Every weekday I post a set of poetry prompts on poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com and a set of story prompts on the script, novel and short story blogs.
*** If you love these prompts (or are looking to improve your writing or submit a manuscript), do take a look at seven my online courses… six are half-price (using coupon codes) and the other is FREE! I also provide an inexpensive editing and critique service with a free 1,000-word sample for when you’ve written your pieces! ***
Following on from this, here are some exercises, one per day (or you could mix them!) to write non-fiction (or fictional) pieces about…
Monday 26th June: a roll of sellotape- Tuesday 27th June: taking an unwanted phone call
- Wednesday 28th June: visiting a school
- Thursday 29th June: this picture
- Friday 30th June: going to a new place
- Saturday 1st July: a noble adventure
- Sunday 2nd July: pick an item from this week’s news
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: have someone striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the piece aloud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course! You could then submit your piece to somewhere listed on Submissions – non-fiction.
- And there are loads more writing tips on https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/writing-101.
Picture above courtesy of morguefile.com / pixabay.com
I wrote a crime lad lit novella (48,000 words) called Hitman Sam in 2008 and over the years, edited it, left it to marinate, re-edited it, put it back, then finally this year (2016), I edited it again and sent it to my beta readers who were kind enough to give me their feedback which led to more alterations and finally, on November 2nd, it was published!
