The Problem with Writing Exercises

They're all meant for children.

I kid you not. Go ahead. Google "writing exercises" right now and see what pops up. An overwhelming majority are for elementary level children. It's "write/ describe this photo," "observe a specific body part/ time of day/ emotion," "write about a memory," "eavesdrop a conversation and write about it." When they aren't outright childish, then they're repetitive. I keep finding the same exercises over and over again. "Write an obituary," "write a diary entry," "make a mind map," "write about your earliest memory." Sound familiar?

It's not like they don't work or anything; I do Invisible Cities all the freaking time and never get tired of it. It would just be nice to have some variety. I don't want to write obituaries and memories from preschool dammit!

So, here's a list of writing exercises I actually enjoy, for my fellow writers :3

Invisible Cities

Example.

I talk about and use this one the most, so I may as well explain it first. "Invisible Cities" is a book by Italio Calvino in which Marco Polo narrates his adventures to Kubli Khan. I've never read it, it's at the top of my reading list, and it's currently $14 at the nearest Barnes and Noble. The point of the exercise though, is to write a city using as much detail as humanly possible.

I tend to make my cities rather out of the box such as finding a city of ice in the middle of the desert or a city made of cardboard, but using a "real" city is just fine. The point is more about detail and crafting a unique sense of place and about seeing place in a unique way. Though I've never read the original book, I have read excerts, and one of my favorites is a city of pipes. That's literally it - a maze of pipework, like only the plumbing contractors showed up for work that day. It's fantastic <3
 

The Things They Carried

Example.


I guess my personal faves come from books, because this is another one I haven't read ^^; This exercise is all about defining a character by their possessions. The original book takes place during war, where possessions are few (and thus take on greater significance).

This is one of those I keep meaning to do more of because I really love it, but never quite get around to it. I really like the idea of defining a character by everything except what they say and do. I'd like to try describing a set of rooms for a specific character one day.


Word Limits

I've done a lot of these - not much elaboration needed here.

The thing about putting yourself on a limit isn't necessarily that it provides a challenge (though that is part of it). It's that it forces you to be selective. I feel like you can extract more meaning when you have to be that careful with your sentences. It's why six word stories are so profound when well done.

I also find they're good for extracting the basics of a larger story. I have an impressive stash of ideas I can draw from whenever I feel dry. Flash fic is my bread and butter <3

Wiki Everything

This isn't an exercise so much as a process of mine. Many of my favorite pieces were sparked off by a page from Wikipedia. I apprecaite accuracy in my writing (and in others =P) and anything with a lot of terminology I can turn into a metaphor is fair game. The various branches of science are especially apt for this and lend a kind of geeky style to some pieces. I've come to really enjoy integrating the terminology with romance, though one day I should probably try my hand at Science Fiction XD

-EDIT-

This has nothing to do with anything, but I found it on Memebase yesterday and thought is was the coolest thing ever. Check it out:

Will I use it to write something at some point? Probably not =P Just wanted to share a neat trick.