A page with the writing activities to promote better writing, get you unstuck from Writer’s Block, or just for a little fun and something different.
You can complete these activities in order, pick and choose what you want to do, have a family member pick a random number, or use random.org to choose your next writing activity.
- REPROOF, noun [from reprove.]
1. Blame expressed to the face; censure for a fault; reprehension.
Those best can bear reproof who merit praise.
He that hateth reproof is brutish. Proverbs 12:1.
2. Blame cast; censure directed to a person. - Use one (or all!) of the following words in your writing: mountainous, prayer, resurrection, robust, aloof
- PATHOS, noun
An element evoking pity or compassion - AUDACIOUS, adjective
Intrepidly daring - NOONDAY
noun Mid-day; twelve o’clock in the day.
adjective Pertaining to mid-day; meridional; as the noonday heat. - HOARD
noun A store, stock or large quantity of any thing accumulated or laid up; a hidden stock; a treasure; as a hoard of provisions for winter; a hoard of money.
verb transitive To collect and lay up a large quantity of any thing; to amass and deposit in secret; to store secretly; as, to hoard grain or provisions; to hoard silver and gold.
verb intransitive To collect and form a hoard; to lay up store. - REFECTION
1 : refreshment of mind, spirit, or body especially : nourishment
2a : the taking of refreshment
b : food and drink together : repast - WHET
verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive whetted or whet [G.]
1. To rub for the purpose of sharpening, as an edge tool; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a sythe or an ax.
2. To provoke; to excite; to stimulate; as, to whet the appetite.
3. To provoke; to make angry or acrimonious.
Since Cassius first did whet me against Cesar, I have not slept.
noun
1. The act of sharpening by friction.
2. Something that provokes or stimulates the appetite; as sips, drams and whets.
First Occurrence in the Bible (KJV): Deuteronomy 32:41
- Open the closest book to you and use the first five words you read as the start of a 2,000 word first person story.
- Any moment now someone would notice. How could they help it? Shannon glanced up at the clock in the kitchen and chewed on her lower lip. There were perhaps five or maybe ten minutes at the most. After that–well, they would all notice for sure then. Casting a quick look about the room, the girl’s eyes landed on the backdoor.
- (Insert name) took another sip of his coffee (or insert another beverage). It wasn’t strong enough nor the mug big enough to drown his thoughts. But he kept sipping and sulking anyway as if some kind of comfort would come from it.
- “Truth is never the problem.”
Start a story with that quote, and see where takes you! Why is truth never the problem? Do your characters think it should be? And if truth isn’t the problem, what is???
(And just a note for copyright purposes, our opening quote is NOT in the public domain, which means it needs to be sourced properly if you’re going to publish or post your finished work. The source is: Howard, Michelle Miller. “Jeopardy and Liberty.” The Old Schoolhouse, Winter 2020-2021, pp. 44-45.) - Creating the monster under Nick’s bed was easy. But nothing after that went according to plan.
- “It’s not as easy as it looks.”
- Of course, I didn’t plan on getting sick in Dallas, when I left Neil in charge of the office. Come to think of it, I didn’t plan on getting sick at all, when I left Neil in charge for the weekend. But Dallas was about the worst place I could possibly have gotten stuck—that was the one fact Neil and I both agreed on.
- “Why me?”
“You know why.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” - She couldn’t believe she had to deal with this again. Wasn’t six times enough for one week?
- How was I supposed to know opening that trapdoor would change everything?
- “If you’re not back in that bed in ten seconds, I’ll come over there and sit on you!”
- The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the room, and Rylie looked up. Only twenty-three minutes left. She flexed her toes and then wiggled them, a nervous trait she’d had since childhood. The second hand reached the top of the clock face. Only twenty-two minutes now. Just twenty-to minutes until– Was it destiny? Fate? She had been so sure this was what God wanted her to do. But now she couldn’t help wondering if this was going to turn out okay after all. Would her whole world come crashing down around her or would this be the best thing ever? In twenty-two minutes she’d . . . She drew a deep breath.
- Of course, the snowball wasn’t really her fault. I could see that. Now. But it certainly didn’t make the whole situation any easier than it had been before her mom called.
- Lacy propped her head up with one arm, the other was across the big collie lying on her lap, stargazing. The fireflies danced to the frogs and crickets chorus…
- “What are you doing?”
“Exactly what it looks like.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” - “Are you all right?” The words were low but there was a tone of compassion in them that made me nod.
“Are you sure?” This time I heard the genuine concern and tears filled my eyes and spilled down my cheeks in spite of my efforts to keep them back. Someone truly cared. - “Are you all right?”
“Does it look like I’m all right?”
