Writing Exercises

Do 100 Leg lifts...

LUNGE! Feel the BURRRRNNN!

Not that type of exercise...Though those are good too. AND can help with the creativities!

In college I majored in Creative Writing. Which was good...and bad. Good because, believe it or not, I've used my creative writing skillZ many many times. I Nailed menu descriptions. I was the go-to gal when people wanted to come up with a great way to describe the new special. I was good with figuring out where descriptions on retail sites needed to be edited. Less is more people. Less is more.

*Bad because, well, yah..."So. What do you have for a degree?" "Well. I have a BA in English. Major in Creative Writing and a Minor in Anthropology. (Long story)." doesn't really get you TOO many jobs...*

Anyway.

The professor I had my last year in college was a HUGE Jack Kerouac fan, and therefore felt everything should be written in stream of consciousness. Hack. Gag. Blech. Lord Kill Me now.

So that's what I'm going to have you do now. HA!

Bear with me...

Because this does help focus you to the POV of your characters.

Sit.

Think of the setting of your story/novel/scene.

Now. Set a timer for a half hour.

Now type until the timer goes off. Simply write description. That's all. Describe your setting. Everything. All the details you can think of.

When the timer goes off, reset it then think of your main character. Now write the same description from the point of view of that character. This isn't as simple as it may sound. You have to take into consideration what your character does.

For example. My mother hates it when I come to visit...because the first thing I do is give her crap about how overwhelmingly full of unused leftovers the fridge is. And the FUN times my dad and I have arguing about how to properly cook a turkey. It seems that since I AM a professionally trained chef he would just bow to my expertise...

Do you see what I'm getting at? Try to see things how your character would see them. And ONLY how your character would see them. Write the same description from their point of view. In their voice.

It's a challenge.

But a good one. And you may discover new things about your main character!

Or your setting...