Happy
Scream
Guard
Evil
Whirlwind
Cactus
King
Chaos
Angry
Desert
Laugh
Heart
Give each participant a couple of pieces of paper at random. The first person says the first sentence of a story and they must use their first word as part of that sentence. The second person then continues the story and must include their word in it, and so on. Go round the group twice to complete the story.
You can also do this creative writing exercise with story dice, your own choice of words, or by asking participants to write random words down themselves, then shuffling all the cards together.
Every Christmas adults tell kids stories about Santa Claus. In this exercise you write a Christmas story from an alternative dimension.
What if every Christmas Santa didn't fly around the world delivering presents on his sleigh pulled by reindeer? What if gnomes or aliens delivered the presents? Or perhaps it was the gnomes who are trying to emulate the humans? Or some other Christmas tradition entirely that we humans have never heard of!
If you're working with a group, give everyone a couple of minutes to write two possible themes for the new Christmas story. Each theme should be 5 words or less.
Shuffle the paper and distribute them at random. If you're working online, everyone types the themes into the Zoom or group chat. Each writer then spends 10 minutes writing a short story for children based on one of the two themes, or their own theme if they really want to.
If working alone, choose your own theme and spend 15 minutes writing a short story on it. See if you can create the magic of Christmas from another world!
In a murder mystery story or courtroom drama, there's often conflicting information and lots of links between characters. A mind map is an ideal way to illustrate how everything ties together.
Split into groups of 3 or 4 people each and place a blank piece of A3 paper (double the size of A4) in the middle of each group. Discuss between you who the victim is and write their name in the middle of the piece of paper. Then brainstorm information about the murder, for example:
Feel free to expand out from any of these, e.g. to include more information on the different characters involved.
The idea is that everyone writes at the same time! Obviously, you can discuss ideas, but anyone can dive in and write their ideas on the mind map.
If you’re writing a piece of fiction, ask yourself how your protagonist would react to an everyday situation. This can help you to gain a deeper insight into who they are.
One way to do this is to imagine what their New Year’s resolutions would be.
If completing this exercise with a group, limit it to 3 to 5 resolutions per person. If some participants are historical fiction or non-fiction writers, they instead pick a celebrity and either write what their resolutions will be, or what their resolutions should be, their choice.
Stephen King said, "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops."
He also said, "Take any noun, put it with any verb, and you have a sentence. It never fails. Rocks explode. Jane transmits. Mountains float. These are all perfect sentences. Many such thoughts make little rational sense, but even the stranger ones (Plums deify!) have a kind of poetic weight that’s nice."
In this fiction writing exercise, start by brainstorming (either individually or collectively) seven verbs on seven different pieces of paper. Put those aside for later. Now brainstorm seven nouns. Randomly match the nouns and verbs so you have seven pairs. Choose a pair and write a piece of fiction for ten minutes. Avoid using any adverbs.
It’s the end of the world! For 5 minutes either:
If working as a team, then after the 5 minutes is up each writer reads their description out to the other participants.
For use after your first draft
I’ve listened to a lot of masterclasses on writing by successful authors and they all say variants of your first draft won’t be good and that’s fine. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman summarise it the best:
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”
Terry Pratchett
“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonising over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed… For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.”
Neil Gaiman
Once you’ve written your first draft, it will need editing to develop the plot, enhance the characters, and improve each scene in a myriad of ways – small and large. These seven creative editing exercises are designed to help with this stage of the process.
Read the first paragraph of the novel, in particular the first sentence. Does it launch the reader straight into the action? According to On Writing and Worldbuilding by Timothy Hickson, “The most persuasive opening lines are succinct, and not superfluous. To do this, it is often effective to limit it to a single central idea… This does not need to be the most important element, but it should be a central element that is interesting.” Ask yourself what element your opening sentence encapsulates and whether it’s the best one to capture your readers’ attention.
Consistency is crucial in creative writing, whether it’s in relation to location, objects, or people.
It’s also crucial for personality, emotions and motivation.
Look at scenes where your protagonist makes an important decision. Are their motivations clear? Do any scenes force them to choose between two conflicting morals? If so, do you explore this? Do their emotions fit with what’s happened in previous scenes?
As you edit your manuscript, keep the characters’ personality, emotions and motivation in mind. If their behaviour is inconsistent, either edit it for consistency, or have someone comment on their strange behaviour or be surprised by it. Inconsistent behaviour can reveal that a character is keeping a secret, or is under stress, so characters don’t always need to be consistent. But when they’re not, there has to be a reason.
This exercise is the first in The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. It’s a writing guide with a plethora of editing exercises designed to help you reenergize your writing by thinking of what your character is feeling, and giving you the tools to make your reader feel something.
Search for the following words in your book:
Whenever these words occur, ask yourself if you can demonstrate how your characters feel, rather than simply stating it. For each occasion, can you use physiological descriptors (a racing heart), actions (taking a step backwards) or dialogue to express what’s just happened instead? Will this enhance the scene and engage the reader more?
Find a scene where your characters disagree – in particular a scene where your protagonist argues with friends or allies. What happens next?
It can be tempting to wrap up the action with a quick resolution. But what if a resentment lingers and mistrust builds? This creates a more interesting story arc and means a resolution can occur later, giving the character development a real dynamic.
Review how you resolve the action and see if you can stretch out the emotions for a more satisfying read.
Ensure that the words used don’t detract from the enormity of the events your character is going through. Can you delete words like, “Quite”, “Little”, or “Rather”?
Of “Very” Florence King once wrote: “ 'Very' is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen .” Delete it, or replace the word after it with a stronger word, which makes “Very” redundant.
“That,” is another common word used in creative writing which can often be deleted. Read a sentence as is, then reread it as if you deleted, “That”. If the meaning is the same, delete it.
When talking about chapter endings, James Patterson said, “At the end, something has to propel you into the next chapter.”
Read how each of your chapters finish and ask yourself does it either:
Review how you wrap up each of your chapters. Do you end at the best point in your story? Can you add anticipation to cliff hangers? Will you leave your readers wanting more?
The editing exercises are designed to be completed individually.
With the others, I've always run them as part of a creative writing group, where there's no teacher and we're all equal participants, therefore I keep any 'teaching' aspect to a minimum, preferring them to be prompts to generate ideas before everyone settles down to do the silent writing. We've recently gone online and if you run a group yourself, whether online or in person, you're welcome to use these exercises for free!
The times given are suggestions only and I normally get a feel for how everyone's doing when time's up and if it's obvious that everyone's still in the middle of a discussion, then I give them longer. Where one group's in the middle of a discussion, but everyone else has finished, I sometimes have a 'soft start' to the silent writing, and say, "We're about to start the hour and a half of silent writing now, but if you're in the middle of a discussion, feel free to finish it first".
This way everyone gets to complete the discussion, but no-one's waiting for ages. It's also important to emphasise that there's no wrong answers when being creative.
Still looking for more? Check out these creative writing prompts or our dedicated Sci-Fi and Fantasy creative writing prompts
If you've enjoyed these creative writing exercises, please share them on social media, or link to them from your blog.
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Home » Blog » 140 Creative Writing Prompts For Adults
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Learning how to become a better writer includes knowing how to come up with a solid idea. With so many elements to consider when starting your novel, the plot itself may begin to slip away from you. Use these creative writing prompts for adults to get you started on the right path to a successful story and suffer from writer’s block for the last time.
This list of writing prompts for adults can be taken and used in any way you want. Details can be changed, and characters can be added or removed.
They are meant to be a fun way to get your creativity flowing and your next story developing. For even more writing ideas, check out the writing prompt generator . Here, you will find 500+ prompts of all kinds that will give you some ideas. Take control of that blank page and create something awesome.
Nothing beats some good old-fashioned drama once in a while. You can turn these writing prompts into a dramatic love story , an exciting short story, or morph them into a different genre. How you use them is up to you.
For a novel that is specifically romance, we have created an exclusive list of exciting and genre-bending romance writing prompts . Try choosing a writing prompt from the below list:
Supernatural stories are popular. The entire world is in love with vampires. Write something interesting and unique enough that you might be writing their next favorite book. Use these supernatural story starters for your basic premise. Some writing prompts related to the genre of supernatural creatures are as follows:
Thrillers can come in many forms and can be incorporated into many genres. Regardless of the details, though, they are always meant to excite. Suspense and tension are crucial – it’s always more fun when you don’t know. Writing a good thriller requires a strong set of writing skills. These prompts will give you a good base. If you think you need to improve, try some writing exercises.
If your thriller can get hearts racing, you’ve done a good job. Some writing prompts related to the thriller genre are as follows:
The horror genre has always had a cult-like following. Several fictional killers have become household names. Some horror fans will spend their whole lives chasing the adrenaline that comes with a good scare.
If you’re learning how to become a better writer to scare your readers, these writing prompts will get you started. A book writing template may be helpful in creating a true horror, as setting the stage properly is crucial. Some horror writing prompts that you can write a story are as follows:
Master horror writer Stephen King reveals some of his thought processes: “So where do the ideas—the salable ideas—come from? They come from my nightmares. Not the night-time variety, as a rule, but the ones from everyday life that hide just beyond the doorway that separates the conscious from the unconscious.”
Horror doesn’t always have to be fantastical and dreamy in nature. Sometimes horror exists in the real world, within people.
Stories of crime and mystery have been told for ages. There are some classic crime dramas that will never get old. Many non-fiction books have been written on this topic as well.
Creating a proper mystery takes time and much planning. When done correctly, though, it makes for a most memorable story. Some crime and mystery writing prompts are as follows:
Science fiction is similar to fantasy in that you can make up a lot of stuff, which is a fun way to write.
This is a versatile genre that can be molded into anything you want.
Sometimes, it is rooted in truth with elements of real scientific and technological advances. Other times, there are many assumptions made about the future of science, and lots of make-believe takes place. Some of the best sci-fi writing prompts and a few ideas to explore in this genre are as follows:
Dystopian stories are growing in popularity. The genre itself is growing and evolving all the time as people figure out what works and what entertains.
Dystopian is a fun genre to read and experience, but writing it can be just as enjoyable. Having fun while learning how to become a better writer is of utmost importance.
Be careful you’re not writing Dystopia just because it sells well. Make sure you have a real story to tell and that it’s one you believe in. Some dystopian writing prompts are as follows:
Historical fiction can be whimsical and charming. It can be dark and spooky. It can be funny and ridiculous. Stories of history span many genres.
Historical fiction can be a combination of educational and entertaining. It tests a writer’s research skills as well as knowledge. The better depiction you can create of your desired time period, the more effective your story will be.
Learning to research is crucial to know how to become a better writer. Some historical fiction writing prompts are as follows:
Another genre that is especially fun to write, as well as read, is comedy. Nothing beats throwing your head back in full laughter.
The goal here is to make people laugh as much as possible while still balancing a good story and believable characters. Check out the best creative writing prompts with a funny twist:
Fantasy is one of the most popular genres of the time. It’s growing every day because of its creative and immersive nature. People love to preoccupy themselves with something with magical powers.