“Well, no, but…” (finish the thought)
- Write a 100-300 word conversation and do NOT use the word “said.” (Either use other tags such as “replied,” “shouted,” “whispered,” etc. or use things like “Kate tapped her toes impatiently as she waited for an answer.”)
- Write a 100-300 word conversation and ONLY use the word “said.” Show the emotions by their actions using words like “whined,” “yelled,” “argued,” etc.
- Pick a name that you’ve never used in a story before and write a paragraph describing this person.
- Write a short paragraph describing a setting of your choice. You may use any sense (taste, touch, smell, hearing) EXCEPT for sight.
- Your characters are a boy, a girl, and a dog. Write down five ideas for who they might be. Now pick one and write a scene involving them.
- Write a story with the following instructions:
Word Count: 4,000 words (You can be 5 words over or under the limit.)
Number of Characters: 1 main and up to 4 minor
Tense: 3rd person past tense
Special Instructions: You must set your story in a picture from a calendar. You must show emotion without saying “he was angry”, “she was tired”, etc.
Time to Complete the Story: 10 days - Write a story with the following instructions:
Word Count: 2,500 words (You can be 5 words over or under the limit.)
Number of Characters: 2 characters
Tense: 3rd person past tense
Special Instructions: Must include a pet, flour, and rain.
Time to Complete the Story: 7 days - Paint a first person word picture of the scene on one of the calendars in your house. It must be this month’s picture. It should be at least one paragraph and should be introducing your reader to it as though we were visiting.
- Find a scenery picture and write at least one paragraph describing it using similes and metaphors as often as you can. (Yes, it may feel like overkill, but it will help you get comfortable using them.)
- Find a picture of a person in a magazine, catalog, book, or photo. Write a paragraph describing their personality.
- Two or more of your existing characters are in the middle of nowhere when their transportation gives out (car breaks down, horse throws a shoe, or whatever). Write what they do next.
- Use a name that you’ve never used before and create a character who is around your age. Write a paragraph or two describing this person, their looks, personality, and maybe throw in a quirk or two. Write the description as though your reader had to find and pick up this person at a busy airport and needed to know who and what to look for.
- Someone in your novel/story makes a scene about something. Who, what is it, and why? Write the scene! It can be as long or short, as dramatic or not, and as major or minor as you like!
- Write a story or scene with the following instructions:
Characters: A set of twins
Objects: A window
Challenge: No spoken dialogue - Write a story or scene with the following instructions:
Setting: An orchard
Characters: 2-5 sisters
Conflict: Some kind of time limit - Write a story or scene with the following instructions:
Characters: A pair of siblings
Situation: A task to be completed
Challenge: You may use any senses *except* the sense of sight - Write a story or scene with the following instructions:
Setting: Someone’s birthday
Characters: At least one cousin
Words to include: slingshot, mustard, scream - Write a scene containing ALL of the elements below. It can use your existing characters, or you can create new ones for the purpose.
1) A frog
2) An aunt
3) A window
4) Some kind of dessert - Add a goodbye scene to your story and use the words later, love, and long(ed/ing).
- Write down ten things you are thankful for or ten ways God has been showing His faithfulness to you in the last week or so. Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we forget to give thanks for those daily blessings, and God’s daily mercy and faithfulness. So, take time today to write some of those things down in a journal and if you want to share them then do, but otherwise, you can keep it private for a reminder for yourself when you are feeling down.
- We all recognize that dialogue brings fiction to life—but sometimes dialogue can be painfully difficult to write! You know where you want the conversation to end. You even have a few good lines to through in along the way. But how on earth do you get from, “Good morning, darling! Do you want tea or coffee?” to “There’s no going back. Our only chance is the secret passage!”
My challenge to you today is to write out a dialogue scene completely in script form, and completely backwards. Yes, that’s right. Backwards.
This dialogue is going to form a cliff-hanger ending to one of your chapters, so start with the cliff-hanger line.
Cuthbert: There’s no going back. Our only chance is the secret passage!
Then back up one step, and tell us what the other character said right before.
Angelina: Cuthbert! The keys are gone!!!
Now you take one more step back, and figure out what Cuthbert said before Angelina realized the keys were missing.
(You don’t have to use Cuthbert and Angelina unless you really wanted to. But you get the general idea.)
Keep writing backwards until you’ve told your reader everything they need to know to understand that first, final sentence. Then stop. Even if you haven’t gotten as far back as, “Good morning, darling!” Once you’ve told the reader everything they need to know for that final sentence, you’ve told them everything they need to know. (At least for this challenge!) Feel free to re-write the scene in your usual dialogue style, instead of script form, if that’s the way you want it to turn out. - Write 100 more words than you wrote yesterday.
