0.6: Chapter Zero- Exercises

Chapter Zero: Exercises

Let’s get our creative juices flowing – and make our brains limber? – with some exercises.\(^6\)

exercise 1: opposite day.

One of our first exercises might be to introduce ourselves in an opposite manner. Yep.

Here’s an example:

exercise 2: abc, 123.

When we write, we’re using the alphabet. Duh. Yet, how many times have we used these letters to organize or brainstorm? Try using the alphabet to brainstorm different things characters could say in different pieces of fiction and drama and nonfiction. This exercise is nice and light; however, you may use the dialogue you create later on – you never know!

A = “Ask him if he thinks he’s being an asshole.”

B = “Bullshit! It’s all BS, isn’t it?”

C = “Could you be normal for five seconds?”

D = “Don’t you dare tell me who I am.”

E = “Excellent.” Like Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

F = “Farts. I have too many brain farts today.”

G = “Oh, good god, Peter. You did NOT say that to her, did you?”

H = “What.The.Hell?”

I = “It’s about time, nimrod.”

J = “Jeezus Marth and Mary… will you please hurry up?”

K = “Kindly remove your hand from my shoulder; I don’t like to be touched.”

L = “Love is an action, so show me you care!”

M = “My writing is different, and I don’t care that it is.”

N = “No one has written a book like this, Sylvia. You’re a genius.”

O = “Oh.My.God. For real?”

P = “Please put a mask on; we’re in the middle of a pandemic.”

Q = “Quirky. Yep, that’s the word. She’s quirky. Don’t you agree?”

R = “Rarely do I say this but that TV show is garbage.”

S = “Shoot. What did I do now?”

T = “Take me with you, dear alien. I want to escape this planet.”

U = “Unfortunately, some teachers don’t accept late work, and they are basing your learning on arbitrary deadlines.” 

V = “Verbally abusive. That’s the phrase, people. You’re all being verbally abusive in this meeting, and it has gotten way out of control.”

W = “Will you hug me, so we can get that out of the way?”

X = “X marks the spot, doesn’t it?”

Y = “Yes, I will take this very cool creative writing class because I want to write epic things with genuine humans.”

Z = “This classroom is like a zoo. And all the animals can talk.”

exercise 3: scandal!

Write a few paragraphs about the most "scandalous" thing that happens to you in the course of a normal day in the style of a gossip columnist/blogger. Writing in the third person is suggested but not mandatory. Including easily misconstrued photographs might be a nice addition. Exaggerate, make up catch phrases/nicknames, speculate, perpetuate stereotypes, be offensive etc.

\(^6\)These exercises, and any questions or activities or projects found in this textbook, are all about fulfilling the goal of practicing writing in order to challenge ourselves AND to see what we excel in, too. Some teachers may assign students to answer the questions or complete the activities within the chapters; some may want to only assign the exercises. It’s all very flexible.

“Writing is thinking on paper.”