Being transported into another world for a little while – that’s what fantasy can do. Some of the best creative writing prompts for fantasy fiction are as follows:
Sometimes, all it takes is a small exchange or a witty one-liner to get your brain working. Take these words and start something new. Or, insert them into an existing project and see what happens. Some of the best dialogue-based creative writing prompts are as follows:
If you want to create compelling stories with fiction writing prompts, remember the following things:
To succeed in the demanding task of following fiction writing prompts, treat yourself and your writing with importance. Establish and consistently adhere to a designated writing schedule. Maintaining a regular writing routine prevents the project from fading into obscurity.
It’s challenging to retain the novel’s details in your mind for quick and efficient writing. Allowing substantial intervals between writing sessions and working haphazardly only increases the difficulty and likelihood of abandoning the endeavor.
Many writers start working on fiction writing prompts with excitement, but upon rereading, their work may not meet their expectations, leading to deleting it entirely. Avoid being overly critical of your writing.
Excessive self-editing can halt your progress and prevent you from writing beyond the initial pages. Instead, focus on writing and avoid scrutinizing it until you have completed the story. Rewriting is essential for crafting great novels, and most writers would not share their first drafts with others.
Are you unable to follow fiction writing prompts because the thought of it overwhelms you? Start by loosening up with some free writing. Dedicate five or ten minutes to jotting down whatever pops into your mind, and don’t pause or edit.
This exercise helps remove the mental block between your thoughts and your writing. It will help you to prepare for the actual writing process, akin to stretching before a workout.
When you first come across your fiction writing prompts, document all your notions and ideas regarding your desired novel. Jot down even the vaguest thoughts and concepts that come to mind. Identify any compelling questions you want to delve into.
Take notes on any particular setting, historical period, or topic that captivates you. Through this free-form writing, ideas will gradually emerge and take form.
As you begin working on your fiction writing prompts, engage in a simultaneous process of developing the plot and crafting the actual text. Planning the plot provides structure and direction for your writing.
However, immersing yourself in the writing allows you to experience the story on a deeper level, discovering new insights and nuances. This interactive approach enhances both aspects of the creative process.
Delve into the depths of your characters beyond their actions and names while working on writing prompts. Consider creating character profiles and mood boards with images that resonate with them. Test their limits in challenging situations to witness their reactions.
Engage in dialogue to develop their unique voices. Remember, characters in a novel should not be mere pawns in your narrative. They require motivation to drive their actions and make them more relatable and compelling.
As you progress with your fiction writing prompts, consider the overall structure of your novel. Determine the timeline of your story. Will it cover a short period or an entire lifetime? Divide it into chapters or sections based on significant events or time periods.
Choose a narrative perspective to follow the writing prompts. Will the events be narrated by a first-person character reflecting on the past or unfold in real time? These structural decisions will provide a framework for your story and ensure it flows smoothly.
Some people prefer setting goals and deadlines while following fiction writing prompts. Consider setting writing goals that you can reasonably achieve, such as writing 3,000 words weekly or 1,000 words daily.
Alternatively, you could aim for broader deadlines, like completing a third of your first draft by the end of the year. Choose targets that feel manageable and adjust them as needed to ensure success.
To captivate readers with your fiction writing prompts, aim for page-turners that hook them from the first page to the last. Employ the active voice predominantly in your stories. Construct sentences using the clear and concise order of nouns (subject) performing an action (verb) and affecting an object. Passive voice can be useful occasionally but use it sparingly in your fictional works.
You might often encounter writer’s block while working on creative writing prompts. Here are some ways to get rid of writer’s block:
Most writers find their passion for writing through reading. To enhance your writing skills and get creative outputs for your writing prompts, revisit your literary roots by reading extensively. Focus on contemporary and acclaimed works within your specific genre or area of interest. By immersing yourself in the latest literature, you’ll gain inspiration, identify gaps in the market, and determine how you can make a unique contribution to the field.
To avoid burnout while working on writing prompts, take frequent breaks. Step away for a quick coffee break when feeling stuck. If needed, take longer breaks, like an afternoon drive or even a full day off. These breaks allow your mind to relax, giving you a refreshed perspective when you return to writing.
Even if you are skilled in writing, there will always be individuals with greater proficiency or who have been writing for longer. Each person’s writing journey and experiences are different. Is it fair to contrast your writing abilities with someone who may have gained more experience?
Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on improving your own writing. Embrace the uniqueness of your voice. By honing your skills and sharing your perspective, you will attract an audience that resonates with your writing style.
Changing your writing tools can refresh your approach and overcome writer’s block. If you typically write on a computer, try writing by hand. If you have a typewriter, use it for a unique sensory experience.
If you’re still stuck, walk outside and talk your ideas into a recorder or your phone. The physical activity and verbalization can spark new creativity.
Identify if your mind is most alert for creative writing in the morning or evening. Adjust your schedule of working on writing prompts accordingly.
Explore different locations to find where you write best, whether it’s a bustling coffee shop, a serene beach, or a secluded bedroom. Choose the environment that fosters your creativity.
Eliminate distractions by turning off Wi-Fi, removing your phone from your workspace, and requesting quiet time from others. This allows you to focus and tap into your creative flow.
Whether you have a book writing templat e all filled out or you are starting from scratch, these writing prompts will get your imagination going and make your writing time more productive.
Beat the writer’s block, get your groove back, or just be inspired. Figure out how to love writing again. Whatever you’re looking for, hopefully, these ideas have helped form the story you need to tell.
Let’s take a look at some questions and answers:
You might come across creative ideas when you get fiction writing prompts. But transforming them into captivating narratives is a complex endeavor. This is because crafting a story that resonates with readers requires more than simply assembling words and sentences until a book is completed.
When it comes to following fiction writing prompts, writers often struggle with the horror genre. It necessitates a t horough comprehension of human nature and its psychological intricacies and the capacity to evoke primal fears and anxieties within readers. Moreover, following creative writing prompts for the horror genre requires proficiency in crafting believable, immersive characters and settings that resonate with the audience.
Fiction writers should choose the right literary techniques to enhance their writing. Some common types of literary devices to use include alliteration, personification, and symbolism.
Realism in fiction depicts events that could potentially happen in real life. The setting is believable, fostering a sense of familiarity. Characters in realistic stories behave in ways that align with human experiences, making them relatable and believable.
Typically, authors receive a book advance and a percentage of royalties (usually between 5% and 15%) from the sale of traditionally published works. However, the actual earnings can vary significantly.
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You know that feeling when you just don’t feel like writing? Sometimes you can’t even get a word down on paper. It’s the most frustrating thing ever to a writer, especially when you’re working towards a deadline. The good news is that we have a list of 105 creative writing exercises to help you get motivated and start writing again!
Creative writing exercises are short writing activities (normally around 10 minutes) designed to get you writing. The goal of these exercises is to give you the motivation to put words onto a blank paper. These words don’t need to be logical or meaningful, neither do they need to be grammatically correct or spelt correctly. The whole idea is to just get you writing something, anything. The end result of these quick creative writing exercises is normally a series of notes, bullet points or ramblings that you can, later on, use as inspiration for a bigger piece of writing such as a story or a poem.
Good creative writing exercises are short, quick and easy to complete. You shouldn’t need to think too much about your style of writing or how imaginative your notes are. Just write anything that comes to mind, and you’ll be on the road to improving your creative writing skills and beating writer’s block .
Use the generator below to get a random creative writing exercise idea:
Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again:
Do you have any more fun creative writing exercises to share? Let us know in the comments below!
Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.
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Good question.
Creative writing exercises are designed to teach a technique. They are highly specific, more specific than creative writing prompts, and much more specific than story generators.
Creative writing exercises for adults are not designed to lead the writer into crafting a full story, but are only designed to help them improve as a writer in a narrow, specific category of writing skills.
I’ve broken the exercises below into categories so you can choose what category of skill you’d like to practice. Can you guess which category in this list has the most prompts?
If you guessed characters, then you’re right. I think characters are the heart blood of every story, and that a majority of any writing prompts or writing exercises should focus on them.
But I also think any of these will help you create a narrative, and a plot, and help you generate all kinds of dialogue, whether for short stories or for novels. These writing exercises are pretty much guaranteed to improve your writing and eliminate writer’s block.
Also, if you’re a fledgling writer who needs help writing their novel, check out my comprehensive guide to novel writing.
Enjoy the five categories of writing exercises below, and happy writing!
1. Think of the most deafening sound you can imagine. Describe it in great detail, and have your character hear it for the first time at the start of a story.
2. Have a man cooking for a woman on a third date, and have her describe the aromas in such loving and extended detail that she realizes that she’s in love with him.
3. Pick a line from one of your favorite songs, and identify the main emotion. Now write a character who is feeling that emotion and hears the song. Try to describe the type of music in such a beautiful way that you will make the reader yearn to hear the song as well.
4. Have a character dine at a blind restaurant, a restaurant in pitch blackness where all the servers are blind, and describe for a full paragraph how the tablecloth, their clothing, and the hand of their dining partner feels different in the darkness.
5. Select a dish representative of a national cuisine, and have a character describe it in such detail that the reader salivates and the personality of the character is revealed.
7. Describe two characters having a wordless conversation, communicating only through gestures. Try to see how long you can keep the conversation going without any words spoken, but end it with one of them saying a single word, and the other one repeating the same word.
8. In a public place from the last vacation you took, have two characters arguing, but make it clear by the end of the argument that they’re not arguing about what they’re really upset about.
9. Write a scene composed mostly of dialogue with a child talking to a stranger. Your mission is to show the child as heartbreakingly cute. At the same time, avoid sentimentality.
10. Have two character have a conversation with only a single word, creating emphasis and context so that the word communicates different things each time it is spoken. The prime example of this is in the television show “The Wire,” where Jimmy and Bunk investigate a crime scene repeating only a single expletive.
11. Pick an object that is ugly, and create a character who finds it very beautiful. Have the character describe the object in a way that convinces the reader of its beauty. Now write a second version where you convince the reader (through describing the object alone) that the character is mentally unstable.
12. Write down five emotions on slips of paper and slip them into a hat. Now go outside and find a tree. Draw one emotion from the hat, and try to describe that tree from the perspective of a character feeling that emotion. (Don’t mention the emotion in your writing — try to describe the tree so the reader could guess the emotion).
13. Describe a character’s bedroom in such a way that it tells us about a person’s greatest fears and hopes.
14. Root through your desk drawer until you find a strange object, an object that would probably not be in other people’s drawers. Have a character who is devastated to find this object, and tell the story of why this object devastates them.
15. Go to an art-based Pinterest page and find your favorite piece of art. Now imagine a living room inspired by that flavor of artwork, and show the room after a husband and wife have had the worst fight of their marriage.
16. Pick a simple object like a vase, a broom, or a light bulb, and write a scene that makes the reader cry when they see the object.
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17. Make a list of the top five fears in your life. Write a character who is forced to confront one of those fears.
18. Write an entire page describing the exact emotions when you learned of a happy or calamitous event in your life. Now try to condense that page into a single searing sentence.
19. Think about a time in your life when you felt shame. Now write a character in a similar situation, trying to make it even more shameful.
20. Write a paragraph with a character struggle with two conflicting emotions simultaneously. For example, a character who learns of his father’s death and feels both satisfaction and pain.
21. Write a paragraph where a character starts in one emotional register, and through a process of thought, completely evolves into a different emotion.
