Today’s writing exercise is really more one of the creative writing ideas, since it doesn’t involve much writing, but rather a lot of imagining and thinking.
Sit comfortably for a few minutes, breathing evenly until your mind is clear (just let thoughts pass through, but do not try and hold on to any one of them). After a few minutes get up and walk out of the room. Once you are outside the room turn and walk back in. Stop. Now try and picture yourself, how you look entering the room. Try to see the details, try to imagine what the people that might see you enter the room can know about you from your appearance, the way you entered the room, the way you are standing there. In other words, try to describe yourself as you stand there on the landing.
This exercise will help you learn the skill of being able to clearly describe people and their actions so that your readers will be better able to imagine what you are writing about.
After a few attempts with this exercises, say in a few weeks, try elaborating on it. Instead of doing something and seeing what it looks like, just sit back comfortably and imagine yourself doing something like brushing your hair, preparing lunch, sewing or whatever else you can think of. See yourself doing it and then describe it to yourself in all detail, leave nothing out.
This exercise is especially useful for those of us who have trouble with concrete and telling descriptions in our writings.
Adapted from:
Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande
Which is, by the way, an excellent source or creative writing advice and no writer should be without a copy.
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Excellent ideas to kick-start a latent writing talent!
Glad you like the blog!
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