EXERCISE: Five Short Writing Assignments

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting 5 April 2012

Writer's Digest, December 1990, pages 24, 26 and 27, have an article by Thomas Clark with the title, "How to Get Started As a Writer." I'm going to skip lightly by his advice to set aside an area where you can write, act like a writer, collect the tools a writer needs, read them, put words on paper, write every day, decide what type of writer you want to be, think small, put your work in the mail, and expect to be rejected. But he also included five short writing assignments that I thought you might want to try.

A character sketch. Write a few pages about a character you'd like to use in a short story or novel. Who is this person? What does she want from life? Who is keeping her from it? What does she look like? How does she spend her days? Write until you feel you've known this person for years.

An overheard conversation. Eavesdrop on a conversation at the office, in the grocery, or at the health club, then come home and recreate it on paper. Write until the dialogue reads like people talk.

A probing journal entry. Use your private book to explore an ethical dilemma, ponder a philosophical gray area, or justify a questionable action. Dig deep and stretch your ability to translate thoughts into words.

A letter to an out-of-town relative. Describe something or someone the relative has never seen -- a new house, for instance, or a newborn child. Offer as complete a portrait as you can.

A rewritten scene. Pick a section from a book you thought was poorly written and rewrite it. Change whatever you want to create an improved version that still serves the book's overall purpose.

There you go. Character, dialogue, idea, description, or scene. Take your pick, and write!