22. Create a minor character based upon someone you dislike. Now have your main character encounter them and feel sympathy and empathy for them despite their faults.
23. Have a kooky character tell a story inside a pre-established form: an instruction manual, traffic update, email exchange, weather report, text message.
24. Write about a character who does something they swore they would never do.
25. Have a character who has memorized something (the names of positions in the Kama Sutra, the entire book of Revelations) recite it while doing something completely at odds with what they’re reciting. For instance, bench pressing while reciting the emperors in a Chinese dynasty.
26. Write a paragraph where a character does a simple action, like turning on a light switch, and make the reader marvel at how strange and odd it truly is.
27. Have a couple fight while playing a board game. Have the fight be about something related to the board game: fighting about money, have them play monopoly. Fighting about politics, let them play chess.
28. Write about two characters angry at each other, but have both of them pretend the problems don’t exist. Instead, have them fight passive-aggressively, through small, snide comments.
29. Describe a character walking across an expanse field or lot and describe how he walks. The reader should perfectly understand his personality simply by the way you describe his walk.
30. Write a first-person POV of a character under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and try to make the prose as woozy and tipsy as the character.
31. Describe the first time that a character realizes he is not as smart as he thought.
32. Describe an hour in the life of a character who has recently lost their ability to do what they love most (a pianist who has severe arthritis; a runner who became a quadriplegic).
33. Write an argument where a husband or wife complains of a physical ailment, but their spouse refuses to believe it’s real.
34. Write a scene where a stranger stops your main character, saying that they know them, and insisting your main character is someone they are not. Describe exactly how this case of mistaken identity makes your character feel.
35. Describe a small personality trait about a person you love, and make the reader love them, too.
36. Write a personality-revealing scene with a character inside a public restroom. Do they press a thumb against the mirror to leave a subtle mark? Do they write a plea for help on the inside of the stall door? Do they brag about the size of what they’ve just dumped off?
37. Give your character an extremely unusual response to a national tragedy like a terrorist attack or natural disaster. Maybe have them be aware their response is unusual, and try to cloak it from others, or have them be completely unaware and display it without any self-consciousness.
38. Have one of your main characters come up with an idea for a comic book, and tell a close friend about the idea. What about this idea would surprise the friend, upsetting what he thought he knew about your main character? Also, what would the main character learn about himself from the comic book idea?
39. Think of an illness someone you love has suffered from. How does your character respond when someone close to them has this illness?
40. Have your main character invent an extremely offensive idea for a book, and show their personality faults through discussing it with others.
41. Have your character write down a list considering how to respond to their stalker.
42. Write a scene where a man hits on a woman, and although the woman acts repulsed and begs her friends to get him away from her, it becomes apparent that she likes the attention.
43. Write about a 20-something confronting his parents over their disapproval of his lifestyle.
44. Have your character write a funny to-do list about the steps to get a boyfriend or girlfriend.
45. Have a risk-adverse character stuck in a hostage situation with a risk-happy character.
46. For the next week, watch strangers carefully and take notes in your phone about any peculiar gestures or body language. Combine the three most interesting ones to describe a character as she goes grocery shopping.
47. Buy a package of the pills that expand into foam animals, and put a random one in a glass of warm water. Whatever it turns out to be, have that animal surprise your main character in a scene.
48. Have your character faced with a decision witness a rare, awe-inspiring event, and describe how it helps them make their decision.
49. Imagine if your character met for the first time his or her long-lost identical twin. What personality traits would they share and which ones would have changed because of their unique experiences?
50. If a character got burned by a hot pan, what type of strange reaction would they have that would reveal what they value most?
Once you’ve taken a stab at some of these exercises, I’d recommend you use them in your actual writing.
And for instruction on that, you need a guide to writing your novel .
That link will change your life and your novel. Click it now.
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John Fox, you have some excellent resources, and I thank you. I read your comments, then scrolled down to glance at the list of 50 exercises. The FIRST one, “loud noise’ is already in my head. My Hero is going to be side swiped in my Cozy. I was side swiped on a state highway here in Virginia a couple of weeks ago and, although the damage was minor, the sound of that big SUV “glancing” off my little car was SCARY!!! I once heard a fast-moving car REAR-END is stand-still car; that sound was something I’ll never forget. So, your exercise is very timely. THANK YOU!!!
This is a great list! Thanks!
You know what would be motivating? If we could turn these in to someone and get like a grade lol
I can really see the benefit of doing these writing exercises. (Versus using prompts) The purpose is so much clearer. Some I can imagine my response fairly easily. (Though the task of not jumping on the obvious might make it harder than I imagine at this point) Some however I would struggle with ( number 42 for example), where I have zero sympathy for the main character’s plight. Hhhmmmm. But maybe they are the very ones I should be tackling – to see if I can develop them in a way that explains their behaviour and so creates sympathy. Thank you. Much food for thought.
I’ve been thinking a lot about “how to master writing,” and this is the first time that I found an article that makes it clear the difference between prompts and exercises. I fully agree with you. These are bound to make you a better writer if you focus on doing a variation of them daily.
An excellent list – thank you very much. I run a small writing group and we’ll be trying some.
Yes, thank you. I too run a small writing group and you got me out of a slump for tomorrow’s group!
yes,thank you . It’s good for improve your writing skills.
What a lovely list! I am working on the final draft of my very first novel, and am constantly working at improving the final product. Your exercises are just what I need to kickstart my writing day. Thank you so very much.
Thank you very much When I turned50 I received my diploma from Children’s Institute in West Redding Ct I got my inspiration from being near water however now that I am in Oregon I have had a writing block thanks to your list my creative juices are flowing
I suppose I better have good punctuation, seeing this is about Writing. Thank you for this great list. I am the Chair of our small Writing group in Otorohanga and we start again last week of Feb. I have sent out a homework email, to write a A4 page of something exciting that has happened over the holiday break and they must read it out to the group with passion and excitement in their voices. That will get them out of their comfort zone!
A formidable yet inspiring list. Thank you very much for this. This is really very helpful. I am from India, and very new to writing and have started my first project, which I want to make it into a Novel. This has been very helpful and is very challenging too. Prompts look sissy when compared to this, frankly speaking. Thank you very much again.
Where can I get the answers for these?
There aren’t “answers.” You create responses to these exercises.
Thank you so much for the detailed suggestions focusing on HOW to put the WHAT into practice; really helpful & inspiring.
Just started rough drafting a story I’ve always wanted to write. Do you have any advice for someone writing their first real story? I’m having trouble starting it; I just want it to be perfect.
I consider this very helpful. Just started my journey as a creative writer, and will be coming back to this page to aid my daily writing goal.
I have always loved writing exercises and these are perfect practice for my competition. I have tried lots of different things that other websites have told me to try, but this by far is the most descriptive and helpful site that i have seen so far.
This is really a creative blog. An expert writer is an amateur who didn’t stop. I trust myself that a decent writer doesn’t actually should be advised anything but to keep at it. Keep it up!
I’ve always enjoyed writing from a little girl. Since I’ve been taking it a bit more seriously as does everybody else it seems; I’ve lost the fun and sponteneity. Until now…..this is a marvelous blog to get back the basic joy and freedom in writing. Or should that be of?:) These exercises are perfect to get the creative juices flowing again…..thank you:)
These are interesting exercises for writing.
These are fantastic! I started reading a really awesome book on creative writing but it just didn’t get any good or easy to follow exercises. So I found your site and having been having a lot of fun with these. Exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
creative and inspiring, thank you
I always wanted to have an exercise where a friend and I each wrote a random sentence and sent it to each other to write a short story from that beginning sentence, then exchange the stories for reading and/or critique. Maybe both writers start with the same sentence and see how different the stories turn out.
Thanks for these exercises. Some are really challenging. To truly tackle them I’m having to spend as long beforehand thinking “how the HECK am I going to do this?” as I do with ink on paper. Would be a great resource if other authors submitted their replies and thoughts about how they went about each exercise.
Start the conversation: submit one of yours.
I think I can use these to inspire my students.
Hi there. Thank you for posting this list- it’s great! Can I ask you to consider removing number 42 or perhaps changing it somewhat? I teach sex ed and every year am shocked by how many young people don’t understand issues around consent. Stories about woman who ‘say no but really mean yes’ are deeply unhelpful. Really appreciate your post but felt I had to ask. Thanks.
What’s wrong with the number 42?
It promulgates the belief that when a woman says no, she doesn’t mean it, potentially resulting in sexual assault.
I just make this list a part of my teaching in Creative Writing Classes. Very good list of ideas!
Thank you so much for posting this! I have used it to create a creative playwriting activity for my high school creative writing class–so much good stuff here for me to pick through and select for my kiddos that will allow them to shine and improve their knowledge of writing as a craft!
These exercises are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Every writer NEEDS this book.
It’s a guide to writing the pivotal moments of your novel.
Whether writing your book or revising it, this will be the most helpful book you’ll ever buy.
Online courses: creative writing.
Stanford Continuing Studies' online creative writing courses make it easy to take courses taught by instructors from Stanford’s writing community. Thanks to the flexibility of the online format, these courses can be taken anywhere, anytime—a plus for students who lead busy lives or for whom regular travel to the Stanford campus is not possible. These courses are open to all adults, and we encourage all levels of writers to enroll.
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Sean Glatch | May 3, 2024 | 3 Comments
Creative writing workshops can take your writing to the next level. The chance to experiment with your writing in a community is invaluable, and getting live feedback on your work will propel you through your writing career. But with so many online writing workshops out there, how can you tell which ones are worth taking?
There are plenty of writing workshops where writers get less than what they bargained for. Finding the right group of writers to workshop with is a slow process—no different than dating or finding a therapist. Where can you find the best online writing workshops for you?
Consider this your go-to guide for navigating the internet of online creative writing workshops. We’ll talk about different workshopping models and how they might work for you, and we’ll also look at how to get the most from your fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writing workshops.
But first, we ought to define this particularly nebulous aspect of creative writing education. What is a creative writing workshop?
If you’re looking for the best online writing workshops, look no further. Writers.com has been running online creative writing workshops since 1995. View our upcoming calendar to view the best writing workshops for you!
You can also navigate our courses by category:
People use the phrase “writing workshop” differently in different contexts, although it’s a rather vague term that writers use inconsistently. Here are some common ways you might see the term used:
That said, “writing workshop” is a rather nebulous term that has a lot of applications. A workshop is any space where writers come to grow as writers. In short, a writing workshop is an open-ended term that describes different styles of creative writing education.
What is a writing workshop? An open-ended term that describes different styles of creative writing education.
For the purposes of this article, we are addressing multi-week online writing classes, as well as single-day webinars that have a workshopping component. Basically, we’re looking at any type of online learning space where students share their work, receive feedback, build new craft skills, and engage with a writing community.
Here’s what online writing workshops might look like, as well as tips for finding the best ones!
Are you thinking about enrolling in a creative writing workshop? The best online writing workshops have these 12 things in common:
At most online writing schools, the instructor is the person who sets the syllabus, writes the workshop, and gives feedback to students. As a result, a good writing teacher makes all the difference in online writing workshops.
You want to be excited to learn from an instructor.
