Short Story Writing Prompts and Exercises
Want to write a short story, but not sure where to start? Here are some writing prompts and exercises to help kickstart your imagination on slow days. Play the GameTry this writing game. You can play it solo or with a group. You play in rounds:Describe the room you're sitting in as you write this. If you're in a public place – a coffee shop, mall food court, IHOP (if you're in an IHOP, you shouldn't be writing – you should be eating!), describe it. Start with no limits; then, gradually, challenge yourself to write within certain restrictions. If you start with freewriting, there's no censor, no restrictions, no sense of limit – only a sense of space. This is a good first draft mindset. Get it all on paper and edit it later. When you're done with #1, the rest of the rounds should be easy: for #3, edit #2 until you have the best page; for #4, edit #3, and so on. It's just a game, a way to practice. Have fun and don't take it too seriously. By the time you're finished with #8, you will probably have written about 1,000 words. That's a good count. I'll be interested to hear how many writers, when completing #7, use a word they didn't use in any of the previous rounds. Click here to return to the Home Page from Short Story Writing Prompts Click on the links below to see other writing prompts and exercises. Smoke
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