105 creative writing exercises to get you writing again. Try these short, 10-minute creative writing exercises to beat writer's block.
Sometimes deleting a scene can be the best thing you can do for your project
There's a lot of ground to cover when you teach creative narrative writing. Here are 5 creative narrative mini-lessons you should be sure to use!
Writing is one of my favorite times during the day! In these first few weeks of school, my students have blown me away with their creativity in their writing. It excites me for what is to come this year! The best thing about being part of the College of Education was you got to pretend you were a kid again. We participated in several lessons that were applicable to our classrooms. In a writing course, my junior year, my professor led us on a Writing Marathon. Our mission was to roam campus for an hour and find different locations to write. He sent us on our way and told us to return in 60 minutes! In my Writer's Notebook, I wrote down my sights around Brady Commons, the Columns, and the steps of the College of Ed. Thinking back on that day, I remember having a great time with friends and writing ..writing... and more writing. I decided to test this strategy out with my kiddos this year. My school utilizies the 6+1 Writing Traits program and our first trait is "Ideas". We have been working on gathering ideas and zooooooooming in on one idea. After specials, I told my kids to grab their Writer's Notebooks because we were taking a little marathon. Their goal: use their 5 senses and observe the area they are in. Minimum of 4 sentences per location! We hit up the following spots in school: Classroom Front lawn Cafeteria Library Playground I had the best time reading through their entries. Several cracked jokes and expressed hunger throughout the process! Besides getting to move around the school, my students practiced generating ideas and focusing in on one idea at a time. I don't know about you but I love anchor charts. It's a great time for the class to get together and collaborate ideas. I believe that charts created together are more powerful than pre-made ones. Yes, I have store bought posters on my wall... but I also have ones we made. It's a nice mixture! You can take the girl out of second grade... but you can't take the anchor chart out of the girl! That's the saying, right? Anywho, here are a few fun anchor charts from around the web. Click the captain for the source! The First Grade Parade First Grade Parade Mrs. Williams Kinders I need to stop this late night blogging. What has gotten into me!? It's bedtime. But first, I'm obsessed with this performance from the VMA's. Enjoy! 2011 VMA - Music - Beyoncé
Here are five daily creative writing exercises that you likely won't see repeated across the internet. Try them and soak up the inspiration.
Fire up young minds with 251 FREE writing prompts for kids! Think outside the box and craft amazing stories, poems, and whatever their creativity cooks up!
You're in the middle of your writing block during the day and students are sitting at their desks (maybe on the floor or in bean bags dispersed throughout the room) writing. Smoke is coming out of their pencils. They are writing epic stories about dragons, or spaceships -- or something equally as epic. This is your classroom every day, right? (Not) "I don't know what to write about!" (now that's more like it!) At least that's what *I* used to hear a lot. Well, no more. Give even those most reluctant writers something to talk about with "Roll and Write." You can make anything work if you turn it into a game, right? Here's how it works. You give each student a copy of the page below to place in their writer's folders. When they are stuck on what to write about, they simply roll a die three times. The first roll indicates the setting of their story (so if I roll a 3, my setting is a party on Friday night). The second roll gives them a character, and the third roll gives them a plot. The stories can turn out pretty hilarious. It encourages creativity and originality. No three rolls are the same. This freebie even includes a blank 'Roll and Write' sheet for you to swap out new combos every so often. Even that student that hates writing can get on board with a story about a frazzled teacher at the beach last summer that breaks her ankle. Oh shoot - did I just jinx you? I wish you no harm, a teacher needs her summer! :) Grab your freebie here! I'd love to hear about the stories your students come up with! Pin this post for later:
Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, […]
A blank novel outline template for use with Google Docs, Google Keep, and Scrivener. The One Page Novel is a simple, memorable structure for novelists.
I asked my Instagram followers,“What are some signs of amateurish writing, in your opinion?” Here are the results!
She had heard his excuses before, thousands of times, but this time she was sick of them. She had never known that a human body could twist into that position. The bookcases tilted at a precarious angle over the sleeping infant. He was a brave man except when it came to small, tight spaces like […]
Do you have an idea for a novel? Before you start writing, here are two exercises that will help you test out your story idea before penning the first draft!
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month—write a 50K word novel during November) starts today, and while I plan to continue blogging throughout NaNo, I wanted to make sure I gave you something good to keep you happy during my crazy month. *smile* Of course, whether or not you’d define today’s post as anything good might depend […]
Need a simple way to visualise your character arc? Print this worksheet + learn about Kurt Vonnegut's hilarious story shapes.
I believe there's a writer inside of all of us. Discover these essential creative writing exercises can help unlock your inner voice.
Want to write a story that works? Learn how to plot your novel using the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet in this post! (Free worksheet included!) #writingtips
This guide has 5 great ways to start your story if you're stuck.
A summary of the comprehensive outlining method developed by Youtuber and writer, Kat O’Keeffe.
What is blackout poetry? Poetry writing that all students can feel successful with. Here's how to teach it. Freebie included!
How to write a novel is a legitimate question. It can be a scary and overwhelming concept. Novels go unfinished all the time, and writers everywhere get frustrated and discouraged.
These methods of outlining will help you create a novel outline that makes writing your first draft a breeze, whether it's your 1st or 10th time writing a book.
Nametag - "Hello, I am " patch The white space is twill and you are able to write whatever you want (limited by your creativity) into it with a permanent marker. Size: 4.4cm tall & 8.5cm wide Embroidered Iron-on patch
How many times have you tried creative writing with your child or student, but wound up looking for where they were hiding? It's not because they hate learning, and it definitely isn't because your kid is dull. Sometimes, kids just need a little incentive. No, we’re not talking about candies and ice cream. They’ll lik
Welcome to the 30-Day Short Story Writing Challenge. You need to use the prompt in the checklist and create a short story.
