Writing Exercise 4: Unpacking a Bag

This writing exercise is about building a character from a few objects. It’s also about being a sort of detective - like Sherlock Holmes.

 Stage 1.
Think of five objects that you could hold in the cupped palms of both hands. They should be:
- something that can be eaten or drunk
- something that can be worn
- something that can be played with
- something that can be treasured 
- something that can be heard
Spend time describing each object, using as many of the five senses as possible.

 Stage 2.
Now imagine a bag which will hold all the objects together. What is it like?
Imagine an unlikely place where you might find this bag.

 Stage 3.
Become a detective. Using the bag and the objects as clues, work out what sort of person owns this bag. Describe the bag’s owner in detail.

 Stage 4.
How did the bag come to be in the place where it is? How is it reunited with its owner. There’s a story to tell - so tell it, in any form you like.

 When you have written the story, read it aloud. Edit it until you are happy with it. Is this a story you would like to share with someone else?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writing exercise 1 - a valued object

This writing exercise comes in three stages and may lead on to a longer piece of writing. You can write in any form you like (poem, story, script etc.) Stage 1: Think of a small object that you particularly value. Imagine holding it in your hands with your eyes closed. What do you notice about it? Think about how it feels. Does it have a particular smell - or even a taste or sound associated with it. Write down all the words you can think of that express this. Finally - and only after you have explored all the other senses, consider what the object looks like and any special associations it has for you (e.g. a memory, a gift, the place where you first saw it). Stage 2: Think of a place you don’t know very well or where you feel just slightly uneasy. Imagine being there and turning round in a circle, taking in every detail. Once again start with sensations other than sight - how do your feet feel? what is the air like? what can you smell? what can you taste in your mouth? Write do
Read more

Writing Exercise 24: An Imaginary Friend

Many children have imaginary friends. Even if you didn't have an imaginary friend in childhood, it's possible you would like one now. It can help to create an imaginary friend as a possible reader of your creative writing. Stage 1. A friend is often someone with whom we share interests or points of view. Write down between three and five interests or points of view you would like your imaginary friend to share. Decide on three other points about your imaginary friend. One should be their age. One should be their gender. One you can decide for yourself but it should be something fundamental to that person. Write this all down. Stage 2. It's important that a friend shouldn't be identical to you. The friend has to bring something new to this imagined friendship. Write down between three and five interests or points of view the friend has that you do not share. Stage 3. Write down up to five things that your friend likes a lot and up to three things that your frien
Read more

Writing Exercise 15: Using Memory

This is an exercise is which you can take one of your own memories, alter it, and give it to  a character you have invented. Stage 1. Choose an event or occasion you remember. Don’t choose anything that’s very personal or emotional. It could be a pleasant walk or a surprising incident or conversation. Write down all you can remember.  Write down how the memory affected all five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, sight). If you can’t remember how it affected a particular sense, imagine how it might have been. Stage 2. Choose a character who lives in a home similar to the place where you are. Make this character different from you in three key aspects. These might be chosen from (for example) gender, age, life experience, relationships. Apart from this you can draw on aspects of your own experience, Imagine this character standing in a room similar into the one where you are now and looking out of a window. What does this character notice? How does the character react? Write i
Read more