The Writing Gym
Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 10:29PM Doing an exercise like "Write about something from your childhood" or "Write about 10 blue things" seems relatively harmless, but is ultimately destracting . . . if not destructive.
I realize it's meant to spark your creativity and broaden your horizons, but in reality it never broadens anything. It effectively wastes your time.
These kind of lame exercises from the Writing Gym are, on the surface, harmless and are certainly well-intentioned. They want to motivate you and improve you.
I have no problem with anyone writing about their childhood -- that might actually be helpful and productive -- but to do it only as a creativity exercise minimizes its importance.
And writing about "blue things"? Or "Write from the perspective of a pet"? Or "Write about a picture in a magazine"?
Why?
No, seriously: Why?
Even if you believe in the myth of Writer's Block, you have to admit the Writing Gym exercises are a downright silly procrastination technique.
So, instead of working on something that doesn't advance you toward your goal, work on your goal. Leave those blue things alone.
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Reader Comments (5)
I hear what you're saying, Eric. Writing prompts or exercises taken out of context and merely for the sake of writing may be less effective. But as a writing instructor and someone who coaches writers to get over their procrastination and get something on the page, I use writing prompts all the time. The best ones are tailored either for a specific classroom or teaching situation, or for an individual.
When writers write per a prompt, they jumpstart the brain, get the words flowing, start making synapses that connect words into sentences that make whole thoughts and paragraphs. Writing prompts and exercises are useful to steer the mind along a certain topic. I think of writing exercises and the prompts that generate them as "writing process." It's what you do with the "process" that turns into "product." When writing prompts and exercises are combined with goals for "product" you have the best marriage of all.
I recommend writing prompts so much I've written an ebook "99 Ways To Jumpstart Your Creative Writing" available on my website: http://www.yourwritelife.com
I'd love to hear what others are thinking too!
Like Debra, I too believe in the value of writing prompts. People do what they will do with a prompt, make it their own, make it say something personal and important to them. As a teacher, I've seen the diversity and power than a group of individuals can unleash when handed a seemingly simple prompt such as "blue." As a discipline, writing practice using random prompts can help silence the internal editor who says you stink. Natalie Goldberg calls this internal editor monkey mind and teaches writing practice as a way to work around it. I post a writing prompt 5 days a week on my blog First 50 Words. My blog isn't true writing practice, because I limit the response, but I encourage everyone to continue to develop ideas on their own after they reach my limit. And I encourage everyone to make the most of the mental connections that a seemingly silly writing prompt can bring up.
I think prompts might have a place in a class setting where the writer is trying to master a certain rhetorical skill, or perhaps learn to punctuate or some other aspect of writing in the technical sense. But when a writer wants to write something that matters, the prompt becomes unnecessary and as you have said, a distraction.
I have never used prompts, and I don't offer them to my readers or clients. Having said that, I do offer The Daily Writer Notes as a daily writing encouragement, a gentle nudge of support, and exhortation to "Write!" and to do it now. These are short little notes from me to you as a writer sitting alone at the keyboard.
Some people do use them as prompts or so I've been told, but they are not intended specifically in that way or perhaps it depends on your definition of a prompt. Instead, the notes are my way of suggesting a different perspective on your writing in an effort to help you shift your mindset into a place where you are able to write more freely.
I also offer explicit permission to write badly, because I think that is the most important thing a writer needs to learn. Here's to writing every day!
ps The Daily Notes are free while they are in beta -- just sign up at http://reptitude.com/ and you'll start getting them tomorrow morning. I'd love to have lots of people try them out and send me feedback. :)
I can't think of a relevant reason why I'd need a writing prompt. If I'm stuck and not writing, a prompt would only further distract me from what I need to be focusing on.
I also think it's ironic the first three who commented here are trying to sell something. LOL.
LOL Permission to write badly is FREE. My treat! Always!
ps The daily notes are also free currently -- and most likely will stay that way for a while.