creative writing - high life north · 2020. 5. 15. · highlifenorth @high_life_north #myhln free...

CREATIVE WRITING

@high_life_north #MyHLNHighLifeNorth

Welcome to the HLN Creative Writing Journal!

Creative Writing is a fantastic hobby for everyone to enjoy and this journal is designed for complete beginners and those who already enjoy writing. It includes a variety of

writing prompts to help you get creative.

CREATIVE WRITING JOURNAL

PRO TIP

Before you sit down to write, go for a walk or practice some yoga. Moving the body before you sit down to write will help the process – trust me!


FREE WRITING

Getting started is often the hardest part of writing. Once you’re over the fear of the blank page words and ideas will begin to flow.

The practice of free writing is designed to get you started, writing for enjoyment rather than worrying about if the writing is ‘good’. This piece will not be read by anyone else but

instead is a sort of writing warm up.

For writers who experience writers block when working on novels or short story collectioms, this is a great way to start writing before working on their project.


FREE WRITING

To practice free writing, you’ll need a timer on a phone or watch.

You are going to write for three minutes…without stopping.

You’re not trying to write something amazing, so don’t over think this. Simply set your timer, choose one of the prompts from the following pages and begin writing without stopping. Don’t worry about what you’re

writing, it doesn’t have to make sense. This is just a warm up to start getting creative and get writing!

PRO TIP

Reading is the best way to improve your writing. Chose a genre you would like to write within and read as much as you can within that genre.


It was her favourite place, although no one ever understood why __________________________________

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WRITING PROMPTS


Her whole body was aching with the effort of running, her lungs fit to burst but she couldn’t stop

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WRITING PROMPTS


The darkness was complete other than a break in the clouds where the glimmer of the moon

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WRITING PROMPTS


She had never been so angry in all of her life _______________________________________________________

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WRITING PROMPTS


Many writers talk about ‘writing what you know’, meaning that they will use real life events, people and emotions to help them write more authentically. This can be personal, but it can also simply offer a point of reference to ensure your writing feels real – J K Rowling probably doesn’t know any wizards, but she will know people who are funny and kind and understand the way

children talk to each other and want to go on adventures.

For this exercise, we’re going to use memories to help us write.

It doesn’t have to be a whole memory, it might just be that one element of your writing is based on the memory and the rest is entirely made up. It’s your writing, so your choice

where you go with this!

You’re going to write a three-hundred-word story. It’s going to be in three parts, about one hundred words each.

WRITING FROM MEMORY


In the first hundred words, you’re going to describe where your character is. Really fill in the details, notice as much as you can, add in the senses.

For the second hundred words, your character is going to learn something. Perhaps they’ve been accepted into university, got the job of their dreams, are going

on holiday or it could be something sad like the death of a loved one, a diagnosis of a serious illness.

It’s up to you to decide the tone of the piece. But remember you’re going to describe the revelation and the emotions in one hundred words.

WRITING FROM MEMORY


For the final hundred words, you’re going to describe how the person reacts. The revelation is going to make them do something. Perhaps they decide to get in contact with a lost loved one, perhaps they’ve won the lottery and go out to spend

their winnings, only to be so careless in their excitement they have an accident.

Try to think outside of the box and if you like, try to add in a final twist in the final sentence or two.

WRITING FROM MEMORY

PRO TIP

Photo’s make fantastic inspiration for writing. If you can’t think of a memory, use google images or magazines to help inspire you with landscapes, interesting characters and items.


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Dialogue is fundamental to good writing. Even if you are purely writing for fun, dialogue is one of the most important aspects of writing (in my opinion). Think about it, if you’re watching a film and the

dialogue feels clichéd or unrealistic, the whole effect is ruined.

A good tip for starting to write effective dialogue is really listening. Normally, I would advise listening on public transport but we definitely can’t do that right now, so listen when you’re watching TV.

What works? What doesn’t?

Often, new writers will have their characters speak in a very neat, well-articulated way. They answer each other’s questions. They speak in complete sentences.

In reality, very few people talk like this. We cut over each other, we don’t answer questions we don’t want to, we change the subject. Dialogue needs to be quick, pithy and engaging, but it also

needs to have an element of mystery.

KEEPING A SECRET


For this exercise, you are going to think of two characters. Start by summing them up really quickly using the space on the right. Make sure that one or both characters has a secret.

