Writing English Exercises

[Yvone Brem]

Thissite provides (completely free) creative writing prompts and exercises to help you get started with creative writing and break through writing blocks - as well as some fun anagram vocabulary games.

Writing is a skill set anyone can improve with a bit of dedication, direction, and practice. The trick is figuring out what actions will truly help you become a better writer and which are simply a waste of time.

The more you engage in this practice, the more you'll adopt parts of their style as your own. But don't worry about losing your own voice in the process. This exercise will highlight both the good and bad in other writers' styles so that you can pick and choose the elements that make sense for you.

The goal of this exercise is for the paragraph you write to transport you back to that place. A successful description is rarely an exhaustive one. Instead, it picks and chooses the most important parts that a reader needs to know.

A lot of thought goes into most writing. There's research, planning, outlining, drafting, and editing. All of these are necessary. But, pushing all of these to the side, at least temporarily, can lead to surprising results.

There's a practice called stream of consciousness writing (aka freewriting), which tasks creators with the challenge of brain dumping their way into a piece of work. A common form of this practice is morning pages, an activity in which a writer fills up three pages as soon as they wake up in the morning, essentially clearing their mind of any mental clutter, so they're free to work on what matters most.

There are introductions, transitions, and conclusions. Different types of sentences aim to accomplish different objectives. Throughout any article, book, or other writing pieces, small changes can drastically change the tone, voice, and purpose.

Headlines are a great tool to work with because they are standalone bits of content that can significantly impact meaning. As you improve at creating a variety of headlines quickly, you'll be able to apply the same skills to other parts of your writing, such as testing multiple introductions or conclusions.

Editing is a slightly different skill set than writing and requires creators to approach content with a more analytical lens. Instead of getting an article or chapter finished, the purpose is to make the writing better. Better could mean clearer, more concise, or more complete.

In some cases, good editing adds content. In others, it removes. It all depends on the particular project, paragraph, and sentence at hand, which is why it's a skill set every writer would benefit from refining.

Among daily writing exercises, freewriting is one of the best writing exercises. Poets can use freewritten material as inspiration for their poetry. Prose writers can also find inspiration for future stories from the depths of their consciousnesses. Start your writing day with freewriting, and watch your creativity blossom.

Reading like a writer means paying attention to the craft elements that make an excellent piece of literature work. Good writing requires different writing styles, figurative language, story structures, and/or poetry forms, as well as key word choice.

All creative writers need figurative language. While metaphors, similes, and synecdoches are more prominent in poetry, prose writers need the power of metaphor to truly engross their reader. Among both exercises to improve writing skills and fun writing exercises for adults, writing metaphor lists is one of the best writing exercises out there.

A metaphor list is simple. On a notebook, create two columns. In one column, write down only concrete nouns. Things like a pillow, a tree, a cat, a cloud, and anything that can be perceived with one of the five senses.

Any free creative writing exercise that focuses on figurative language can aid your writing immensely, as it helps writers add insight and emotionality to their work. This is an especially great creative writing exercise for beginners as they learn the elements of style and language.

Of course, the best way to improve your creative writing skills is simply to write every day. Keeping a daily journal is a great way to exercise your writing mind. By sitting down with your personal observations and writing without an agenda or audience, a daily writing practice remains one of the best writing exercises , regardless of your genre or level of expertise.

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Sit down with a piece of writing from an author you enjoy, and pay attention to the writing itself. Ignore the plot and characters and story elements -- look at just the nuts and bolts of vocabulary choices and sentence construction. Try to pick it apart. Is there a specific way the author tends to use commas? Certain words, or types of words, that they use more often? Longer sentences or shorter ones? Longer paragraphs or short? How is white space handled?

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I think this memoir in verse accomplishes that vision, because while I felt deeply connected to these poems, I did not know about the Black experience in rural Appalachia and had much to learn as a white person.

Ellis Elliott is pursuing her Masters in Creative Writing from Queens University in Charlotte, NC. Her poetry has appeared in Literary Mama, Neologism Poetry Journal, and upcoming in Evening St. Press Review and Riggwelter Press Review. Follow her on Instagram @bewildernesswriting.

At first, I would work my way through prompt books one at a time, forcing myself to write something for each and every exercise, even if the result was terrible. Before I knew it, I had produced several short stories (some of which eventually got published), I had put together a writing sample that helped me get accepted into an MFA program, and I even completed my first finished draft of a novel. All because of a few writing prompts.

Writing prompts are not for everyone. Sure, some writers love them and sit in class, pencils poised, waiting for the teacher to give an assignment. These are the same writers who love the sound of their own writing. Their hands shoot into the air as soon as the exercise is over, lest the teacher overlook them and not let them share what they wrote.

Prompts are like the writing equivalent of a musician practicing their scales or an actor doing vocalization exercises. You would never do this on stage in a performance, but it helps you loosen up and get ready to perform.

Is there a particular writing technique that has you stumped? Rather than trying to learn it as you work on your novel, do a practice run (or two, or ten) using writing prompts. Is point of view confusing? Write the same prompt using different points of view until you get it straight. Need practice writing dialogue? Choose a couple of prompts and write all of them with nothing but dialogue. Use a prompt as a low-pressure testing ground, where you can try out techniques without fear of failure. This will allow you to hone your craft without the risk of breaking your book in the process.

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