In addition to being a great writer and teacher, a great workshop instructor will be community-oriented, empathetic, and capable of tailoring their teaching to your writing needs.
Before you enroll in a writing workshop, do some research on the writer teaching it. Most professional writers and teachers will have a website, where you can peruse their work, degrees, and teaching history.
Some questions you might ask:
On terminal degrees—they’re not necessary for running good creative writing workshops. But, they do indicate a certain level of craft training and teaching experience. Many terminal degree programs require students to learn how to teach creative writing. While you don’t need an M.F.A or Ph.D. to publish or teach writing, they certainly help.
Most importantly: are you excited about this instructor’s work? Do you like it? Do you connect with it? You want to be excited to learn from an instructor. They’re not just teaching craft, they’re teaching you their approach to crafting good writing.
Enrolling in creative writing workshops involves a certain level of trust. If you haven’t taken a class with the organization before, you might not know how they run their classes or what you’ll get out of working with them. Writing programs should honor their side of the bargain by telling you exactly what you’ll get from their writing workshops.
Writing programs should honor their side of the bargain by telling you exactly what you’ll get from their writing workshops.
The descriptions for online writing workshops should tell you the following:
It helps to know what you’re looking for from your workshop. If you have certain goals in mind or ways you want to grow as a writer, be clear about these goals, and don’t spend money on workshops that simply won’t fit your needs. (That said, it can also be fun to enroll in random workshops and learn new writing skills—you’d be surprised what you’ll learn from a class that has nothing to do with your projects.)
If the description of the writing workshop aligns with your goals and needs, it should be a good fit. And, if you’re on the fence, it never hurts to ask the program administrators before you enroll. They’ll be glad to hear from you!
Creative writing workshops place your experience front and center. The goal of a workshop is to expand your learning, work, and writing journey. If a writing course doesn’t promise to uplift your writing life, why would you take it?
If a writing course doesn’t promise to uplift your writing life, why would you take it?
A good writing school will acknowledge the risk involved in taking an adult writing workshop. Since online schools can’t confer college credit, and since you probably haven’t interacted with the workshop instructor before, you’re spending your time and money on a program that you haven’t used before.
So, why wouldn’t that school prioritize you ? You want to be confident that your writing, your creativity, and your time will be valued, otherwise you’re wasting your money on an experience you hardly learned from.
Check to see if the program itself has a student promise before you enroll in their writing workshops. If it doesn’t seem like the school will center your learning and growth as a writer, don’t take the risk—there are plenty of other schools to choose from.
The feedback you receive in creative writing workshops will often prove the most valuable aspect of the course. Because most workshops are run by writers with Masters or Doctoral degrees, they’ve spent a fair amount of time giving and receiving feedback in competitive and community settings. As a result, they know a ton about the craft skills that make for good literature, and they know how to transmit those skills to their students.
Most importantly, a good writing instructor will tell you what you’re doing well in your writing.
The feedback you receive in online writing workshops will vary by the scope of the workshops and the backgrounds of the instructors. You might receive feedback on:
Most importantly, a good writing instructor will tell you what you’re doing well in your writing. When you write a really great simile , have well developed characters , or find a moment of deep insight, your instructor will highlight this.
While it’s good to know what needs to be improved, writers can’t begin to improve until they also know what works in their poems and stories. This is how you build a foundation for good writing: start with what works, and sculpt from there. Writing workshops are the best spaces to build this foundation!
The best online writing workshops are centered around the craft of writing. Unlike English and composition classes, which focus on grammar, literacy, and the mechanics of language, creative writing workshops look at using these mechanics to write compelling, effective stories. And, in a writing workshop, you don’t just use the rules, you get to break them!
In a writing workshop, you don’t just use the rules, you get to break them.
The craft elements you focus on will vary based on the kind of course you’re in. If you’re taking poetry writing workshops, for example, you’ll focus on employing effective literary devices and studying different forms of poetry .
Likewise, in novel writing workshops, you might study elements like plot , point of view , and the art of storytelling .
Good writing workshops will break down great literature into the components that make it great, allowing you to read like a writer and employ these craft skills in your own work. And, learning the craft of creative writing helps you with everyday tasks, like sending emails or expanding your vocabulary.
The workshop is a space of unfettered creativity. Writers get to share their ideas, their experiences, and their creative, collaborative minds in the same space, making workshops the place to experiment with ideas. Of course, this is only possible if the workshop respects your creative authority.
We don’t “earn” the title of “writer,” we simply are writers, and a good writing course will uphold your integrity and creative vision, no matter where you are in your writing journey.
What does respect for your creative authority mean? It means that no one judges, criticizes, or condemns you for your writing and ideas. The best writing workshops will:
Most importantly, this is true no matter how “new” you are to creative writing workshops . Whether you’ve submitted the first poem you’ve ever written or your thousandth, you deserve the same level of respect as everyone else in the room. We don’t “earn” the title of “writer,” we simply are writers, and a good writing course will uphold your integrity and creative vision, no matter where you are in your writing journey.
In a writing workshop, you may encounter many different ideas, but you also encounter the freedom to accept or reject those ideas. It’s your writing. You get the final say!
What is a writing workshop without community? Writing can be a lonely practice, but a writing community makes all the difference. The best creative writing workshops foster a sense of community. In fact, many writers have come away from our courses with friends and writing partnerships that last for years and years!
A writing community can give you the motivation to create, the license to experiment, and the potential to learn even more about the craft of writing.
A writing community can give you the motivation to create, the license to experiment, and the potential to learn even more about the craft of writing. Because we all have very different literary backgrounds, we all have studied different authors and elements of the writing craft. When we write in a community, we naturally share what we’ve learned with one another, creating a culture of growth and inspiration.
Additionally, a strong writing community creates valuable feedback. When you write alongside people who know and enjoy your work, it is much easier to give and receive feedback, especially when these writers know what you’re trying to accomplish.
Many well-known authors throughout history have been a part of valuable writing communities, such as The Beat Poets, Stratford-on-Odeon, and these famous writing groups . Writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and when you enroll in community-oriented online writing workshops, you foster the kinds of relationships and connections that can sustain your literary career.
Because writing is often solitary, it can be hard to motivate yourself to get work done. Taking online writing workshops pushes you to put words on the page.
Sometimes, the biggest barrier is beginning, but creative writing workshops will spark your writing practice.
For one thing, these classes cost money, and when you’re spending money to write and learn about writing, you’re more likely to actually write and learn about writing.
But, it’s not just the monetary transaction that motivates writers in adult writing workshops. Your course might provide you with:
Some writing workshops are even designed to motivate you, such as our class Write Your Novel! The Workshop With Jack . Sometimes, the biggest barrier is beginning, but creative writing workshops will spark your writing practice.
Because writing workshops require you to submit work every week, students will have to set up a consistent writing practice in order to meet these deadlines. Not only does this prepare you for your life as a published author (where deadlines are less flexible), but this also helps you master a key aspect of the writing life: a consistent writing habit.
To make the most of creative writing workshops, try to find time to write every day.
Writing every day isn’t just good advice, it’s essential to building a writing life. Writers who want to build careers out of their work, or at the very least publish books some day, will have to dedicate time every day to their work. When you engage with language each day, you build the skills necessary to write good books, and you also keep yourself creatively motivated. This is true especially for the days that are hardest to write on.
Of course, most of us lead very busy lives. How do we steal time as artists? Here are some ideas:
These ideas won’t work for everyone, and it all depends on your schedule and lifestyle. Nonetheless, to make the most of creative writing workshops, try to find time to write every day. It’s best to write at the same time every day, but if your schedule doesn’t allow this, sneak time wherever you can. Balancing a career, a family, and a writing life isn’t easy, but when the work calls, you’ll find time to answer!
As writers, it’s important for us to know our literary history. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to read every piece of classic literature to start writing—in fact, many books published in the 19th century could never be published today.
If you want to publish your own work some day, it’s important to know what else is being published today.
But it does mean knowing the craft skills that went into both classic and contemporary books. It especially means having a sense of the contemporary literary zeitgeist. If you want to publish your own work some day, it’s important to know what else is being published today.
The best creative writing workshops broaden your literary horizons. When you read classic literature, you get a sense of the foundations of contemporary writing, and the ways that writers before us expanded the possibilities of literature as a whole. When you read contemporary literature, you get a sense of today’s publishing landscape and what people are looking for in the writings of today.
(If you plan to publish books by querying literary agents , reading contemporary work is crucial, because you need to have good comps in your query letter . Comps are books that have been published recently and are similar, in some ways, to your own.)
Now, this doesn’t mean you need to write like other authors. In fact, far from it. It’s better that you learn to write like yourself , because your most valuable asset as a writer is your voice. But, when you expand your literary horizons, you engage with literature and make decisions on what you do and don’t want to do in your work.
What do you like to read? What do you want to never read again? The more you read, the more you hone your own voice as a writer. Great writing workshops introduce you to literature that provokes these kinds of questions.
One of the best reasons to take online writing workshops is that they give you an outlet for feelings and creativity.
Writing workshops are a great supplement to a healthy writer’s life.
This is the result of the various reasons listed above for taking writing classes. By building community, creating a writing practice, and engaging with literature, you inevitably nourish your creativity. In doing so, you nurture a healthy space to explore your ideas and emotions—an essential aspect of any writer’s life.
Now, even the best online writing workshops can’t replace the benefits of therapy. We’re not saying you should ditch your therapist for a Writers.com class. But we are saying that writing workshops are a great supplement to a healthy writer’s life, because they create safe spaces for you to experiment with your work and explore your emotions freely on the page.
This is true even for writers of genre fiction or persona poetry. It’s true for participants in fiction writing workshops and memoir writing workshops. We gravitate to writing in part for its emotional release, and a great online class in creative writing will nurture this release. Between the prompts, community, and writing habits that a creative writing workshop fosters, you’re sure to come away from your workshop with renewed emotional health.
The best creative writing workshops are the beginning of your writing life, not the end. When your workshop ends, you should come away with new ideas for writing, new publication opportunities to pursue, and new friends and mentors to nurture your writing journey.
The best creative writing workshops are the beginning of your writing life, not the end.
Throughout the workshop, you’ll find new opportunities for continuous growth. You might find a list of literary journals to submit to, new readings to stimulate your writing, further creative writing workshops to attend, or simply the emails and social media accounts of students you really enjoyed working with.
If you’re ready to move on to the next level of your writing, your instructor will provide you with next steps. And, if you want to learn more outside of the classroom, contact the instructor about this. We’re always excited by writers who want to keep learning and learning!
Of course, we’re partial to our own workshops at Writers.com . Since 1995 we’ve offered the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and book writing workshops around the internet, inspiring thousands of writers to embark on their writing journeys, find their voices, and get published.
We offer both single-day webinars and multi-week workshops in all genres, and also offer opportunities for private coaching with our instructors. If you’re looking for the best, you’ve already found it. Drop us a line if you have any questions!
Check out our full schedule of upcoming classes here.
In addition to Writers.com, here are some online writing workshops that we’ve found offer fantastic creative writing education:
You get to find great literature, meet fellow scribblers, build a writing habit, and, most importantly, take your writing journey to the next level. Why wait? Enroll in an online writing workshop today!