Imagination Workout Printable Click the link above to download Attalie’s Imagination Workout free printable art worksheet.
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Join hundreds of writers who use this magical story structure to transform their lives, and their novels. All you need is one page...
Whether you are trying to write a novel, pen an epic poem, or maintain a blog about this or that, it’s inevitable that you will at some point experience one of the following: lack of inspiration decrease in motivation general malaise writing burnout general I-don’t-give-a-shit Some people refer to these symptoms as “writer’s block,” but I … Continue reading What to Write About When You Have Nothing to Write About
Here you'll find out how to outline a novel step by step and you will be able to download a novel outline worksheet so you can outline your story.
A great activity to teach point of view! The students will complete a police report as if they were responding to the neighbor's call in “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The students must demonstrate their comprehension of the story and their ability to use textual evidence to describe the crime scene and explain what they found. More About This Product This fun, no-prep activity allows students to practice a little creative writing while also working on their textual evidence skills and demonstrating their comprehension of the story. They will create descriptions of the victim, suspect, and the crime scene as well as gathering information from an “interrogation.” Teachers will love watching their students find and use textual evidence to write their reports and students will love having a little creative liberty! This activity pairs well with a longer unit study of Edgar Allen Poe’s work. You Might Also Be Interested In… Student Grades Management Game Plan: Help Your Student Get Back on Track The easiest way to get students to turn in their missing work is to allow them the time to create a plan to get it done. This sheet allows students to prioritize their missing assignments, figure out what they need to do to prevent it from happening again, and plan out when they will turn in missing assignments. DIGITAL 100-Word Scary Story: A Suspense Creative Writing Activity Give students a creative way to demonstrate their understanding of suspense! This digital Google Docs activity asks them to write a 100-word scary story using at least three of the four ways writers and directors develop suspense: music, setting, sound effects, and surprise. The added challenge is that the story can ONLY be 100 words! Tips for You! Click the star next to my seller logo to follow my store for product updates and sales! Please rate my products with feedback to earn TpT credits for future purchases! Contact me through Product Q & A with any questions, concerns, or problems! I’d love to hear from you!
Hi Friends! Confession time…writing is my LEAST favorite subject to teach. I know, I know…teachers shouldn’t have favorites! In all seriousness, teaching writing to first graders was not my favorite subject to teach. I was in a place where I thought, “If it’s boring to me, isn’t it boring for them?” I desperately needed to spice things up. That year I made it my professional goal to improve my writing instruction. I spent time reading, researching best practices and developing a system that would work in my classroom. As a result the Daily Quick Writes were born. The idea behind the quick write is to focus more on the quality of writing, instead of the quantity. A quick write prompt should only take 5-10 minutes…we all have time for that! The prompts are versatile and cover a wide range of topics. They were designed to encourage your students to express themselves as they learn the art of writing! I typically used a writing prompt a day as a writing workshop warm-up, however it can be used any time that works for your classroom. The original Daily Quick Writes were designed for kindergarten and 1st grade students. When I moved to 3rdgrade I developed Daily Quick Writes for BIG KIDS. The prompts are similar, providing an amazing opportunity for differentiation! Over the past few years I have had many requested for a blank version of the Daily Quick Writes paper. I have good news friends, I FINALLY did and it is a FREE download! Daily Quick Writes Subscribe to get the your download & check your email! Subscribe Powered By ConvertKit Daily Quick Writes for BIG KIDS! Subscribe to get your download & check your email! Subscribe Powered By ConvertKit
If you're writing a book for the first time and you're not sure what the steps to do it are, you can follow these simple tips to start writing your novel.
A detailed beginner's guide to writing on the popular newsletter (and blogging) platform—Substack. Includes tips to go from free to paid.
Rivals to lovers is a popular trope in the romance genre. It's like enemies to lovers, but typically less of a searing hatred.
The six word memoir is a quick and creative way to get students thinking and writing about their own lives. Whether you use it for an icebreaker (which makes a great display!) at the start of school or as part of an identity or personal narrative unit, this engaging activity pulls together reflection, writing and visuals to produce a memorable moment of connection with your student writers. This curriculum set now comes with a Google drive link to an editable version of the student instructions and handouts. I hope that's helpful! From the Reviews: "I'll be using this during the first week of school with my sophomores. I've done six-word memoirs with my students before, but I love that you have added an artistic element. I also appreciate the short reflection assignment, as reflection is a very important part of my classroom culture. Thanks!" "Great activity to use during the first week. Will be using as a lead in to a 5 paragraph essay. Thanks!" "Easy to use. Open-ended enough to allow creativity." Here's what's inside: Clear project instructions Two template options to help students combine their words and imagery An optional reflection to extend the writing process once the six word memoirs are complete Please check out the preview to see the handouts in detail. Looking for more creative ideas for your English classroom? Check out The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast! Did you enjoy this activity? Please share your thoughts by leaving a review! You'll get free credits towards your next purchase, and think of the karma. Love combining visuals with ideas in class? Check out these popular one-pager activities.
20 Free Name Activities for the First Week of Kindergarten. Check out these amazing hands-on and fun name activities! Integrates multiple skills.
You've probably seen them around every time a creative conference ends: beautifully hand-drawn notes that summarize big ideas using simple visuals. If
If you are trying to decide what to write in a wedding card then this article is for you! We all have weddings that we go to at least once a year or every
