Quarter 1: Creative Writing Journal
Miss Lewis
The following are writing prompts for generating ideas and learning how to be a better writer. Like any other type of writing, writing creatively is hard work and takes practice, genuine thought and observation of our surroundings, our senses and emotions, and experiences. Therefore, the prompts below are presented to you with a goal in mind that they will help you explore, observe, and express yourself authentically, so that your readers will feel what you feel and experience what you have experienced.
1. Write about you and creative writing: what do you like to read, what genre do you like to write, favorite books, plays, etc., favorite authors and why? What are your strengths and weaknesses in writing?
2. Write down all of the words that you can think of that represent the six senses you are experiencing today on this first day of your creative writing class ie., sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, organic (body sensations like your heart beating, your hands sweating etc.) Push yourself to list at least 10 good words for each sense. Select from the list some good imager to write a 8-10 line paragraph describing an experience that you had, or it may be fictional.
3. Freewrite on any subject.
4. A sense list like the one we created, usually brings with it memories associated with the objects or senses. We call these associations “personal impressions.” Take one of these senses and write a paragraph from your memory, your past feelings and experiences. For example, does the ______take you to some other place or time, experience from your past? Where does it take you, what happened, who was with you, why, what happened etc.
5. Make a list of everything you notice ( again, six senses) from the time you leave your own front door to the time you arrive at school. Write another “personal impressions.”
6. Freewrite
7. Writing to create experience for your reader is very difficult and requires not only your careful observations, but also careful choice of words that recreate the experience in an authentic and personal way. Do this means finding the best words and phrases. Let’s practice. Write as much specificity as you can for each of the following generalizations. Consider good active verbs, effective adverbs and adjectives. Make a list and then write a paragraph for one of the following phrases: “it was a tragic fire” or He was awful.”
8. Freewrite.
9. Comparisons help us recreate experience and generate familiar emotions for our audience. The analogy and its related writing tools (simile, metaphor, conceit etc.) can help you. For “someone in your family” write two analogies. Choose one of the analogy statements and write a paragraph exploring the analogy. Example: John is like an ant. Now write a paragraph talking about how, why, where, when John is like an ant.
10. Freewrite.
11. Pick an experience (anytime in your life) where you learned something (about yourself or others) and then write about it with good descriptive verbs and adverbs.
12. Good writers create scenes and people so clearly that you can imagine them instantly. They choose accurate details and describe them with adjectives that show texture, shape, size, color, smell etc.
For example, a “large fish” is not as easy to imagine as a ‘long, silvery, speckled and slimy fish.” Or, “…and between them, slowly, they let her down into it, and then she could see only her aunt’s face, leaning deep above her,…the eyes at one intense and tearful behind their heavy lenses, the strong mouth loose and soft, face terrible in love and grief, naked and undisciplined as she had never seen it before.” Write about a scene or a person and describe them in the same kind of powerful adjectives.
13. Freewrite.
14. Go back to any of your brainstorming or word lists and pick three images, phrases of description and write a more detailed description of them using better adjectives, adverbs and verbs to recreate the objects or your personal impression. Write like this is the beginning of a short story.
15. Freewrite.
16. Write 4 lines of rhyme. Two lines should use assonance.
17. Freewrite.
18. Write a poem of experience or impression, using the ideas, images, experiences, personal impressions, details and descriptions generated in your journal topics, let yourself recreate an experience or impression that is real to you. Try to write at least 6 lines. You do not have to use rhyme if you don’t want to. This is a practice exercise, just get some nice images and thoughtful feelings on paper.
19. Freewrite.
20. Make a memory list. Write down 10 memories that come to your mind, experiences or impressions, people, places etc. Just write them as a phrase or with a quick one-line description. Select one of the memories and write a full description using careful details, observations and effective diction (choice of words that creates tone or atmosphere).
21. Freewrite.
22. Use the following statement as a “springboard” for a paragraph practicing the sense of touch: “The wind blew my paper out of my hand…..” Use specific and realistic details.
23. Freewrite.
24. Use the following statement as a springboard for a paragraph practicing the sense of sound: “We were sitting on the porch after dinner…”
25. Freewrite.
26. Use the following statement as a springboard for a paragraph practicing the sense of sight: “It came on great oiled, resilient, striding legs…..”
27. Freewrite.
28. Use the following statement as a springboard for a paragraph practicing the organic senses: “The figure started up angrily and came toward him/me….”
29. Freewrite.
30. Use the following statement as a springboard for a paragraph practicing the sense of taste: “The gray mist was rising slowly from the river, clinging to the three tops, and drifting up the mountainside.”
31. Freewrite.
32. Pick one of your journals and finish the story (one page, but packed with good detail). Use as much detail, figurative language, and description as your can.