Creative+Writing

=Creative Writing Games and Activities =

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Building narratives
In pairs, take turns at telling a story. The first person begins by getting their character into trouble. "Jack was walking to school when he tripped and fell into the path of an oncoming bus." The next person then has to get the character out of trouble. "Fortunately, the bus saw him and was able to turn aside." Keep going from there! "Unfortunately, that caused the bus to hit a power pole, which began falling in his direction..."

Get students into groups of four or five. Each student needs a sheet of refill. Give them a beginning sentence, for example "I heard a crash from the kitchen." Students write out the first sentence and continue the story from there, writing in silence for 2-3 minutes. When they've written their paragraph, they pass it on to the next person in the group to continue the story. Tell the class what their role is as they start the next section - introduce a conflict, build tension, describe the climax... When it gets back to the person who started it, they get to read the completed story. (For added amusement, make each student fold the paper over before they pass it so that only the last line they wrote is showing).

Give students a list of 6-10 random items, and get them to combine them into a story. Although it can be done in one sentence, encourage them to incorporate the objects convincingly; perhaps give them a suggested word limit.

Developing vocabulary and using descriptive language
Give students a "boring" sentence and get them to develop it with descriptive details. Focus on "showing, not telling". For example:
 * I passed an old homeless man.
 * She wore a beautiful dress.
 * He looked nerdy.

Give students a story topic that is often cliched, for example a day at the beach, or a haunted house. As a class, brainstorm words and phrases associated with that topic. When they have a lot of ideas, tell them they must write a description WITHOUT using any of the words or phrases on the board. Encourage them to use originality and broaden their vocabulary.

Write 3-5 sentences about (what you did at lunchtime/what you had for breakfast/etc) without using the letter "A" (or E, or I, etc)

Write a paragraph about (school camp/a sports event/etc) without repeating any words.