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Cool Writing Exercises

Here are some writing tips and exercises to keep you writing. Have fun.

What to Write About

Stuck for ideas on what to write about? The oldest advice is still the best: write what you know. Write what you care about. The best subject on which to write is whatever interests you. Bee-keeping. Investing. Paganism. Candle making. Hippies of the 1960s. Vegetable gardening. Church ritual. Honesty in government. Spider webs. Starting a new business. Your granddaughter. Aromatherapy. Community softball. Hang gliding. Making dill pickles. Television sitcoms. Siamese cats. Curing constipation. Caring for the aged. Square dancing. True love conquers all.

It truly does not matter. Your readers will love it if you do. Passion is contagious.

It's Not About You ... How to Write for Your Readers First

Many writers say, with great pride, that they “write for themselves,” as if this means they are a real” writer, in touch with their Muse.

Oh yeah? I think this is only true if you are writing a journal. But if you are writing to share your thoughts and feelings, then you are not writing just for you. Writing is a means of communication. All effective communication is two-way. When you write for your readers first, you must know what they care about, or what their passions are, or their fears and hopes, or their knowledge levels, and so on.

You need to find out these things because you want to elicit emotional responses in your readers. This is what will get them to listen to what you have to say. If you just slam your opinions and emotions onto a piece of paper, without knowing or paying attention to what your reader cares about, guess what? There will be no readers! ... click here to read entire article

Explore Gender Taboos

Gender-specific taboos are very powerful. We have all been told how “ladies” act and don’t act, or what makes a “nice girl” or a “bad girl.” We have all been told what qualities makes up a “real man.” We have pictures of these people in our heads. Maybe our ladies wear short white gloves and our real men ride horses. Maybe our ladies never speak about bodily functions, or they titter instead of laugh. Maybe our real men grunt in embarrassment and shuffle their feet when they speak about loving their mother. ... click here to read entire article