kept it hidden,

your shame at what you’d done,

& knowing doing that was wrong.

 

But talk of ‘love’, was always there –

on radio, tv, movies, ever present,

& ‘love’ was what he’d  claimed …

 

But love in childhood isn’t that,

love for a child is pure & sweet,

what he did to you, wasn’t pure.

 

You held your story close inside,

until clarity & truth arrived at last –

with realisation fault wasn’t yours.

 

The adult, he was to blame for this,

you didn’t do it, it was done to you –

a child – the fault, all of it, was his.

 

He died alone, his crime unknown

except by other victims, perhaps.

& you’re all alive, your secrets told

 

& in telling, finding needed peace,

forgiving yourself, confident now

to tell your truth, & in telling, heal

writing exercise

Second Poem a Day for February

carolyncordon

#PoemADayFeb

Today the theme was to write a poem in the poetic form of ‘Cascade poem’. I hadn’t known or written in this style before, although I have written in somewhat similar forms. With the Cascade Poem, the poet is to repeat the lines in the first stanza of a poem, in a particular manner.

In a four stanza poem, in the particular form, the first line of the first stanza becomes the final line of the second stanza. the second line of the first stanza becomes the final line of the third stanza, and the third line of the first stanza becomes the final line of the fourth stanza.

I’ve written my poem in this form now, and coincidentally, the first prompt for this project, ‘Heat’ could also be considered to be a prompt of the poem I write today. When you read my poem though, that may well explain why I wrote about heat again today … It’s currently 40 degrees celsius in the shade, in my backyard … That’s hot!

So here is my new poem, a ‘Cascade’ poem, I hope you like it, I certainly enjoyed writing it!
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Ironic times

 

It’s the common subject, we’re all talking about it

Record books ripped up, on Mother Nature’s whim

Is this Climate change? Some still deny its truth

 

They say it’s always been like this, summer is hot

With heatwaves a common thing, always has been

It’s the common subject, we’re all talking about it

 

This summer, the year’s first month, the hottest ever

Climate change deniers must surely now believe?

Record books ripped up, on Mother Nature’s whim

 

Air conditioning sucking up our home’s electricity

As Solar power helps combat sun’s sapping heat

Is this Climate change? Some still deny its truth …

Writing, writing exercise

Creative Writing Exercise 1

carolyncordon

This first creative writing exercise is all about finding something to write about. Often when you want or need to write, the best thing for the creative writing won’t pop into your mind, and you can’t write.

I have certainly felt this problem, but these days, I can write about anything at all, because I have trained up in writing using totally random writing prompts.I’ve done this in writing groups, and at home, using given words, and using words I’ve found for myself.

This is what we’re going to do in this creative writing session. You will need something to write on and with (pen and paper, laptop, whatever is best for you). You will also need a timer of some kind, and you will need a book of fiction. :

  • Take up your books, and turn to a random page, or if there are enough pages, turn to page 28.
  • Write down five words from that page, three nouns, a verb, and two adjectives, two  adverbs, or one of each.
  • These are the words you will be working with. Give yourself ten minutes and write a poem, short story, creative non fiction, using your five chosen random words and any other words as needed. Don’t think hard about it, just write.
  • Buzzer goes, time is up, now is the time to look at your amazing new piece of writing!
analog binder blank book
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

This is a simple writing exercise, and it is an amazing way to turn off your inner critic, and just get the words down. I am finding the more I do five word challenges, the better what I write is getting.

I’ve also noticed the same about the writing of other people who do these exercises too. Writing often leads to writing well. And writing in this way, opens up the mind to all kinds of amazing things! The only pressure on the writer is to get words written, quickly, no time to make them lovely, just write. The brain is an incredible tool!