creative writing exercises

creative writing exercises

Enhancing Creativity through Writing Exercises

1. The Importance of Creative Writing Exercises

When I ask my students whether they like to write, they usually groan and complain. They see writing as boring, painful, and something done only for school. They do not see what a useful and practical tool writing can be. As far as in-class activities, writing is generally less popular than text worksheets and speaking. Many students, however, may not realize it can be a useful and interesting skill to develop. High School Creative Writing Exercises – something that breaks the monotony of daily writing that students may actually want to do. These tasks need not be complex. Too often creative writing exercises become a chore, reducing the value of the activity as well as its fun and excitement. Considering the importance of writing as a tool for learning, it is not surprising that there are so many ways to use writing in lessons. An article about an experiment to improve writing in middle school by Michael Roi, a research date from the year 1983, on the ERIC database offers some interesting finds. The experimenters conducted a control group and a group that made use of the expressive writing strategy. They instructed the strategy group to write about their feelings and thoughts of changing schools. The results are a clear support of how much writing can affect the ability to learn. “The analysis” indicates that students who participated in the expressive writing treatment showed a significant increase in self-exploration and acceptance of others. An increase in writing score from the pretest to the third test was also obtained.

2. Exploring Different Writing Styles and Genres

Understanding and use of different genres and styles in writing significantly influence the level of creativity. Every writer has a favorite genre that they compose with great pleasure and eagerness, but there are also moments where the ideas are scarce and the writer is forced to stop. This situation sometimes can halt our creativity because we can only find inspiration in the genre. Trying a different genre will offer a new experience to the writer. For example, a writer who prefers poetry was challenged to write a short story about his life as an assignment. He will be forced to write a story and in the process, he may find unexpected ideas or even inspiration for writing the poem. Short stories and essays have more opportunities for the author to explore different themes as opposed to poetry, and the language used in the story may be used as the basis to write a poem. By writing a story, this will open new possibilities in writing poetry with the new themes and language style. An essay on a personal experience can also be used as a basis for writing poetry and reflection. The experience of writing different genres will expand the means to express ideas and creativity in writing. In writing, language and style are two different entities that are often combined. Language, as the choice of words used in the writing, can enhance creativity if the writer tries to use different language for a change. For example, writing a story with old English or fantasy language for the story genre that usually uses informal modern language. This can serve as a language exercise, but be careful not to mix it with style imitation. The result should be a story written in a different language style, not a story imitating a story from a different genre, although trying style imitation can also be an interesting language exercise. Language exercises are very useful for creative writing and can be used to overcome writer’s block because the constraint will actually force the writer to find a new way to express their ideas. Sometimes the fact that they cannot write something that they have in mind inhibits creativity, and writing it with different language styles may actually give new ideas for the future writing of the same thing.

3. Stimulating Imagination and Overcoming Writer’s Block

A more pleasant way of overcoming writer’s block is to take a break from your current project and write something else. It may be a poem, short story, or journal, anything that is different from your previous writing. Focusing on a different aspect of writing can reignite creative energy and bring enthusiasm back to your other work. This method was suggested by Julia Cameron in her popular self-help book The Artist’s Way, which deals with many issues of creativity and psychology. Cameron has many methods for stimulating the imagination, one of which is the artist’s date. This is a once-weekly “assigned time and a date” where the artist must do something fun or eventful by themselves, such as visiting an interesting location. After the little adventure, the artist reflects on how it made them feel and how it can be used positively in writing.

Writer’s block is often caused by stalling over a difficult passage, or having the wrong mindset during a certain phase of the writing process. Perhaps the most dramatic way of circumventing this problem is to go on a weeklong intensive writing binge, where the objective is to write 30 double spaced pages at all costs. “The only way out is through, the only way through is to do,” says author and screenwriter Roger Simon. This “literary laxative” has proved effective for some writers, however in the long run this method is generally neither productive nor enjoyable.

Sooner or later, everyone experiences writer’s block. It is utterly frustrating to be unable to produce words. There are many ways of stimulating the imagination and overcoming writer’s block. The key to all of these methods is to “think differently.”

4. Developing Strong Characters and Engaging Plots

Writing realistic and deep characters provides the double benefit of provoking a reaction in the reader and also having a lasting personality which may prove useful in writing a sequel. One method to build a character is writing a character sketch, which is an outline of the character with regard to their personality, physical description, and history. The author should know their characters through and through, and often it is beneficial to compile a list of character traits to help decide on the character’s temperament. Human nature is very complex, and it is very easy to fall into the trap of writing a character as you perceive people in real life. Character interactions may be a reflection or even a direct copy of a situation you have experienced. This may not always extract the full potential of a character meeting, so throw a spanner in the works. Make one character unpredictable and have the other react with genuine surprise. Show conversation between a person of honesty and one who is deceitful and document how the characters’ feelings towards each other change. A simple method to building character relations over time is by jotting down notes regarding the events of each interaction and considering how one event will affect future meetings. Ever present when writing character interaction is the thought of ‘showing’ rather than ‘telling’. Often in a role-play environment or when reading the work to substitute people we use as an audience, it is tempting to go off the basis of a script and just explain briefly what happens between characters. Imagine the possibility of having the work read by an outside source, someone who has no clue of the events you are writing, and most likely they are reading to find out. Telling someone to read between two points and gathering their opinion is an effective tool to analyze how much someone is grasping the script of the situation.

5. Sharing and Receiving Feedback for Growth

A useful way to approach the redrafting process is to initially put the work out of sight for a period and then attempt to write the piece again from memory. After this exercise, compare the two versions and make a note of any areas which differ. Then give both versions to a reader and ask them to identify where they feel the second version is better and where there are aspects of the first draft which should be retained. This approach utilizes memory to identify the most developed ideas and can help to clarify the underlying intent of the work.

The most important aspect of sharing work with others is finding the best people to give you feedback and the most useful way to approach the process. You need to develop a level of trust with those who are giving you feedback, so that they understand the nature of the work and what you are trying to achieve. This may involve discussing the work in great detail before they read it. Clarify what areas you feel are the weakest and which you are most concerned about. Let the person reading the work know that their primary objective is to give feedback. This means they must resist the urge to correct errors, as it is more important for you to identify where problems exist and make the corrections yourself.

When you receive feedback on your work, the process should ideally benefit both you and the person giving feedback. While it can show you where your writing has not resolved color successfully, it can also show you where your critique skills need sharpening. Try to see feedback as a form of collaboration. It can help all parties to deepen their artistic understanding. Offering your own feedback to your peers can actually be like a practice exercise, for it requires you to break down and analyze their work, which in turn can increase your understanding of written techniques and forms. Sharing work at an early stage can also effectively break the isolation of the solitary writer and aid the development of a supportive creative community.