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27 September 2006

Some Offbeat Writing Exercises

The next time you’re feeling stuck in your writing, check out Dan Wiencek’s quirky list of Thirteen Writing Prompts.

There’s a little something for everyone here. If you’re inclined toward speculative fiction, try this:

Choose your favorite historical figure and imagine if he/she had been led to greatness by the promptings of an invisible imp living behind his or her right ear. Write a story from the point of view of this creature. Where did it come from? What are its goals? Use research to make your story as accurate as possible.

If you prefer something more contemporary, see what you can do with this:

A husband and wife are meeting in a restaurant to finalize the terms of their impending divorce. Write the scene from the point of view of a busboy snorting cocaine in the restroom.

Or for something completely different:

Imagine if your favorite character from 19th-century fiction had been born without thumbs. Then write a short story about them winning the lottery.

Who knows? Maybe a blockbuster novel will come out of one of these.

Via manageable imaginations.

Posted by Amy in Humour, Writing

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 27th, 2006 at 4:09 am and is filed under Humour, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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