Thanks for the information it’s really enlightening
So glad I found this writing site. I have more exploring to do. I’m sure I will be back.
Good and helpful
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How do beginners practice writing ?
Here you are as an adult who’s decided to make writing an essential part of your life.
However little practice you’ve had until now, it’s not too late to become a writer.
It’s as simple (and challenging) as showing up every day to write something .
Getting started on your daily writing can be tricky, though–especially if it’s not a habit yet.
That’s why we’ve rounded up this collection of 35 fun writing exercises for adults.
We’re not talking about writing prompts (which are also helpful). Writing exercises usually focus on a specific type of writing to help you develop your skills.
The list in this post offers a variety of fiction writing exercises, each dealing with one or more of the following:
Since there’s plenty of room for overlap with these types, the list below doesn’t separate them. You can choose, though, to focus on one specific type for each exercise.
If you’re still wondering, “How do I start writing as an adult?” the answer is to do just that: start writing. We all have to start somewhere. The older you are when you begin, the more experiences you can draw from for your writing material.
What better way to get started and build a daily writing habit than with some easy writing exercises?
Look through the list below and start with the one that gets your mind immediately working on ideas. Don’t worry if those ideas quiet down the moment you begin.
Take a deep breath (or two) and write whatever comes to mind.
1. Write up to ten emotions on as many strips of paper and put them in a container. Choose an object, and then pick out one of the pieces of paper. Write about the object from the perspective of a character feeling that emotion. Or write a journal entry for a character, expressing that emotion and explaining why they feel it.
2. Start with a blank page and whatever is on your mind, and just write. This is a stream of consciousness exercise where you just let the thoughts pour onto the page without worrying about grammar , spelling, or technique. The point is to just get the words flowing without interruption. Choose the topic , and run with it.
3. Take one of your works in progress or a story you’ve enjoyed reading, and write from the perspective of one of its characters. It can be the protagonist, the chief antagonist, or anyone else. Get into the character’s head and write freely about the story or another character from their point of view.
4. Choose a creative writing prompt for the day and write for a solid five minutes using whatever comes to mind. Don’t worry about how it sounds or whether you think it’s bestseller material. The point here isn’t to write something masterful; it’s to help you get used to writing without a filter. Editing is not part of this.
5. Imagine you’ve gone back in time, and you have the opportunity to say something to your younger self. Write about how that encounter would go and what, if anything, you would say to warn them about a pivotal decision you remember making. Would you encourage them to choose differently? Or would you just be there for yourself?
6. Write a fake advertisement for a roommate, a job, a product of your own making, or whatever you want. Have fun with it. You can even advertise yourself, offering your services as a memoir writer , a food tester, an interior designer, or whatever. It doesn’t have to be something you’re good at.
7. Write a short blog post from the perspective of one of your story characters — or any character you choose from a TV series, a movie, or a story you’ve enjoyed reading. Write about something they’ve learned, something they want to do, or someone who’s on their mind a lot lately.
8. Describe your ideal home office using as much sensory detail as possible. Include the color scheme, the decorating style and type of furniture, the smells from candles or fresh flowers, the taste of your favorite working beverage and/or snacks, and the tactile sensations you experience while working in that room.
9. Pick a number between one and ten. Choose a book from your shelf and go to that number page and to that number line on the page. Use it as a prompt for a poem and take it in whatever direction you choose. Don’t worry about technique. Write the words that come as a sort of free association exercise.
10. Your character comes to you with a problem. Your job, for this exercise, is to keep asking the question, “Why?” and writing down whatever they give as their answer. If they get exasperated (and rude), you can go with that, too. Make the words fit your character. And don’t be afraid to go deep.
11. Pretend you’re a talk show host, and your special guest is the protagonist or antagonist of a favorite story or your own work in progress. Record your conversation as a dialogue, and don’t be afraid to ask personal or challenging questions. Let your guest answer in a way that fits their character.
12. You’ve gone to a party with a favorite story character, and they’ve had a bit too much to drink. What might they say or do when they’re less inhibited? Record a conversation you have with their drunken self or describe a scene they create while under the influence. And what are the consequences?
13. Describe an unexpectedly romantic scene between two characters. Start with something mundane and have one of the characters say something unexpected — either from a sudden rush of emotion or because they’re distracted and not thinking about the words coming out. Write about what happens between them.
14. Write a detailed description of the room you’re in right now. What details stand out for you, and why do they matter? What would you change if you could? What can you do today or this week to make this room better for writing in? Or what do you love about this room that no other room has?
15. Your character steps through a portal into a place of your choosing. Describe it using words to set a particular mood . How does your character feel as they walk deeper into the scene? Are they afraid, curious, hungry, sad, or something else? And how does that emotion affect their perception of their surroundings?
16. Write a dialogue between two characters who keep misinterpreting each other’s words and nonverbal cues, thanks to their own distorted self-perception. Is one of them convinced the other finds them unattractive or annoying? Is the other trying to work up the nerve to ask them out? Add descriptions of body language.
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17. Use your phone or computer to record yourself talking about whatever is on your mind, e ither from your perspective or that of a favorite character. When you’ve done this for at least five minutes (set a timer), use the text-to-speech function to transcribe what you’ve recorded.
18. Recall your text-to-speech exercise and pretend you’re taking down your thoughts (or your character’s thoughts) from mental dictation. Use a prompt, if it helps, and record their stream-of-consciousness thinking process without editing or filtering any of the content. Write exactly as you (or they) talk.
19. Imagine you’ve just inherited or won a huge, life-changing sum of money, and you’re discussing it with someone close to you. What ideas do both of you have for its use? Do you disagree on how best to manage the money? Or are you both finally able to do something you’ve wanted to do — together or separately?
20. Find the day’s Twitter #vss word prompt (140 characters or fewer) and write something using that word — a brief dialogue, a pivotal moment, a shocking advertisement, etc. Write as many as you like, and, if you have a Twitter account, share one with your followers, making sure to include #vss and other relevant tags.
21. Choose a character and write about something they’re ashamed of. How did they learn to be ashamed of it? Who in that character’s past contributed to that? And what could another character do to help them confront that shame and heal from it? What, if anything, does this character need to hear, admit, or do to overcome it?
22. If you or one of your characters becomes physically ill at the prospect of doing something or going somewhere , what’s causing this immediate onset of physical symptoms, and how exactly do they manifest? What could you or your character do to change the way you respond to this perceived threat?
23. Write a letter to yourself to read a year from now. Write as if you’ve accomplished all the things you want to do over the next 12 months. Describe how your life has changed and what you love about it. What changes have you made and undergone that you’re proud of? Where did you begin with the changes?
24. Write about a dialogue between you and an important person in your life. Add any sensory details and body language you remember. What emotions did you feel, and how did this conversation affect you? What did you realize that you expressed to the other person—or that you couldn’t put into words?
25. Put yourself in a character’s shoes and write about the moment they realized they were in love with someone. What were they thinking and feeling in that moment? What did they do with those feelings? And how did it affect their next interaction with that person? Were they free to express what they were feeling?
26. Find a small box and tape it securely shut. Let your imagination run loose and write about what’s in the box and why you can’t risk opening it (at least not until the time is right). Or write about what will happen when the box is opened and its contents revealed. What or whom are you protecting?
27. Describe your perfect bedroom down to the smallest sensory detail. What do you love most about it—the colors, the bedding, the furniture, the closet, etc.? What descriptive words come to mind when you think of that space? Whom do you allow to enter that room (as long as you’re there and they knock first)?
28. Create a timeline of important moments in a character’s life. What experiences shaped them as a person? What pivotal moments have contributed to the life they live now? What choices have they made that led them to where they are? How might you explain their biggest fears or characteristic tendencies?
29. If you’re writing a story, describe a pivotal moment from the perspective of an outsider who witnessed that moment but is not part of the story . What do they notice that your characters do not? How do they interpret the situation since, as an outsider, they’re not privy to important background information?
30. Take a character of your own making (or someone else’s) and put them through something that pushes their limits and deeply affects them, leaving them uncertain as to how to make sense of it. Show how it changes their perspective and their behavior from that point forward.
31. Brainstorm a list of at least five ideas for something related to a story you’re writing: five surprising or defining facts about your main character, five things your antagonist would do to mess with your protagonist , five important details about your story’s setting, five ways your main character could get what they want, etc.
32. Choose a book written by an author you admire and write about an important moment in your life using the voice from a particular character in that book (protagonist, villain, etc.). How would they express what they’re feeling or how they’re inclined to react? What would they do that you would not—or vice-versa?
33. Describe in detail the kind of relationship you want for yourself. Make a list of must-haves and of nice-to-have qualities in a partner. You can also pretend you’re writing a profile description for an online dating site. Or write a letter to your current or future partner about what you really want to have with them.
34. Pick one of your characters and describe the best day of their life in detail. What made it their best day ever? When did it happen, and how? Have they tried to recreate that day more recently? And if so, how did it go? What (if anything) went wrong? Or what happened as an unintended consequence?
35. Write down three random nouns, four adjectives, two verbs, and one adverb for a Mad Libs exercise. Now, write at least 500 words of a story that uses all ten of those words. It doesn’t have to make sense. In fact, the goofier, the better. This can be a self-contained story or the first chapter of a longer one.
Now that you’ve looked through all 35 creative writing exercises, which ones stood out for you? And which one will you try today? The goal here is to get you so comfortable with writing it becomes second nature.
You don’t need perfect; you just need to start somewhere.
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Posted by Chinny Verana on Friday, October 6th, 2023
Article Outline
1. drawing and painting, 2. imagination clay, 3. playful puppets, 4. time capsule making, 6. pop-up book creation, 7. design thinking, 8. typography workshops, 9. photography workshops, 10. poetry writing, 11. pottery workshop idea, 12. personal branding identity workshop, 13. flower arrangement workshop, 14. carpentry and woodwork workshop, 15. candle making, 16. jewelry making workshop, 17. recycling workshop, 18. logo creation workshop, 19. mind mapping activity, 20. billboard or ad-making exercise, 21. storyboarding workshops, 22. trade show booth sketching, 23. feature making activity, 24. redesign an old ad (sherwin, 2010), 25. packaging design workshop, tips on organizing a successful creative workshop, organize your creative workshop with event espresso.
Engaging in creative activities is known to be therapeutic and enjoyable to participants. People are all about gaining new experiences and forming meaningful interactions. Gone are the days of attending boring events. Today, people attend events for the content, people, and the transformation. This is why creative workshops are so important.
Workshops are known for their ability to give participants an opportunity for interactive hands-on learning, skills development, and self-expression.
Enhancing an attendee’s creative skills also contributes to their personal and professional development.
“According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review , an impressive 77% of entrepreneurs acknowledged the significance of their imagination in attaining success.” a report said.
The growing awareness of the impact of creative workshops presents event organizers with a prime opportunity to craft captivating and enriching creative workshops.
Creative workshops bring a lot of benefits to participants. A successful creative workshop leaves participants inspired with new ideas and ignites a deep desire for creativity.
Each person has a creative side and attending a creative workshop event helps in developing and nurturing that creative spark. Developing creative skills helps build skills for personal growth. Participants can learn to think outside the box and look at a situation from different perspectives.
