26. ess, ckl, ock
Sellers, S. (1991) Taking Reality by Surprise: Writing for pleasure and publication. London: The Women’s Press Limited
I had not looked at this for a long time, but Andrew Cowan refers to it quite often, in his book The Art of Writing Fiction, and so I had another look at it. I have used this in the past and when I returned to it remembered that it contains a really good variety of ideas because it is a collection of short chapters written by writers and workshop leaders. It is the kind of book that you can dip into and find just the right idea for your next session!
ess, ckl, ock:
Here's an exercise from Michele Roberts;
Aim: to have fun with sounds.
Method
1. Find three language sounds that particularly give you pleasure at the moment and write them down, e.g. ess, ckl, ock.
2. Embody the sounds in as many words as you feel like, e.g. reckless, abbess, confess, tackle, suckle, buckle, frock, mock, block, etc.
3. Write three or four sentences using all the words.
Note: what you end up with is a short, surreal narrative full of wonderful sounds that demonstrate the play of the unconscious.
27. No adverbs
Smith, A. G. (2005) Inspired Creative Writing Secrets of the master wordsmiths. Oxford: The Infinite Ideas Company Limited.
‘52 brilliant ideas,’ it declares on its cover, ‘one good idea can change your life.’ I think there are probably well over 52 ideas in this book, because each of its snappy chapters contains several. The book is presented in chunks defined by different fonts, frames, photographs, drawings. I haven’t used many of the brilliant ideas but they are all interesting and cover recognisable territory. Try this one:
…Write a short story or scene using no adverbs or qualifiers and only one well-placed adjective and see what the effect is.
28. Non-Linear Life
Smith, K. (2008) How to be an Explorer of the World. London: Penguin Books.
Keri Smith has written any number of titles which, in general, are aimed more at visual artists than writers. However, her main invitation is to look, to use your imagination, to see the world in different ways. This title is filled with drawings, photographs, observations and provocations written in upper case handwriting and spaces for drawing, writing and collecting found materials. I especially like the book when I am planning an outdoor or ambulant workshop. Other titles include The Pocket Scavenger and Wreck this Book. You get the idea. You could try this:
Non-linear Life.
Document your activities from one day/week/month/year in an encyclopaedic fashion.
29. Name Game
Stillman, P. (1989) Families Writing. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books.
We are pleased to see that this book is still in print, in a second edition. It is designed for use by families and is, therefore, great for parent-child workshops. It also has plenty of ideas that we have used very successfully with adult writers and that can be easily translated to the classroom. This is where the ever popular floor plan exercise originated.
The Name Game
At least three or four notches up the scale from pure silliness, this activity involves any number of participants [though it is possible to play alone, Ed.] each of whom invents a name for a profession/occupation/hobby. The names are to be utterly preposterous, e.g. Upsidarian, Leaventhropist, Gristtikttbidian, Olamdumprologist, etc. Names are either drawn or distributed, and each participant then writes a complete description of his or her moniker, including, for example, information on the history of the profession, its most famous practitioners, how a person becomes one, and why any person in his/her right mind would want to. Also included is a phonetic spelling out of the term. Participants should additionally be expected to answer the many questions that the curious will raise about being whatever it is you are at the moment. (if you think this doesn’t have any language learning significance, think again.)
30. Tiny things
The San Francisco Writers’ Grotto (2014) 642 Tiny Things to Write About. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
This is a tiny, fat book full of prompts for writing and small spaces where you may write your responses. It is one of those books that you might find in a fancy bookshop, next to the fancy journals. It does exactly what the title says and is really handy for a quick writing prompt if you are in search of one.
How about: ‘What’s in your thought bubble right now?’ or
‘The name of the café where they first met.’ or
‘Your dad’s in a rock band. What is it called?’
31. Write badly
Wood, M. (2001) The Pocket Muse: ideas and inspiration for writing. Cincinnati: Writers Digest Books.
This pocket-sized book is filled with photographs, horoscopes, and prompts to write and organise your writing life. Try these:
Write Badly:
‘Use the following verbs in any way you wish: racket snug green spoon boggle snake.’
‘You have to be willing to write badly.’
‘A character arrives at work to find her chair missing. What happened to it?’
And there you have it… 31 more writing prompts to get you, children, or anyone else through March (or indeed any month you wish). Tag us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with your writing and with how you’ve responded to the prompts. Which ones challenged you? Which ones did you modify? Talking about Writing and talking about the processes of Writing are what we’re all about as the National Writing Project aims to break down barriers and help adults to inspire each other, as well as their learners, into writing without worry. You can also use the ‘Groups’ tab at the top of the page (in the main = menu if viewing on mobile) to find out about local NWP groups, or contact us directly for more information.