creative writing exercise senses

25 Great Creative Writing Exercises To Awaken The Senses

January 23, 2023
Craft , Inspiration

I’ve written about the importance of sensory imagery in writing before, specifically for developing characters, in my blog: Use The Five Senses and Bring Your Characters to Life.

But it’s not just for developing your characters; sensory imagery is needed everywhere if you want your readers to engage with your story.

What is sensory imagery?

When we tell a story, we create a world in the reader’s mind, and by using specific, definite, and concrete details, we enable the reader to enter this new world.

A detail is definite and concrete when it appeals to the senses. It should be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched.

Whether you are writing non-fiction, fiction, poetry, or plays, getting in touch with your senses, and using imagery that relates to them, will serve you well.

Experience using sensory imagery.

This post aims to give you the experience of engaging with each sense and letting it take you somewhere unexpected. It’s all very well to understand the concept of using the senses and even be convinced that it’s important to include them in your writing. Still, until you’ve taken the time—10 minutes is all you need— to experience the nuances of each sense, you might not fully understand why using sensory imagery in your writing is essential and how it works.

How to start: Choose a writing prompt and write it at the top of your page. Set your timer for 10 minutes. Read the prompt and begin writing immediately, without thinking—follow the first thought and go wherever it takes you. No editing, no judging, just writing.

Keep your pen moving.

Don’t stop until the time is up.

Suspend judgment.

Be curious.

Tip: Write by hand. Writing by hand connects the brain and body and, I believe, the heart. It’s especially helpful in getting those first thoughts onto the page.

Remember: you can always write from the POV of one of your characters.

25 Great Sensory Writing Prompts.

The sense of smell.

More than any other sense, smell can connect us intimately to the past in a way our ideas cannot. A scent can initiate a flood of memories regardless of how unexpected or fleeting. A whiff of your mother’s perfume on an old sweater can catapult you to a long-forgotten memory of weekly drives to ballet class, the last kiss at bedtime, tears over a science project, or your wedding day.

Prompt 1. What’s the most unusual smell you’ve ever encountered?

Prompt 2. What’s the first scent you smell upon entering your home?

Prompt 3. What is the most dangerous smell you can think of?

Prompt 4. If you were holding your favorite stuffed animal from childhood, what would it smell like?

Prompt 5. Peel an orange, inhale the scent and write about the first memory that comes to mind.

For more on smell, read the blog How the Sense of Smell Can Enhance Your Writing .

The Sense of Touch

Touch is a basic human need, and it’s the first sense we develop upon entering this world and the last sense to go as we depart this world.

It is also one of the least used senses in writing, perhaps because it’s the most difficult to describe. But think about how often we confirm what we see by reaching out and touching. A reader can more easily engage with a character’s world if they can touch it. I’m using the word touch rather than feel because the term “feel” tends to lead us to emotions, and while that’s important, it’s not what we’re aiming for here.

Prompt 1. Write about the last time you touched wet .

Prompt 2. Write about something you want to touch but can’t or shouldn’t.

Prompt 3. Imagine you can describe a sculpture by how it feels as you run your hands over it.

Prompt 4. Write about the earliest touch you can remember.

Prompt 5. Write about something you can’t pass by without touching it.

For more on the sense of touch, read the blog How To Use The Sense Of Touch In Your Writing .

The Sense of Taste

Taste might be the least used sense in writing but think of all you can learn about your character through their tastebuds. The sense of taste and the act of tasting can be highly evocative, taking your reader from delight to disgust with a mere nibble.

Yes, it may be challenging to describe taste without using the senses for sight and smell, which are inherent in taste but challenge yourself to see where taste alone might take you.

Prompt 1. This exercise will prime you for the following four prompts Choose something you like to eat, a piece of fruit, a square of chocolate, and most anything will work. Sit quietly and take a few slow breaths. When you’re ready, take a bite or place the food item in yo r mouth and let it sit on your tongue. Take note of physical sensations, flavor, and sound. You may discover new sensations and ideas for enriching your descriptive details. Now, write a description of what you experienced.

Prompt 2. Write about your favorite childhood meal and how it might ta te today.

Prompt 3. Think of two of your favorite foods. Now write about how they might taste together.

Prompt 4. Write about the experience of tasting a foreign dish for the first time.

Prompt 5. Describe the taste of your favorite dessert without revealing what it is.

For more on the sense of taste, read the blog, How To Use The Sense Of Taste In Your Writing .

The Sense of Hearing

Second, to sight, hearing gives us a primary experience of the world we live in. Sounds enrich our environment; we depend on them to help u interpret, communicate with, and express the world around us.

While not as evocative as smell, familiar sounds can stir memories and transport us to another time and place. What more powerful tool could a writer ask for than auditory details that offer nuanced layers to a scene?

Prompt 1. What would it sound like if you amplified the sound of snow falling on the roof?

Prompt 2. Describe the sound of a family holiday dinner.

Prompt 3. Play a piece of your favorite music and write from the first image that appears in your mind.

Prompt 4. Sit quietly for 2-3 minutes until you can identify the sound that is the farthest away. Describe it without naming it and go wherever it takes you.

Prompt 5. What sound do you most like/dislike?

For more on the sense of hearing, read the blog How To Use The Sense Of Hearing In Your Writing .

The Sense of Sight

The sense of sight is the sense we use most often in writing.

If you’ve ever tried to describe something without referring to sight, you’ll know just how challenging that is to accomplish.

Perhaps this is because 70% of the body’s sense receptors cluster in the eyes, and it is mainly through seeing the world that we appraise and understand it.

A visual image can be a trigger for memory and emotion. A painting can take us back to a time in history replete with triumph or tragedy. A gesture captured in a photograph may symbolize love, loss, or confusion.

Remember, sight is not only for description and scene setting; showing how your characters see the world and how they feel about it will capture your readers’ attention.

Prompt 1. Describe your face as you might see it reflected in a pool of water.

Prompt 2. Describe someone who doesn’t know you are watching them.

Prompt 3. If anger were a creature, describe it.

Prompt 4. Describe your ideal writing place.

Prompt 5. Choose a painting and describe it without using the sense of sight Use every other sense.

For more on the sense of sight, read the blog How To Use The Sense Of Sight In Your Writing .

I hope you find these prompts useful—let me know how it goes.

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Hi, I’m Kathryn Kay, the founder of A Writer Within. I offer support and inspiration to women writers through one-on-one coaching, editing services, and week-long retreats in Tuscany. My focus is on getting writers into the creative flow, beyond their internal critic, and their very best stories onto the page. If you have a writer within, let’s set her free!

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5-Step Creative Writing Exercise Using The 5 Senses | Writer’s Relief

by Blog Editor | Creative Writing Craft and Techniques , Inspiration And Encouragement For Writers , Writing Tips | 2 comments

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5-Step Creative Writing Exercise Using The 5 Senses | Writer’s Relief

If you want to fully immerse your readers in your short story, poem, memoir, or novel, it’s important to incorporate all five senses into your writing. The experts at Writer’s Relief note that too often writers focus on sight and ignore the other four senses. Yet, including all the sensory details in your writing can make a spring rainstorm seem more refreshing or approaching footsteps in a dark, moldy old mansion more ominous. This unique, 5-step creative writing exercise using the 5 senses will strengthen your writing and help keep your readers intrigued.

5-Step Writing Exercise For The 5 Senses

Use this countdown exercise to improve your writing through better, more vivid descriptions based on the 5 senses.

Five For Sight

Name five things you can see around you, then write down the colors, shapes, textures, and any interesting details. Is the blue wool sweater hanging on the hall coatrack missing a button? Are the leaves on the little bonsai tree a healthy green or flecked with brown?

Four For Touch

Find four things you can describe through your sense of touch . If possible, pick up the item and write about how it feels. You might describe the soft, nubby texture of a crocheted blanket or the cold condensation on your glass of iced tea. Remember, you can also feel things you can’t actually touch—a breeze against your cheek can be gentle and warm or painfully cold.

Three For Sound

What do you hear around you? Listen and choose three different sounds to write about. Do you hear a loud conversation at a nearby table—and is it angry or happy and boisterous? Is the wind rattling the window near your desk? Including sounds in your writing is a great way to introduce atmosphere: the same forest night might be filled with the soothing sounds of crickets and spring peepers or the menacing sounds of howling coyotes and creatures rustling through the underbrush.

Two For Smell

Smells can evoke memories or strong reactions. Try to notice and define two distinct scents where you are right now. Is it clearly time for the nearby garbage to be taken out, or are the cinnamon rolls (made according to Grandma’s recipe) almost finished baking? Describing the smells can make your writing more three-dimensional for readers.

One For Taste

Taste may be the hardest sense to write about. Everyone’s taste is subjective: You may love the taste of blueberries, while someone else can’t stomach it. Choose one taste and write a few sentences about it. Is it the bitter kick in your first cup of coffee each morning or the buttery taste of movie theater popcorn? Keep in mind, not all tastes are food related. You might write about the taste of blood from a cut lip or of the cold metal flagpole where your tongue is now stuck after a double-dog dare.

By including descriptions that integrate all five senses, you’ll be able to immerse your readers in your writing. These writing exercises and tips will give you a good start! And when you’re ready to submit your work for publication, Writer’s Relief can give your submission strategy an even better start! Our research experts will pinpoint the best markets for your writing to boost your odds of getting an acceptance. Learn more about our services and submit your work to our Review Board today!

Whether you want to take the traditional publishing route or are thinking about self-publishing , Writer’s Relief can help. Give us a call, and we will point you in the right direction!

Question: Which sense do you feel is easiest to write about?

Five senses and a million evocative reasons Peak like a mountain awaiting a sunrise. This plainsman is ready for action,, Ready for anything but a plain song of life, Over ready for connection, reflection The boozy blues giving way to lighter sides The taste of light so tangy-good, refreshing.

Thank you, Donna!

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The Best Examples Of The 5 Senses And Descriptive Writing

Using the 5 senses in writing can deeply immerse readers in scenes and stories by creating more vivid imagery in their minds. It’s a skill that can elevate books to a higher level. But so often we writers find ourselves lured into the trap of relying on sight and sound. Relying on a narrow range of sensory language isn’t always enough to bring a story to life. We can inject so much more into our stories simply by utilizing sensory details in our writing.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at our sensory organs, why we use vivid writing that appeals to the senses, look at the 5 senses and descriptive writing examples, and ways we can use each sense to elevate our stories to the next level.

Many people experience things through smell, touch, and taste. So appealing to the senses in our writing will enrich our tales and prose with vivid imagery, which is often used to help the reader feel immersed and engaged.

In fact, the oft-forgotten 5 senses are some of the most powerful forms of description, things that can enrich a story and give it life.

And, as we’ll see below, using a sensory description has an incredible ability to connect with us on a psychological level.

Let’s dive in.

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What Are The 5 Senses In The Context Of Writing?

Why are the five senses important in writing, how to use the 5 senses in writing, the power of sensory description, what are the five sensory organs, imagery and the 5 senses, the 5 senses and descriptive writing examples, 5 senses writing checklist, examples of a descriptive paragraph using sensory details, exercises to help you use the 5 senses in writing, a list of helpful adjectives for the five senses, frequently asked questions (faq) on the 5 senses in writing.

This may seem like a straightforward question, but it’s always best to cover the basics before advancing to more technical points.

This style of prose is essentially writing that employs the five senses to create mental images for the reader.

For example, if you want to create a vivid image of a beach, you may describe the smell of seaweed or the grainy texture of sand.

In drawing upon these familiar sensations, we can open the portal wider for our readers to step into the scene, to feel what it’s like to be there. It’s a key part of creative writing in respect of description and something that can elevate your stories.

So that’s what the 5 senses in writing are—they empower your descriptions and help draw readers into the story. Let’s look more at why using them is important.

Here’s a quick video explainer with lots of handy examples:

Using your five senses in your writing is an incredibly powerful way to immerse your reader in the tale.

The more the reader can understand what it’s like to be in your character’s shoes at that precise moment, be it fleeing a demon or marching to war, knowing how it feels and smells like, as well as the visual and audio descriptions, can elevate stories to a whole new level. It quite simply makes it more enjoyable to read.

From a writing perspective, incorporating each of the five senses in your writing at appropriate moments is something your readers will love.

From the perspective of the fantasy writer specifically, using the 5 senses is a terrific way to reveal the details created during your world building process.

This is especially useful when you’re trying to convey unique imagery or something that’s altogether alien to the reader. It’s something I used a lot when writing Pariah’s Lament and readers loved it. This is just one of the many 5 senses examples you’ll find below.

If you re-read some of your favourite books there’ll no doubt be passages where the writer employs a sight and smell or taste or touch to great descriptive effect. Oftentimes they employ simple but effective techniques (which we’ll cover below) that draw you deeper into the scene, so much so that you feel as if you’re there.

Often some of our favourite books are those that use to great affect the five senses. Books that transport us to new worlds and take us on epic adventures. And so often it’s the vivid descriptions that draw us in and help us walk amongst the characters.

We’ll look at some examples of the 5 senses in writing below that illustrate just how effective they can be further on below. But first, let’s look at why this is all so important.

Achieving Vivid Writing That Appeals To The Senses

If you want to learn how to achieve vivid writing that appeals to the senses, here are some quick tips:

Practise – it sounds simple but one of the best ways to get used to including the 5 senses in your writing is to practise. Below, you can find lots of handy exercises that can help you sharpen your writing skills.
Reading – another very effective method of sharpening your usage of the five senses in your writing is to simply read the works of top-class authors. These talented writers can use small details that appeal to the senses and immerse you in the story.
Explore – to boost your vocabulary when describing scenes, characters and feelings with the senses, it helps to go out and explore the world and absorb what it is you’re trying to convey. For example, if you need to describe the feeling of the bark of a tree, going out and examining and touching the different trees around you can help you come up with ideas for describing textures, smells and unique visual descriptions.

The 5 Senses And Writing About Feelings And Emotions

It’s difficult to describe how a character feels. People are complex beings and at the best of times, we can’t make sense of how we think and feel about a given thing.

When writing, using the 5 senses can open up doors into the minds of our characters. In utilising them, we can avoid simply telling the reader what our character is feeling, (like, “he felt sad”) and instead, we can suggest or show it through the likes of body language, like how their shoulders are (sagging or raised).

Here are some more examples of the 5 senses when describing emotion:

Sight – If, for example, your character is feeling a little down, you could focus on describing the way they interpret the world around them, such as focusing on the grey clouds hanging low in the sky, the wilted flowers in the garden, or the empty chair across the room.
Sound – Incorporating sounds can help to create an atmosphere that resonates with your readers. Let’s say your character is feeling anxious. You could describe the ticking clock, the distant sirens, the creaking floorboards—things that increase the tension.
Touch – A powerful method is to use tactile descriptions to help your readers feel what the character is feeling. For example, if your character is feeling nervous, you can describe their clammy hands, the beat of their heart in their ears, the tightness in their chest.
Taste – Using taste really adds depth to your descriptions of emotion. If your character is feeling joyful, you could describe the sweetness of a ripe strawberry, the richness of a dark chocolate truffle, or the effervescence of champagne bubbles. Linking these things back to memories can also help to trigger a more powerful reaction. For instance, the taste of a an Indian curry that you had the night you proposed to your wife.
Smell – Scent can also help to create a visceral experience for your readers, one that relates to them on a more emotional level. If your character is feeling nostalgic, you can describe the aroma of freshly baked cookies, the salty sea air, or the musky scent of old books.

By using the five senses in your writing you can create a multi-dimensional experience for your readers, making your characters and their emotions more real and relatable. Let’s take a look at just how powerful sensory details are when it comes to painting a picture in the reader’s mind.

We’ve covered a lot about using sensory descriptions and how they can elevate your writing to the next level. However, there are a lot of scientific studies that back up the theory.

For instance, in a study published back in 2011 by The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, it was found that we process certain words faster than others if there is a sensory experience attached to them.

Such studies aren’t new. In fact, Miller and Johnson-Laird (1976) examined how fundamental “word-percept associations” are to our language. This was expanded upon n a 2003 study by Rakova who emphasised a very important point—that the purpose of language is to express how we feel, what we see, hear, smell and taste.

Another study on sensory linguistics (which looks at how language relates to the senses), published by the University of Birmingham , examined humanity’s dependence on perceptions and how we interact with the world through feeling, seeing, tasting, hearing and smelling.

What we can see here is a growing understanding of the power and influence of a piece of sensory description. By examining these studies, writers can find a whole new appreciation for using the 5 senses in writing.

Before we dive into looking at the 5 senses in a writing context, let’s look at what the five sensory organs are:

Special receptors in the skin that enable us to touch and feel

Combined, our five senses enable us to learn, experience and create memories. Pepsi Max, for example, always reminds me of my history lessons in college—I’d drink a can during every lesson. Think of songs too. They have an incredible ability to transport us back to moments in our past. Let’s explore things in more detail.

If you’d like to learn more about the basics surrounding the 5 senses, see more examples, or learn how to incorporate sensory description in your writing, see this quick video.

Are There More Than 5 Senses?

Now, something you may be wondering about is whether or not there are more than the 5 classic senses. It is, in fact, believed that there is more than touch, taste, sound, sight, smell. These golden 5 were defined by Aristotle because he could relate them to sensory organs. They are sometimes known as the “five senses folk model”.

But it depends on the manner in which you define a sense.

Newer approaches look at the number of sensory organs we have. And many academics now counter the sixth sense as the vestibular system . This relates to the inner ear and the impact it has on our balance and vision.

But other academics have gone further than this. Some tweak the definition to include sensory receptors. Now the skin, for instance, has at least four sensory receptors, relating to pain, temperature, touch and body awareness (otherwise known as proprioception).

So when someone asks how many senses do we have, it’s all a matter of definition. You can check out this awesome video below by SciShow which explains things in more detail.

Perhaps the main one of the five senses, sight often receives information first and therefore forms our initial judgements.

When it comes to using sight in writing, our stories and characters are often guided by this prime form of description. We describe what our characters see.

However, it would be nigh impossible to describe every aspect of a scene, and even if you did achieve it, nigh impossible to read.

