As a novice writer or storyteller, you might be looking for the best creative writing exercise to get better at what you are doing, which is why you are here at the right place.
And don’t worry – none of these tips is complex. All tips are super easy and fun to do.
The “What-If” Method
Have you ever watched a movie or walked through a town and said, “What if the main character did this?”
You might already get the point of what you are expected to do. Simply, you will create a story around a what-if situation. For instance, you might think, “What if a baseball player was an undercover cop?”
What would it look like, and what would he be going through regarding the challenges of the potential advantages and disadvantages that will represent themselves while being an undercover cop posing as a baseball player?
You might want to start by writing down four “what-if” scenarios and jot down a 500-word story about each of those. Initially, you might think that five hundred words are a lot – but – trust us when we tell you that once your mind kicks in and starts to roll, you become increasingly aware and excited, and the writing exercise gets so much easier.
Also, while you are at it – you shouldn’t shy away from going a little overboard with the what-ifs, as you want the potential scenarios to be as creative and fun as possible.
The Alphabet Method
So, basically what you are going to do is to get a piece of paper and start with the letter “A” and write an entire story going through the alphabet. Starting with the letter “A,” you will write out a sentence. Then, write the next sentence with the letter “B.”
Write out the next sentence with the letter “C” and so forth. You get the point: the further you go along in the alphabet, the harder it will become to come up with new, creative sentences, simply because the beginning letter is going to be increasingly difficult.
So, this exercise is fun and challenging – because if you come up with the words “X,” “V,” and “Y,” you will enjoy the process, boost your creativity, and eventually get better at descriptive writing.
The Dear Younger-Self Method
The next method to boost your descriptive writing is the “dear younger me” exercise. Looking back in retrospect, you probably have tons of things that you would want to tell your younger version. For instance, you might want to tell yourself to create a social media channel a little younger.
Here is what you will want to do: get yourself a piece of paper, write out a short story, and write something to a younger you. Think about all the things that you would want to tell yourself to know. By doing this exercise, you will get into a reflective mindset regarding where you are in life now, and you will also be more creative because this exercise will make you think about what is actually happening now vs. your everyday thoughts.
Before we get into the next exercise method to boost your creative writing, we recommend getting enrolled in a creative writing class, such as the creative writing classes in San Diego, that is, if you reside in San Diego. The class will give you the chance to work under expert supervision and unleash your true potential as a creative writer.
The Imposter Method
Another great exercise to boost your creativity and to become better at descriptive writing is to pretend to be someone else. You might have read plenty of books and watched plenty of movies where you might have wanted to be the main character. For instance, you might have wanted to be that guy fighting the monster or the character racing down the street.
This is exactly what you are going to do in the imposter method – you are going to pretend to be someone else – whether it is a librarian, a Hollywood actor, a pop singer, or your best friend. Choose a character of your choice and pretend to be them by writing out what their life, which will be your life for the exercise, would be like.
You will want to jot down all the things that you will be experiencing and going through. You will be jotting down your craziest adventures. You will want to use this exercise to be anybody and everybody. You might want to start this exercise by writing out a 500-words short story and writing something creative about it.
Remember that this exercise will only be for you, so you don’t have to worry about who you are going to be and whom you are going to write about because no one else is going to see it if you don’t want them to. So, don’t shy away from this amazing imposter method.
Jot Down Your Dream
Like most people, you have probably had loads of crazy and ridiculous dreams. So, for the next exercise, you will want to write down one of your wildest dreams. Now, you might not remember the entire dream, which is okay, as this is what the exercise is about.
This writing exercise is exclusively designed to help you boost your creativity. You will start with writing your dream, but then you will add a little bit more to it that you don’t remember, as it is hard to remember a perfect dream.
Don’t be afraid to shy away from the crazier and wilder dreams, as the crazier is, the better and also the more creative. So, you will want to go ahead and write down one of your crazier dreams that can be of any length – it can be more than one thousand words, and if you feel overly ambitious, you can write down an entire book on your dream. Simply start with writing down one of your dreams and stay in the flow from there.
