Best Creative Writing Exercises (PHOTOS)

Writers block, oh, writers block ...please go away!

Even though it's the bane of all writers' existence, there are a bevy of ways to bypass the darn thing. From writing prompts to writing exercises, there are thousands of ways to get the creative juices flowing.

Here are just a few of our favorites. Trust us, they work! Try them out and report back. Let us know how they go. Please also let us know what your favorite writing exercises are in the comment sections below.

1 of 9

7x7x7x7

1 of 10

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Grab the 7th book from your bookshelf. Open it up to page 7. Pinpoint the 7th sentence on the page. Begin a poem that begins with that sentence and limit it in length to 7 lines.

10 American Heroes You Didn't Know About

The Origins Of 7 Popular Slang Words

The 10 Most Common Phobias (PHOTOS)

14 Ambitious Amateurs Who Made It Big (PHOTOS)

7 Things You Need To Know Before You Get Married

Processed Food: 9 Nasty Truths About The Meals You Eat (PHOTOS)

Grab the 7th book from your bookshelf. Open it up to page 7. Pinpoint the 7th sentence on the page. Begin a poem that begins with that sentence and limit it in length to 7 lines.

comments(13)

Total comments: 13 | Post a Comment

1 of 10

This Exercise

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Boring Great!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Writing Exercises

loading...

Top 5 Writing Exercises

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[I AM AN EXIT]

03:07 PM on 01/12/2011

I like to use SPAM mail that has weird sentences or phrases in the subject line. I used to get them in an old account, and now I can't find them anymore. When you need junk mail, you just can't get it.

[shenanigans8]

07:02 PM on 01/11/2011

Unless you re-arrange your bookshelf often, this trick will only work once.

[ChavezMayus]

04:07 PM on 01/11/2011

This is a very good way to start writing!!! For kids it is easy to express what they perceibe, our task as teachers is motivate them to do it, and help them to print their thoughts and feelings!

[joefoss]

03:29 PM on 01/11/2011

"Writer's Block" is God's way of telling us we've run out of things to say.
The only question: Is the condition temporary or permanent?
=Recommendations:
1--STOP writing (or trying to)
2--MOVE/Get active: travel; go to a movie or play; drink too much wine, preferably with a friend;
exercise--e.g, don't write about a bike ride, take one!
3--RESIST the urge to "try again" for as long as you can; don't sit down at the word processor
until you feel your head will explode unless you get your thoughts out.
Good luck!

[Mahi Joe]

09:30 AM on 01/11/2011

Just write what you feel and pray that you have a good editor.

[O K Ali]

09:05 PM on 01/10/2011

One trick I learned from riding the bus has worked for me on many occasions. I'd eavesdrop on a conversation. Be it the two high schoolers in front of me or the loudmouth on the cell phone. From those snippets of chatter, I'd wrap a whole story around it.

[jluvsys]

03:56 PM on 01/10/2011

These exercises would GIVE me writers block! To me they would just tighten you up
even more. Rules and limitations are NOT what you need when you're blocked.

[eric14]

02:51 PM on 01/10/2011

These look like exercises for teenagers or younger. I once asked a group to write a what I did though the summer piece. One student wrote about participation in an attempted coup in Sudan that ended in a debacle. His closing paragraphs were devoted to how he and his brother drove madly though the streets of Khartoum being chased by soldiers firing at them

Another student from Eritrea wrote about a night attack upon an Ethiopian border stronghold.

Another, a member of Polisario, wrote of a desert fire-fight with Moroccan forces.

So, instead of sharing with the group, I changed the subject to writing about advertisements, got a couple of Palestinian and Egyptian gals out the front to brush each others' hair like they did in an advert. Everyone went nuts.

[Cathy M Rubin]

12:37 PM on 01/10/2011

Write about something you have personally experienced. Works every single time for me and for so many of my famous writer/illustrator buddies like this one whose story is so beautiful - it inspired me R Gregory Christie The Gift of My Roots http://cmrubinworld.tumblr.com/

[ibflyin27]

11:36 AM on 01/10/2011

I like the 7x7x7x7...I'll have to try that one.

A couple years back I actually wrote a poem about having a case of writers block that I couldn't break. It turned out to be one of my favorite pieces and broke the spell. When I started hanging out with more poets I found that most poets have written a piece about their writers block too, and they're always some of my favorites.

[Patricia Benesh]

11:25 AM on 01/10/2011

A few other ideas for breaking writer's block--related specifically to your book:

1. Loosen your standards
2. Use the buddy system
3. Research other material

These are 3 of 10 ideas discussed for breaking writer's block from the blog
http://authorassist.com/wordpress/?p=342

[DanielAdler]

10:36 AM on 01/10/2011

write about your neighborhood: http://www.brooklyntrends.com/

[nightingale801]

09:52 AM on 01/10/2011

Aw, excellent & useful writing exercises! ♥Thank you for sharing♥