What helpful writing exercises do you use?

Question

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 chin, high cheek bones, etc, etc. The other one I do is I try and couch conversations I am party to as dialog. I focus on how words are spoken, nuances of expression, tone, word choice, etc. I then try to convey the natural language in text as close to how it was spoken as possible.I've gotten a lot of positive feedback since I started this. What other exercises or techniques do other writers have that they use to improve their style?

Answer 1

I suggest creating a reasonable schedule for yourself and list tangible goals for my writing piece.

Here is an example of what my own schedule consists of from time to time:

a. Monday could be dedicated to mapping out the world I've created in my fictional story. Get a clear piece of paper and outline the map of your world? Where are the stores (if there are stores), what is the distance between the towns and the nearest bodies of water, what planet is this on? Visuals help fuel great show don't tell sentences later on in your story especially if you as the writer can visualize it.

b. Tuesday could be dedicated to writing a pretend interview with your characters. What does X like to eat? What is Y's dreams? What motivates Z?

c. Wednesday could be dedicated to object associations. What objects do you associate with character X? What does their room look like? Do they have posters of their favorite Marvel movie? Do they have a room full of concert posters? Remember, you want to bring these characters and their stories alive? What are these characters attached too? Do they carry an amulet with a picture of someone they care for? Do they always have a pencil behind their ear?

d. Thursday could be dedicated to dialogue exercises? How do these characters interact? Pick a scene that you already wrote or hope to write and dedicate 2-3 pages with the characters interacting. Try to include a clear setting, clear character motivations and goals

And so forth, practice makes perfect, create this world one page at a time :D