Some of the most acclaimed writers, Charles Dickens, in particular, approached it by picking the right details. The little things that tell us everything. Let’s look at an example of the sense of sight in writing from Great Expectations :

“There was a bookcase in the room; I saw, from the backs of the books, that they were about evidence, criminal law, criminal biography, trials, acts of parliament, and such things. The furniture was all very solid and good, like his watch-chain. It had an official look, however, and there was nothing merely ornamental to be seen. In a corner, was a little table of papers with a shaded lamp: so he seemed to bring the office home with him in that respect too, and to wheel it out of an evening and fall to work.”

This is Jagger’s office. Though he doesn’t feature, we’ve gleaned much about who he is from details like the types of books upon the shelves and the paper-filled table, suggesting he lives a busy, professional life.

Colour is another fantastic tool when it comes to sight. Dickens was known for using colours to portray emotions or themes, such as red for frustration or anger, black for death, white for purity or goodness. Using colour, particularly with themes and the premise , can add extra layers to a story.

We explore some more 5 senses examples below to give you some ideas when it comes to sight.

Writing Prompt

Stand in the middle of your bedroom. Look all around you. Make notes of every little detail you see. Colours, shapes. Crumbs or dust on the floor. The more attentive you can be the better.

Pick out things that could relate to characterisation. The books on a shelf perhaps—what kind of books are they? Are there empty glasses beside your bed, dishes too? All of this helps to build interesting imagery, as well as contribute to other elements of the story, in this instance, characterization .

Sound is incredibly important when it comes to using the 5 senses in our writing. Dialogue dominates many stories, but so often little attention is paid to how characters sound when they talk. It’s strange when you think about how unique people sound, and a person’s voice makes such a difference to how we form views of them.

Something I learned not so long ago is that ducks don’t quack. They tend to grunt or even cackle. It’s easy to assume how things sound, but sometimes what we assume is wrong.

It’s always worth taking the time to research. In doing so you may find new and original ways to describe the sound. Using metaphors and similes, particularly if the sound is unusual, is a great way to bring clarity to descriptions.

Another often overlooked thing is silence. Silence is an excellent tool to set the tone or build an atmosphere or tension . A noiseless forest. A still, foggy street. Eerie.

Either using yourself or ideally, your character, place yourself in a location in which things are happening around you—a park, for instance. Close your eyes and listen.

Make a note of every little sound you hear, from tweeting birds to jackhammers digging up roads. If you can, make a note of how different sounds make you feel. Do fireworks startle you, for instance? Then think about why they could startle you or your character.

Of all the five senses, touch is, in my view, one of the most powerful yet underrated ones. If you can convey touch in an effective way, you’ll reap the rewards.

The scope of this sense depends on the nature of the scene, but imagine, for example, walking barefoot through a forest. The softness of moss between your toes, the cool slime of mud, the pokes and scratches of sticks and stones. Such details can draw readers deeper into the story.

We’ll look at some sensory writing exercises below, but as a brief writing prompt now, close your eyes and pick something up. Describe how that object feels. What features does it have? The texture? Sturdiness? Width? Weight?

These little details can make all the difference when it comes to incorporating the 5 senses in your writing.

Taste is the more neglected one out of the five sensory organs when it comes to writing. Just like all of the senses, using taste can enrich your story immensely.

How many times have you said the phrase, “It tastes like …”. So many of our memories are tied to tastes. Like I said before, Pepsi Max always reminds me of history classes in college. Which tastes trigger memories for you?

If this happens to us, it happens to your characters too. It’s a great thing to include within your characterization process.

Like smell, taste can serve as a trigger for memories. For example, a husband who shared a love for apple turnovers baked by his deceased wife is reminded of her whenever he eats one.

Taste can also trigger emotions. There’ve been times when I’ve eaten food that tasted so good I bounced with glee in my chair.

A fun one. Head down to your kitchen and finding something to eat that has a bit of texture. Close your eyes, take a bite. Focus closely as you chew, as the food rolls around your mouth, over your tongue and down your throat. How does it taste? How does it make you feel?

We, at last, arrive at smell, though its place is no reflection on its importance when it comes to using the 5 senses in our writing.

The power of smells cannot be underestimated. We smell things all of the time and those scents help to shape our impressions. What can you whiff right now?

A smell helps us to form a judgement on things, such as whether something’s okay to eat. And crucially, smells can trigger vivid memories and emotions, vital tools to any writer.

Here’s one of my favorite 5 senses examples for using smell in writing from James Joyce’s Ulysses :

“ Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods’ roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.”

How do you describe the smell of rain in creative writing?

The technical term for the smell of rain is “petrichor”.

Rain brings with it a freshness, a crispness, an earthiness. It awakens the scents of other things like dry soil, flowers and grass. It’s something I turn to a lot when writing fantasy , especially in those scenes where characters are moving through rich, rural landscapes.

Similar to the task above which involves a trip out to a busy place, like a park, sit down and have a good sniff. Another good place to try is a coffee shop. Lots of smells of roasting coffee and baking cakes in there.

Importantly, think about where those smells lead you in your mind. Do they trigger memories? Do associated words pop into your mind? From your character’s perspective, this is what their experience would be like too.

The main aim of using the 5 senses is to create imagery in the minds of readers. That is the ultimate aim of writing fiction—to transfer the thoughts and ideas from the writer to the reader.

It’s arguably the most magical thing about writing, the ability for an author to connect with a reader thousands of miles away or hundreds of years into the future.

So it’s up to the writer to create vivid imagery and the 5 senses is one way of achieving that.

There are actually specific terms for the types of imagery that each sensory organ can conjure. Here they are:

Visual Imagery – this, of course, relates to sight
Olfactory Imagery – this fancy word relates to smell
Auditory Imagery – you may have guessed, this one relates to the description of sounds
Gustatory Imagery – this one’s all about taste
Tactile Imagery – and this final one is all about touch, an often-forgotten sense

5 senses imagery, in short, is a powerful tool in a writer’s arsenal. Let’s look at some examples of how it’s used in practice.

Let’s move on to look at the 5 senses and descriptive writing examples. As we’ve seen above, vivid imagery is often used to help the reader feel immersed in the story. So in this section, I’ve provided some from some bestselling books that make great use of the 5 senses.

“The tearing of flesh, as though a butcher were yanking meat from a flank. The bubbling of liquids and the soft rasping of the cutting tools.” Tooth & Nail , Ian Rankin

“Stars spun across his vision and his head felt as if it were about to burst… With difficulty, Hanno undid the chinstrap and eased off his helmet. Cool air ruffled his sweat-soaked hair.” Hannibal: Fields of Blood Ben Kane

“A cold wind was blowing out of the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things. All day, Will had felt as though something were watching him, something cold and implacable that loved him not.” A Game of Thrones, George RR Martin

“It was dark and dim all day. From the sunless dawn until evening the heavy shadow had deepened, and all hearts in the City were oppressed. Far above a great cloud streamed slowly westward from the Black Land, devouring light, borne upon a wind of war; but below the air was still and breathless, as if all the Value of Anduin waited for the onset of a ruinous storm.” The Return Of The King , JRR Tolkien.

This last one for me is a great example of a descriptive paragraph using the five senses. From the off, you not only get a vivid image of the setting (dark, dim, sunless dawn), but you can feel what it’s like to be there on an emotional level (hearts in the City were oppressed). Our senses are further teased with the description of a “still and breathless” air.

If you’d like to find more sensory description examples, I recommend doing this simple exercise:

Pick up any book that you see, one ideally that you don’t mind marking with a pen or highlighter. Next, scan the pages, looking for descriptive scenes. Whenever you see a sentence that refers to any of the five senses, highlight it in some way.

The benefit of doing this is that you get examples from a variety of different writers, each with their own clever way of making their exposition more immersive.

Something you may notice is that many of them employ metaphors and similes to help you build a visual image in your mind. This is a very effective way of using the 5 senses in writing. You could say things like:

The water smashed into the ground like the tide hitting a rocky coast
A squeal filled the air like a pig fearing slaughter
It smelled like an overflowing latrine pit sat in the baking sun

You can learn more about using metaphors and similes in this guide on writing prose.

More Examples Of Descriptive Writing Using The 5 Senses

If you’re looking for more 5 senses examples for your writing, one of the best things you can do is to read books that pay particular attention to this. One of the standout books that explore this is Blindness by José Saramago.

There’s no shortage of sensory language examples out there for you to study. From books to writing guides like this, there are plenty of helpful resources you can learn from.

Something I’ve done to improve my use of the 5 senses in my writing is to include them within the planning process. It’s good to save it until the end when you’ve plotted out your story or chapter, however.

What I do is read over the plan and try and place myself in the scenes. Working my way through each sense, I list everything that pops into my head.

It’ll be unlikely that you need to spend too much time on sight , but taking the time to consider things in detail can provoke new and unique ideas. What little details can be included? Remember the power of specificity.
Next, onto sounds . Like sights, it’s unlikely you’ll need to spend too much time on this but it’s always helpful to consider the likes of characters’ voices and any usual sounds that could be featured.
Smells . When it comes to smells a good starting point is to list everything that comes to mind, even mere whiffs, which can be the most telling of all. Smells can provoke memories and emotions too, like the smell of perfume could remind a character of their dead lover, and that leaves you open to describe emotions.
What can your character touch or feel? How does the hilt of the sword feel in your character’s fingers? How does the touch of a vivacious woman feel to your lonely character? What information can be gleaned from the manner of a handshake?
Lastly, what tastes , if any, can you include? Is your character eating? Can they taste blood after being punched in the cheek? Do they enter a room where the smell is so foetid they can taste it?

I wanted to provide you with a few examples of descriptive paragraphs that use sensory details. Examine how they elevate the scene by drawing you deeper. Each little detail paints a more vivid picture, such that you can almost feel yourself there, experiencing it yourself. This is a real skill when it comes to creative writing, but it’s definitely one you can learn and master.

Let’s look at our first 5 senses paragraph example:

The mud of the road sucked at her tattered leather boots, a quagmire after incessant rains. Autumn circled like a hawk. The wind grabbed at her woollen green cloak and homespun dress. The hand-me-downs from her cousins never fitted, always too wide at the waist and short of length. She pulled her cloak tight about her, bundling it around her hands to keep away the biting chill.

The ringing gave way to those crashes and bangs, each one coming with the beat of his heart. His eyes flickered open. Slate-grey clouds hung above. Dust hovered in the air, rocks and debris showered down upon him. He raised his throbbing head and looked around. Men and women, hands over their ears, cowered down behind the crenellations of the wall, fear etched upon their faces, consuming their eyes, paralyzing their bodies. A few defiant individuals continued to loose arrows. For many, it was the last they shot. The Karraban thunder smashed the parapets to bits, obliterated siege engines, battered the cliff behind them and knocked from it great chunks of rock that tumbled down to crush those below. The ringing in Jem’s ears eased enough for him to hear the screams. They became the backdrop to the rumbling of the Karraban thunder. Only one thought entered Jem’s mind: flee.

The bells rang loud and panicked across Yurrisa. Hidden in the shadows of the abandoned warehouse, Edvar and the others lay in wait. He peered through a crack in a boarded window at the cobbled street. Echoing along it came a shout. Another. Steps rushed toward him, and into view burst a group of soldiers, breaths billowing mist in the cold morning air.

Laughter rippled from the table behind Edvar. The three men were tanners, the least difficult of all working men to identify: stained clothes and hands and stinking of a peculiar cocktail of rotten flesh and mint. They rubbed themselves with the latter to mask the stench of the former. Nobody could bear their presence long enough to tell them it didn’t work.

As you can see, these examples use each of the five senses to great effect. If you’re curious where these came from, I pinched them from Pariah’s Lament .

Here are a few useful exercises to get into the swing of using the senses. The more you practice, the more it’ll become ingrained in the way you write and that’s why it’s one of my favorite writing tips of all!

One place, one sense . As the title suggests, think of a place and describe everything you can using just one sense. Challenge yourself. Pick a sense you feel you struggle with. Or do one sense, then a different one.
Describe an object using the 5 senses. This is a nice simple exercise. Pick one object and describe it using all of your senses. Examples of objects could be chocolate (so you can taste) or a bottle of perfume (for the smell!).
Close your eyes and pick an object up. This one was mentioned above, but it’s a powerful tool. Jot down everything you can think of.
Pick your favourite food and eat! This one’s a bit more fun. Take chocolate for example. Savour each bite and write down everything, from taste to texture, the sounds of it breaking in your mouth, and importantly, how it makes you feel.
Pick something alien and try to use sensory descriptions. This is a great way to challenge your use of the 5 senses because you have to create everything from scratch and to a whole new level of detail. So if you’re a sci-fi writer, this could be a great way to learn how to describe a spaceship in writing.

Here’s a brilliant visual exercise too which I highly recommend trying. It’s quick, and easy and really does hone your skills when it comes to using the 5 senses in writing.

1. Walk And Write

This exercise I call walk and write . Take a notepad and write five headings: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. The next time you go out, even if it’s just to the shop on the corner, write down everything you experience. The touch of the rain or breeze, how the pavement feels underfoot, snippets of passing conversation you hear, the whistle of birds, how that warm and crispy sausage roll tastes. *Warning* You may look odd stopping all the time.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Take a walk outside and observe your surroundings. Use your senses to take note of what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Write down your observations.
Choose one of the things you noticed on your walk and use it as a prompt for your writing. For example, if you noticed the sound of birds chirping, write a descriptive paragraph that captures that sound.
As you write, be sure to use sensory language to bring your description to life. Instead of simply saying “I heard birds chirping,” try something like “The melody of birdsong filled my ears, each chirp a delicate note in a symphony of nature.”
Repeat this exercise for each of the senses. Choose a different observation each time and challenge yourself to use vivid sensory details to paint a picture with your words.

2. Write A Short Story With The 5 Senses

One of the most effective ways that you can sharpen your sensory description writing is to write a short story with the 5 senses.

The way it works is simple. Plan out your story—characters, plotting, theme—and then when it comes to the writing, you’re only permitted to use the five senses.

It can help to think of a story in which you’d likely use the sensory organs more than usual. Let’s look at a few writing prompts:

Your protagonist awakens in a dark cave. It’s cold and damp. They must figure out what’s happened and find their way out.
Your protagonist is fleeing through a forest. What are they running from? What awaits them up ahead?
Your character is upon a ship and is knocked overboard. How do they survive in the turbulent waves?

These are just a few prompts that are specifically designed to help you use the five senses in your writing. Trust me, an exercise like this will have your skillset sharpened in no time.

3. Use 5 Senses Writing Prompts

Here are some 5 senses writing prompts that may help you get started:

You’re at home, watching TV. You catch the scent of something. Something that makes you mute the TV, look around, stand up. What is it you smell?
For three days you’ve been travelling alone through the woods. You’re two days from your destination. Tired, weary. And you’re pretty sure something is following you. The sun has long since set. The embers are dying in your fire. And you begin to hear sounds close by…
You’ve just started a new job. The office is big, labyrinthine. On your way back from lunch on your first day, you get lost. You open a door with stairs leading down. You follow them. Get further lost. And the steps give way. You awake in darkness to the sound of something growling. You reach for your phone, turn on the torch…

There are a few examples of sensory language-based writing prompts for you. See where they take you.

You can never have enough adjectives to help you describe the five senses. Below, you can find a pretty simple list, but it serves as a great starting point. From there you can add some of your own examples of using the 5 senses in descriptive writing. I also have some other helpful writing tools here that you may find useful.

a list of adjectives for the five senses in writing

Below, you can find answers to some commonly asked questions when it comes to sensory descriptions, as well as more descriptive writing examples using the 5 senses.

“The icy wind rattled the ancient shutters upon the windows, stirring a shudder and setting every hair on her body on edge.”

This sentence uses sensory language to describe not just how the setting looks (from the rattling ancient shutters we see it’s an old possibly abandoned house), and crucially, we get a sense of how it feels to be in that setting, which is the main objective. It feels eerie, we feel the cold. We’re spooked.

Sensory description in fiction writing requires a writer to utilise the 5 senses – sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Incorporating the senses into your writing is simple. First, focus on what your characters can see in the scene. Then, one by one, think about what they can hear, smell, feel and taste. Assort your various descriptions and pick out your most powerful few.

The five senses are often used to draw a reader deeper into the scene, to feel closer to the characters. Writers do this by adding extra details focusing on the likes of touch and smell. This vivid writing that appeals to the senses can help immerse readers in our tales.

The best way is to pick up your favourite book and highlight any sentences or paragraphs that utilise the 5 senses. You’ll then have a bank of sensory details examples to call upon whenever you need them.

A sensory description is one that includes sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Exploring sensory language examples gives you a greater ability to immerse your readers in the story and experience what the characters feel.

If you have any questions or need more examples of the 5 senses in writing, please contact me.

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32 thoughts on “the best examples of the 5 senses and descriptive writing”.

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When writing about the senses, authors should be careful to avoid FILTER words (saw, heard, felt, smelled, tasted) that detract from the scene. Don’t say, “I saw the sparkling water.” Instead, make it more vivid. Leave out “saw.” We know you saw it because you are describing it to us. Tell us instead more of WHAT you are seeing. “The sparkling water bubbled as a creature from below made its way to the surface.” Same goes with using “heard,” “felt,” “smelled,” and “tasted.” Omit those words and describe those senses so people can experience what the character is experience.

Terrific points! Thanks for taking the time to share!

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Thanks for sharing!

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Thanks for the link!

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This was very helpful in as a source.

Engaging the Senses: 10 Sensory Writing Activities for the English Language Arts Classroom

Including the power of sensory regulation in the secondary ela classroom, too.

I feel like having a toddler around has helped me understand the role of sensory work and play far better than before parenthood. I even look back on my own childhood and remember moments where I can recall feeling dysregulated or something was off. I never liked the feeling of itchy socks on my toes. I hated having my hair done because of how it felt. When I initially started learning more about sensory play, one of the most powerful pieces was that everyone has sensory needs . Sensory regulation does not require a diagnosis, label, or “special” treatment. We all have the power to feel regulated or dysregulated by the work of the senses. Incorporating sensory experiences into the secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classroom can ignite students' creativity, deepen their understanding, and make writing come alive. By engaging multiple senses, educators can create a dynamic and immersive environment that inspires students to express themselves through writing. We can also help our students regulate their own systems and challenge behavior issues that are tied to classroom management. In this blog post, we will explore 10 sensory writing activities that can transform the ELA classroom into a hub of sensory exploration and literary expression.