Aside from developing more creative skills, engaging in creative activities is therapeutic and healing. In other words, creativity exercises in workshops are factors for an attendee’s improved mental and emotional state.
If you’re ready to start organizing creative workshop events for your community or audience, here are some of the best workshop ideas to get you started.
Drawing and painting are some of the best workshop ideas for creativity. These activities are not just fun for kids but it also contributes to the development of their fine motor skills. Additionally, it also helps with their creative expression, imagination, and creativity.
Some activities to do could be free-form drawing, self-portraits, story illustrations, finger painting, and more.
Engage the child’s sense of touch and imagination by giving them a colorful set of clays they can mold. Through hands-on activities, they’ll get to mold, shape, and sculpt their unique creations from soft, pliable clay. Kids can enjoy a sense of accomplishment after they build and mold their creations.
Teach the skill of storytelling and production to your kids through a puppet activity. Practicing how to create a dialogue helps kids develop critical thinking skills and promotes creative thinking. Add creative elements to this fun idea by giving scenarios as prompts, fun props, and colorful visuals.
Creating a time capsule is another way for the kids to expand their imaginations. Some fun ideas to keep their creative juices flowing are decorating their time capsules, writing a letter to the future, a memory collage, collecting popular trends, storytelling, a memory book, and more.
Doing this activity encourages kids to think outside the box and anticipate the future. The creative process of choosing what to include and decorate also encourages reflection and self-expression.
Origami is a classic activity that involves folding paper that forms into unique shapes. This fun activity involves visualizing and understanding how two-dimensional paper can transform into three-dimensional shapes. This enhances spatial awareness and problem-solving abilities for kids.
An origami creative workshop is simple to organize but therapeutic for the attendees. Organizers can just prepare origami papers, an instructor, and folding instructions.
Combine multiple creative skills for your participants with this workshop idea. Ask the kids to plot a storyline of their choice. You can give prompts or inspiration to get them started. After that, they can draw and paint the main illustrations of the book, cut the pop-up elements, and assemble them into a book.
This activity enhances different aspects of creativity of the participants from concept creation, writing, drawing, coloring, spatial awareness, and imagination.
Creative people are good problem solvers. A Design Thinking Workshop exercises the attendees’ creative thinking skills and helps them think clearly about complex topics. Additionally, it also equips participants on how to spot a good and feasible idea.
Activities of a design thinking workshop include empathy mapping, problem statement framing, ideation sessions, and storyboarding. The book Design Thinking Workshop lists down important elements for organizing a creative workshop like an open outcome challenge, a space for the team to sketch and do prototypes, and a space for debriefing.
The goal of this workshop idea is for participants to develop a process of understanding and thinking of solutions for a topic at hand.
Typography is the art of creating fonts or texts, typically in the form of written language, to make them visually appealing, readable, and communicative. This is an interesting workshop event because participants can make their own font and even use it for their brand or company. Invite a graphic designer or typography expert to help facilitate the workshop event.
Photography plays a crucial role in today’s visual and connected world. Teach attendees the basics of photography and equip them with new skills on how to take a good photo. Include activities that aim to enhance a participant’s visual communication.
Here are some fun creativity exercises for a photography workshop:
Writing poetry is a good avenue for participants to release their creative ideas. Being able to write poetry helps boost participant’s self-esteem and creative expression. Group members can discuss the work of their favorite poet, assess different poetry, and compose their very own poems. The facilitator can provide inspirations or themes for the attendees to write about.
After creating their poetry, they can recite it to their small group or the whole group.
Attending a creative workshop is incredibly rewarding, especially when you get to take home a handcrafted creation made with your own hands. Mold useful items like pots, plates, saucers, home decor, etc. Aside from the deeply satisfying experience, pottery items also make a unique gift idea and profitable side business idea.
Personal Branding is important for one’s professional growth because it can differentiate you in a crowded market. Help attendees discover their strengths and even uncover new skills from the different creativity exercises.
Some examples include:
Create a bouquet, centerpieces, wreaths, terrariums and more. Arranging flowers is a creative outlet that also helps in destressing and relaxation. In-person attendees will leave the workshop with a renewed sense of appreciation for nature and sustainability. Additionally, they have gained the skills to start their own side business.
Enhance your attendee’s artistic and practical skills with a Woodwork or Carpentry workshop.
Hire a skilled trainer to conduct the workshops for safety measures and customization. Participants will feel a sense of accomplishment after they craft their very own simple furniture.
Event planners can also create a series of carpentry workshops at different skill levels.
Another unique creative workshop idea is candle making. Teach basic chemistry and engage their sense of smell with this creative exercise. This workshop explores the world of wax, fragrances, and colors.
Everyone loves crafting beautiful accessories for different occasions. Set up a jewelry-making workshop using different beads and stones. There are so many creative exercises in-person attendees can do – from earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and anklets.
This can be one of the best workshop ideas because of its sustainable impact . People are starting to be more conscious of sustainability and the environment so this workshop will gain interest.
Start with a theme of items that can be repurposed. An idea could be asking each group member to bring clothes that they are not wearing anymore to convert into blankets or rugs. Old books can be recycled to create beautiful book art or collages. Tires can be repurposed as planters, outdoor chairs, or tables.
Get your employees to practice their creativity and make them think like business owners with this creative corporate workshop idea . Employees can create their life logo or even a logo for their team’s new project or product.
Practicing this exercise helps them develop a creative process – from research and brainstorming to sketching and digital design.
Train employees to approach complex problems through lateral thinking. A Mind Mapping Activity organizes information and simplifies complex topics by breaking them down into digestible components, making it easier to understand and work with intricate details.
The process starts with a central idea and group members will draw different branches for aspects or ideas related to the main idea. Employ visual elements to enhance clarity and focus.
Billboards are known for their captivating and eye-catching concepts. Organize a workshop that inspires employees to wear their marketing hats and craft their unique advertisements or billboards. These instructions can revolve around a particular campaign or a specific product launch.
When employees master the art of storytelling, they develop empathy and good communication skills. Learning the principles of storytelling is an important skill when selling a product, finalizing a brand message, and building customer relationships. Make it a team-building activity wherein group members create a storyboard for a promotional video campaign.
Practice the participant’s engineering and sketching skills by coming up with trade show booth ideas for your organization. The workshop can guide sketching techniques, including perspective, scale, and shading. Share tips for creating visually appealing booth concepts on paper.
Give participants a fun challenge by asking them to create a feature of a person, place, event, or thing. Teach active listening, proper researching skills, questioning techniques, proofreading, and audience analysis.
Present attendees with print ads from the 90s or earlier and ask them to recreate it as a modern ad. Participants will learn how to observe market insights from the past and take the classic business principles there.
Packaging is a major part of a product’s brand image. The workshop can involve a discussion on different consumer psychology and trends. A hands-on exercise for a mock-up or creating prototypes can be a fun interactive experience among attendees.
People are drawn to creative workshops because of the skill development and hands-on experience they will gain. Be clear on your marketing and promotions on what attendees can get out of the workshop.
Creative workshops are heavy on tools and materials. Do necessary preparations on the materials and headcount so each member can maximize the program.
The creative ideas mentioned above are heavy on the physical senses. Try to create an immersive experience for attendees by adding elements that will engage their senses. Play music, serve snacks, add scented candles, etc.
Workshops are a great way to build connections because of their hands-on activities and collaborative exercises. As an event organizer, think of how members can feel at ease with each other. Collect data from their sign-ups so you can understand their background and add personalized activities.
Don’t forget that attendees want to attend a workshop not just to learn but also to have fun. Choose fun activities within your workshop that your participants will enjoy and benefit from at the same time.
Set up a successful and profitable creative workshop with reliable platforms like Event Espresso and Event Smart .
Unlike other platforms , Event Espresso is an event ticketing platform for WordPress users that enables the selling of an unlimited number of tickets at $0 commission fees. Event Smart is a similar platform but for non-Wordpress users.
Both platforms are useful when organizing a workshop because they allow for customizable registration forms to get important information on attendees. Furthermore, it is a secure platform to collect payments on seats sold.
Start planning for your workshop now. Check out our Live Demo or our 7-day Free Trial .
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Showing 29 courses that match your search.
HerPaperRoute
In this course, participants will learn how to brand themselves as authorities in their niche, with content tailored for both beginners and more experienced individuals, helping them establish a strong presence in their chosen field.
Website: https://herpaperroute.com/free-blogging-courses/
Categories: Adult
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Open all year round
Prerequisites: No prerequisites
Hubspot Academy
The course provides insights into starting and maintaining a blog, developing an effective blogging strategy, engaging an audience, and enhancing business visibility through blogging.
Website: https://academy.hubspot.com/
The Business Writing course is designed to enhance writing skills for a professional setting, aiding in clear communication. It includes lessons on structure, audience engagement, and effective writing techniques.
How to Write a Novel
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Kansas City Public Library
In this course, participants will explore the use of metaphors, similes, allegories, and symbols in writing through practical exercises designed to enhance creativity and expression.
Website: https://kclibrary.org/
October, 2024
This course explores the therapeutic potential of writing through journaling and storytelling, aiming to reframe past experiences and enhance personal narratives.
December, 2024
This online writing course is for beginners and intermediates, focusing on personal and career development.
Michigan State University
This course helps you write a full-length novel (50,000 words) by guiding you through the process, including idea development, character creation, and structuring your story. It promotes experiential learning with short lectures and practical writing activities, ensuring you have a complete manuscript by the end.
Website: https://www.coursera.org/
Red Lounge for Writers
The course consists of three video lessons covering essential elements of memoir writing, common pitfalls, and tips on structuring the beginning and end of your story. Includes downloadable worksheets for hands-on practice.
Website: https://www.redloungeforwriters.com/
The Memoir Network
This free course includes five lessons that teach memoir writing techniques, focusing on memory enhancement, pre-writing tasks, utilizing personal materials, productivity options, and overcoming writer's block.
Website: https://thememoirnetwork.com/free-memoir-writing-course/
This workshop focuses on transforming freelance writing skills into content marketing opportunities, covering marketing jargon, types of content businesses need, and how to find freelance jobs.
Website: https://www.porchtn.org/workshops
August, 2024
Austin Bat Cave
The course focuses on organic plot development driven by character decisions and their consequences, helping writers create engaging narratives.
Website: https://austinbatcave.org/
In this course, learn to write compelling nonfiction by exploring narrative techniques and journalistic tools to connect with readers authentically.
Website: https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/
Looking to build your writing skillset, learn more about your genre, or finally finish that book you’ve been working on? You’re in the right place. That’s why we built this directory of the best creative writing courses.
However, creative writing classes aren’t one size fit all. If you’re planning to join an adult creative writing class in particular, you’ll want to make sure that it matches what you’re seeking to learn about the genre.
So make sure to consider the following questions when you’re researching adult writing courses:
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by Mary Jaksch
Stuck for inspiration?
Don’t panic! It happens to all writers.
Here are ten of the best creative writing exercises to inspire you to start (and finish) that book.
1. 7x7x7 Find the 7th book from your bookshelf (or digital library). Open it up to page 7. Look at the 7th sentence on the page. Begin a paragraph that begins with that sentence and limit the length to 7 lines. Repeat. Read them out and choose the one with the most promise.
