Hello everyone! We’re back with a new list of Starting Words. This exercise, again, comes from Professor Marc Kaufman’s Creative Writing class. Thanks to all of the students who reached out to us, who responded to the first exercise and took the time to write.
Starting Words: A 15-minute writing exercise
For this exercise, take a look at this list of random words. Which words are you most drawn to? Choose any of the words you see and use them to create a short piece of writing in English. You can write about a single word, or you can write about several words. Maybe one word connects to a memory you want to write about, or perhaps several words inspire you to write a short story or a poem. You can write about anything you want, go in any direction your mind takes you. The one challenge here is that once you start writing, try not to stop. Try to write for as long as you can, for fifteen minutes, generating as much language as you’re able to.
Watch this video for an explanation of the exercise:
Here is a PDF of the list of words.
Again, challenge yourself to write for as long as you can without stopping. Try to push yourself to write for a longer period than you did the first time.
If you would like to share some of your work, you can send it to us at email hidden; JavaScript is required
Enjoy the exercise….we hope you’ll find something surprising in what you write.