10 Writing Activities to Use Now

Sensory word wall:.

Create a sensory word wall in your classroom, displaying vivid and descriptive words that engage the senses. Encourage students to incorporate these words into their writing, enriching their descriptions and making their narratives more compelling. This type of word wall can also be used to describe the different areas in a classroom to help students understand to describe their worlds with more clarity.

Soundscapes

Play different soundscapes related to various settings, such as a bustling city, a peaceful forest, or a stormy sea. Ask students to write descriptive passages that capture the sounds they hear, enabling readers to imagine the scene vividly. Take it a step further and help them mimic snapshot descriptions of different places when you are teaching them to describe a place in a narrative scene.

Read Now >> Middle-Grade Narrative Writing: Using Mentor Texts to Describe Setting (Snapshots)

Sensory Object Descriptions:

Bring in a collection of objects with unique textures, smells, or sounds. Ask students to select an object, explore its sensory qualities, and write detailed descriptions that engage readers' senses. Encourage them to use metaphors and sensory language to convey their experiences. You can use this as a starting point for developing stories or narratives that contain these objects.

Read Now >> The Power of Play: Find Story Ideas Everywhere with Creative Writing Play Kits

Taste and Describe:

What group of students doesn’t like to eat? Bring in a variety of food samples or beverages that represent different flavors and aromas. Have students taste and describe the sensory experience, using vivid language to express the tastes, textures, and smells. This activity can be especially effective when teaching descriptive writing or poetry.

Sensory Poems:

Introduce different poetic forms, such as haiku or free verse, and encourage students to write sensory poems that evoke specific emotions or experiences. Ask them to focus on engaging all the senses, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the poet's world. Ever wonder why kids love onomatopoeias? Maybe because they remind them of graphic novels or maybe because they tap into much needed auditory input.

Read Now >> Build Classroom Community with Where I'm From Poems and I Am Poems

Sensory Walks:

Take students on sensory walks around the school or outside in nature. I use to call these adjective walks where kids can learn how to describe the world around them. Encourage them to observe and record their sensory experiences in a journal. Back in the classroom, have students use their observations as inspiration for descriptive writing, creating vivid scenes and characters.

Texture Collages:

Provide magazines, fabric scraps, and other materials with varying textures. Ask students to create texture collages by cutting out and arranging different textures. Afterward, have them write descriptive paragraphs or short stories inspired by their collages, incorporating sensory details. You could also have them add these types of crafts to a classroom journal.

Sensory Character Profiles:

Have students choose a character from a novel or short story they are studying. Encourage them to create sensory-based character profiles, describing how the character looks, sounds, smells, and feels. This activity deepens their understanding of characters and helps them develop well-rounded descriptions.

Sensory Story Starters:

Provide students with sensory prompts, such as "I woke up to the smell of..." or "I heard a mysterious sound coming from..." Ask them to complete the story by incorporating sensory details and engaging the reader's imagination.

Sensory Similes and Metaphors:

Explore similes and metaphors with a sensory twist. Ask students to create similes or metaphors that compare objects, emotions, or experiences to sensory elements. For example, "Her laughter was as sweet as freshly baked cookies."

Bonus activity-Calm Down a Noisy Room with ASMR:

When I suggest ASMR, some people immediately make a frowny face. I get it. If you search for ASMR videos, you will start to find ones that deal with massage, eating, and generally weird noises that are meant to calm people down. I would recommend heading into the “oddly satisfying” realm when you consider using these types of videos in the classroom. Things like drawing, sand, slime, and surprisingly cooking! I remember I would always catch one of my students watching cooking videos and at the time, I couldn’t figure out why. Now, I know she was just trying to regulate her senses.

A Final Thought

By incorporating sensory writing activities and sensory play activities into the ELA classroom, educators can empower students to engage their senses, deepen their understanding of literary concepts, and create vivid, immersive writing. These activities foster descriptive skills, promote creative expression, and enhance students' ability to engage readers through sensory language. Embrace the power of sensory writing and watch your students' writing skills and enjoyment of the written word expand beyond the page.

I love Gretchen Rubin’s recommendations in her book Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World to simply record your five senses observations each day. This would make a great journal exercise to try out for a week as a self-check-in.

Touch - What do you touch? What do you feel when you are experiencing different emotions?

Taste - What do you crave? What different tastes do you associate with different experiences?

Sight - What do you see? What do you see when you look past what you normally see?

Smell - What do you smell? What smells are you ignoring on purpose? What smell could be a trigger for a feeling or emotion?

Sound - What do you hear? What do you hear beyond the everyday classroom noise?

For many classroom teachers, our senses are on immediate overload when we walk into our classrooms. Gretchen Rubin reminds us, “Acknowledging that people experience sensations in different ways can help us all be more understanding-not to dismiss people’s objections to sights, sounds, smells, tastes, or touches, but instead to respect them so that we can create sensory environments in which everyone can feel comfortable. While studying such differences was beyond the scope of my project-to explore my own five senses-recognizing them underscored an important truth: We each live in the brew of our own sensations” (15).

Some questions to ponder:

What behaviors in our classrooms are really sensory seeking or sensory avoiding?

How do our own sensory needs show up in our classrooms? How does this impact our teaching?

How can we incorporate more sensory-sensitive activities to help our students regulate their own minds and bodies?

Book Recommendation

Gretchen Rubin’s Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World would make a great staff read to start talking about sensory work inside and outside of the classroom.

Writing Mindset Reflection: How do you incorporate sensory activities into your classroom? How do you see the five senses “show up” in your classroom?

Writing Activities

105 Creative Writing Exercises To Get You Writing Again

You know that feeling when you just don’t feel like writing? Sometimes you can’t even get a word down on paper. It’s the most frustrating thing ever to a writer, especially when you’re working towards a deadline. The good news is that we have a list of 105 creative writing exercises to help you get motivated and start writing again!

What are creative writing exercises?

Creative writing exercises are short writing activities (normally around 10 minutes) designed to get you writing. The goal of these exercises is to give you the motivation to put words onto a blank paper. These words don’t need to be logical or meaningful, neither do they need to be grammatically correct or spelt correctly. The whole idea is to just get you writing something, anything. The end result of these quick creative writing exercises is normally a series of notes, bullet points or ramblings that you can, later on, use as inspiration for a bigger piece of writing such as a story or a poem.

Good creative writing exercises are short, quick and easy to complete. You shouldn’t need to think too much about your style of writing or how imaginative your notes are. Just write anything that comes to mind, and you’ll be on the road to improving your creative writing skills and beating writer’s block .

Use the generator below to get a random creative writing exercise idea:

List of 105+ Creative Writing Exercises

Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again:

Set a timer for 60 seconds. Now write down as many words or phrases that come to mind at that moment.
Pick any colour you like. Now start your sentence with this colour. For example, Orange, the colour of my favourite top.
Open a book or dictionary on a random page. Pick a random word. You can close your eyes and slowly move your finger across the page. Now, write a paragraph with this random word in it. You can even use an online dictionary to get random words:

Create your own alphabet picture book or list. It can be A to Z of animals, food, monsters or anything else you like!
Using only the sense of smell, describe where you are right now.
Take a snack break. While eating your snack write down the exact taste of that food. The goal of this creative writing exercise is to make your readers savour this food as well.
Pick a random object in your room and write a short paragraph from its point of view. For example, how does your pencil feel? What if your lamp had feelings?
Describe your dream house. Where would you live one day? Is it huge or tiny?
Pick two different TV shows, movies or books that you like. Now swap the main character. What if Supergirl was in Twilight? What if SpongeBob SquarePants was in The Flash? Write a short scene using this character swap as inspiration.
What’s your favourite video game? Write at least 10 tips for playing this game.
Pick your favourite hobby or sport. Now pretend an alien has just landed on Earth and you need to teach it this hobby or sport. Write at least ten tips on how you would teach this alien.
Use a random image generator and write a paragraph about the first picture you see.

Write a letter to your favourite celebrity or character. What inspires you most about them? Can you think of a memorable moment where this person’s life affected yours? We have this helpful guide on writing a letter to your best friend for extra inspiration.
Write down at least 10 benefits of writing. This can help motivate you and beat writer’s block.
Complete this sentence in 10 different ways: Patrick waited for the school bus and…
Pick up a random book from your bookshelf and go to page 9. Find the ninth sentence on that page. Use this sentence as a story starter.
Create a character profile based on all the traits that you hate. It might help to list down all the traits first and then work on describing the character.
What is the scariest or most dangerous situation you have ever been in? Why was this situation scary? How did you cope at that moment?
Pretend that you’re a chat show host and you’re interviewing your favourite celebrity. Write down the script for this conversation.
Using extreme detail, write down what you have been doing for the past one hour today. Think about your thoughts, feelings and actions during this time.
Make a list of potential character names for your next story. You can use a fantasy name generator to help you.
Describe a futuristic setting. What do you think the world would look like in 100 years time?
Think about a recent argument you had with someone. Would you change anything about it? How would you resolve an argument in the future?
Describe a fantasy world. What kind of creatures live in this world? What is the climate like? What everyday challenges would a typical citizen of this world face? You can use this fantasy world name generator for inspiration.
At the flip of a switch, you turn into a dragon. What kind of dragon would you be? Describe your appearance, special abilities, likes and dislikes. You can use a dragon name generator to give yourself a cool dragon name.
Pick your favourite book or a famous story. Now change the point of view. For example, you could rewrite the fairytale , Cinderella. This time around, Prince Charming could be the main character. What do you think Prince Charming was doing, while Cinderella was cleaning the floors and getting ready for the ball?
Pick a random writing prompt and use it to write a short story. Check out this collection of over 300 writing prompts for kids to inspire you.
Write a shopping list for a famous character in history. Imagine if you were Albert Einstein’s assistant, what kind of things would he shop for on a weekly basis?
Create a fake advertisement poster for a random object that is near you right now. Your goal is to convince the reader to buy this object from you.
What is the worst (or most annoying) sound that you can imagine? Describe this sound in great detail, so your reader can understand the pain you feel when hearing this sound.
What is your favourite song at the moment? Pick one line from this song and describe a moment in your life that relates to this line.
You’re hosting an imaginary dinner party at your house. Create a list of people you would invite, and some party invites. Think about the theme of the dinner party, the food you will serve and entertainment for the evening.
You are waiting to see your dentist in the waiting room. Write down every thought you are having at this moment in time.
Make a list of your greatest fears. Try to think of at least three fears. Now write a short story about a character who is forced to confront one of these fears.
Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for a famous villain of your choice. Think about the crimes they have committed, and the reward you will give for having them caught.
Imagine you are a journalist for the ‘Imagine Forest Times’ newspaper. Your task is to get an exclusive interview with the most famous villain of all time. Pick a villain of your choice and interview them for your newspaper article. What questions would you ask them, and what would their responses be?
In a school playground, you see the school bully hurting a new kid. Write three short stories, one from each perspective in this scenario (The bully, the witness and the kid getting bullied).
You just won $10 million dollars. What would you spend this money on?
Pick a random animal, and research at least five interesting facts about this animal. Write a short story centred around one of these interesting facts.
Pick a global issue that you are passionate about. This could be climate change, black lives matters, women’s rights etc. Now create a campaign poster for this global issue.
Write an acrostic poem about an object near you right now (or even your own name). You could use a poetry idea generator to inspire you.
Imagine you are the head chef of a 5-star restaurant. Recently the business has slowed down. Your task is to come up with a brand-new menu to excite customers. Watch this video prompt on YouTube to inspire you.
What is your favourite food of all time? Imagine if this piece of food was alive, what would it say to you?
If life was one big musical, what would you be singing about right now? Write the lyrics of your song.
Create and describe the most ultimate villain of all time. What would their traits be? What would their past look like? Will they have any positive traits?
Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: Every time I look out of the window, I…
You have just made it into the local newspaper, but what for? Write down at least five potential newspaper headlines . Here’s an example, Local Boy Survives a Deadly Illness.
If you were a witch or a wizard, what would your specialist area be and why? You might want to use a Harry Potter name generator or a witch name generator for inspiration.
What is your favourite thing to do on a Saturday night? Write a short story centred around this activity.
Your main character has just received the following items: A highlighter, a red cap, a teddy bear and a fork. What would your character do with these items? Can you write a story using these items?
Create a timeline of your own life, from birth to this current moment. Think about the key events in your life, such as birthdays, graduations, weddings and so on. After you have done this, you can pick one key event from your life to write a story about.
Think of a famous book or movie you like. Rewrite a scene from this book or movie, where the main character is an outsider. They watch the key events play out, but have no role in the story. What would their actions be? How would they react?
Three very different characters have just won the lottery. Write a script for each character, as they reveal the big news to their best friend.
Write a day in the life story of three different characters. How does each character start their day? What do they do throughout the day? And how does their day end?
Write about the worst experience in your life so far. Think about a time when you were most upset or angry and describe it.
Imagine you’ve found a time machine in your house. What year would you travel to and why?
Describe your own superhero. Think about their appearance, special abilities and their superhero name. Will they have a secret identity? Who is their number one enemy?
What is your favourite country in the world? Research five fun facts about this country and use one to write a short story.
Set yourself at least three writing goals. This could be a good way to motivate yourself to write every day. For example, one goal might be to write at least 150 words a day.
Create a character description based on the one fact, three fiction rule. Think about one fact or truth about yourself. And then add in three fictional or fantasy elements. For example, your character could be the same age as you in real life, this is your one fact. And the three fictional elements could be they have the ability to fly, talk in over 100 different languages and have green skin.
Describe the perfect person. What traits would they have? Think about their appearance, their interests and their dislikes.
Keep a daily journal or diary. This is a great way to keep writing every day. There are lots of things you can write about in your journal, such as you can write about the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of your day. Think about anything that inspired you or anything that upset you, or just write anything that comes to mind at the moment.
Write a book review or a movie review. If you’re lost for inspiration, just watch a random movie or read any book that you can find. Then write a critical review on it. Think about the best parts of the book/movie and the worst parts. How would you improve the book or movie?
Write down a conversation between yourself. You can imagine talking to your younger self or future self (i.e. in 10 years’ time). What would you tell them? Are there any lessons you learned or warnings you need to give? Maybe you could talk about what your life is like now and compare it to their life?
Try writing some quick flash fiction stories . Flash fiction is normally around 500 words long, so try to stay within this limit.
Write a six-word story about something that happened to you today or yesterday. A six-word story is basically an entire story told in just six words. Take for example: “Another football game ruined by me.” or “A dog’s painting sold for millions.” – Six-word stories are similar to writing newspaper headlines. The goal is to summarise your story in just six words.
The most common monsters or creatures used in stories include vampires, werewolves , dragons, the bigfoot, sirens and the loch-ness monster. In a battle of intelligence, who do you think will win and why?
Think about an important event in your life that has happened so far, such as a birthday or the birth of a new sibling. Now using the 5 W’s and 1 H technique describe this event in great detail. The 5 W’s include: What, Who, Where, Why, When and the 1 H is: How. Ask yourself questions about the event, such as what exactly happened on that day? Who was there? Why was this event important? When and where did it happen? And finally, how did it make you feel?
Pretend to be someone else. Think about someone important in your life. Now put yourself into their shoes, and write a day in the life story about being them. What do you think they do on a daily basis? What situations would they encounter? How would they feel?
Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: I remember…
Write about your dream holiday. Where would you go? Who would you go with? And what kind of activities would you do?
Which one item in your house do you use the most? Is it the television, computer, mobile phone, the sofa or the microwave? Now write a story of how this item was invented. You might want to do some research online and use these ideas to build up your story.
In exactly 100 words, describe your bedroom. Try not to go over or under this word limit.
Make a top ten list of your favourite animals. Based on this list create your own animal fact file, where you provide fun facts about each animal in your list.
What is your favourite scene from a book or a movie? Write down this scene. Now rewrite the scene in a different genre, such as horror, comedy, drama etc.
Change the main character of a story you recently read into a villain. For example, you could take a popular fairytale such as Jack and the Beanstalk, but this time re-write the story to make Jack the villain of the tale.
Complete the following sentence in at least 10 different ways: Do you ever wonder…
What does your name mean? Research the meaning of your own name, or a name that interests you. Then use this as inspiration for your next story. For example, the name ‘Marty’ means “Servant Of Mars, God Of War”. This could make a good concept for a sci-fi story.
Make a list of three different types of heroes (or main characters) for potential future stories.
If someone gave you $10 dollars, what would you spend it on and why?
Describe the world’s most boring character in at least 100 words.
What is the biggest problem in the world today, and how can you help fix this issue?
Create your own travel brochure for your hometown. Think about why tourists might want to visit your hometown. What is your town’s history? What kind of activities can you do? You could even research some interesting facts.
Make a list of all your favourite moments or memories in your life. Now pick one to write a short story about.
Describe the scariest and ugliest monster you can imagine. You could even draw a picture of this monster with your description.
Write seven haikus, one for each colour of the rainbow. That’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Imagine you are at the supermarket. Write down at least three funny scenarios that could happen to you at the supermarket. Use one for your next short story.
Imagine your main character is at home staring at a photograph. Write the saddest scene possible. Your goal is to make your reader cry when reading this scene.
What is happiness? In at least 150 words describe the feeling of happiness. You could use examples from your own life of when you felt happy.
Think of a recent nightmare you had and write down everything you can remember. Use this nightmare as inspiration for your next story.
Keep a dream journal. Every time you wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning you can quickly jot down things that you remember from your dreams. These notes can then be used as inspiration for a short story.
Your main character is having a really bad day. Describe this bad day and the series of events they experience. What’s the worst thing that could happen to your character?
You find a box on your doorstep. You open this box and see the most amazing thing ever. Describe this amazing thing to your readers.
Make a list of at least five possible settings or locations for future stories. Remember to describe each setting in detail.
Think of something new you recently learned. Write this down. Now write a short story where your main character also learns the same thing.
Describe the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your whole life. Your goal is to amaze your readers with its beauty.
Make a list of things that make you happy or cheer you up. Try to think of at least five ideas. Now imagine living in a world where all these things were banned or against the law. Use this as inspiration for your next story.
Would you rather be rich and alone or poor and very popular? Write a story based on the lives of these two characters.
Imagine your main character is a Librarian. Write down at least three dark secrets they might have. Remember, the best secrets are always unexpected.
There’s a history behind everything. Describe the history of your house. How and when was your house built? Think about the land it was built on and the people that may have lived here long before you.
Imagine that you are the king or queen of a beautiful kingdom. Describe your kingdom in great detail. What kind of rules would you have? Would you be a kind ruler or an evil ruler of the kingdom?
Make a wish list of at least three objects you wish you owned right now. Now use these three items in your next story. At least one of them must be the main prop in the story.
Using nothing but the sense of taste, describe a nice Sunday afternoon at your house. Remember you can’t use your other senses (i.e see, hear, smell or touch) in this description.
What’s the worst pain you felt in your life? Describe this pain in great detail, so your readers can also feel it.
If you were lost on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, what three must-have things would you pack and why?
Particpate in online writing challenges or contests. Here at Imagine Forest, we offer daily writing challenges with a new prompt added every day to inspire you. Check out our challenges section in the menu.

