A-Z writing exercise
Before I dive into some fairly intense or dense writing as I have been doing lately, it's nice to begin each day with a warm up exercise or two, in the same way that a musician does their scales and arpeggios before they begin practising the piece they're working on.
This is one of my favourite writing warm-ups. I allow myself to write nonsense, be playful and if it's very early in the morning I also find myself reaching for the dictionary, especially with those last few letters.
What you are going to do is write a story where each word begins with a new letter of the the alphabet (in order). Do it a few times to get the hang of it and to see if there isn't something in it you could use. (in my example below I was surprised and pleased by the term 'mournful night'). At the very least, like all good exercises, this one gets you thinking about specific word choices and how a single word can change the direction of a story. Enjoy!
My example:
Abalone ballerinas chooky dance every Friday, gambolling, hirsute, inky. Jealous knives lengthen. Mournful night opposes pirouettes. Quiet rival shuffle-tops unnerve vampires where Xmas yowies zig-zag.
This is one of my favourite writing warm-ups. I allow myself to write nonsense, be playful and if it's very early in the morning I also find myself reaching for the dictionary, especially with those last few letters.
What you are going to do is write a story where each word begins with a new letter of the the alphabet (in order). Do it a few times to get the hang of it and to see if there isn't something in it you could use. (in my example below I was surprised and pleased by the term 'mournful night'). At the very least, like all good exercises, this one gets you thinking about specific word choices and how a single word can change the direction of a story. Enjoy!
My example:
Abalone ballerinas chooky dance every Friday, gambolling, hirsute, inky. Jealous knives lengthen. Mournful night opposes pirouettes. Quiet rival shuffle-tops unnerve vampires where Xmas yowies zig-zag.
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