For example: Celia Whitburn is a thirty-five-year-old mam who has decided to go traveling when her son goes to university. Josh Whitburn is a seventeen-year-old boy who thinks his mam doesn’t want him to go away to university.

KEEPING A SECRET

Character one ________________________________

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Character two ________________________________

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KEEPING A SECRET

Once you’ve come up with a quick description for both characters you are going to write a page of dialogue. You can include some description, but focus mainly on the dialogue.

The aim is to have both characters avoid their secrets for as long as possible without the piece dragging on. Make sure the characters talk over each other, avoid questions

and try to change the subject.

PRO TIP

The best way to check your dialogue is working is to read it aloud. Sounds strange, but you’ll be able to hear if it sounds natural or not.


Write the dialogue between the two characters _________________________________________________________________

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This one is definitely a fun writing exercise, in fact I’ve used it during a lot of workshops and it really gets people talking. It’s also a fun one to do with children.

You’re going to think of two books and a character from one of the books (if you’re struggling you can pick characters and scenes from a film or TV show).

Now, a character from one book is going to walk into another book. And the fun of this is creating really outlandish combinations to write something a bit ridiculous!

THE STORY MIX UP

Here are some examples to help you get started...

Book: Pride and Prejudice Character: Captain Jack Sparrow

Book: The Great Gatsby Character: Lord Voldermort

Book: Little Women Character: Miranda Priestly

You get the idea! This one is definitely just for fun!


THE STORY MIX UP

You’re then going to write a piece about the character going into the wrong book. It might become a short story as they try to escape back to their own story. Or, it might be a scene with dialogue between them and the characters in the other story or their

thoughts reacting to their new surroundings.

Book: ______________________________________________

Character: ________________________________


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Now that you’re nicely warmed up and have had a try at various writing techniques, you might wish to write a short story.

Short stories are great because you can do so much in a small number of words and they allow you to work on planning, writing and editing without having too much text to trawl through. You can also

keep track of your plan and check that it’s working.

You have free reign to write whatever you like, but to begin, the next page gives you a planning exercise to help you design your plot and characters before you begin to write…

PLANNING A STORY

PRO TIP

If you’re struggling, do something else creative like reading or go for a walk. If you’ve written something but aren’t sure it’s right, try writing again from a different character’s perspective or start at a different point in your plot.


Sum up the idea for you story in one sentence

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Describe the main character in three sentences

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PLANNING A STORY

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PLANNING A STORY

The BeginningOften, writers will accidently start their stories in the wrong place. It’s important to start at the heart of the action.

Don’t spend too long telling me about your character and story – show me! Start with something dramatic happening to capture the reader’s attention and take it from there.

One crucial thing is that the main character needs to want something and will face challenges trying to achieve their goal. This drives the plot, whether you are writing a short story, a novel or a script!

My character wants _______________________________

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The story begins __________________________________

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PLANNING A STORY

By the end of the beginning section _______________

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The MiddleThis is where there’ll be a twist or we learn something surprising about the main character.

Ideally there’ll be an obstacle to what they want and by the end of the middle section, they’ll begin working against that obstacle.

The main plot point, or twist, in the middle of my story is ____________________________________________

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By the end of the middle section __________________

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PLANNING A STORY

The EndYou have a big choice to make – will there be a happy resolution? Will there be a cliff hanger? A heart-breaking ending? Will you leave the reader wanting more? It’s important to know how you want the reader to feel at the end of the story and use that to help plan the final section of your story.

At the end of the story I want the reader to feel ____________________________________________________

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At the end of the story will the main character have got what they want and overcome their obstacle? If so, how? ______________________________

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Will there be a final twist? If so, what will it be?

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We are going to give you some space to write your short story or anything you would like! Writing should be fun and a great creative outlet and now is the perfect time to try writing for

the first time.

To help you get creative why not:

• Listen to classical music or film scores as you write.

• Go for a walk alone and think about your characters and plot before you start to write.

• Ask questions – write out a series of questions about your characters and plot and try to answer them before you begin writing. For example, is your main character brave?

Do they live in the same world as you?

WRITING FOR FUN!


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creative writing - high life north · 2020. 5. 15. · highlifenorth @high_life_north #myhln free...

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