Do you have any more fun creative writing exercises to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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3 Writing Exercises to Change How You See the World

by The Magic Violinist | 23 comments

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One of the best ways to write a good descriptive piece is to think about the five senses . Sight is a commonly used sense, as it’s usually the one we rely on most, but what about sound? What about touch or taste or smell? A few creative writing exercises focused on different senses might be just what you need to write amazing descriptive scenes.

3 Writing Exercises to Connect With Your Senses

The things you see are great, but it's all too easy to forget your other senses are powerful tools to immerse your readers in your story, too. Here are three writing exercises you can use to explore the senses in your writing.

1. Close your eyes

Take a second to close your eyes and stay still. Maybe you’re in your bedroom, maybe you’re in a coffee shop, or you could be sitting on your back porch. Whether it’s someplace old or new, try not to focus on the things you saw when you walked in.

Take deep breaths and write down what you smell. Then focus on the sounds around you. What’s the temperature like? Are you eating something? Don’t worry about if what you’re writing is good or not; just record everything you can think of.

2. Write from a different point of view

It might be hard to block out one of your senses in favor of another one, but sometimes people don’t have a choice.

What if you’re writing from the point of view of someone who’s deaf or blind? You’ll have to practice relying on your other senses if you want to accurately portray them in writing.

Maybe your protagonist is a dog. Dogs use their sense of smell a lot.

Maybe it’s a baby. Babies often stick strange objects in their mouth. How would you describe what the objects taste like?

Stepping into someone else’s shoes is one of the best things you can do to better explore your senses when you write.

3. Make lists

Think of a place you visit frequently. It could be the grocery store, a restaurant, a friend’s house, anywhere that you’ve been for long periods of time.

Now write down each of the fives senses and think of the things you could put in each section.

For example, if I were going to describe the park I go to in the summer, my list might look something like this.

Birds chirping
The squeak of sneakers as toddlers try to climb up the slide
Rustling leaves
The creaking of old swings
The crunch of gravel as cars pull in
The tickling of grass on bare feet
Hot pavement
Sun-soaked dirt
Rough mulch
Thick, warm air
Ice cold water
Salty pretzels

Obviously some senses are going to be harder than others—taste is one I struggle with—but the point of these writing exercises is to branch out.

Enrich Your Writing With the Five Senses

You don’t have to use everything from your lists or your writing practices in your stories, but these are good ways to discover some new descriptors you may not have thought of before.

Of course, you don't want to inundate readers with details they don't need. But a few well-placed descriptors drawing on the senses can immerse your readers in your story's world . Who knows—maybe they'll never want to leave!

How do you explore the senses in your writing? Share in the comments section .

Pick one of the three writing exercises above and free write for fifteen minutes .

Did the writing exercise help? If you tried more than one exercise, which one was your favorite?

Share your practice in the comments , if you wish, and be sure to give your fellow writers some advice, as well!

The Magic Violinist

The Magic Violinist is a young author who writes mostly fantasy stories. She loves to play with her dog and spend time with her family. Oh, and she's homeschooled. You can visit her blog at themagicviolinist.blogspot.com . You can also follow The Magic Violinist on Twitter (@Magic_Violinist).

23 Comments

Tell me, sweet girl, have you penned a book? Because I would love to devour your every word #HUGSSSSSSS

Thank you for brightening my afternoon with your expressive, eloquent and encouraging piece. <3

OODLES of love and hugs Kitto

Aww, thank you! 🙂 Ha ha, I have written several, it’s just a matter of finding an agent now.

Wow, you made my day! I’m glad I could help.

The Backporch Well

The well on the backporch of my grandmother’s southern Missouri farm was a very enticing thing for a little kid (me)! The walls were built up from the porch floor about 3 feet high and there was a wooden hinged door that got lifted up when it was time to draw up a bucket of water. When I heard the eek of the hinges that signaled the opening of the door, the well became irrestible to me. The next thing I heard was, “stay back, sissy”, as I snuck close enough to peer over the wall edge down into the mysterious inky darkness. If I timed my arrival right, I got to not only see that awesome dark water and my own reflection in it for a moment, but I also got to hear the funny blub, blub, blub of water starting to enter the bucket. These were incredible moments for a little city dweller kid!

Once the adult drawing water got me moved away from the edge, they commenced to hand over hand pulling the bucket rope while I waited in anticipation for the bucket to clear the well edge.

Then the best part of all, I got to use the metal dipper that everyone in the family used to scoop up the most delicious drink that anyone could imagine! That well water’s taste could not be compared to the stuff that came out of the tap in my home in the city. Yes, this was a mysterious, magical, tasty elixir from the deep!

My grandparents did not have a well in Oklahoma, but they did have a paper shell pecan tree, and I swear, the pecans off that tree just made everything they were in better.

Just one point, “they commenced to hand over hand pulling the bucket rope” might read better as “they commenced the hand over hand pulling of the bucket rope”

Excellent story. I liked it.

Glad you enjoyed it. It’s a sweet memory of time on my grandparent’s farm. I like your suggested change; much better ‘flow’. (Pun intended!)

I loved this! 🙂 Short, simple, but effective. I could almost hear the noises of the water inside my living room. Great job!

@ The Magic Violinist – Thanks for the brilliant post and an interesting and exciting Practice.

@ Kat – Thanks for a really beautiful story. Inspired by your writing I have written this.

**********************************************************************************************************

Tanya woke up with a start from her mid-day nap and heard a distant thunder. She wished the rumbling thunder had not woken up her. The terrible argument with her mother had shattered Tanya. She took refuge in her slumber to numb the wounds caused by her mother’s harsh and cruel words. Tanya’s mom is so unreasonable and controlling about whom Tanya should date. But that’s very unlike of her mother to try to control Tanya. Nevertheless, Tanya deeply resented her mom for the way she is trying to control Tanya and decided never to forgive her.

Another clap of thunder and Tanya rushed out of her room to check for herself whether it is the unexpected summer rain that everyone had been hoping for. Standing in her balcony, Tanya lavished in the beauty of rain-washed streets and buildings. She felt it difficult to be upset when Mother Nature presented Tanya’s favorite vista.

Her eyes drank in the serenity of surrounding trees. The thick foliage appeared bright and merry after their refreshing shower. They looked gorgeous against the gray sky. Dark clouds formed brilliant patterns and Tanya imagined they are in a hurry to glide across the sky to explore new places. She inhaled deeply to fill her lungs with cool and fresh air.

The calm and gentle wind reminded Tanya of her happy childhood. During rainy days like these, her mom used to prepare her hot chocolate and amused Tanya with interesting stories while she relished her hot chocolate. Fond memories of hot chocolate, cool breeze and her mom’s affectionate voice flooded Tanya. Her mom had always been loving and caring.

A cool breeze caressed her cheeks and ruffled her hair. Tanya felt her resentment ebbing away.

*************************************************************************************************************

This was great! 🙂 I like how you balanced the description with her memories, too. One thing I would watch out for is the length of your sentences. They tend to be about the same, which can upset the flow. Other than that, great job!

Thank you so much! 🙂 Your comments are really helpful and encouraging for me. You see, I am a beginner and this is my first piece of writing. Thank for your time, you made my day 🙂 I will definitely pay close attention to the length of my sentences. Once again, Thank you.

Thank you for your prompting. I did undertake the spirit of the challenge and put myself in my own shoes ten years ago when I “walked through” my current house that we now have on the market. It will be a good way for me to capture the memories of this place as we move on.

That’s a great way to use the exercise! Moving can be hard, so hopefully this helps.

Thank you, Magic Violinist. I accepted your invitation to close my eyes and imagine myself at our favorite camping spot at Shaver Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Unfortunately, the terrible California drought will suck up a great portion of the water, with little or no snowfall to replenish it this year.

I took a few minutes to do exercise #3.

Sight: Glints of sunlight reflecting on the water Open expanse … pine trees/lake/boulders/mountains A doe and her fawn Squirrels scurrying Forest of tree trunks Sparks floating up from the fire, extinguishing in time The flame engulfing the marshmallow on a stick, crisping it to the perfect rich brown

Sound: Cacaw of Crows (your cousins at my house bring you to my mind) Crackling fires Crunch of pine needles underfoot Water lapping the shore Rumbling engines of motor boats Radios (really!? Camping?!) Laughter The shuffling of playing cards The bang of the “outhouse” door The zipper of the tent Buzzing mosquitoes

Smell: Pine Smoke from the fire Sage The intense heat of the day (yes, I meant this to be under smell)

Touch/Feel: Sticky pine sap Bristles of the pine cones Dried twigs for kindling Rough granite on boulders next to the lake COLD/cool mountain water… welcome stark contrast to the heat Hard ground under my sleeping bag, the invariable rock that wasn’t cleared The cooling air after the sun goes down A perfectly roasted marshmallow, crispness giving way to gooey center

Taste: S’mores Dinner prepared over an open fire Cinnamon rolls and coffee from the local coffee shop in town Lake water A cold beer

This was fantastic! I especially loved your descriptions of the fire and S’mores. And I totally get what you’re saying about heat having a smell! It’s kind of sweet and sticky, in my mind.

The feel of barbershop. No not the place where your dad went to get a haircut, but four guys singing close harmony. There is the overtone, screaming softly like a banshee high up in the rafters, higer in pitch than the tenor. The physics of the harmony between the bass and the tenor created that overtone, but the lead and baritone mellow it out, converting it to just a beautiful blanket of sound that sourrounds you, that warms you, that tickles your toes. Picture a wall of men in front of you, standing on risers, aged from 18 to 80. A pitch pipe blows, and ninety-five male voices in close harmony sing “Can you hear the voice of the children”. Softly they start, the harmonies building, reverberating from the back walls, from the side walls, down from the ceiling, a delicious sound, a warm rich satisfying sound. Ninety-five voices crescendo, and you feel the hair on your arms raise, goose bumps, as the fortissimo resounds, wraps you and wraps you again. A break, no sound, then suddenly soft so soft that you have to strain to hear ninety-five men in harmony and into another fortissimo, and a final soft chord, so soft, so delicious, it just seems to melt. Your ears ringing, your eyes swelling, your hands clapping, your butt leaves the chair, and your standing, telling the chorus “thank you” for that piece of musical chocolate.

Loved it! Thanks, Gary.

I love the waves of energy builing and wrapping around the very being of the readers through the use of vivid details. I not only could hear the musicality of this piece, but I could feel it. It’s as if the narrator takes the readers inside the core of this piece, causing an explosion of such strong positive energy.

This was a great exploration of sound! You managed to pull the reader in mere feet away from the music, something that’s extremely hard to do in writing. I especially love how you described it as a piece of musical chocolate. Very creative.

My Senses Are Clear Like The Ocean By Kiki Stamatiou a. k. a. Joanna Maharis

Throughout the process of closing my eyes, I sit on the sofa thinking about nothing in particular. My senses are clear like the ocean. I can hear the waves of the ocean crash against the shore. There is a subtleness in the way the waters of my mind moves to capture the pulse burning through my soul. I feel energized, because there is a coolness on my skin, while I sit on the sofa typing away at my computer. It’s as if the rains have subdued me in their bond of emulsion. My tabernacle is building up inside my heart, and my mind goes adrift to explore the sands I walk on deep in the realms of my consciousness where the air is salty.

The soulful dance creates a pinnacle within every touch of my fingers against the keys I tap, while hopping to the beat of the clock ticking inside my mind.

My heart soars up to the heavens like the eagle driving its body through cottony clouds so soft in the smokiness driving the blueness of the sky away.

There is no more terra cotta to stand upon. I’m humbled by the sounds of the wind beating time through my ears.

For the home I belong to is the realm of the Lord, my true dwelling place from before time began. The rapture of the song eludes me when the fever rises up inside my the rampage of my spirit. The way the flames burn at night in the sky is the serenade of the stars as my world unites with the heavens.

Foretold are the tales of the eastern star where the emergence of the soul dwelling light years away shall meet up with the past and collide with the future. The immergence of the fire shall keep the range of the energy burning throughout the tumbling weeds rolling down the hills.

There is no more end, but only the beginning of time, and the longing for the past. There are the running fountains where the waters run deep, but the cave shall be quenched of it’s hunger for the burning flame on the day the world begins all over again.

Seeds of anguish shall be upturned and tossed into the burning flames, when the heart is devoured by the loving light. For a kiss from the fire is what shall make all tides of the dove whole when the river washes over me.

My tears have dried up and transformed into a sustenance building up a resistance to the tyrant threatening to tear down my walls, and wreck my mind. I seize each deed with the potency of my wrath, and keep walking down the shore, erasing the woes away from my mind through clear all of my senses, and filling my soul with the purity of the air.

There is no tolerance for defeat when the fierceness of the tyrant threatens to destroy the heart of the lion. For the lion shall redeem all that was lost along the way. I now dance forever in the light that guides me across the universe.

There is no arrow cutting through my flesh. For there is only a sense of overwhelming piece and serenity driving me. I dance. I am one. I am whole.

… RICH …

Thank you, Susan W A.

Wow, I was mesmerized the whole way through! This was beautiful! It was very poetic and had a nice, steady pace. Great job! 🙂

Thank you, themagicviolinist, for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed my piece of writing.

The aroma of newly-washed laundry infiltrated her nostrils with a pleasurable sense of intoxication. “Mmmm,” she sighed, in contentment. The rewarding fragrance of a job well-done. She was proud of herself for the first time in a while. After all, she had managed to escape from her bed’s seductively convincing claws of relaxation, and out into the world today. A small victory, perhaps, but a victory all the same. She smiled as she folded her soon-to-be husband’s laundered undergarments with tender, conscientious care. The dryer buzzer loudly signaled the end of the next clothing cycle. The phone began to rang, as well. And then, the doorbell sounded. “Oh my!” she said, aloud. She started towards the phone when the dryer cried out once more. Overwhelmed by the chaos, she marched back towards the dryer before finally booking it to the front door at the sound of an impatient, second buzz. She opened the door. “Yes?” she asked the stranger, breathing heavily as if she’d just finished running a marathon. “Good afternoon, madam. Do you have a moment to talk about Jesus Christ?” “Well,” she wheezed, “Not really. I already know Him, if it’s any consol-” The phone blared (for the third time) in the distance. “Oh! I’m sorry but I must go.” She quickly shut the door and ran to pick up the phone. “Hello?” “Mary? Are you okay? What’s the matter?” “Oh…hi, Nick,” she struggled to even her breathing. “Everything is fine, it’s just been a busy morning.”

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30 Writing Exercises To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Getting started as a writer tends to go one of two ways: either you sit down and the words flow easily, or you stare at a blank screen and wonder why the hell you thought you could do this.

But it’s not just new writers who get struck down by a creative drought.

Lack of inspiration, flat motivation or dips in confidence are all contributing factors that see writers young and old struggle to find their muse.

Whether it’s mid-manuscript writers’ block or failure to launch, a little bit of mental exercise can help you get you over the bump.

So if you’re needing a creative pick-me-up or looking for some quick writing tasks to help warm your brain before the main event, check out our top 30 writing exercises to get your creative juices flowing.

Exercise #1: Write a story in six words or fewer

This is an activity for extended prose writers who love a challenge.

Found across Reddit , Tumblr and its own dedicated website , the six-word story challenge draws its inspiration from Hemingway’s iconic ‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’.

This exercise will help you to be concise with your words and hone the ability to create an emotional impact in a very short space of time.

While there is little that can be done to develop plot and character in such tight constraints, there should be hints of the greater picture – just like in Hemingway’s story.

Need a hand getting started? Check out @WriterlyTweets ‘ daily six-word writing prompts over on Twitter.

Exercise #2: Practise with flash fiction

If the six-word story is a little too hardcore, then why not have a go at flash fiction instead?

The definition of flash fiction varies across the industry, with some classing it as pieces under 100 words, and others allowing up to 1,000.

Like the six-word challenge, the limits of flash fiction force a writer to be clever, not allowing for any wasteful lines or general waffling .

If you find yourself struggling with redundant passages or tautologies, this could be the exercise for you.

Check out our ultimate guide to flash fiction to fully familiarise yourself with the style and get some hot tips for getting started.

Exercise #3: Experiment with genre

Even the staunchest of genre writers can become bored with their chosen field. After all, too much of a good thing is bad, right?

If the villain of your crime thriller is becoming predictable, or the magic of your high fantasy story isn’t sparkling quite how you’d like, perhaps it’s time for a cross-genre holiday.

Working a style outside of your regular writing or reading habits is challenging, but the new perspective can be very refreshing.

You don’t try anything groundbreaking; just have fun experimenting with tropes of an unfamiliar genre , then head back to your own work with new eyes – and new ideas.

For an added creative kick, why not transport your medieval princeling to adventure in the modern world, or send your hard-boiled noir detective off on a nonsensical romp through Wonderland?

Exercise #4: Use visual prompts

‘Write a story based on this picture’ prompts are extremely common in writing classes and internet forums. A single image can elicit a range of responses from the audience.

