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7 Writing Exercises for Beginners

7 Writing Exercises For Beginners

One of the most exciting times in the life of a writer is at the very beginning. When the decision to write is first made and you explore brand new worlds through a fresh perspective, everything seems possible. Then, when you sit down to actually write, you discover that putting those perspectives into words isn’t as easy to do as you once thought.

That’s where these writing exercises for beginners come into play. These exercises will help you begin to develop the skill of writing so that you can paint imaginative pictures with written language. Let’s get started.

#1. Write a Short Speech

This exercise could be for you or it could be for someone famous. Write a short monologue about any subject matter, but from the perspective of the speaker. What would they say if they were given 5 minutes in front of a large audience? Since 5 minutes of speech translates to about 600 words, this short writing exercise can really help to fuel your creativity.

#2. Insert Dream Here

One of the most common writing exercises for beginners is to create a back story for one of your characters. Sometimes you might try to write a short autobiography for a character. Let’s put a twist on this. Give one of your characters a recurring dream that contributes to the plot you’re creating. What elements would be significant in this dream?

#3. Create Conflict

You have a husband and wife trying to decide what movie to rent on Amazon. The dialogue between the two of them involves the movie choice, but this is no ordinary conversation. There is a serious conflict going on between the two of them. How are you going to convey to your readers that this conflict is taking place as they decide which movie to stream? Show what is going on under the surface of the dialogue by including meaningful non-verbal cues in this writing exercise.

#4. Total Recall

Think about the very first memory you have. Write as many sights and sounds that you can remember from the experience. It doesn’t matter how old you actually are in this memory. Focus on the people who were there with you. Think about the physical sensations that you can remember. What is so meaningful about this early memory that it stands out for you? Put in as much detail as you can, emphasizing the physical descriptions, to complete this writing exercise.

#5. It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want Too

One of the biggest struggles for beginning writers is to create a realistic and meaningful scene that involves a lot of people. Create a place where there are a lot of people there. It could be a church potluck, the school prom, a pool party – whatever makes sense for you. Now you need to describe the scene for the reader. Why is it colorful? Is your main character uncomfortable in the company of strangers? Add smells, sounds, and other experiences so you can bring the reader into that location.

#6. Use a Visual Prompt

Pick a picture. Any picture. It could be on your wall or it could be online. It could be one of those model photographs you see in photo frames at the store. Take a look at the picture and write about what you see each person doing in the image. What would these people say to you if you had a conversation with them? As they smile at the camera, what thoughts are behind their eyes? This writing exercise can help you be able to turn visual details into meaningful words very quickly.

#7. The Phone Conversation

Record a family member or a friend having a telephone conversation. When you play the recording back, try to fill in the words that are being said by the person on the other line. Once you finish the conversation, keep it going from a fictional perspective. Maybe add to the beginning of the conversation as well. This way you can get a feel of what a real conversation looks like in dialogue format so that you can create realistic conversations for future characters.

These writing exercises for beginners are designed to help fuel your creativity while you also work on your actual writing skills. Try one today and then keep practicing every day. Over time, you’ll find that being a writer might still be a lot of work, but it can also be a whole lot of fun.

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