LET YOUR WRITING FLOW!

Here's a fun exercise that will rev up your word flow.

It makes your writing neurons fire, the same way a pre-race warmup works for a sprinter. 

                                                                              photo by Gustavo Fring

Fill out this story form from Word as fast as you can, filling in the blanks with far-fetched ideas. If a story idea emerges at any time, run with it!

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My Best Day Ever           Today I woke up feeling ___________, and I knew                                                                                                                                                 it was going to be a special day. The sky was ___________ and the weather was ___________, so I hopped out of bed, put on my ___________ and my ___________ ___________, and I was ready to ___________.              Outside, I caught the first ___________, which took me straight into ___________. I went ___________                                                                                        where I bought the perfect ___________  ___________!                                                                                                                                                                Next, I treated myself to a ___________ snack at a ___________ restaurant. It was very ___________,                      but it was still good enough to ___________.           Finally, I went back home. I fed the ___________,                                                                                                                                                                                then sat down on the ___________, and thought, "What                                                                                                      a/an ___________ day!"

 Take one of the startling images you came up with and write about it. Write without pausing, without editing. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or making sense.

If you run out of ideas to write, use these tips from Natalie Goldberg, an awesome writer and writing instructor. She says:

“Don’t worry about your skill or your talent. It will grow as you write.

Writing is where you get smart.

Writing is an act of discovery.

We are important and our lives are important, magnificent really, and their details are worthy to be recorded.”
                                                                                                  Natalie Goldberg

         If get stuck, look up and write a colorful description of the first thing you see. Write what you feel.

         If you get stuck again, write “I remember” and put down your first thought. Write “I remember” again, any time you need to. 

        Write fiction, non-fiction, a memoir, song lyrics, a poem, an essay, or a list of words. Give yourself permission to write anything. It doesn't matter if it's great or it's garbage. You don't have to show it to anyone unless you want to.

                  Let the words flow!