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Activities,
Prompts and Exercises Some of these activities were written by us while others were collected from other sources. If you have done other writing exercises, report them on the purplestar bulletin board. Have fun and send finished work to purplestar!
-Collage
-Concerning
the future Step # 3 ~> Stream of consciousness "seeds"
Flip through any of your favorite magazines and cut or rip out pictures that stand out to you. Create a collage using your cut out picture. Create a story using pictures or an abstract work. Take a good look at your collage and then think about it for a while. What makes it your work of art? What other things do you notice about it? Free write about your collage. Look at the themes it represents. i.e.: if there is a person smiling in the collage, does it trigger positive feelings? When you have a significant amount of writing, go to the stream of conscience "seeds" page, to learn how to take the writing and to use it to create a finished piece. | Back to top |
This exercise is really an exercise. Go outside some place where there is a lot of space. (I'd bring a bottle of water and a friend) Run around-- in circles, in straight lines, jump, dance, leap, spin, just run around and let all thoughts fly out of your head. If you do this with a friend it's even more fun. Try having a relay race: One person holds a baton and runs, skips, hops or does some sort of action to their partner. Then, they should hand the baton to their partner. The partner then spins around in as many circles as they can stomach and tries to run to another designated area. Once you and your friend are really tired and out of breath, drink some water and write for 15 minutes without stopping, about what you feel at that moment. Tell stories, make associations. If you're stuck, try writing about the word: Exhilaration, or Extreme. Then share what you wrote. | Back to top |
This activity is for two or more people. Choose a person whose writing is like your own or a person who writes in a totally different style for different outcomes. Write down "seeds" on strips of paper. These are ideas that you and your partner feel would be challenging or fun to write about. Some "seeds" can be: the sunrise, spring rain, or places you know. They can also be very specific, like: a memory you shared, or the smell on the first day of winter. Put all of your seeds into a hat and bothe you and your partner should pull one out. Once you have one, write a line of poetry that best expresses your feelings or associations with the idea. Your partner should write their own line about their own seed. Then switch, and write a line on what they already wrote. Continue switching and writing until desired length. See how your poems turn out at the end! | Back to top |
Object reflection: We pass objects that we use every day without thinking about them. This activity shows that though objects might not have real feelings, that a writer can imagine that it does, and put itself in the objects' perspective. Walk around your apartment or house and just look at the objects. Try and look for something that you use all of the time, like a spoon, hairbrush, etc... Usually the "plainer" it is, the more you'll have to write about. Now, study your object. Try to find something on it that you've never seen before. For example: "I never knew that it had a stain on it" Write down a brief description of the object. Then, put yourself in the object's perspective. What do you think about your life? Is it fun? Boring? Explain. What is your favorite saying or proverb as the object? Try to think of it's history, or what it thinks about anything. Really try to get inside of it's "head"! Write an oral history (or a transcript of their words) How would they talk? Speak for your object, and say what they would say if they could ever have a chance!
| Back to top | All of the below prompts have to do with your thoughts about the future. Pick one or more of these prompts to write about in your journal, or choose another catagory by clicking here. All of these prompts are open ended to leave room for interpretation. 1) The number one job you never want to have. 2) Keeping in touch with the friends you have now. 3) The average human in the year 3900 will look like this. (Hint: You can make a sketch!) 4) The things I'd care about if I lived to be 100 5) What is your ultimate dream for the future? 6) ----Your prompt goes here!---- Submit here! | Back to top |
-Concerning emotions and personal feelings: All of the below prompts have to do with your thoughts, personal feelings and emotions. Pick one or more of these prompts to write about in your journal, or choose another catagory by clicking here. All of these prompts are open ended to leave room for interpretation. Explain and express yourself! 1) My number one regret is... 2) Above the sky, there lies... 3) I would die for... 4) If today was the last day before the country went to war, what would you do? 5) The one line I'd never cross is... 6) If I could
have a superpower, I'd have the power of/to _________ 7) Would you rather die a free person, or live as a slave? 8) "Prisoner at Home"... 9) ----Your prompt goes here!---- Submit here! | Back to top | All of the below prompts have to do with your thoughts about changing your life (if you could, in some cases). Pick one or more of these prompts to write about in your journal, or choose another catagory by clicking here. All of these prompts are open ended to leave room for interpretation. Explain and express yourself! 1) If I wasn't myself, what famous person would I be? 2) If I wasn't myself, which one of my family or friends would I be? 3) If I could have one unusual talent, what would it be? 4) Though I like who I am (hopefully!), I'd like to add this quality to myself... 5) ----Your prompt goes here!---- Submit here! | Back to top |
All of the below prompts have to do with your thoughts concerning the past. Pick one or more of these prompts to write about in your journal, or choose another catagory by clicking here. All of these prompts are open ended to leave room for interpretation. Explain and express yourself! 1) My strongest memory is... 2) The vacation I didn't have last summer... 3) This experience taught me something that I remember even to this day... 4) The last time I enjoyed myself was... 5) "It was my party... And I cried 'cause I wanted to..." 6) ----Your prompt goes here!---- Submit here! | Back to top | |