Exercises?
Sat, 2001-06-23 15:39
#1
Exercises?
Talking in private email to other ABC'ers, it appears that a couple of us are a bit blocked, writing wise. I don't know about everyone else, but doing exercises or challenges can work for me, kind of a kick start thing.
I run a small writers group online, and occasionally we have exercises, which can produce some decent results, and to cut an already long posting short, I was wondering if we could have that kind of thing on ABC? Say, an exercise a week, to possibly get those who like that kind of thing a bit motivated again.
I'm sure Ivory won't mind me mentioning that she has taught creative writing for ages.....maybe she could start us off?
Or could it be a regular thing that goes out with the abc mail?
mandylifeboats
Great idea, count me in - and IFb would be just the one to do it! One difficulty though, she ought to be paid and how would we organise that (do you take Visa, Ivy)?
wolfgirl
Me too.
iFB
all major credit cards accepted ...
Eric
Thanks, iFB. I take it you meant to say:
Write a short piece with the punchline: "All major credit cards accepted."
Andrea
Excellent idea - count me in too.
Sorry though, Fish, I'm broke, you'll have to do it for luurve (at least in my case).
Gabrielle
Would this be stuff like .....write a poem on the subject of...whatever
or write a sonnet.....
or
write a short storu of no ore than 1000 words with an oepning line of
"She' been charry picked before but this time....."
or
an article on
"What I did in the Summer holidays"
etc
etc
etc
?
Yes ..sounds like real diversionary stuff.
Andrea
Liana? Fish? Directions? Please?
Liana
What a shame this didnt come to anything.....enough people liked it.
oh well...
Andrea
Why don't YOU start us off then, Liana?
MLB on hols at the mo, but must be plenty of others (including me!) who wouldn't mind giving it a go...
andrew pack
My best friend at school Pez used to go into every English exam with his story plotted out in advance - it was one about diamond smuggling every year.
And when the paper said, "Write 500 words beginning 'Dennis gripped the handle of the time-machine and pulled it'" Pez would then write 'Johnny Smuggle put down the book, which was awful. Now, where had he left those diamonds ?"
Not sure this is terribly relevant, but I'm on a stream of consciousness kick at the moment.
Liana
Ok....
Well, one thing that sometimes works for me in clearing a block, is to take another poem, written by someone else. Published or non published, then rewrite it. Change words, structure, if it's a sonnet, make it free verse, or AB rhyme. You get the picture.
Eventually, after several rewrites, the poem will be completely different from the original, often even taking on a different subject matter entirely.
Ok, so it's not an exercise, but it may help anyone suffering from a block?
curua
why don't we all try writing different versions of the same poem, and see what happens?
curious
try different writing,
and what happens
why...
poem of versions,
all the same,
don't we see?
c
just a suggestion...
curious
and a good one at that!
not sure if anyone else is interested though.
Liana
Another exercise that a writers group l was on set, was to take a line from a poem, a line that you admire, and write your own poem around it.
Not forgetting to credit the original poet of course.
Anyway, I seem to have beaten the block for the moment.
Maybe the sun did it :o))))
Andrea
Oh dear, what happened to the short? Erm...I don't do poetry.
Help.
Liana
Sorry Andrea...l don't do shorts....:o(((
Have you tried sites like Inkspot for writers exercises? They do shorts as well l think.
Anyone else?