polishing+your+writing

Try these exercises to improve your creative writing

1) Take a boring, horrible or fabulous piece of your writing. It doesn't need to be long, just writing. Go through it and look for non-descript (ordinary) words, such as 'nice', 'beautiful' and 'wonderful'. List these words, and detail what they are actually supposed to be describing. A nice outfit - Nice means as many things as there are people! Does nice mean green or blue? Cotton or polyester? A skirt or pants? Matching or eclectic? A beautiful day - Some folks like rain, some love the sun. Are there clouds? Is it morning or evening? Is it a day to lounge at home or go out and socialize? What constitutes a beautiful day? Beauty? What's that? You can see by these examples that non-descript words rob your writing of what makes it unique - you! Use words that describe exactly what you mean.

2) This is good practise for using metaphors. On the left side of the page, list tangible nouns (nouns you can actually see or touch) e.g. ocean, flood, steam shovel, cup, spoon. On the right side of the page, list intangible nouns (things that you can't see or touch) e.g. respect, desire, hunger, flight, fear. Next combine them in a phrase like this: ''an ocean of respect', a spoonful of fear'. Let yourself get carried away with this, and you will come up with some very powerful images.

3) Open up a dictionary. Choose a word and write about it for 5 minutes, non-stop. Choose another word and do the same. Choose a third and write for 5 more minutes. Although you have three different words, there may be a common thread running through them. Look for it. See if you can use it in your writing. If a thread is not there, try and connect these three separate pieces of writing.

4) Make a list about something. Choose something ordinary and make a list of things about it. Do it off the top of your head, taking just 5 minutes or so. Now read it. You will feel a rhythm to it after a few lines, and it will sound poetic. If you make a list about a sunny day or love or flowers, you may have a sweet poem when you're done.

5) Find a picture in a magazine. Make sure it interests you. Look this picture over carefully for just a minute and write about it for at least 5 minutes. Describe the detail, the light, the main thing the picture is about. Are there people? What are they thinking? How did they get there? Who are they? You could do the traditional 'Who What When Where Why' routine. You'll be surprised at how much you can see in a picture when you have to!