There are many free stock image websites you can utilise for inspiration, such as Adobe Stock, which features a Curator’s Pick collection of their favourite photos, images and illustrations.

National Geographic is another great option, as their photo of the day subsection showcases beautiful shots from a range of natural and urban landscapes.

If their current offering doesn’t spark joy, you can easily browse through their archive of past submissions until you find an image that resonates.

This is the prompt that keeps on giving, as approaching the same image in a different mood may inspire a whole new story all over again.

Exercise #5: Find a prompt generator

Using randomly generated writing prompts is a quick and easy way to get a bunch of fresh story ideas all up in your face all at once.

The benefit of prompts is that they are specific but random, giving you a clear direction while still allowing original creativity.

And, like with visual stimuli, no two writers will produce the same story, even when utilising the same source material.

The Story Shack has a prompt generator currently capable of producing 2.5 BILLION ideas, each providing you with a word count, genre, character, prop, key sentence and a bonus task.

If you’re after something more specific, this UK-based website has a range of prompt generators including first lines, random dialogue, subjects for freewriting, and a quick plot generator.

It’s guaranteed to keep you busy for hours – or years!

Exercise #6: Draw inspiration from ‘word of the day’

Developing a writing routine is widely considered a key stepping stone to success, and regularly incorporating a quick writing exercise into your daily word-sesh is a great way to awaken your creativity.

Online dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com feature a ‘Word of the Day’ segment to introduce readers to the weird and wonderful world of English vocabulary.

While Merriam-Webster utilises a truly random range of words (August 1st, 2020 was ‘hotdog’), Dictionary.com appears to have a penchant for the more obscure, with ‘bellicose’, ‘rhathymia’ and ‘anfractuous’ all making an appearance recently.

It doesn’t matter if the ‘Word of the Day’ is new or known to you. If it’s new, you have a great chance to build your vocabulary; if you know it, your creativity comes into play.

Anthropomorphised hotdog, anyone?

Exercise #7: Dabble in poetry

It’s rare to find a creative writer who is truly adept at all three major disciplines – poetry, prose and script – as many tend to generate towards one or the other.

As a dedicated prose writer, it can be incredibly intimidating to branch out to something different (speaking from experience!), but trying your hand at poetry can give your writing the creative boost it’s been missing.

Working with poetry strengthens your ability to create clever metaphors free of cliche.

Utilising poetic devices such as hyperbole, alliteration and assonance can add a beautiful, lyrical touch to your prose – one that is impactful and memorable.

Even if you don’t find yourself running for the next poetry slam, regular practice will boost your confidence across the board when it comes to metaphors and imagery in prose.

Exercise #8: Try your hand at a script

Like poetry, scriptwriting comes with its own set of skills and benefits for the prose writer.

Whether you’re struggling with a scene or looking to get started, approaching it with a screen or stage writer’s mindset will help unlock creativity – and strengthen your writing.

As script is used to direct a visual medium, there’s no room for an internal monologue or a narrator dipping into a character’s thoughts. There’s only dialogue and action.

As such, it’s a great exercise for developing your ability to show and not tell , and strengthening your dialogue .

Speaking of which…

Exercise #9: Write a scene using only dialogue

Writing authentic dialogue is key to creating believable characters .

If you’re the type of writer who builds their novel around an established protagonist, playing around with a dialogue-centric scene is a fun, creative way to develop their voice and personality .

The way a character speaks can tell the audience a lot about who they are and how they relate to people .

Writing a casual back-and-forth (perhaps between your novel’s hero and villain, for an extra kick!) will help get you in the right frame of mind to write that character, and may even unlock some idiosyncrasies you might not have discovered otherwise.

The dialogue doesn’t have to be spoken. Perhaps your characters are chatting via email or text message; elements like timestamps (signifying how long between responses) and even emojis can allow you to convey even more.

Exercise #10: Write a conversation WITHOUT dialogue

The more challenging flip side to Exercise #9 is writing a conversation without dialogue.

Communication comes in both verbal and non-verbal forms, and the facial expressions, gestures and body language a character exudes in conversation can sometimes be more telling than the words they say.

This exercise is a great way of showing emotion; instead of a character expressing their disdain for something said, a wordless conversation forces the writer to show their physical reaction.

This is certainly challenging, but Angela Ackerman’s Emotion Thesaurus is a great tool to help you describe feelings rather than state them.

Regularly engaging with this type of activity will help you become more in-tune with the way your characters react, and train your mind to think a little more creatively in regards to conversation.

Exercise #11: Write verbatim

Verbatim is a format generally used for audio-to-text transcription where every utterance is recorded, including stutters, fillers ( um s, ah s, hmm s), and incorrect grammar – word for word, letter for letter.

But it can also be great creative stimuli. Taking note of exactly what you hear is a great way to reflect authentic communication in your writing .

So, next time you’re in a coffee shop or other public place for a writing session, ditch the headphones and listen to what’s going on around you.

Of course, you don’t want to invade or compromise someone’s privacy by reproducing everything you hear; this exercise is simply a means of capturing inspiration, not transcribing a stranger’s life into a work of fiction.

Exercise #12: Engage in regular, uninterrupted freewriting

During my school days, our class often engaged in what the teacher called USSW: Uninterrupted, Silent, Sustained Writing.

This 15-minute writing blitz , where pens were required to be moving at all times, felt like an eternity to a nine-year-old, but revisiting this exercise as an adult highlights how truly fast our minds can work under pressure.

Allocating a short window of time where you simply must write has many noted benefits, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. It may take some practice to be able to ready, steady, write.

But regular freewriting can help develop greater depths of emotion, break down impossible expectations of producing perfection, and unearth nodes of inspiration that can be developed into larger ideas .

Exercise #13: Try the music shuffle

If freewriting gives you performance anxiety and the blank canvas of uninhibited creativity makes your brain freeze, try shuffling your favourite playlist and let the music inspire you.

This is a little more hardcore than simple background music (more on that later), as the idea of this writing task is to actually complete a flash fiction piece before the end of the track.

When the next song starts, you’re right into a new story!

Pretty hectic, I know, but putting a tight time constraint on such activities forces your mind to work quickly, and this small stress can help produce better ideas.

While you’re unlikely to create literary genius in the space of three and a half minutes, this high-intensity emotional and thematic journey of sound can unearth some raw gems just waiting to be polished.

Exercise #14: Be Inspired By Atmospheric Music

If you’re not up for the pure chaos that is the music shuffle, you can still enjoy the inspiring sound of background music in the form of some ambient tunes.

Popular with D&D creators and fans, Tabletop Audio has hundreds of free BGM tracks to get your creativity pumping.

While strongly geared toward speculative fiction settings , there are a handful of urban locales to inspire you, such as a shopping mall, a high-speed car chase and even a war zone.

The use of atmospheric music is also a handy tool for those of us who are easily distracted by silence, or often to find themselves singing along to their favourite songs instead of writing.

Next time you’re struggling to get in the creative zone , pump up those ambient tunes and let creativity take the wheel.

Exercise #15: Write fan fiction

While this little corner of the internet has long been sneered at by many ‘serious’ wordsmiths, dabbling in fan fiction can be a great way to clear the pipes and rekindle your creative flame.

Despite much of the community thriving on sharing their creations and reimaginings of famous stories (and people), it’s not a requirement.

If you’d rather keep your work private, that’s entirely up to you; it won’t diminish the creativity you’ve unlocked.

Writing fan fiction gives you the freedom to play around with concepts, styles and themes you may not have otherwise considered, while removing some of the difficulty of having to craft original characters , plot or settings.

On top of that, a number of published novels found their humble beginnings in fan fiction , so this simple creative exercise might unknowingly lay the foundations for something huge.

Exercise #16: Retell a known story

While inherently a form of fan fiction, retellings of established works are more ‘palatable’ to some literary types, and many have been published branded as such .

This type of writing enables you to take the original themes, world or concept deeper , reimagine the tale in a different time and place, or focus on a previously underexplored character.

Exploring new facets of a classic story enables your creativity to run free by drawing inspiration from the source material.

Did Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters have more going on behind the scenes to explain their cruelty? What if Pennywise deserved our sympathy, or James Bond was masterminding evil?

Bet your mind is already ticking.

Exercise #17: Have fun with madlibs

Adapted from the popular 1950s phrasal template party game, ‘madlibs’ for creative writers involves turning prompt words into a story rather than simply filling in the blanks.

The challenge of fitting seemingly unrelated words into a cohesive story can produce some truly creative ideas.

If you have an active presence on social media , asking your friends and followers to provide you with one random word is a quick way to gather prompts.

However, words gathered this way could be unintentionally skewed due to readers adjusting their suggestions based on previous posts.

To get a truly random experience, word generators are a great option, and you can adjust your challenge even further by selecting just verbs or nouns.

Exercise #18: Try sensory deprivation brainstorming

Popping up in metropolitan areas around the globe, sensory deprivation tanks are one person’s haven and another’s worst nightmare.

Sure, floating alone in a pitch-black tank of heavily salted water might not sound like creative bliss, but the benefits are clearly documented.

Removing all external stimuli has shown a reduction of stress, anxiety and chronic pain, while increasing a person’s creativity and problem-solving skills.

While access to one of these high-tech tanks is not necessarily on-hand for the average writer, there are ways of depriving your brain of its senses at home without filling your bathtub with kilos of Epsom salts.

All you need is an isolated dark room, a blindfold, some good quality earplugs and time to let your mind wander free.

Exercise #19: Write A Blog

Not all writers are bloggers. I myself can’t regularly document anything in an online journal despite remaining dedicated to working on the same novel for seventeen years.

But blogs don’t need to be recounts of your day-to-day life – or even related to your writing process. Curating a blog unrelated to writing can be refreshing and also help establish routine.

Passionate about handicrafts? Cats? Dogs? Blog about it! A change is as good as a holiday, and taking a break from the all-consuming task of novel writing will help restart your creativity.

If you don’t want to waste precious writing time not working on your novel, then why not try writing a blog as one of your characters?

You’ll still get that much-needed change of pace and will continue to develop your unique voice . Win-win.

Exercise #20: Describe a character without describing them

People are more than their skin, eye and hair colour – we all know this, and yet quite often we automatically rely on physical descriptors to build a sense of character .

Telling the reader what a character looks like, how they dress or how they are perceived by others is the quickest and easiest way for this information to be conveyed.

But it’s also boring.

To strengthen your ‘show, don’t tell’ skills, spend some time describing characters without describing them as a person.

For example, write a description of their bedroom and use it to unveil some hidden character traits.

Is their floordrobe indicative of their chronic depression? What does a second glass of water on the bedside table reveal about someone who lives alone?

How one keeps their home, gets ready in the morning or even wears their clothes all tell a different story. Find out what they’re saying about your characters and have some fun!

Exercise #21: Emotionally describe an object

Our physical and emotional states actively impact how we view and respond to the world around us.

A person feeling tired and miserable after a night on the booze is going to react to the bright, warming sunrise far differently to someone waking after the best sleep of their life.

How would a happy character describe two squirrels in a tree? How about someone who just broke up with a long-term partner?

Practise writing descriptions of objects or scenes from the perspective of a character experiencing different emotions and refrain from actively stating how they feel.

If a reader can determine what emotion the character felt when they looked at that tree, then consider it a job well done.

Exercise #22: Create empathy for a dislikeable character

When it comes to writing well-rounded characters , you need to explore both positive traits and notable flaws.

It goes without saying that the villain is defined by traditionally dislikeable qualities, while the hero (mostly) embodies all that is good.

But there’s good and bad in all of us, and if you want your villain to be authentic , you need to find some balance.

A fun way to hone your mastery of this skill is to intentionally create a character filled with all the traits you personally detest and try to make yourself (and your reader) like them.

Whether you choose to present the negative in an endearing way or provide reasoning and insight into the character’s villainy is up to you – it’s all about that empathetic end result.

Exercise #23: Do the time warp

If you subscribe to the philosopher Rudolf Steiner’s theory of ‘The 7-Year Cycles of Life’ , then it stands to reason that your characters also exhibit these distinct periods of physical and emotional development.

By investigating your character’s life at each of these crucial changes, you’re able to gain a better understanding of who they are – and tap into a new vein of creative stimuli.

What does the year of your character’s birth reveal to their 21-year-old self? Has a tumultuous childhood led the adult self to enjoy and appreciate all things simple and whimsical as they yearn for what they missed?

You can choose to document these life stages in biographical details or even a series of dot points, but if you want the full creative experience, try writing some flash or microfiction to really capture the formative moment.

Exercise #24: Leave it to the dice

Whether you’re a reader of highbrow contemporary literature, compelling genre fiction or fast-finishing bestsellers, we all have all themes, character archetypes and tropes that appeal to us more than others.

If you’re setting out on a new writing adventure and are not quite sure where to start, compose a list of your six favourite genres, settings, character flaws and conflicts.

To get started, roll a die and record what number is thrown to decide which item from that category you will use.

For example, your ‘genre’ roll might produce the number 4, which corresponds to the fourth item on your genre list, which may be ‘ romance ‘.

Repeat this for each category until you have a complete, albeit random, story brief.

As you have selected from a list of your favourite reading habits, theoretically you will create your ultimate story – or a red-hot mess featuring a self-conscious high school soccer star caught in a love triangle while trying to save the world in an epic space opera.

Either way, you’ll have got that creativity flowing.

Exercise #25: Create a full sensory scene

The most captivating reading experiences have the ability to fully immerse you in the world of words, from the tingling of a fleeting touch from a forbidden lover right down to the belly-rumbling scent of the local bakery.

Senses help transport readers to a different time and place by evoking memories of tangible sensory experiences.

Spend some time describing settings and situations with particular care to include each of the five senses – kind of like this common anxiety-quelling grounding exercise .

Of course, when working on novels or short stories, you don’t want every swathe of exposition to read like a sensory checklist.

But a little bit of extra practice on harnessing the less commonly used scene descriptors of taste and smell can help take your writing to the next level.

Exercise #26: Play with senses

Following on from sensory writing exercises is the opportunity to give your descriptions an extra creative twist .

Most of us are used to seeing colours or hearing music, but what if things were different?

How would the colour blue sound? What would it smell like? Does a classical guitar tune taste different to a burst of jazz trumpet?

Thinking about unusual ways we might interact with our senses unlocks a whole new train of creative thought – and possibilities.

Perhaps your protagonist is cursed (or blessed) with the ability to smell emotions.

Perhaps an intergalactic traveller encounters a race whose perception of touch and sound is entirely at odds with our own experience.

Whether it’s a quirky exercise made to challenge your creativity or a spark that inspires a whole novel , it’s worth taking the time to experiment!

Exercise #27: Write a ‘front page’ novel outline

Outlining a novel can be a tedious process for the free-spirited pantser, but is an integral part of the writing journey, as it allows you to identify key events and characters.

Whether tackling an outline before you get started or writing a synopsis to market to publishers , condensing the plot of an 80,000-plus-word adventure is no mean feat.

To help pinpoint what is important (and have some fun along the way), why not have a crack at telling your story as if it were a front-page news article?

By following the inverted triangle of journalism , you can learn to scratch away the excess meat and really get down to the bones of your story.

Deciding on a nice punchy headline is beneficial, too – after all, a novel needs a compelling logline as well.

Exercise #28: Hero your villain

‘Every villain is a hero in his own mind.’

Or so believes Tom Hiddleston, when discussing his beloved portrayal of Loki in the Marvel movie franchise.

Having an understanding of the villain’s motivations and values is just as important as crafting clearly defined traits in your protagonist.

If you’re having trouble getting your baddie to seem as well-rounded as your hero, why not shift the spotlight for a bit?

Try writing a couple of scenes where the antagonist and their journey are given the hero treatment. Show the reasoning behind their villainous path and provide insight into why they do what they do.

By interacting with your villain the same way as you would your hero, you’ll be able to gain a greater understanding of the character, resulting in a stronger, more authentic villain for your story .

Exercise #29: Make it ugly

If you’re finding your descriptions are getting a bit dull and unoriginal, try shaking things up with a playful spin on perspective .

Stunning vistas, flawless roses and genuine smiles are often considered sights of universal beauty and portrayed by writers accordingly. But what if they weren’t?

Writing conventionally beautiful objects through a lens of disgust is a fun and creative way to get your brain thinking about things a little differently.

You can even take things the other way and make something traditionally unappealing into a thing of beauty.

This activity doesn’t just have to be a short creativity booster; it can also help solidify character traits or themes of a larger project .

Exercise #30: Draw inspiration from the past

World history is one of the most intriguing sources of inspiration the modern writer can draw upon – and it’s not just for writers of historical fiction.

George R. R. Martin, for example, features parallels to a range of historic events and figures throughout his iconic fantasy epic, A Song of Ice and Fire .

Of course, ‘history’ is a vast and non-specific resource to go trawling for ideas, so you need to set some parameters.

Using the year of your birth, the year you reached a notable milestone (i.e. 21st birthday), or even the entire span of your life will provide plenty of creative fodder.

You don’t need to represent your chosen event exactly as it panned out. For example, a millennial writer may choose the once widely-feared Y2K Bug as the cornerstone of a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

There are countless choices ahead of you, but opting for little-known or obscure historical happenings will provide a more unique and creative starting point …

And ensure your novel doesn’t get lost in a deluge of COVID pandemic retellings.

Creativity is a well, and sometimes you need to dig a little deeper to get to the source. Fortunately, it never runs completely dry.

Even in times of prolonged drought, there are ways and means to get things moving again.

Whether it’s random writing prompts, strict word counts or timeframes, or some good ol’ out-of-the-box thinking, the most important thing is that you keep those creative juices pumping.

You never know when an innocent little writing prompt could be the start of your first big breakthrough.

What activities have you tried? Do you have a fail-safe exercise you always turn to when you need a creativity boost?

We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Writer’s Edit is a newsletter for novel writers looking for inspiration and advice on their creative journey.

43 Creative writing exercises

A selection of fun creative writing exercises that can be completed solo, or with a group. Some are prompts to help inspire you to come up with story ideas, others focus on learning specific writing skills.

