Resources for Stimulating Free Writing Exercises

Easy Everyday Exercises to Help Develop Writing Skills

Sep 28, 2008

Photos Can Provide good Ideas for Writing , Becky Coffield

Writing well takes time and practice, but coming up with ideas every day to write about can be difficult. Good writing exercises though are closer than you think.

Many serious minded writers write every single day for a specified number of pages, or for an allotted amount of time. Others write in fits and starts with solitary words isolated on the lonely page. Often good intentions to write daily are derailed simply because of a perceived lack of topics to write about.

Struggling with Writing

Despite your love for writing, you may find that for days at a time you don’t have an original thought go through your head. It can be discouraging. No matter how hard you stare at the wall or out the window, only mundane ideas dance through your consciousness. You hold the pen and attack your journal with determination to write nonstop for fifteen minutes, only to find yourself writing the same word over and over and over. You try to write stream-of-consciousness and pray that no one ever discovers your notebook of drivel.

Writing Resources

There are a number of writing books available; some are quite helpful, while others offer a sad list of boring assignments. Writing from the Heart, by Leslea Newman, is the rare exception to this mundane collection of writing goulash. Newman does a great job of giving stimulating topics and excellent examples to help spur creativity.

There are, however, a plethora of ideas for topics all around you. Don’t discount something as simple as the daily newspaper as a source for ideas. For example:

Take any headline and write your own news account. The account can be based on your current knowledge, or completely fabricated
Answer Dear Abby’s letters
Rewrite the dialogue in the comic strips
Write book or movie reviews, whether or not you’ve read or seen them.
Car reviews are good too, as is any product review. You don’t actually need to know what you’re talking about!
Write an account of a journey (imaginary or real) for the travel section
Make up ads and ad copy
Pen a letter to the editor, or write a scathing editorial
Compose imaginary want ads for jobs, houses, pets, or a spouse or companion.
Practice penning an obituary or two

A magazine works well for these activities also.

Everyday Objects for Writing Topics

Besides these two resources, another great way to get ideas for your writing exercises is to simply choose an object in your room and then write as though you were that object sitting on the shelf, or lying on the floor. Write in first person what that object might be feeling or thinking. You can go through your entire household doing this. Some people say they develop a sense of intuition, even empathy, for objects and their feelings.

The phone book can be a wonderful resource. Pick a name at random and write a monologue in first person as though you are that person. The Yellow Pages can also provide a great deal of fodder for your writing.

And don’t forget the dictionary. Simply pick a word at random, preferably one you don’t already know, read the definition and then use that word as a springboard for your writing.

Photos are excellent for stimulating writing.

Don't Get Discouraged

Daily writing may not be for you. That doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful writer. But if boredom is keeping you from your goal of writing every day, try some of these activities to see if they don’t add some life to your free writing and journaling time.

Don't get discouraged. Writing can be work; good writing usually is. .

The copyright of the article Resources for Stimulating Free Writing Exercises in Writing Techniques is owned by R.L. Coffield. Permission to republish Resources for Stimulating Free Writing Exercises in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.