2. Dictionary Open the dictionary to a random page. Find a word that you do not know how to define. Write an imaginary definition for it. Repeat until one inspires you.
Maybe that’s how Terry Pratchett come up with his ideas 🙂
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3. First Describe a first. Your first kiss, your first kitten, your first day of school—all will make excellent stories.
7. Hello, you!
If you want to write a non-fiction book, write a letter to your future self. What do you want to say?
8. Found Ads Find two ads in the newspaper. Create a book idea only using words from the two ads.
9. “I remember…” Start a paragraph with, “I remember…” and let your memories dictate what you write.
10. Switch Persona Write a mini-story in the first person. Take on the persona of someone with a different gender, different nationality, and different age. Again, this can form the basis for a great book.
I hope these creative writing exercises helped you move forward with your book.
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When looking for workshop ideas for adults, it's important to keep an open mind. That's exactly what we did with this list. We hope these ideas will help!
Creative workshops are opportunities to bring large groups together that share an interest or hobby, to help them enhance their skills and hone their craft. While often used as a form of art therapy to support those with physical and/or mental health issues, creative workshops have a range of benefits for absolutely everybody. These include:
If you’re ready to venture into the world of creative workshops, look no further! While the most common workshops are normally around art, writing, dancing, and singing, there are plenty of other interesting (and niche) creative ideas and topics to choose from. Below, we’ve put together 11 creative workshop ideas for adults.
Workshops can last anywhere from an hour to several days. However, the foundation of the workshop (or each day) is generally the same.
Introduction and greetings In the beginning, introduce yourself and your expertise. Encourage everyone to introduce themselves to the wider group, too. This is a good point to use an ice breaker or play a quick game.
Goals The next step is to share your goals for the workshop. What can your participants expect to achieve by the end of it?
Teaching This is the bulk of the session, where you teach the group the skills, techniques, and theory required as part of the workshop.
Breakout sessions Then, encourage your group to break into small groups to share progress, give feedback, and problem-solving.
Conclusion Once finished, wrap up the session by allowing everyone to share their work. Then share the next steps such as a follow-up email, handouts, a certificate, or an overview of the next workshop session!
From the niche to the more frequently attended, here are our best ideas for creative workshop event ideas.
Painting classes, as well as paint and sip classes, are both great ways to encourage creativity and emotional expression. The best thing about painting workshops is that they don’t require experience from the attendees, and they can cover anything from brush strokes and painting techniques to art history and step-by-step tutorials.
With cameras on every phone nowadays, plenty of people fancy themselves as a bit of a photographer. But, a photography lesson can take this to a whole new level. Studying movement, lenses, apertures and focus lengths means the workshop can be a mixture of theory and more practical work.
Not only do creative writing workshops encourage new ideas and boost writing skills, but they give outlets to those who may struggle to get to grips with their feelings. Some workshops also encourage peer-to-peer feedback and critiques, which can boost communication and collaboration skills with the rest of the group.
During the recent lockdown, two big things happened in our homes. One, we turned to indoor hobbies and activities, and two, many of us filled our homes with plants and greenery. One awesome way of combining these two trends is by creating crochet planters and hangers. These are beautiful, handmade crochet pieces that can either hold a plant (much like a traditional plant pot) or can be hung from the ceiling with a small succulent or trailing plant in tow. Crochet is a very calming and relaxing activity — much like knitting, and it’s always a bonus for your participants to be able to take the thing they made home.
Screen printing is an innovative and fun way to create art. It involves physically pushing ink through a stenciled mesh screen to create a design. It’s used for lots of different things such as posters, artwork, printed textiles, and more. This type of workshop combines design, painting, and printing, making it a super-fun form of art.
Body art workshops are one of those group activities that offer a wide range of practical advice, technical skills, and techniques to participants. Workshop activities might include:
These workshops are not only engaging and hands-on but can actually teach skills that can lead to a new hobby or even a career!
On the theme of body art and makeup, theatrical and special FX are another super-engaging form of adult creative workshop. These workshops can cover topics such as theatre makeup, or can extend to special effects ( also known as SFX ) such as bruises, scars, skin diseases, and sometimes even prosthetics! Generally, these sorts of workshops run over a period of days or a couple of weeks.
Perhaps the tastiest of workshop ideas, a create, cook, and consume workshop is a delicious way of learning new skills and dishes. Often, these workshops have a theme in mind such as one-pan meals or takeaway classics, or may cover a single dish such as a gourmet risotto, a perfectly-cooked steak, or a delicious creme brulee.
One for the creative and tech-savvy customers, a motion animation creative workshop helps your participants to create animations using stop motion. This means creating a piece by taking photographs of a scene that’s manipulated frame-by-frame. A workshop like this requires the best in technical equipment such as cameras, tripods, and editing software , and can end with a small showcase of everyone’s 30-second stop motion animation pieces.
From bouquets to terrariums, a flower arranging workshop can cover a wide array of floral topics. The subject matter expert can teach everything from seasonal flowers and lantern arrangements to table decorations and door designs.
A woodworking workshop or course can cover plenty of skills. These include furniture making , shelf creation, wood carving, or even longbow making! This gives everyone the chance to create their own piece that they can use or display in their home.
Now you’ve found your inspiration, how can you make sure your workshop is successful? Follow the below tips for some pointers.
It goes back to the old adage — practice makes perfect! By running your workshop more than once, you will not only improve them in quality, but you’ll also gain feedback and referrals from those who have previously attended. You can run a workshop every Tuesday evening, once a fortnight, or even for a week at a time across several months. Don’t forget virtual workshops are an option, too.
Some of the best workshops offer networking opportunities. Especially when looking at skills such as creative writing, virtual design thinking, or SFX makeup. Look at bringing in guest instructors, social media groups, and plenty of chatting opportunities among your clients to make this work. This also adds value to your workshop, allowing you to charge more.
Promoting your workshop is an art on its own but this is a simple idea that you can implement immediately. Exclusivity is key to selling out your workshop quickly . For example, you can offer ‘only’ 10 places per workshop.
No one wants to be left out and having only a few spaces each time also creates a sense of urgency for those who are thinking about signing up. Limiting your space also gives you more time to give attention to each person, and you can always create a waiting list or a newsletter sign-up for those who are interested in your upcoming workshops.
The first rule of creating a workshop is to make sure it’s something that you’re good at, and a topic where those who attend can come away having learned something from the experience.
However, you also want to run a workshop that’s going to be popular. So, try to find something that’s trending. If you’re not sure whether or not a topic is on the up, look at Google Trends to find search engine data over the last 3, 6, or 12 months. This will give a good indication of trending topics.
The key to a successful workshop is relevancy. This means not teaching techniques that were used 5-10 years ago, but using up-to-date methodologies with the best-in-class resources to help you.
Also, it’s crucial to create relevancy to the topic. If you’re promoting an art workshop, but end up teaching more art history than giving the opportunity for your clients to practice their own art, they may be disappointed with the experience. So set customer expectations when marketing your workshop.
Although a game may sound childish, games are an effective way of breaking the ice among your group and helping them feel more comfortable with you. Try a fun icebreaker , activity, or puzzle at the beginning of your session to create a warm and welcome atmosphere. You can also encourage teamwork if you split participants into small groups.
Finally, get organized. Running a workshop by yourself can take a lot of admin time, effort, and resources. So consider using class scheduling software that helps you reduce admin time by managing your calendar, taking payments, and sending automated reminders to customers on your behalf. This will give you more time to plan and run your workshops!
So, there we have it. Our top 11 creative workshop ideas for adults, and 7 tips on making your upcoming workshop a success. Remember that these can be run virtually or in person, and remember to plan how much to charge for your workshop before you get started. Read our other recommended articles below to give you a hand!
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This is an in-person, informal creative writing workshop for adults . Writing prompts will be provided at the beginning of the 1 hour program to help your ideas to flow. But you may start writing with your own prompt or own creative idea(s).
This will be a space for all writing levels to come together to peacefully write and share ideas, ask for feedback, etc. Writing materials will be provided. Please be aware this is not an instructional program. Please view flyer for more information. Thank you.
A writing workshop has been described as a class that teaches itself. At their best, they can create an experience that exceeds everyone’s expectations – including the leader’s! Here’s how to give your next workshop the best chance of making that happen.
As writers who have both attended and conducted writing workshops, we’ve seen firsthand how they can work well – and how they can fall apart. Every writing workshop is unique, and there is no magical formula to ensure success. But there are lots of things you can do to set up the session to have the best chance of generating some truly creative magic.
So much about your workshop’s success depends on the participants and how they work with each other as well as the exercises they are given. Even as the workshop leader, you won’t have complete control over these variables. But you can do your best to provide the right environment, ideas and support for the creative spark to ignite.
Getting the setting for the workshop right, if it’s not already determined as part of another event, is essential. You want a space that’s easy for people to find, with practicalities like parking, accommodations and refreshments covered. At the same time, it needs to be a quiet, self-contained space where you and your fellow creative writers won’t be disturbed.
If you are running the workshop to generate revenue, you may need to factor in costs like venue rental and hiring extra help. Training providers and creative companies will often be willing to rent out an unused meeting room at a reasonable rate, and libraries or even church halls can make good locations, too. So it’s a good idea to ask around before springing for an option that will look very swish, but will erode your profits.
Give participants a good idea of what to expect before they arrive at the workshop. Let them know that they’ll be asked to write something during the session, and that their writing will be discussed in a nonjudgmental way by the group.
It’s important to communicate this up front, because some writers – however experienced – may be uncomfortable with the idea of writing spontaneously and sharing in a group setting. The writers that gain the most from workshops are likely to be those that are ready to take on a challenge and to push beyond their comfort zones in the hopes of developing their craft.
Inform participants about the length and overall structure of the session. A decent length of time per session is about two hours, typically broken down into an hour of writing followed by another hour of reading and feedback. Make sure the time and location are both clearly communicated beforehand, and that you have confirmation of the number of writers who will be attending.
In terms of numbers, five is probably about the ideal group size for this kind of workshop and timeframe. Many more than that, and there is the risk of running out of time before everyone’s had a chance to receive feedback on their work. Less than four participants, and it can start to feel a bit too intense, and lacking in varied opinions.
People sometimes forget to bring writing materials, too, so make sure you have a stock of spare pens and pads handy.
There are a number of different ways to structure a workshop, but whichever approach you use, don’t brief participants on the specific exercises you intend to give them. It’s vital that they arrive without any preconceptions about what they will try to write.
Before starting any exercise, it helps to have a way to break the ice and generate a bit of group rapport, especially as some attendees may be strangers to each other and will understandably feel a little nervous about diving in.
A simple way to do this is to get the group to pair off and chat briefly about why they’ve come to the workshop and what sort of writing they do. Then, you bring everyone back together and ask each person to introduce not themselves, but whomever he or she talked to. Inevitably, the subject of each intro will want to chip in and clarify or supplement a few facts, and in this way people warm up and start interacting more freely.
From there, it’s straight into the exercise section!
We’ve attended writing workshops where, after a brief introduction, everyone launches straight into a single, hour-long exercise. This approach has both benefits and drawbacks.
