Category: Writing exercises

Writing exercise: flight of the hummingbird

05/18/2011

Flight of the hummingbird

Hummingbirds are the fairies of the bird world. So tiny and fast, flitting from flower to flower. These mini birds fly up to 45 to 60 miles per hour and their wings beat up to 78 times per second all from a diet rich in sugar.

When was the last time you saw a hummingbird? How did you react? Did you stop to watch or did a smile appear on your face? Do you remember how the sun was reflecting off the feathers or did certain colors stand out?

What impresses you most about hummingbirds? Their speed, their size, or the brilliant iridescent coloring of their feathers?

What if you could sustain such grace and speed on a diet of sugar? How would your life change?

Spend 10 minutes writing about hummingbirds, it can be whatever you want. What do you like about them? What do you do when you see a hummingbird? What would it be like to be so small? Have fun with it, exercise your mind and your creativity.

Writing exercise: pelicans flying

04/25/2011

Pelicans flying in formation

Start those words flowing by taking some time to fly with California brown pelicans. Imagine what it’s like to be a brown pelican living off the coast of southern California. What challenges would you face; what’s it like living near so many people?

Pelicans are roosting birds, which means at night they fly back towards land and find a nice rock to rest on. This means they are never very far from land. During the day do you spend time thinking about finding that perfect fish lunch; do you worry about plunge diving too fast and hitting the water at the wrong angle? At night do you dream of being the fastest pelican while sleeping on your favorite rock?

Spend 10 minutes having fun describing what it would be like to be a pelican. Let your imagination soar.

Great book for inspired writing

04/13/2011

Great book for writing exercises

Don’t know what to write? Are you stuck staring at a blank page? Then it’s time to get the book “Old Friend from Far Away” by Natalie Goldberg.

This book is a lifesaver when writer’s block strikes. Goldberg provides great advice to writers and also tons of writing exercises to get you started. The exercises are awesome. There’s everything from describing mashed potatoes to writing about the first time you slept outside.

I highly recommend this book for people working on personal essays too. The book focuses on memoir writing, which is the perfect segue into a personal essay. By flipping through this book you may just come across the question that triggers your brain into the “ah ha” moment when the perfect topic is revealed.

And if you don’t like the first writing exercise you come across then keep searching, there are so many you’re bound to find one that works.

Writing exercise: ocean blue

03/03/2011

Ocean blue

This writing exercise will help hone your descriptive abilities. Describing something without a visual can be really tough, but writers have to do this all the time.

How would you describe the color blue in this photo to someone? This is a photo of the ocean’s surface near Catalina Island, not far from Los Angeles.

But saying “ocean blue” just doesn’t do it justice. Notice the lighting, the shades of blue. What is this blue like?

Be creative! Spend 10 minutes writing what comes to mind. Remember there is no write or wrong when it comes to descriptions, just what works. (pun intended)

Writing exercise: describing sand

02/24/2011

Sand

Sometimes when you’re stuck on a writing project it helps to switch gears completely. Here’s a little inspiration to help you do just that.

Open up a blank document and write whatever comes to mind looking at the adjacent photo. Maybe you want to write about the patterns, what they remind you of or what they look like.

If that’s not inspiring, then write about your most vivid memory involving sand. Describe the scene, what happened and who else was there.

Be bold, there are no rules. Write down whatever your mind conjures whether the photo reminds you of your last trip to the beach or getting sand stuck in your swimsuit.

Keep writing for 10 minutes or until a bold idea strikes you for your writing project, which ever happens first.