5 short exercises
You may not be able to write a novel tomorrow. But creativity is part of almost every life today. Here are 7 short exercises to help you learn to write creatively.
And one more warning: this only makes sense if you do it! You will probably scroll through this page and think that one or the other exercise is quite funny or clever and that you should definitely do it.
By the way, "creative writing" is not the same as "good writing" or having a good writing style. Of course, if you write a lot (and you will if you practice here), your style will also refine. But that has nothing to do with creativity at first.
1. Practice, practice practice (21 times)
The top-writers in the It is said that such a habit is formed after about three weeks. So if you can manage to spend maybe ten minutes a day on a writing exercise for 21 days in a row, you're safe.
The tip of the top writers from paper review is to try to do it at the same time every day and declare that a discussion-free zone. There is NO reason why you can't have those ten minutes every day. NO 21st-century person's daily schedule does not allow for that. Because you can write on paper, on your phone, or your computer. It doesn't matter! Any excuse is pure self-foolery!
2. Take away all words you don't need
If the word "however" is in a text, it can make sense - but it usually doesn't. That's why I would like to have a word processor that marks such words for me. You can do this online, for example, with the filler word test from Schreiblabor. The only disadvantage is that I can't write in it. Therefore I would need such a function in Ulysses - with which I write my texts.
Anyway: You can also train yourself mentally to check all unnecessary words again during an editing process. Because the rule is: short sentences and short words are more understandable than long sentences and long words. These cannot always be avoided - but should be used selectively.
So: Check each of your texts once again for unnecessary words before publishing. And, I know: You'll find a lot of them here - maybe it's a good exercise to start now and with this?
2. Write like you speak - only better
Many blogs and texts written by inexperienced authors sound stilted. That's no wonder: They think that written language is something artificial and elaborate. But it isn't.
In fact, essayshark writers recommend writing the way we speak. Only better: we do without all ahs and ohs when writing, we are allowed to be less redundant (i.e. we do not have to repeat every piece of information several times) and we demand a little more attention from the reader.
But why should the choice of words be any different? Why should we use phrases that have long since been trotted out instead of fresh spoken language?
Try this: record your thoughts by cell phone and then listen to yourself for a bit. Maybe you'll find your voice that way and it will be a little more fluent.
4. Metaphors, metaphors, metaphors
A good (!) comparison is the supreme discipline of "showing". Learn more about why metaphor matters to value and improve your writing language. I don't know how you felt about my metaphor above with the shotgun and the precision rifles - but as a rule, I can explain the difference between describing and showing quite well with it.
But first, the unfortunately not famous "Kubitz's Law of Metaphors": "If you can't think of a great metaphor, DON'T use a metaphor!" So please:
- No worn-out metaphors ("needle in a haystack").
- No wry metaphors, ("biting my Apple notebook in anger")
- Only metaphors that the target audience can understand (comparisons in the "Game of Thrones" world actually just baffle a broad target audience).
The easiest way to train your metaphor skills is with comparisons: "That guy looks like a crane, doesn't he?" "This job is like poking in the ocean." Such a "comparison" is a bit easier (but also less concise) than a "metaphor", which has to do without the "how". But we still want to practice.
5. Story in 3 or 5 words
I love redundancy and I'm not one of those who want to say everything in 100 words or less.
BUT: This is a great exercise in reducing an entire story to three or five words. Let's give this a try. The movie Forrest Gump could perhaps be described in five words as "limited, coincidences, running, true love." Can you think of better words? Probably, then work on them. You'll find it's not that easy. But it helps to recognize the essence.
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