The main benefit is that it gives participants the time to attempt something ambitious and unconstrained. It’s comforting to know that you can always abandon your piece if it isn’t working, and still be able to produce something halfway decent by the end of the session.
The drawbacks are that, firstly, you’ve barely taken off your coat and uncapped your pen (or fired up your laptop) and you’re immediately expected to be creative – often the mind can freeze in such situations. Secondly, if you’re not inspired by the exercise you’ve been given, you’re basically stuck. So, this can be quite the risky approach, and we’d advise breaking up the writing part of the workshop into a number of different exercises to take some of the pressure off your participants.
A more common approach in writing workshops is for participants to begin with a short and simple warm-up exercise to get the creative juices flowing. This could be, for example, spending a minute writing down all the sounds they can hear. They could then extend this to imagine themselves in a forest or on a busy street and write down what they think they could hear now that they’ve extended the setting.
Another simple exercise to get people in the writing mood would be to ask them to use a couple hundred words to describe a recent meal, their journey to the workshop, or a room in their house or a view from a window. For an extra challenge, tell them they have to do it without using the word “I.”
These limited and circumscribed exercises can be followed by a more open kind of writing challenge, such as:
Other classic workshop exercises require some preparatory work on the leader’s part. You might, for example, provide a list of odd and mismatched words and ask the participants to write a story containing all of them. Or, you might hand around images cut out from a magazine as inspiration for a story. There are lots of other weird and wonderful prompts you could draw on here, too.
Personally, we prefer to structure writing exercises so that the results flow into one another and contribute to, and help shape, a larger story.
For example, you might start off by inviting participants to select one object out of a variety: a hat, a pair of shoes, an umbrella, a pair of glasses, a walking stick, a wristwatch, etc. They would then be asked to write a paragraph describing their chosen object in detail. In the second exercise, the challenge is to describe the person who owns or regularly uses the object, including that person’s personality and life story. The next task is to describe the person’s relationship with the object – how it was acquired, why it’s important to the owner, how it’s used, how it can be personalized, and how it’s changed its owner.
Finally, after briefly discussing what the participants have developed so far, they are asked to begin a story featuring the person and the object. This could be the origin story of how the two first came in contact, a moment of triumph or pride when the object helped the owner achieve something, a significant event when the object first became important, or a moment of crisis or loss. With this approach, the exercises feed naturally into one other, with each adding to the next, giving writers momentum, so that when it comes to the final exercise, they have fewer doubts about the stories they wish to write.
When the writing part of the workshop is over, the leader will invite participants to read out some or all of what they have written. No one should feel compelled to read – although it might be worth gently reminding reluctant participants that a big part of the value of any workshop is the feedback one receives from one’s peers.
The leader usually facilitates the discussion that follows a reading by offering his or her views, which should always be positive and constructive to set the right tone. Everything written in the pressure cooker environment of a workshop is deserving of sincere and wholehearted praise, after all. We praise primarily to show that we understand what the writer intended and can appreciate the work from the writer’s perspective, on his or her terms.
When it comes to the critique part of the workshop, you have to be careful how you express things. Avoid speaking in definitive or objective terms (“this is bad writing”) and refer instead to aspects that didn’t work for you as a reader, or what the writer might expand on, with suggestions of things he or she might do differently or try in the future.
It’s important that the leader doesn’t dominate the feedback session, but also encourages the other participants to give their responses to the readings. The leader’s main role, after offering an informed opinion, is to keep the discussion positive and on-topic, to challenge harsh or unfair criticisms, and to sum up at the end. The leader should also keep an eye on the clock to ensure that discussions don’t run on too long and everyone gets a fair share of feedback time. Once everyone has shared his or her thoughts on the readings, or there is no more time left for the workshop, the leader should bring the session to a close with a few final summarizing remarks.
Often the real benefit of a workshop will only become apparent after the fact. The exercises, along with the feedback, may have sown the seeds of a potential story, or maybe even a novel. The experience might encourage a participant to work on and improve an aspect of his or her technique. The exercises themselves can be reused or adapted as writing prompts in the future.
In short, no one can be sure exactly what will be gained from a creative writing workshop until jumping in and doing one! The simple act of writing spontaneously and then discussing the results will always throw out surprises, and the leader is likely to learn as much, if not more, than the participants.
Alex Woolf and Dan Brotzel are co-authors of a new comic novel, Kitten on a Fatberg (Unbound). As a reader of this website, you can pre-order Kitten on a Fatberg for a 10% discount – simply quote promo code KITTEN10.
Alex has written over 100 books for children and adults, published by the likes of OUP, Ladybird, and Heinemann and Watts.
Dan Brotzel is the winner of the latest Riptide Journal short story competition, was runner-up in the 2019 Leicester Writes contest, and was highly commended in the Manchester Writing School competition 2018. Other competition shortlists include Flash500, Sunderland University/Waterstones, To Hull and Back, Wimbledon BookFest, Fish, Dorset Writers Award and Retreat West. He has words in places like Pithead Chapel, Ellipsis, Reflex Fiction, Cabinet of Heed, Bending Genres, The Esthetic Apostle, Spelk, Ginger Collect, and Fiction Pool. His first collection of short stories, Hotel du Jack, will be published early 2020. He is also co-author of a comic novel, Kitten on a Fatberg, now available to pre-order at Unbound (discount code Kitten10).
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A selection of fun creative writing exercises that can be completed solo, or with a group. Some are prompts to help inspire you to come up with story ideas, others focus on learning specific writing skills. Intro. I run a Creative Writing Meetup for adults and teens in Montpellier or online every week. We start with a 5 to 20 minute exercise ...
Use these creative writing prompts for adults to get you started on the right path to a successful story and suffer from writer's block for the last time. This list of writing prompts for adults can be taken and used in any way you want. Details can be changed, and characters can be added or removed. They are meant to be a fun way to get your ...
Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again: Set a timer for 60 seconds. Now write down as many words or phrases that come to mind at that moment. Pick any colour you like. Now start your sentence with this colour.
5. Host a zine workshop. Source: Peerspace. Get crafty with a zine-making workshop, which will allow your writers to explore their verbal and visual arts skills at the same time. This is a great writing workshop idea for kids since everyone can walk away with a DIY zine to show their friends and family. 6.
Creative Warm-Up Exercises with Places: Choose a place and make it come alive by describing the sights, smells, and sounds. Think of an object and write a story where that object is the main character. Write down three things you want to include in your writing project and then brainstorm how you can incorporate them.
Here are some ways to approach writing prompts: Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write without stopping. Use the prompt as a warm-up exercise before you start working on your main writing project. Share your completed prompt with a writing buddy or in a writers' group to gather feedback and suggestions.
5. Write a stream of consciousness page. This is an easy and fun exercise. You want to write it in longhand rather than typing on your computer, as handwriting slows down the process and allows more time for your creative brain to do its work. Grab a pen and blank pad and simply start writing.
How to Workshop Creative Writing: Improving as a Writer. Pay attention to other workshops. The workshop space isn't yours alone. Often, engaging with other writers' work and listening to other writers' critiques will help you grow as a writer yourself. You will encounter dozens of ideas in one workshopping session.
Exploring Strategies for Story Beginnings with Karen E. Bender 1-Day Fiction Master Class (Zoom), Saturday, October 5th, 2024. $99.00. Writing Our Family 6-Week Zoom Workshop, Starts Wednesday, September 11th, 2024. $395.00. Comedy Writing for Non-Comedians Zoom Seminar with Caitlin Kunkel, Sunday, December 8th, 2024.
Write as though he or she can speak for themselves; not having to use human speech. 7. "I wasn't sure why my boyfriend said he needed to talk.". 8. Picture what a different life could have led you to. 9. Write about a day when you have to face your worst nightmares in real life. 10.
For instance, bench pressing while reciting the emperors in a Chinese dynasty. 26. Write a paragraph where a character does a simple action, like turning on a light switch, and make the reader marvel at how strange and odd it truly is. 27. Have a couple fight while playing a board game.
Stanford Continuing Studies' online creative writing courses make it easy to take courses taught by instructors from Stanford's writing community. Thanks to the flexibility of the online format, these courses can be taken anywhere, anytime—a plus for students who lead busy lives or for whom regular travel to the Stanford campus is not ...
Whether you're a published author of a bestselling book or a novice author writing a novel for the first time, creative exercises are great for clearing up writer's block and getting your creative juices flowing. Get 50% off this Labor Day. Get 50% off this Labor Day. Get 50% off this Labor Day. Offer Ends Soon.
Great writing workshops introduce you to literature that provokes these kinds of questions. 11. The Best Online Writing Workshops Provide a Creative Outlet. One of the best reasons to take online writing workshops is that they give you an outlet for feelings and creativity.
Take a deep breath (or two) and write whatever comes to mind. 1. Write up to ten emotions on as many strips of paper and put them in a container. Choose an object, and then pick out one of the pieces of paper. Write about the object from the perspective of a character feeling that emotion.
Creative Workshop Ideas for Adults 7. Design Thinking. Creative people are good problem solvers. A Design Thinking Workshop exercises the attendees' creative thinking skills and helps them think clearly about complex topics. ... Writing poetry is a good avenue for participants to release their creative ideas. Being able to write poetry helps ...
Our Adult Workshops and Events are an opportunity for writers to explore, learn, and develop their writing skills through specialized lessons and activities. Review the description details for the workshop or event you are interested in. Specialty Workshops are for ages 13 to adult. In-person or online* Introduction.
For writers in the US: Writer's Market 2020. Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book. A comprehensive directory of 29 adult writing classes in 2024, vetted by the team at Reedsy. Filter for the perfect writing course by genre, location, and more!
Here are ten of the best creative writing exercises to inspire you to start (and finish) that book. 1. 7x7x7. Find the 7th book from your bookshelf (or digital library). Open it up to page 7. Look at the 7th sentence on the page. Begin a paragraph that begins with that sentence and limit the length to 7 lines. Repeat.
Creative writing workshop. Not only do creative writing workshops encourage new ideas and boost writing skills, but they give outlets to those who may struggle to get to grips with their feelings. Some workshops also encourage peer-to-peer feedback and critiques, which can boost communication and collaboration skills with the rest of the group.
About Community Adult Workshops. Thurber House is a literary center located in downtown Columbus, Ohio in the restored home of humorist, author, and New Yorker cartoonist James Thurber. We offer creative writing, cartooning, and graphic novel programs for young writers and adults that inspire innovation, build critical thinking, enhance education, and entertain readers, writers, and artists of ...
This is an in-person, informal creative writing workshop for adults. Writing prompts will be provided at the beginning of the 1 hour program to help your ideas to flow. But you may start writing with your own prompt or own creative idea(s). This will be a space for all writing levels to come together to peacefully write and share ideas, ask for feedback, etc. Writing materials will be provided ...
Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest: Commonwealth Education Trust. Good with Words: Writing and Editing: University of Michigan. Academic English: Writing: University of California, Irvine. Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop: California Institute of the Arts. Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot: Wesleyan University.
Another simple exercise to get people in the writing mood would be to ask them to use a couple hundred words to describe a recent meal, their journey to the workshop, or a room in their house or a view from a window. For an extra challenge, tell them they have to do it without using the word "I.".