Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [exercises]

Writing exercises are a way to improve your skills in one particular field or task.

Questions about existing writing exercises, or seeking writing exercises appropriate to a particular writing goal.

19 questions
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Tips for expanding my vocabulary?

Looking back through my texts, I noticed that I often use a lot of the same words and resort to using quite a basic vocabulary. I was wondering if there are any good exercises or anything else for expanding my active vocabulary. I know that the…
pHneuma
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What helpful writing exercises do you use?

The two I do most are dialog and description related. When I meet a person or I'm just sitting people watching, I try to write their description in my head as if I was describing a character in a novel. I focus on the physical - tall, short, weak…
Satanicpuppy
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Dialogue writing practices?

First time novelist, long time writer here. I'm looking for creative writing exercises to help with my dialogue. Any ideas?
TheIrishGuy
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Pros and Cons: A blog to get feedback

As a creative writer in my free time, I sometime suffer from a lack of feedback. To get some impressions on what I've written, I either have to ask my girlfriend (who acts as a sort of beta-reader) or some friend. Now, my girlfriend doesn't seem to…
Liquid
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Beyond letters and diaries—exercises to explore characters' personalities and motivation

For a few of my imaginary worlds, my characters write letters to each other. These letters are never intended to be surfaced in the main story, they are my exploration of the characters' feelings and motivation as events unfold around them. I find…
sezmeralda
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Are friendly writing contests a useful exercise?

Yes, I know that - in theory - any exercise is a good exercise. Context: Lately I've been running a writing group were multiple creative-writing/reading enthusiasts meet. As a group activity, we've been issuing a number of writing contest. Writers…
Liquid
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Is it possible to practice the craft of creative writing in isolation?

Is it possible to practice the craft of creative writing in isolation? I am not directly affiliated with a writing community, at least a community willing to read small practice creative pieces. I do have access to the internet. I work with mostly…
linuxfreebird
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What exercises will help me write my co-author's character?

I'm working on a novel together with my co-author, K. K's come up with this great character - a sassy were-cat name Garlic. Unfortunately, I'm having a really tough time writing for Garlic - K has a feel for the character that I just don't have…
Standback
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How can I make description more natural to me?

Description is a weakness in my fiction. My understanding is that the first priority in fiction is to tell the story. Setting does this by providing props and indicating character mindsets, either externally (clothes; home decor decisions;…
Sheelawolf
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Does reading books help writing skills?

Just what the title says. I decided to improve my writing skills only for blogging purposes (for starters and no, it's not a part of new year's resolution). I am also not really good at writing (i.e. write a few paragraphs about simple…
Eimantas
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Are writing prompts copyright protected?

I love following writing prompt blogs and accounts on social media because they really get my creativity flowing, my favorite being Writing Prompts on Tumblr and Instagram. I've never actually incorporated any of the ones I find into serious…
user34214
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Are there good writing exercises for compressing expression?

I recently sat down and wrote a poem after a long hiatus. It was a narrative poem with a formal rhyme scheme. I'm pretty dissatisfied with my initial draft, as it was far too wordy. Besides editing with a critical eye, what can I do to practice…
justkt
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In a "learn to do X" book, should a section review come before the quiz / exercises or after?

I am writing a book on how to program in C#.NET. Each of the sections follows this format: Section Aims Content Section Review Quiz Exercises The section review is there to summarise all of the things that have been taught, including the key…
Fiona - myaccessible.website
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What writing exercices should I schedule for the different parts of my day?

I’d like to try a regimen of short writing exercises for a few weeks, ideally doing at least one every day. I have no problem with waking up early and my lunch breaks are needlessly long, so I can easily spend 20 minutes writing in the…
Babika Babaka
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Why is writing so hard? Are there any self-help books for scientific writing?

Not to make this a post complaining about my inability to write, but I'd like to understand the universal challenges people face when writing and overcome some of these common challenges. Maybe understanding how others approach these barriers to…
Sudharsan Madhavan
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