I run a Creative Writing Meetup for adults and teens in Montpellier or online every week. We start with a 5 to 20 minute exercise, followed by an hour and a half of silent writing, during which each participant focuses on their own project. Every exercise listed below has been run with the group and had any kinks ironed out. Where the exercises specify a number of people, if you have a larger group, simply split everyone up into smaller groups as appropriate.

The solo exercises are ideal to help stimulate your mind before working on a larger project, to overcome writer’s block, or as stand-alone prompts in their own right. If a solo exercise inspires you and you wish to use it with a larger group, give every member ten minutes to complete the exercise, then ask anyone who wishes to share their work to do so in groups of 3 or 4 afterwards.

Looking for something quick to fire your imagination? Check out these creative writing prompts for adults .

Writing Retreat in South France

A note on running exercises remotely

While you can enjoy the exercises solo, they are also designed for online writing groups using Zoom, WhatsApp, or Discord.

If you're running a group and follow a ' Shut Up and Write ' structure, I recommend connecting on WhatsApp (for example) first, doing the exercise together, sharing writing samples as needed. Next, write in silence for an hour and a half on your own projects, before reconnecting for a brief informal chat at the end. This works great with small remote groups and is a way to learn new techniques, gain online support, and have a productive session.

If you have a larger online group, it's worth looking into Zoom, as this has a feature called Breakout Rooms . Breakout Rooms let you split different writers into separate rooms, which is great for group activities. The free version of Zoom has a 40 minute limit, which can be restrictive, but Zoom Pro is well worth it if you're going to use it on a regular basis. In my experience, Zoom has a better connection than Facebook chat or WhatsApp.

A Letter From Your Character To You

Letter from fictional character to the author

Spend ten minutes writing a letter from a character in your novel to you , the author, explaining why you should write about them. This serves three purposes:

As you write, it helps you get into the mindset of the character. Ask yourself how they would language this letter and what they would consider important.
It's motivating to know that your character wants you to write about them.
If your goal is to publish a complete work of fiction one day, whether it be a novel, a play or a movie script, you will want to contact an agent or publisher. This helps you practice in an easy, safe way.

If you're doing this exercise with a group of teens or adults, and some of the group haven't already started working on their masterpiece, they can instead choose any fictional novel they love. Ask participants to imagine that a character within the book wrote to the author in the first place to ask them to write their story. How did they plead their case?

The Opening Sentence

The opening sentence has to grab the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. Many authors achieve this by starting with an action scene. In modern literature, it's best to avoid starting with someone waking up, or a description of the weather. In this exercise the task is to write an opening sentence either to a book you're currently writing, or simply for an imaginary piece of literature. Here are some of my favourite opening sentences to get you going:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell , 1984

The Golem's life began in the hold of a steamship.

Helene Wecker , The Golem and the Djinni

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy , Anna Karenina

It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.

Diana Gabaldon , Outlander

You better not never tell nobody but God.

Alice Walker , The Color Purple

The cage was finished.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez , Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon

Imagine that you are living your life out of order: Lunch before breakfast, marriage before your first kiss.

Audrey Niffenegger , The Time Traveler's Wife

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

Douglas Adams , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are a plethora of ways you can start a book, however two ways that help engage the reader immediately are:

Set the scene in as few words as possible, so the reader immediately knows what's happening and wants to know what happens next. The scene must be original and create a vivid image in the reader's mind.
Surprise the reader with an unusual event or usual point of view.

Spend 5 minutes working on your own opening sentence, then share it with the other participants.

Make your protagonist act!

Exercise for 2 writers, or can be done solo.

According to John Gardner:

"Failure to recognise that the central character must act, not simply be acted upon, is the single most common mistake in the fiction of beginners."

Spend 5 minutes writing a scene where the protagonist is passive in a conversation with one other character. It could be that the other character says something dramatic, and the protagonist just listens, or it could be anything else of your choice!

Once the 5 minutes is up, swap papers with another writer. If you're using Zoom, or working online, send it to each other in a private chat. Now the other person spends 8 minutes rewriting the scene to make the protagonist as active as possible. This might include:

Read both scenes together. Which makes you want to keep on reading?

If you're doing this as a solo writing exercise, simply complete both parts yourself.

Showing the emotion this evokes.
Getting them to disagree with the other character.
Showing how they respond physically (whether it's as a physical manifestation of how they feel, or a dramatic gesture to make a point).

Overcoming writer's block

Are you staring at a blank page or stuck for any story ideas? This exercise will help anyone who's experiencing writer's block with a particular piece of writing. If this isn't you, that's great, others will value your input!

If anyone has a particular scene they're stuck with (a pool of blood on the floor they have no explanation for, a reason why the rich lady just walked into a particular pub, etc.) then at the start of the exercise everyone briefly describes their scenes (if working online with a large group, typing it into the chat might be best). Everyone then chooses one scene to use as a writing prompt to write a short story for 10-15 minutes.

Afterwards, split into small groups if necessary, and read out how you completed someone else's writing prompt. As everyone listens to everyone else's ideas, this can be a wonderful source of inspiration and also improves your writing. As an alternative solo exercise, try free writing. With free writing, simply write as quickly as you can on the topic without editing or censoring yourself - just let your creative juices flow. If you're not sure what happens next, brainstorm options on the page, jot down story ideas, or just put, "I don't know what happens next." Keep going and ideas will come.

Writing Character Arcs

There are several different types of character arc in a novel, the 3 most common being:

For this exercise choose either a positive or negative character arc. Spend 8 minutes writing a scene from the start of a novel, then 8 minutes writing a scene towards the end of a novel showing how the character has developed between the two points. Don't worry about including how the character has changed, you can leave that to the imagination.

The point here is to capture the essence of a character, as they will be the same, but show their development.

Positive - Where a character develops and grows during the novel. Perhaps they start unhappy or weak and end happy or powerful.
Negative - Where a character gets worse during a novel. Perhaps they become ill or give in to evil tendencies as the novel progresses.
Flat - In a flat character arc the character themself doesn't change much, however the world around them does. This could be overthrowing a great injustice, for example.

Sewing Seeds in Your Writing

In this exercise, we will look at how to sew seeds. No, not in your garden, but in your story. Seeds are the tiny hints and indicators that something is going on, which influence a reader's perceptions on an often unconscious level. They're important, as if you spring a surprise twist on your readers without any warning, it can seem unbelievable. Sew seeds that lead up to the event, so the twists and turns are still surprising, but make intuitive sense. Groups : Brainstorm major plot twists that might happen towards the end of the novel and share it in a Zoom chat, or on pieces of paper. Choose one twist each. Individuals : Choose one of the following plot twists: - Your friend is actually the secret son of the king. - Unreliable narrator - the narrator turns out to be villain. - The monster turns out to be the missing woman the narrator is seeking. - The man she is about to marry happens to already have a wife and three kids.

Write for ten minutes and give subtle hints as to what the plot twist is. This is an exercise in subtlety. Remember, when the twist occurs, it should still come as a surprise.

This is a fun writing activity for a small group. You’ve found a magic potion labelled ‘Cat Chat’ and when you drink it, you turn into whichever animal you’re thinking about; but there’s a problem, it also picks up on the brainwaves of other people near you!

Everyone writes down an animal in secret and then reveals it to the other writers. The spell will turn you into a creature that combines elements of all the animals. Each person then spends 5 minutes writing down what happens when they drink the potion.

After the 5 minutes is up, everyone shares their story with the other participants.

If you enjoy this exercise, then you may also want to check out our Fantasy and Sci-Fi writing prompts full of world building, magic, and character development prompts..

Joe Brainard wrote a novel called: I Remember It contains a collection of paragraphs all starting with “I remember”. This is the inspiration for this exercise, and if you’re stuck for what to write, is a great way to get the mental gears turning. Simply write “I remember” and continue with the first thing that pops into your head.

Spend 5 minutes writing a short collection of “I remember” stories.

Here are a couple of examples from Joe Brainard’s novel:

“I remember not understanding why people on the other side of the world didn't fall off.”

“I remember waking up somewhere once and there was a horse staring me in the face.”

Giving feedback to authors

If you're running a workshop for more experienced adult authors and have at least an hour, this is a good one to use. This is the longest exercise on this page, but I felt it important enough to include.

Give each author the option to bring a piece of their own work. This should be double spaced and a maximum of 3 pages long. If you're running a workshop where not everyone is likely to bring a manuscript, ask everyone who wants to bring one to print two copies each. If someone forgets but has a laptop with them, the reader can always use their laptop.

Print out a few copies and hand them around to everyone in the workshop of the guide on: 'How to give constructive feedback to writers'

Each author who brought a sample with them then gives them to one other person to review. They write their name on the manuscript in a certain colour pen, then add any comments to it before passing it to a second person who does the same (commenting on the comments if they agree or disagree).

Then allow 5 minutes for everyone to discuss the feedback they've received, ensuring they are giving constructive feedback.

The Five Senses

Painting by Giovanni Battista Manerius - The Five Senses

Choose a scene and write it for 5 minutes focusing on one sense, NOT sight. Choose between:

Hearing Taste Smell Touch

This can be internal as well as external (I heard my heartbeat thudding in my ears, or I smelt my own adrenaline).

After the 5 minutes stop and everyone reads it out loud to each other. Now write for another 5 minutes and continue the other person's story, but do NOT use sight OR the sense they used.

You can use any sense to communicate the essentials, just focus on creating emotions and conveying the story with the specific sense(s).

If you need some writing prompts, here are possible scenes that involve several senses:

Climbing through an exotic jungle
Having an argument that becomes a fight
A cat's morning
Talking to someone you're attracted to

Show don't tell

2 or 3 people

A lot of writing guides will advise you to, "Show, don't tell". What does this actually mean?

If you want to evoke an emotional reaction from your reader, showing them what is happening is a great way to do so. You can approach this in several ways:

Split up into pairs and each person writes down a short scene from a story where they "tell" it. After this, pass the description of the scene to your partner and they then have 5 minutes to rewrite it to "show" what happened. If there are an odd number of participants, make one group of three, with each person passing their scene clockwise, so everyone has a new scene to show. After the 5 minutes, for small groups everyone reads their new description to everyone else, or for large groups, each person just reads their new scene to their partner.

Avoid internal dialogue (thinking), instead have your protagonist interact with other people, or have a physical reaction to something that shows how s/he feels. Does their heart beat faster? Do they notice the smell of their own adrenaline? Do they step backwards, or lean forwards?
Instead of using an adjective like creepy, e.g. "Mary entered the creepy house", show why the house is creepy through description and in the way the protagonist responds - "The light streamed through the filthy skylight, highlighting the decomposing body of a rat resting on top of it. As Mary stepped inside, she felt a gust of freezing air brush past her. She turned, but there was nothing there..."

World building

World building is the art of conveying the magic of living in a different world, whether it's a spaceship, a medieval castle, a boat, or simply someone's living room. To master world building, it's not necessary to know every intricate detail, rather to convey the experience of what it would be like to live there.

Choose one of the above images as a prompt and spend 10 minutes writing a scene from the perspective of someone who is seeing it for the first time. Now, move your character six months forward and imagine they've spent the last six months living or working there. Write another scene (perhaps with an additional character) using the image as a background, with the events of the scene as the main action.

Click the above image for a close-up.

Gossiping about a character as if they're a friend.

Easy to gossip with friends about a character

Judy Blume says that she tells her family about her characters as if they’re real people.

Chris Claremont said, "For me, writing the 'X-Men' was easy - is easy. I know these people, they're my friends."

Today’s exercise has 2 parts. First, spend 5 minutes jotting down some facts about a character you’ve invented that might come up if you were telling your friends about them. Either choose a character in something you’ve already written, or invent one from scratch now.

Answer the questions:

What are they up to? How are they? What would you say if you were gossiping about them?

Then split up into groups of 4 to 6 writers. 2 volunteers from each group then role-play talking about their character as if they were a friend (perhaps another character in the story). The other participants will role-play a group of friends gossiping about the character behind their back and ask questions. If you don’t know the answer, invent it!

Degrees of Emotion Game

This is based on an acting game, to help actors understand how to perform with different degrees of emotion.

Ask everyone to write the following 4 emotions:

For groups of 5 or less, write down numbers starting with 1 and going up until everyone has a number, then give them out in order. For groups of 6 or more, divide groups into 3's, 4's or 5's.

Each person has to write a scene where the protagonist is alone and is only allowed to say a single word, e.g. "Banana". The writer with number 1 should write the scene with a very low level of the emotion (e.g. happiness), number 2 increases the intensity a bit and the highest number writes a scene with the most intense emotion you can possibly imagine.

Once each writer has written about happiness, rotate the numbers one or two spaces, then move onto anger, then fear, then sadness.

It can help to give everyone numbers showing the intensity of the emotions to write about at the start of the exercise, in which case you may wish to print either the Word or PDF file, then use the ones corresponding to 3, 4 or 5 writers.

Everyone shares their scene with the other course participants.

Three birds, one line

The first paragraph of a surprising number of best-selling novels serves multiple purposes. These are to:

Establish a goal
Set the scene
Develop a character

Nearly every chapter in a novel also serves all three purposes. Instead of establishing a goal though, the protagonist either moves towards it, or encounters an obstacle that hinders them from achieving it.

Some books manage to meet all three purposes with their opening lines, for example:

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

J.K. Rowling , Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

A little more than one hundred days into the fortieth year of her confinement, Dajeil Gelian was visited in her lonely tower overlooking the sea by an avatar of the great ship that was her home.

Iain M. Banks , Excession

"We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

George R.R. Martin , A Game of Thrones

For this exercise write a sentence or short paragraph that serves all three purposes. If you're already writing a novel, then see if you can do this for the first line in a chapter. If not, choose any combination from the following table:

Blind Date on Valentine's Day (Exercise for Adults)

In pairs one writer spends a minute or two describing a character they're writing about, or alternatively they can describe a celebrity or someone from a work of fiction. The next writer then describes their character.

The story is that these 2 characters (or in my case, person and alien, as I'm writing a sci-fi) have accidentally ended up on a blind date with each other. Perhaps the waiter seated them in the wrong location, perhaps it's an actual blind date, or perhaps they met in some other fashion the writers can determine.

Now spend 10 minutes discussing what happens next!

A Success (Works best for online groups)

This exercise works best for online groups, via Zoom, for example. The instructions to give are:

"In a few words describe a success in your life and what it felt like to achieve it. It can be a small victory or a large one."

Share a personal example of your own (mine was watching my homeschooled sons sing in an opera together).

"Once you have one (small or large), write it in the chat.

The writing exercise is then to choose someone else's victory to write about for 10 minutes, as if it was the end of your own book.

If you want to write for longer, imagine how that book would start. Write the first part of the book with the ending in mind."

This is great for reminding people of a success in their lives, and also helps everyone connect and discover something about each other.

Your dream holiday

You’re going on a dream holiday together, but always disagree with each other. To avoid conflict, rather than discuss what you want to do, you’ve decided that each of you will choose a different aspect of the holiday as follows:

Choose where you’ll be going – your favourite holiday destination.
Choose what your main fun activity will be on the holiday.
Decide what mode of travel you’ll use to get there.
If there’s a 4 th person, choose what you’ll eat on the holiday and what you’ll be wearing.

Decide who gets to choose what at random. Each of you then writes down your dream holiday destination/activity/travel/food & clothes in secret. Next spend 5 minutes discussing your dream holiday and add any other details you’d like to include, particularly if you’re passionate about doing something in real life.

Finally, everyone spends another 5 minutes writing down a description of the holiday, then shares it with the others.

A haiku is a traditional Japanese form of non-rhyming poetry whose short form makes it ideal for a simple writing exercise.

They are traditionally structured in 3 lines, where the first line is 5 syllables, the second line is 7 syllables, and the third line is 5 syllables again. Haiku tend to focus on themes of nature and deep concepts that can be expressed simply.

A couple of examples:

A summer river being crossed how pleasing with sandals in my hands! Yosa Buson , a haiku master poet from the 18 th Century.

And one of mine:

When night-time arrives Stars come out, breaking the dark You can see the most

Martin Woods

Spend up to 10 minutes writing a haiku. If you get stuck with the 5-7-5 syllable rule, then don’t worry, the overall concept is more important!

See How to write a haiku for more details and examples.

Unlike a haiku, which is profound and sombre, a limerick is a light-hearted, fun rhyming verse.

Here are a couple of examples:

A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his beli-can He can take in his beak Food enough for a week But I'm damned if I see how the heli-can.

Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1910

There was a young lady named Bright, Whose speed was far faster than light; She started one day In a relative way, And returned on the previous night.

Arthur Henry Reginald Buller in Punch, 1923

The 1 st , 2 nd and 5 th line all rhyme, as do the 3 rd and 4 th line. The overall number of syllables isn’t important, but the 3 rd and 4 th lines should be shorter than the others.

Typically, the 1 st line introduces the character, often with “There was”, or “There once was”. The rest of the verse tells their story.

Spend 10 minutes writing a limerick.

Time Travel - Child, Adult, Senior

Imagine that your future self as an old man/woman travels back in time to meet you, the adult you are today. Alternatively, you as a child travels forward in time to meet yourself as an adult. Or perhaps both happen, so the child you, adult you, and senior you are all together at the same time. In story form write down what happens next.

Participants then share their story with other writers either in small groups, or to the whole group.

Focus on faces

Solo exercise.

One challenge writers face is describing a character. A common mistake is to focus too much on the physical features, e.g. "She had brown eyes, curly brown hair and was five foot six inches tall."

The problem with this is it doesn't reveal anything about the character's personality, or the relationship between your protagonist and the character. Your reader is therefore likely to quickly forget what someone looks like. When describing characters, it's therefore best to:

Animate them - it's rare that someone's sitting for a portrait when your protagonist first meets them and whether they're talking or walking, it's likely that they're moving in some way.
Use metaphors or similes - comparing physical features to emotionally charged items conjures both an image and a sense of who someone is.
Involve your protagonist - if your protagonist is interacting with a character, make it personal. How does your protagonist view this person? Incorporate the description as part of the description.
Only give information your protagonist knows - they may know if someone is an adult, or a teenager, but they won't know that someone is 37 years old, for example.

Here are three examples of character descriptions that leave no doubt how the protagonist feels.

