Very Very Short Story

How about this as a writing exercise?

Write a very short story - a Twitter-short story of only 140 characters.

An example from @VeryShortStory is below.

'The power went out. The elevator stopped. In the dark you told me your fears and cried.  The next day you fired me to keep your secrets safe.'

My next challenge is to write one of my own.  Watch this space.

Free writing

In groups we often start with some free writing. The person leading the session will give a series of words, sometimes linked but often not, and we simply write what comes into our heads. If you can't think of anything, you simply write 'I can't think of anything' until something else comes to mind. I find it is much easier to do when being directed by someone else. At home on my own I hardly ever do it.

Today's exercise is free writing.                                       

Write a page about each of the following topics. Banish all distractions and don't worry that you don't know much about the subjects - write what comes into your mind. It isn't a test and nobody else need ever see it. In fact, you never need to read it back. It is surprising, however, what comes out when you do an exercise like this.

So, one page each on:

• Office furniture
• Marilyn Monroe
• The ozone layer
• Swallows
• Christmas decorations

What surprised you?

Did anything spark a memory that you had forgotten about?

Did you get any ideas for a longer piece of work?

Can you make any connections between the five subjects?

Now that you have 'loosened up', is it time to start on some serious writing?

The sounds around us

Writing exercise 23.10.12

I am going to try to do a writing exercise every day.  Here is today's adapted from The Creative Writing Coursebook.

• Write down 5 things you can hear right now.
• List what you associate with those sounds.

Examples:
- a car engine might remind you of being driven to school
- the door slamming might remind you of family arguments
- a dripping tap might remind you of your student days


In a group, this exercise is really interesting as people tend to hear the same things and interpret them differently. It demonstrates the variety of ways in which people relate to and react to the world around them.

Try it on your own. Look at the words you chose to use and look at your associations.
This is YOUR language.
These are YOUR stories.

Ask yourself -

•  is this YOUR unique writing voice?
• are you using cliches, and if so, is there something more original you could say?

Please, try it and let me know how you get on.


I'm going to do this writing exercise right now.

The Full Manuscript

Hello everyone

Since last time we spoke, an agent asked to see my full manuscript.  How happy I was! 

Three weeks later she said it wasn't for her.  How sad I was!

I am currently deciding what to do next. A friend at Mungrisdale Writers has self-published. Her book is called Learning to Tie a Bow by Sarah Hampton. Should I do the same?

What do you all think?

Bel x