Wednesday, September 23, 2009

What If...

That's the title of a wonderful book of writing exercises that I use at the start of every class (the authors are Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter, two creative writing teachers).

I give the students a creative prompt, and they write for 20 minutes. Then, if they wish, they can share theirs aloud. This seems to be the favorite part of the class for most students. Creativity-on-the-spot, I call it...

So, every now and then, I thought I'd post a prompt here for fun (I sometimes change things up a little from the book and put my own spin on it). If you're experiencing the dreaded writer's block, these exercises can help to jump-start your creativity in just a few minutes. Or, they can sometimes hold the potential seeds for a future story or book.

So, here's one for today: Write a short scene using these 5 words: pyromaniac, tuna sandwich, bowling pen, polyester, infinity.

4 comments:

  1. I only have two books left over from college. What If is one.

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  2. I only have two books left over from college. What If is one.

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  3. Nice idea...that 'creativity-on-the-spot'. You really never know what will come out of that exercise...a newly-discovered student talent, for ex.

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  4. I thought that you were simply writing in whatever came to your mind. Keep it up, keep everyone informed! You're a great writer! we also can help with

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