“If girls could spit venom, it'd be through their eyes.” S.D. Lawendowski, Snapped

"And Ronan was everything that was left: molten eyes and a smile made for war." Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves

"His mouth was such a post office of a mouth that he had a mechanical appearance of smiling." Charles Dickens

Spend 5 minutes writing a character introduction that is animated, uses metaphors or similes and involves your protagonist.

If working with a group, then form small groups of 3 or 4 and share your description with the rest of the group.

Onomatopeai, rhyme and alliteration

Today's session is all about sound.

Several authors recommend reading your writing out loud after you've written it to be sure it sounds natural. Philip Pullman even goes as far as to say:

"When I’m writing, I’m more conscious of the sound, actually, than the meaning. I know what the rhythm of the sentence is going to be before I know what the words are going to be in it."

For today's exercise, choose the name of a song and write for 10 minutes as if that's the title for a short story. Focus on how your writing sounds and aim to include at least one onomatopoeia, rhyme or alliteration. At the end of the 10 minutes, read it out loud to yourself, or to the group.

Alliterations

An alliteration example from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea.

Onomatopoeias

Buzz, woof, quack, baa, crash, purr, beep, belch,...

The alphabet story - creating a story as a group

This is a novel way to write a story as a group, one word at a time. The first person starts the story that begins with any word starting with “A”, the next person continues the story with a word starting with “B”, and so on.

Keep going round until you have completed the alphabet. Ideally it will all be one sentence, but if you get stuck, start a new sentence. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make complete sense!

It can be tricky to remember the alphabet when under pressure, so you may wish to print it out a couple of times, so the storytellers can see it if they need to, this is particularly helpful if you have dyslexics in the group.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Here’s an example of an alphabet story:

A Band Can Dance Each Friday, Ghostly Hauntings In Jail Kill Lucky Men, Nobody Or Perhaps Quiet Rats, Still That Unifies Villains Who X-Ray Your Zebras.

As I mentioned, it doesn’t need to make sense!

A question or two

Small or large groups

The standard format in our group is a short writing exercise followed by an hour and a half of silent writing on our projects.

At one point I felt like we'd done a lot of small group exercises, and wanted to gain an insight into what everyone was working on, so we did the following exercise instead:

Go round the table and ask everyone to briefly talk about their writing. Each person then asks one or two yes/no questions.

Everyone responds either by raising their hand for 'yes' or shaking their heads for 'no'. You can also leap up and down to indicate a very strong 'yes'.

Questions can be about anything, and you can use them either to help guide your writing or to help find other people in the group who have similar interests.

Here are some random examples you might ask:

I want to write a romance novel and am considering setting it in Paris, a traditional romantic setting, or Liverpool which is a less obvious setting. Who thinks Liverpool would be best?
I need to know more about the life of a farmer. Has anyone got farming experience who I can interview in exchange for a drink?
My character gets fired and that night goes back to his office and steals 35 computers. Does that sound realistic as the premise of a story?

This works best when you give participants some advance notice, so they have time to think of a question.

Murder Mystery Game

Groups of 3 or 4

This exercise takes 20-30 minutes and allows participants to create a murder mystery outline together.

Phase 1 (3 minutes)

Split into groups of 3 or 4
Decide as a group where the murder occurs (e.g. the opera house, a bar, a casino)
Decide one person who will write the details of the victim and the murder itself. Everyone else writes the details of one suspect each.
The ‘victim author’ then invents a few extra details about the scene of the crime, who the victim was (a teenage punk, an adult opera singer, etc.) and the murder weapon and summarises this to the others.

Phase 2 (10 minutes)

Each person then writes a police report as if they are either describing the scene of the crime, or recording the notes from their interview with a single suspect:

Write the following:

1 line description of the victim.
When they were last seen by a group of witnesses (and what they were doing).
How the murder occurred in more detail based on the evidence available.

Write the following (from the perspective of the investigator):

1 line description of the suspect
What they said during the interview (including what they claim to have doing when the murder occurs).
A possible motivation (as determined by the police from other witnesses).

Phase 3 (5 minutes)

Each person reads out their police reports to the other members of their small group
As a group, decide who the murderer was and what actually happened

See more ideas on creating murder mystery party games

The obscure movie exercise

Pick a famous movie and spend 5 minutes writing a scene from it from an unusual perspective. Your aim is to achieve a balance between being too obscure and making it too obvious. Feel free to add internal dialogue.

At the end of the 5 minutes, everyone reads their movie scene to the others and all the other participants see if they can guess what the movie is.

How to hint at romantic feelings

Write a scene with two people in a group, where you hint that one is romantically interested in the other, but the feelings aren’t reciprocated.

The goal of this exercise is to practice subtlety. Imagine you are setting a scene for the future where the characters feelings will become more important. Choose a situation like a work conference, meeting with a group of friends, etc. How do you indicate how the characters feel without them saying it in words?

Some tips for hinting at romantic feelings:

Make the characters nervous and shy.
Your protagonist leans forward.
Asks deeper questions and listens intently.
Finds ways to be close together.
Mirrors their gestures.
Gives lots of compliments.
Makes eye contact, then looks away.
Other people seem invisible to your protagonist.

A novel idea

Take it in turns to tell everyone else about a current project you’re working on (a book, screenplay, short story, etc.)

The other writers then brainstorm ideas for related stories you could write, or directions your project could take. There are no right or wrong suggestions and the intention is to focus on big concepts, not little details.

This whole exercise takes around 15 minutes.

Creative writing prompts

Exercise for groups of 3-5

If you're in larger group, split up into groups of 3 or 4 people.

Everyone writes the first line of a story in the Zoom chat, or on paper. Other people can then choose this line as a writing prompt.

For this exercise:

Say who the protagonist is.
Reveal their motivation.
Introduce any other characters

Once everyone's written a prompt, each author chooses a prompt (preferably someone eles's, but it can be your own if you feel really inspired by it.) Then write for 10 minutes using this prompt. See if you can reveal who the protagonist is, what their motivation is (it can be a small motivation for a particular scene, it doesn't have to be a huge life goal), and introduce at least one new character.

Take turns reading out your stories to each other.

Write in the first person.
Have the protagonist interacting with an object or something in nature.
The challenge is to create intrigue that makes the reader want to know more with just a single line.

Creative story cards / dice

Cut up a piece of paper and write one word on each of the pieces of paper, as follows:

Give each participant a couple of pieces of paper at random. The first person says the first sentence of a story and they must use their first word as part of that sentence. The second person then continues the story and must include their word in it, and so on. Go round the group twice to complete the story.

You can also do this creative writing exercise with story dice, your own choice of words, or by asking participants to write random words down themselves, then shuffling all the cards together.

Alternative Christmas Story

Every Christmas adults tell kids stories about Santa Claus. In this exercise you write a Christmas story from an alternative dimension.

What if every Christmas Santa didn't fly around the world delivering presents on his sleigh pulled by reindeer? What if gnomes or aliens delivered the presents? Or perhaps it was the gnomes who are trying to emulate the humans? Or some other Christmas tradition entirely that we humans have never heard of!

Group writing exercise

If you're working with a group, give everyone a couple of minutes to write two possible themes for the new Christmas story. Each theme should be 5 words or less.

Shuffle the paper and distribute them at random. If you're working online, everyone types the themes into the Zoom or group chat. Each writer then spends 10 minutes writing a short story for children based on one of the two themes, or their own theme if they really want to.

If working alone, choose your own theme and spend 15 minutes writing a short story on it. See if you can create the magic of Christmas from another world!

Murder Mystery Mind Map

In a murder mystery story or courtroom drama, there's often conflicting information and lots of links between characters. A mind map is an ideal way to illustrate how everything ties together.

Split into groups of 3 or 4 people each and place a blank piece of A3 paper (double the size of A4) in the middle of each group. Discuss between you who the victim is and write their name in the middle of the piece of paper. Then brainstorm information about the murder, for example:

Feel free to expand out from any of these, e.g. to include more information on the different characters involved.

The idea is that everyone writes at the same time! Obviously, you can discuss ideas, but anyone can dive in and write their ideas on the mind map.

Who was the victim? (job, appearance, hobbies, etc.)
Who did the victim know?
What were their possible motivations?
What was the murder weapon?
What locations are significant to the plot?

New Year’s resolutions for a fictional character

If you’re writing a piece of fiction, ask yourself how your protagonist would react to an everyday situation. This can help you to gain a deeper insight into who they are.

One way to do this is to imagine what their New Year’s resolutions would be.

If completing this exercise with a group, limit it to 3 to 5 resolutions per person. If some participants are historical fiction or non-fiction writers, they instead pick a celebrity and either write what their resolutions will be, or what their resolutions should be, their choice.

Verb Noun Fiction Exercise (Inspired by Stephen King)

Stephen King said, "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops."

He also said, "Take any noun, put it with any verb, and you have a sentence. It never fails. Rocks explode. Jane transmits. Mountains float. These are all perfect sentences. Many such thoughts make little rational sense, but even the stranger ones (Plums deify!) have a kind of poetic weight that’s nice."

In this fiction writing exercise, start by brainstorming (either individually or collectively) seven verbs on seven different pieces of paper. Put those aside for later. Now brainstorm seven nouns. Randomly match the nouns and verbs so you have seven pairs. Choose a pair and write a piece of fiction for ten minutes. Avoid using any adverbs.

It’s the end of the world

It’s the end of the world! For 5 minutes either:

If working as a team, then after the 5 minutes is up each writer reads their description out to the other participants.

Describe how the world’s going to end, creating evocative images using similes or metaphors as you wish and tell the story from a global perspective, or
Describe how you spend your final day before the world is destroyed. Combine emotion and action to engage the reader.

7 Editing Exercises

For use after your first draft

I’ve listened to a lot of masterclasses on writing by successful authors and they all say variants of your first draft won’t be good and that’s fine. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman summarise it the best:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

Terry Pratchett

“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonising over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed… For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.”

Neil Gaiman

Once you’ve written your first draft, it will need editing to develop the plot, enhance the characters, and improve each scene in a myriad of ways – small and large. These seven creative editing exercises are designed to help with this stage of the process.

The First Sentence

Read the first paragraph of the novel, in particular the first sentence. Does it launch the reader straight into the action? According to On Writing and Worldbuilding by Timothy Hickson, “The most persuasive opening lines are succinct, and not superfluous. To do this, it is often effective to limit it to a single central idea… This does not need to be the most important element, but it should be a central element that is interesting.” Ask yourself what element your opening sentence encapsulates and whether it’s the best one to capture your readers’ attention.

Consistency

Consistency is crucial in creative writing, whether it’s in relation to location, objects, or people.

It’s also crucial for personality, emotions and motivation.

Look at scenes where your protagonist makes an important decision. Are their motivations clear? Do any scenes force them to choose between two conflicting morals? If so, do you explore this? Do their emotions fit with what’s happened in previous scenes?

As you edit your manuscript, keep the characters’ personality, emotions and motivation in mind. If their behaviour is inconsistent, either edit it for consistency, or have someone comment on their strange behaviour or be surprised by it. Inconsistent behaviour can reveal that a character is keeping a secret, or is under stress, so characters don’t always need to be consistent. But when they’re not, there has to be a reason.

Show Don’t Tell One

This exercise is the first in The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. It’s a writing guide with a plethora of editing exercises designed to help you reenergize your writing by thinking of what your character is feeling, and giving you the tools to make your reader feel something.

Select a moment in your story when your protagonist is moved, unsettled, or disturbed… Write down all the emotions inherent in this moment, both obvious and hidden.
Next, considering what he is feeling, write down how your protagonist can act out. What is the biggest thing your protagonist can do? What would be explosive, out of bounds, or offensive? What would be symbolic? … Go sideways, underneath, or ahead. How can your protagonist show us a feeling we don’t expect to see?
Finally, go back and delete all the emotions you wrote down at the beginning of this exercise. Let actions and spoken words do the work. Do they feel too big, dangerous, or over-the-top? Use them anyway. Others will tell you if you’ve gone too far, but more likely, you haven’t gone far enough.

Show Don’t Tell Two

Search for the following words in your book:

Whenever these words occur, ask yourself if you can demonstrate how your characters feel, rather than simply stating it. For each occasion, can you use physiological descriptors (a racing heart), actions (taking a step backwards) or dialogue to express what’s just happened instead? Will this enhance the scene and engage the reader more?

After The Action

Find a scene where your characters disagree – in particular a scene where your protagonist argues with friends or allies. What happens next?

It can be tempting to wrap up the action with a quick resolution. But what if a resentment lingers and mistrust builds? This creates a more interesting story arc and means a resolution can occur later, giving the character development a real dynamic.

Review how you resolve the action and see if you can stretch out the emotions for a more satisfying read.

Eliminating the Fluff

Ensure that the words used don’t detract from the enormity of the events your character is going through. Can you delete words like, “Quite”, “Little”, or “Rather”?

Of “Very” Florence King once wrote: “ 'Very' is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen .” Delete it, or replace the word after it with a stronger word, which makes “Very” redundant.

“That,” is another common word used in creative writing which can often be deleted. Read a sentence as is, then reread it as if you deleted, “That”. If the meaning is the same, delete it.

Chapter Endings

When talking about chapter endings, James Patterson said, “At the end, something has to propel you into the next chapter.”

Read how each of your chapters finish and ask yourself does it either:

End on a cliff hanger? (R.L. Stine likes to finish every chapter in this method).
End on a natural pause (for example, you’re changing point of view or location).

Review how you wrap up each of your chapters. Do you end at the best point in your story? Can you add anticipation to cliff hangers? Will you leave your readers wanting more?

How to run the writing exercises

The editing exercises are designed to be completed individually.

With the others, I've always run them as part of a creative writing group, where there's no teacher and we're all equal participants, therefore I keep any 'teaching' aspect to a minimum, preferring them to be prompts to generate ideas before everyone settles down to do the silent writing. We've recently gone online and if you run a group yourself, whether online or in person, you're welcome to use these exercises for free!

The times given are suggestions only and I normally get a feel for how everyone's doing when time's up and if it's obvious that everyone's still in the middle of a discussion, then I give them longer. Where one group's in the middle of a discussion, but everyone else has finished, I sometimes have a 'soft start' to the silent writing, and say, "We're about to start the hour and a half of silent writing now, but if you're in the middle of a discussion, feel free to finish it first".

This way everyone gets to complete the discussion, but no-one's waiting for ages. It's also important to emphasise that there's no wrong answers when being creative.

Still looking for more? Check out these creative writing prompts or our dedicated Sci-Fi and Fantasy creative writing prompts

If you've enjoyed these creative writing exercises, please share them on social media, or link to them from your blog.

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Improving Your Prose: Sensory Detail Writing Exercise

Writers at any stage in their journey can benefit from exercises to help hone their craft. Prose in particular can be important to focus on as building blocks to effective writing. Today, we will cover a simple but powerful technique to enhance your descriptive language.

First, let’s set the scene.

Action: The protagonist leaves their house and walks down the street.

Mission: Deliver an envelope. The destination and contents are unknown.

We have the basic information, and you could write a paragraph or two now. I want you to hold off a minute for this exercise. What other sensory details would improve this scene or be beneficial to know?

Setting is always good. For this scene, narrow down location or weather . Think about the protagonist’s emotion as well. How do they feel about delivering this mysterious envelope?

Location: A suburban neighborhood

Weather: A cold dark autumn morning

Emotion: Anxious (excitement could also work)

The action already told us the protagonist was leaving their house, but readers don’t know yet where that house is. Clarifying the setting enhances the scene and ensures readers follow along easily.

A reader could imagine the protagonist leaves their house in a large city, a countryside, a small town, etc. If the readers aren’t told a location and pick one, they may be thrown from the story later if the revealed location doesn’t match what they initially thought.

You don’t have to go into excessive detail about the neighborhood. Simply stating a suburban neighborhood supplies enough information to create a visual.

Sensory Details

Now that we have the basic information set up, let’s dive into the technique I mentioned earlier. Some of my go-to feedback is reminding writers to provide concrete details and to include all five senses, not just sight.

So, list all the sensory details you can think of. Use the initial information I disclosed above as a starting point, especially the setting and emotion.

Sight: Fog, streetlights, dawn, neighborhood, empty sidewalks

Sound: Character’s heartbeat or blood rushing, crickets, distant cars, silence

Smell: Damp fog, cut grass, wet earth

Feel: Chill, cold wind, clenched jaw, stiff back, racing heart, nauseous/empty stomach

Taste: Toothpaste, coffee, bile

I focused on descriptions that match or evoke an anxious feeling and details that focus on the setting. Now write an example for this scene, remembering to balance out the sensory detail to focus on all five senses. Don’t worry about overwriting.

Here’s one example:

Eerie silence greeted me when I stepped outside my house. The air was damp and earthy—reminiscent of a farm instead of a suburban neighborhood. I clenched my jaw almost too hard and tip-toed to the edge of the porch.

The streetlights glowed like predawn stars among sheets of dense fog. Falling leaves danced on the icy wind. The yellows, oranges, and reds somehow soothed my racing heart. I swallowed back the bile coating my tongue along with the cold coffee I had chugged. A thin envelope crumpled against my chest, I took that first step onto an empty sidewalk.

Today was the day it would all come out.

My example includes too many details and takes too long, slowing down the story. That’s okay for this exercise. This writing warm-up is designed for you to practice incorporating the five senses in your descriptions.

In a manuscript, the five senses shouldn’t appear all together or in such a small space. Include one or two at a time. Sight will be used most often, but the other four should be used when relevant. But again, this exercise is to practice including all five senses.

Want to try out this warm-up? Leave your results in the comment section below. If you’re interested in further writing support or help with your prose, email [email protected] to start a conversation.

