“Creative Writing Exercises for Inspiration” explored some exercise ideas for writers who need a jump start on their writing. This article offers more ideas.
Creative writers usually have the desire to write, but sometimes they just can’t come up with ideas to get started. Here are some exercises that can help. Maybe one of these ideas will lead to a writer's next short story or play.
A writer should try an exercise that seems inspiring to him, and then write on the particular idea for at least ten to fifteen minutes. If, after that time, a writer doesn't feel inspired, then he might try a different exercise.
Newspaper Headlines Can be Inspiring
Sometimes writers can find inspiration simply by looking at the headlines of the day. As most writers know, "truth is stranger than fiction." Very often, though, truth can help a creative writer out of a slump. For example, if a writer sees a headline that reads, "Escaped Inmate Spotted in Local Restaurant," he might consider writing a story about an escaped prisoner who was seen in a restaurant and why the inmate was there in the first place. He could set a one-act play inside the restaurant or begin a story with an inmate who, after he escaped, wanted a meal from a specific restaurant so badly that he risked getting caught.
Obviously, a writer will want to scour the headlines to find something that stimulates his creativity.
Put a Character in Another World for Creative Inspiration
A writer can take a character from a story or book he is working on and put that character in another book. Sometimes, just taking one's beloved character and putting her in another time, location, or setting will help the creative juices start flowing.
For example, try putting a character in a setting like Dune or Gone With the Wind. How would one's character react to an alien world or the South during the Civil War? How would one's character behave when receiving advice from Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Can any of these revelations translate into the work one is doing at the present?
Observations Can Inspire a Writer
Writers are very often people watchers and listeners, and observing people can sometimes be one of the best ways to start writing. A writer can sit down somewhere-on a park bench, at a small table in a crowded restaurant, sitting in the top row of the bleachers at a high school basketball game-and simply begin watching people. The writer should start by just jotting down what he sees, hears, and smells, describing everything in as much detail as possible.
What, if anything, from these sessions can be used in one's work? Are there big scenes that can be incorporated into one's next short story? Is there a particularly evocative image that will work in a poem? Are there elements that will make the writer's characters in his next play more credible?
Inspiration for Writing Creatively
The desire to write can hit a writer at any time, but sometimes she is left wondering what to write. Oftentimes all she needs is a little inspiration, and exercises like these can help. When a writer finds an exercise that is particularly helpful, she should continue to use it again and again.
Related articles:
Creative Writing Exercises to Inspire: When a Writer Has the Desire to Write but No Ideas
Creative Writing-Revision Matters: Techniques to Polish a Novel or Short Story
