New Poetry Exercise! (This could also be used for fiction, I suppose.)

So, I’m sure some form of this exists already and has been published in a book of writing exercises, articulated much better than what I’m about to describe.  Nevertheless, I found myself doing this the other day after looking up a definition:

Flip through a dictionary (in book form!) and make a list of a few words (no less than three, no more than five) that you don’t know but like based purely on their sound or appearance.  Don’t read their definitions until you’ve compiled your list.  Build a poem (or short story even…) based around these words.

Post your results!

Weekly Poetry Exercise

This looks like a really fun Poetry exercise! Give it a go and post your results.

By Deborah Digges, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.

Write a poem in which you literally build or take apart something for the reader. Describe each step of the process for the reader, incorporating technical terms and descriptions of materials. Create a lyric or narrative poem that “shows” the reader how it’s done.

Weekly Fiction Exercise

Hey everyone,

Give the following exercise a try: it seems like a lot of fun and good practice in considering voice, how we tell and percieve a story, and what elements of plot can be played with to heighten tension.  Please post your versions here and feel free to discuss what you liked/disliked about this exercise.  Enjoy!

Associative Logic (from The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley): “Use associative logic in a narration a child tells to an adult. The child can be any age between five and ten.  The story itself is a dramatic monologue.  Don’t let us hear the adult’s questions or complaints about the anarchic nature of the story– although they can be implied by answers or responses from the child and shifts in the momentum of the story.  In this story, the child is trying to tell the adult something important, relating a life-or-death (and very time-sensitive) problem about someone else.  The child nevertheless gets lost in the associations– although not to the extent of being unable to tell the story. 700 words.”

Welcome!

Hey there,

So this is the first post here.  This site is still very much developing, (in other words, I am still learning how to use the Internet,) but please have a look around and check back often for updates, events, and new work posted.  All writing is property of the authors. Header photo by Kevin Forti.

Take Care,

Courtney