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Writing Exercises: Using the Five Senses

Aug. 9th, 2018

When writing a book, the scenes come to us in such immense detail. We see each one unfolding like movies in our heads- we see every room, object, gesture, and character with microscopic precision. However, writers tend to get so immersed in the action of the scene that we forget one key detail- our readers can’t automatically see what we see. We have to take the time to describe it to them. What do the characters look like? What are their mannerisms? What can they hear, see, and feel in this moment? This helps us not only create drama in the scene but really allows our readers to truly immerse themselves in the story. It’s hard to really feel like you’re there without sensory detail because that’s how we operate in the real world- through touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. Ideally, when writing a scene, each of the five senses should be utilized. For writers who struggle with sensory detail, here are a few writing exercises to help:

1) Pick one of your favorite songs . Identify a line in the song and the main emotion behind the line. Write about a character who is experiencing that emotion and hears that song. Or a character who is going through an experience that is paralleled by the song lyrics. Try to describe the type of music and the sounds in such a beautiful way that you will make the reader experience the emotion behind the song.

2) Select a dish representative of a cuisine that your character had as a child. Have the character describe it in such detail that the reader salivates and personal details of your character’s childhood are also revealed.

3) A man is cooking for a woman on their third date. Have the woman describe the aromas of the food in such loving and extended detail that she realizes that she’s in love with the man (Hint: She doesn’t love him because of the food- the food is just a way of showing it).

4) Have a character dine at a blind restaurant- a restaurant in pitch blackness where all the servers are blind. Describe how the table, clothing, plates, food, and the hand of their dining partner feels different in the darkness.

5) Have your character walking down the street and see a specific sight- a building, a park, a tree, a person, etc. and experience a moment of extreme deja vu. Have your character describe what they’re looking at in extreme detail while slowly revealing the memory with which they associate the sight.

6) One of the best exercises for the five senses is to choose one word and to describe it using the five senses. Obviously, each of the five sense won’t be able to be literally applied to the word- this is where you need to use your imagination. Using each of the five senses, for example, describe moonlight. What does it look like? Smell like? Taste like? Sound like? Feel like? Writers often feel boxed into the idea that sensory details need to be real and tangible, but you can absolutely talk about the taste of moonlight or the touch of a shadow in your book. In fact, that’s where some of the best writing happens.

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9 Fun Creative Writing Exercises to Boost Your Writing

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New and interesting creative writing exercises can help you get inspired and improve your creative writing skills. Like anything, creative writing is about practice. The more you do it, the better you get. These exercises will help you take your creative writing to the next level.

1. Write Your Future Self a Letter

You don’t have to work on a novel or create a poem to get your creative juices flowing. You can also try some creative nonfiction by writing a letter to the future you. Often, writing is easier when you know your audience, and it’s impossible to know anyone as well as you know yourself.

Start by thinking about your future self. What will that version of you want to know about your life right now? Then set pen to paper and create your letter. Be sure to include lots of sensory imagery and detail.

2. Explore Stream-of-Consciousness Writing With a Dream Journal

Writing down what you remember from your dreams is a great way to stimulate your creative energy. Dreams are like stories that are full of mystery, fantasy, and adventure. When you write down your dreams, you unfold a parallel universe full of exciting adventure. There are no rules here.

Start by simply writing what you remember from your dreams. It doesn’t matter how silly it may seem; don’t judge any of it. Let your mind go and allow your pen to move freely across the page (or your fingers over the keyboard). Add to the details as you wish, creating characters, settings, and new plot arcs. You will be pleasantly surprised by the latent creativity you have hidden inside of you.

3. Start With Fact and Add Three Elements of Fiction

Great writing often starts with exaggeration or embellishment. Many famous writers, such as Jack London, started with what they knew and then created stories around that. You can do the same.

Begin by choosing an event in your life, a setting you know well, or a person with whom you’ve interacted. Then, add three elements of fiction to this real-world starting point. For instance, you could start with a childhood memory of your mom locking the keys in the car at the beach. Add a thunderstorm that didn’t happen to ramp up the tension. Bring in a kindly but vaguely sinister lifeguard for some great character interaction. Change the setting by turning a local lake into the Atlantic ocean. Then write a few pages about this situation.

4. Write Using the Intimate Senses

Sensory descriptions are always great creative writing exercises, but not all senses are created equal. Multiple characters can see the same view or hear the same birds, even at a distance from one another. Sight and hearing are great for description, but it’s easy to rely on them. Bring in the more intimate senses of smell, taste, and touch in this creative writing exercise.

Imagine any character in any setting. Write one or two sentences about what they are seeing and hearing to establish the scenario; then move on to the intimate senses. What does your character smell? Think specifics here: road tar, lilacs, cut grass, dead fish, or anything else. What does your character taste? Use gustatory imagery to describe a lollipop, mint lip gloss, blood, stamp glue, or another flavor. What does your character feel on his or her body? Write with tactile imagery to describe an itchy sweater, sand in the mouth, a lover’s fingernail, the icy cold water of a mountain stream, and other vivid details.

5. Write the “Meanwhile” Story of Your Favorite Book

Every writer makes choices about what to include in the story, and the writer of your favorite book did, too. What happens in the “meanwhile” that isn’t described in the story?

To get started, think about who is involved in the story in each scene. Who isn’t in that scene? What is happening “off camera”? Now write a scene that hasn’t been included in the book.

6. Get Inspired by a Color

Sometimes color can be very inspiring, and it’s a great way to work on imagery. You can use color as a springboard for a scene or even as the start of a poem.

Begin by picking a color. Look around at the things near you that are that color. If none of that seems inspiring, do a quick image search for the color. Pick an object or place featuring your chosen color and start writing. Try to incorporate all five senses in your descriptions.

7. Restrict Yourself to a Poetic Form

There are many different types of poetry , and each of them has specific rules to follow. While it may seem unlikely, being bound by a poetic form can actually be freeing and inspiring. Try some of the following:

Write a sonnet. Sonnets are 14 lines of iambic pentameter, and they have specific rhyme schemes. Take a look at sonnet examples for inspiration.
Try a villanelle. This very structured poem is made up of tercets, or three-line stanzas, that repeat various lines in a pattern. You can see villanelle examples to help you try this form.
Write a haiku. There are specific rules for writing a haiku , which has three lines of set syllables. This short poem is a great way to get creative.

8. Work on a Group Writing Project

Another fun creative writing exercise is to do a group writing project. You can brainstorm ideas with other writers, get energy from one another, and even critique each other’s work. Here are some fun group writing projects to try:

Make a poetry chapbook on a theme with each writer contributing a poem on the topic.
Write a story with each writer taking a scene.
Have one person create a plot of characters and another write the story.
Have each person write a mystery story without his or her name. Then exchange the stories and try to guess the author.

9. Set Up a Daily Writing Workout

Writing is like any other kind of exercise. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Set up a daily writing workout for yourself to hone your skills and get in practice. Successful writers don’t wait for inspiration; they just get to work.

You can use creative writing prompts to get started, or you can try free writing. Is free writing, you simply write down every thought that you have during a 15-minute session. Free writing can prove to be exceedingly helpful if you have writer's block or even if you just have trouble trying to figure out what to write and where to begin creatively.

Use Creative Writing Exercises in the Classroom

Creative writing exercises can help strengthen your skills and help you learn to write without waiting for a temperamental muse to visit. You can even try these exercises in the classroom or use creative writing lesson plans to help students have fun and improve their writing skills at the same time.

Poetry Writing Exercises to Engage the Senses

by Melissa Donovan | Mar 23, 2021 | Poetry Writing Exercises | 2 comments

Engage the senses with these poetry writing exercises.

Ah, the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. How do they relate to poetry writing?

We delight in the pleasures of the senses, but infusing poetry with sensory stimulation is not an easy task. It takes a deft and creative writer to forge images — using text — that engage a reader’s senses.

So why bother?

When you engage your readers’ senses, your poetry becomes more compelling and more memorable.

Some scientists say smell is the strongest of the senses in terms of memorability. If you get your readers to physically experience scent (or any other sensation), you’ll have them hooked. Surely you’ve read a passage that described the delicious scent of home-cooked food and found your mouth watering?

Step 1: Prepare

Start with a sheet of paper divided into five columns. If you prefer to do writing exercises on your computer, you can use a spreadsheet or word-processing program.
Label the columns: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Spend a few minutes populating the columns with words and phrases that reflect the correlating senses. For example, in the smell column, you might write chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, a blooming rose, or the cat’s litter box. Be as descriptive as possible and avoid using only stimuli that please or entice; add a few that are unpleasant for balance.

Step 2: Review

Review your list carefully, testing each item on your list to see how it affects you. When you read something like throbbing bass coming from the car in the next lane , can you feel the boom?
As you go through your list, cross out anything that doesn’t engage your senses.
Highlight those items that really affect you — when you can feel the soft slick of silk or hear the sound of a quiet breeze rustling dried leaves , you’re affected.

Step 3: Poetry Writing Exercises

Write one sentence for each of the five senses. Make sure it’s a complete sentence, and try to generate a sentence that evokes a scene. In other words, “The roses smell nice” won’t cut it. Try for something like, “I bent down, beckoned by the rose’s sweet perfume and dazzling red hue.” Note that this sentence affects two senses: smell (sweet perfume) and sight (red hue).
Next, try to do what I did in the sample sentence above. Combine two or more senses into a single, complete sentence. When you read it back, does your nose tingle? Do you see bright colors in your mind?
Look for sentences that you can link together, words and phrases that can be joined under a common theme. For example, if a lot of your words, phrases, and sentences could be set outdoors, then they can be grouped together.
Finally, using the material you’ve generated, write a poem that stimulates each of the five senses.
You can also work backwards. Start with a theme, and then populate your lists with things that will engage the senses and that correlate with the theme you’ve chosen.
Need some ideas? Start by choosing a setting, such as an event, where it’s likely all fives senses would be stimulated. For example, at a wedding, there will be the scent of fresh flowers, the taste of a wedding cake, and the sound of “Here Comes the Bride.” Other likely events include concerts, parties, meetings, vacations, and — try this one — cleaning day.
If you get stuck, refer to your brainstorming lists or practice sentences and use that material for inspiration.
Try not to make it too obvious that your goal for the poem was to stimulate the reader’s senses. Be sure it flows naturally.

You should have fun with poetry writing exercises, but they should also challenge you. If you have any favorite poetry writing exercises of your own, feel free to share them in the comments. And keep writing!

Looking for more poetry writing exercises? 101 Creative Writing Exercises features two full chapters on poetry writing:

I’m not going to put all of the things that I came up with, just a couple of the best ones. Here’s what I came up with: The candle’s wax dripped down its side as it filled the air with its essence and the flame from the wick flickered, barely lighting the dim room. His hand scrubbed across the burrs buried in the dog’s fur as he tried to look for a collar in the mass of tangled hair. She held the baby in her arms, feeling the smooth skin against her dry skin, looking in wonder at the pink skin, the wide blue eyes and the pale fuzz covering the child’s head. This was a very fun exercise. I enjoyed this one a lot, I didn’t have a hard time coming up with things. Thank you.

The burrs in the dog’s fur! That’s great, Donna. I really did get a scratchy sensation reading that. Nice work!

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105 Creative Writing Exercises: 10 Min Writing Exercises
My 5 Senses Worksheet Five Descriptive Writing Using the 5 Senses
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Creative Writing with the Five Senses: Sensory Imagery and Narrative
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Digiskills Creative Writing Hands-On Exercise No 4 Solution Batch 8, 2020, DigiTech Educations Pk
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COMMENTS

25 Great Creative Writing Exercises To Awaken The Senses
Prompt 3. Imagine you can describe a sculpture by how it feels as you run your hands over it. Prompt 4. Write about the earliest touch you can remember. Prompt 5. Write about something you can't pass by without touching it. For more on the sense of touch, read the blog How To Use The Sense Of Touch In Your Writing.
5-Step Creative Writing Exercise Using The 5 Senses
5-Step Writing Exercise For The 5 Senses. Use this countdown exercise to improve your writing through better, more vivid descriptions based on the 5 senses. Five For Sight. Name five things you can see around you, then write down the colors, shapes, textures, and any interesting details. Is the blue wool sweater hanging on the hall coatrack ...
The Best Examples Of The 5 Senses And Descriptive Writing
Auditory Imagery - you may have guessed, this one relates to the description of sounds. Gustatory Imagery - this one's all about taste. Tactile Imagery - and this final one is all about touch, an often-forgotten sense. 5 senses imagery, in short, is a powerful tool in a writer's arsenal.
5-Step Creative Writing Exercise Using The 5 Senses
Yet, including all the sensory details in your writing can make a spring rainstorm seem more refreshing or approaching footsteps in a dark, moldy old mansion more ominous. This unique, 5-step creative writing exercise using the 5 senses will strengthen your writing and help keep your readers intrigued.
Engaging the Senses: 10 Sensory Writing Activities for the English
Embrace the power of sensory writing and watch your students' writing skills and enjoyment of the written word expand beyond the page. I love Gretchen Rubin's recommendations in her book Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World to simply record your five senses observations each day. This would ...
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Sensory Imagery in Creative Writing: Types, Examples, and Writing Tips. Sensory imagery is a literary device writers employ to engage a reader's mind on multiple levels. Sensory imagery explores the five human senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.
How to Unlock the 5 Senses in Your Writing
The key to unlocking the five senses is to use vivid description and to ask why that sensory detail is important for the character, setting, or tone of the story. Tweet this. Vivid writing becomes powerful when those sensory descriptions are directly related to key attributes of your character, setting, conflict, or other element of your story.
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Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again: Set a timer for 60 seconds. Now write down as many words or phrases that come to mind at that moment. Pick any colour you like. Now start your sentence with this colour.
3 Writing Exercises to Change How You See the World
Here are three writing exercises you can use to explore the senses in your writing. 1. Close your eyes. Take a second to close your eyes and stay still. Maybe you're in your bedroom, maybe you're in a coffee shop, or you could be sitting on your back porch. Whether it's someplace old or new, try not to focus on the things you saw when you ...
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To really create descriptions that will stay with your reader and improve your writing skills, you'll need to learn how to describe the sensory details of all five of your senses. Description is one of the most basic tools in a writer's toolkit. You can't get very far in a story, a poem, or a narrative essay if you can't convey what the ...
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Exercise #8: Try your hand at a script. Like poetry, scriptwriting comes with its own set of skills and benefits for the prose writer. Whether you're struggling with a scene or looking to get started, approaching it with a screen or stage writer's mindset will help unlock creativity - and strengthen your writing.
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The Five Senses Exercise for 2 authors. Painting by Giovanni Battista Manerius - The Five Senses. Choose a scene and write it for 5 minutes focusing on one sense, NOT sight. Choose between: ... You can also do this creative writing exercise with story dice, your own choice of words, or by asking participants to write random words down ...
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Creative writing exercises for adults are not designed to lead the writer into crafting a full story, but are only designed to help them improve as a writer in a narrow, specific category of writing skills. ... Enjoy the five categories of writing exercises below, and happy writing! Senses: 1. Think of the most deafening sound you can imagine.
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Five Senses Exercise. (You'll need your favorite note-taking method with you.) Find a place to sit that you do NOT normally utilize and go there, preferably alone, with at least 10-30 minutes ...
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Prose in particular can be important to focus on as building blocks to effective writing. Today, we will cover a simple but powerful technique to enhance your descriptive language. First, let's set the scene. Action:The protagonist leaves their house and walks down the street. Mission:Deliver an envelope. The destination and contents are unknown.
Six Sensory Exercises to Improve Your Writing
Sensory Exercises 3 & 4: Smell and Taste. These two senses are to some extent overlapping, so it's productive to group them together for the purposes of a writing exercise, too. Smell and taste are comparatively less used in writing than sight or hearing, at least in their literal function.
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This unique, 5-step creative writing exercise using the 5 senses will strengthen your writing and help keep your readers intrigued. 5-Step Writing Exercise For The 5 Senses. Use this countdown ...
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Writing from the Senses •Provides 60 prompts and creative writing exercises organized by sense; •Presents engaging narratives, personal essays, and instruction to entertain and inform readers and illustrate the effectiveness of each exercise; •Helps writers recognize the sensory prompts that surround them daily and use them to trigger ...
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Using the five senses, you can pull your readers into an experience that sparks their memories, emotions, and senses all at once. If you're writing about your morning coffee, we want to taste it ...
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Ideally, when writing a scene, each of the five senses should be utilized. For writers who struggle with sensory detail, here are a few writing exercises to help: 1) Pick one of your favorite songs. Identify a line in the song and the main emotion behind the line. Write about a character who is experiencing that emotion and hears that song.
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Looking for creative writing exercises? Read on for a list of 9 great activity ideas to inspire you and improve your creative writing skills. ... Sensory descriptions are always great creative writing exercises, but not all senses are created equal. Multiple characters can see the same view or hear the same birds, even at a distance from one ...
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Creative Writing Using the Five Senses. 9 min. May 9, 2022. Create fantastic pieces of creative writing by challenging children to use nothing but their senses as a stimulus for writing. Creative Writing Using the Five Senses. Every writer, in every genre is a detective in their own rite. Observational Writing Walks.
Poetry Writing Exercises to Engage the Senses
Step 1: Prepare. Start with a sheet of paper divided into five columns. If you prefer to do writing exercises on your computer, you can use a spreadsheet or word-processing program. Label the columns: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Spend a few minutes populating the columns with words and phrases that reflect the correlating senses.

25 Great Creative Writing Exercises To Awaken The Senses

What is sensory imagery?

Experience using sensory imagery.

25 Great Sensory Writing Prompts.

The Sense of Touch

The Sense of Taste

The Sense of Hearing

The Sense of Sight

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Writing Prompt

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Engaging the Senses: 10 Sensory Writing Activities for the English Language Arts Classroom

10 Writing Activities to Use Now

Soundscapes

Sensory Object Descriptions:

Taste and Describe:

Sensory Poems:

Sensory Walks:

Texture Collages:

Sensory Character Profiles:

Sensory Story Starters:

Sensory Similes and Metaphors:

Bonus activity-Calm Down a Noisy Room with ASMR:

A Final Thought

Writing Mindset Reflection: How do you incorporate sensory activities into your classroom? How do you see the five senses “show up” in your classroom?

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30 Writing Exercises To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Exercise #1: Write a story in six words or fewer

Exercise #2: Practise with flash fiction

Exercise #3: Experiment with genre

Exercise #4: Use visual prompts

Exercise #5: Find a prompt generator

Exercise #6: Draw inspiration from ‘word of the day’

Exercise #7: Dabble in poetry

Exercise #8: Try your hand at a script