- Write for 5 more minutes than you wrote yesterday.
- Look at the last sentence you wrote. Ask “why?” about that sentence. Use your answer to craft the next sentence.
- What kind of relationships/dynamics does your MC or fave character have with their siblings(or a character as close as) and how does that influence them? Showcase that in a scene where if it’s a bit rocky at the moment, there’s a reconciliation/coming together. If already going strong, write a fun scene!
- For today’s Writing Challenge you’ll need to do a bit of math. (Calculators ready!)
1. Take the year you were born, and add the four digits together. Example: 1992 = 1+9+9+2 = 21
2. Take the day you were born, and add it to the first number. Example: July 27 = 27+21 = 48
3. Add a zero to the end of your answer. Example: 48 = 480
4. Your challenge for today is to write that many words, in one sitting!
My apologies in advance for those who were born on a 31st in 1999 (and drew the longest straw!) as well as those born on a 1st in 2000 (who drew the shortest one!)
- What is a Favorite Trait/Feature of Fave Character in your wip? How about using it for a New Character?
The exception: the new has the opposite personality of the fave character (i.e. fave character’s fave feature is sense of humor/funny but an extravert, so make the new an introvert. Fave’s trait is an encourager but practical, make the new impulsive. Etc). - Ask your character a question you don’t know the answer to. Does the answer give you any insight into them that you didn’t have before? Does it change how you look at them? Is there a way you can work the answer into your story?
- Auntie Courtenay’s Bio Templates
If anybody’s looking for some inspiration writing bios, here is the template I’ve shared before:
[Author’s name] is a [most-defining-role] and author of [genre] from [place]. She loves [hobby], [game], [school subject], and [food/drink]. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her [doing recreation], reading [favourite kind of book/series], or trying [new thing you’d like to be better at]. You can connect with her at [blog, social media, etc.]
And just for fun, here’s the one for doing character bios, too:
[Character’s name] is a [defining occupation] and [defining personality trait], from [place or setting]. He/she loves [pastime], [key theme from storyline], and [quirky little thing they enjoy]. When he/she’s not busy with [main catastrophe from the first half of the story], you can find him/her doing [recreation], reading [favourite kind of book/series], or trying [new thing they’d like to be better at]. You can connect with him/her in [name of book] by [author]. - Auntie Angie’s Synopsis Writing Tips
The best advice I ever got for writing a synopsis was to start with the tag line. Find a way to sum up the whole story in about ten words or less. This can be a sentence or a string of phrases. A lot of times it’s a question. It should give an idea of the core problem of the book without hinting at the resolution and leave readers wanting to know more.
Honestly, this is the hardest part of the process for me. I may write five or six different tag lines before I find the right one. But after I get the tag line finished, writing the synopsis itself becomes a lot easier.
When I write the synopsis, I basically take the tag line and expand on it. What questions does it leave you wondering that I can now answer? For example, the tag line for my first book was “Three boys. One choice. No turning back.” Then in the synopsis, the first thing that I did was to give a short introduction to each of the boys. After that, I gave a few more hints as to their choice, then reiterated the fact that there would be far-reaching results without giving away what they were.
Obviously, the synopsis needs to include your main character(s) and the core story problem without giving away how they solve it, but I also like to look for ways that I can weave in any symbolism from the story, or maybe use phrases with more than one meaning. For example, the synopsis for the first book in my current series ends with the question “But when a sudden blow threatens her hard-won triumph, will everything she’s fought for be lost forever?” At first glance, that’s referring to her outward fight against the dictator that’s mentioned earlier, and it is. But it’s also referring to a certain relationship that she’s worked hard to build that’s threatened toward the end of the book. It’s the kind of thing you might not pick up on when you haven’t read the story, but when you come back to it afterward, it makes even more sense.
I don’t know if this is any help at all, or if it makes sense to anyone but me. If something isn’t clear or you’d like more detail or examples, please let me know. I definitely find that drilling down to the very heart of the story to create the tag line makes the rest of it much easier because I’ve already established the core concept and the tone, and then I’m able to elaborate on it a little, adding elements rather than taking them away.
Anyway, that’s what works for me. I hope it’s at least a little helpful for you! 🙂 - Auntie Rebekah’s Cover Design Tips
http://readanotherpage.com/cover-design-tips-101/
http://readanotherpage.com/cover-design-tips-102/ - Auntie Erika’s Line Edit Walkthrough
https://youtu.be/7eIfI6rGUsU
KDWC Word Crawls Masterlist
Links to individual docs; latest edited versions
KDWC Word Crawl Collection
All crawls in one doc; may not reflect later edits