THE WRITERS' WORKSHOP on
GETTING STARTED
Juggling is not only for denizens of the circus. Fiction writers also juggle--as in the above elements of writing. Before we tackle those major components, let's concentrate on that blank page or screen in front of you.
Writing is an excellent way a person can express him or herself. In the beginning, it's a good idea to keep things personal. You could write in a daily journal on topics like:
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The most important step to writing is to actually sit down and write! Practice is the key word here. Below are two fun exercises designed to allow your imagination to flow. After the exercise, you'll find an example response to it to give you some ideas. Remember: there are no right or wrong answers. The purpose is to stimulate your writing muscles. If you have any questions or would like to email your response, an addy is at the bottom of the page.
EXERCISE ONE:
Write a paragraph using as the first word a letter "a" word, then "b" and so on through the alphabet. P.S. The result is meant to be nonsensical!
Example response:
Angel beacons can do enough fungus going home. I just know Lake Murray needs openings pretty quickly. Rates soon tumble usually very well. X-ray your zygotes.
EXERCISE TWO:
Using a book or a dictionary, choose ten words at random. Close your eyes, turn to ten different pages, and then voila! P.S. In this example case, a dictionary was used. After you do this, write a short story using these random words or forms of these words. Again, this is a fun exercise to jump-start your imagination.
Example response:
| ascribe | ...... | extemporaneous | ...... | frisky | ...... | hoopla | ...... | luncheonette |
| biennial | ...... | fellow | ...... | guttersnipe | ...... | inlay | ...... | onlooker |
At the luncheonette, a curious fellow glanced up from his plate of French fried potatoes. "Pardon me," he said to the waitress, "I may be only a onlooker in life, but I noticed the hoopla in the kitchen, and I wondered about the cause."
"It's nothing to worry about," reassured the waitress. "I believe the cook got too frisky with a bothersome guttersnipe and hit him in the head with an iron skillet."
"Ouch!" The fellow touched his own head extemporaneously. "Imagine metal inlayed over your brains. I would not ascribe that to be a biennial event, at any rate!"
On to PLOTTING....
