Exercises to get you writing: 10 ideas

In today's blog, we look at 10 ideas to get you writing. Once you've completed the exercise, look at how you can turn it into a story:

1) Choices: Think back to a major decision you made, and consider how your life would be different if you had made another choice. Now, turn that into a story where your character faces an important decision. 

2) Write a letter to your younger self: what would you say? What advice would you give. Now write a story that starts: If only I had known...

3) Six word story. Hemmingway is said to have written this 6 word story: 'For sale. Baby shoes. Never used.' @WriterlyTweets on Twitter posts a new prompt every day. Today's prompt is: In SIX WORDS or fewer, write a story about a time traveler. Read through the replies to get a flavour of the stories.  There are also a number of other threads with prompts - search for #sixwordstory. It's a great exercise that forces you to chose your words carefully. 

4) Describe the favourite room of your main character, in a way that gives us a glimpse into their personality. 'The only picture on the walls was a geometric print, it's red slashes reflected in the glass desktop. The desk stood empty, except for a closed laptop, positioned perfectly in the centre of the room. One wall was lined by bookshelves, spines upright like soldiers on parade, ordered by size and colour.' What happens in that room? 

5) Write a story that only uses dialogue. Think about an overheard conversation on a bus, or a misunderstanding. Now write about it.

6) Search for up coming writing competitions: see if there are any with a theme that grabs your imagination, and write a story that could be an entry. If you're happy with it, then be bold enough to submit your entry. I like the Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity blog for markets and lists of competitions. 

7) Shakespeare famously used the weather to reflect the action in his play: in Macbeth, he uses the weather to create a dark, moody atmosphere. Now write a story where what happens is at odds with the weather. A funeral on a sunny day; rain on a wedding day.

8) Use creative writing prompts. We've been running a series of them, but a quick internet search will find hundreds. Writer's Digest is a good place to start.

9) Think about an interesting story or joke that someone told you at work, or at a party. Now, write it as a story, but make sure that the original characters are unidentifiable. 

10) Think about something you would love to do or have - go on a world trip, buy an amazing house or boat. Now write about how someone actually managed to achieve this dream.

I hope these help you. Happy Writing.