10 exercise to help you escape the writing doldrums
Having trouble coming up with the right words? Unable to string more than a few sentences together? Does it seem like your brain is not cooperating in spite of that looming deadline?
Perhaps your brain needs a workout. Consider trying out a new writing exercise . . . constrained writing. It’s just what is sounds like — imposing conditions on your writing, such as disallowing certain types of words or writing to a specific pattern. Imagine writing a short story without using the letter “e” or the word “is.”
Writing with a constraint forces you to solve writing problems in new ways, as you can’t always use the words or phrases that you want to. Below are descriptions and examples of the most common types constrained writing.
1. Acrostic — a poetic form in which the first letter of each word, sentence, or paragraph forms a word or sentence.
Expect
Deep
Internal
Turmoil
2. Alliteration — each word in a sentence or phrase must start with the same letter of the alphabet.
Early exclusion eliminates excessive exposure.
3. Chaterism — a sentence or phrase in which the length of consecutive words increases or decreases mathematically.
I do not edit prose before sunrise.
4. Haiku — a Japanese poetic form written in three lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5.
Oh, Microsoft Word.
Why must you malfunction so?
Crash, force quit, restart.
5. Lipogram — writing that excludes a specific letter of the alphabet (most commonly “e”).
My piano instructor — a normally forgiving woman —was visibly angry at my unskillful playing.
Ernest Wright wrote the 50,000-word novel Gadsby without using the letter “e.” See more examples.
6. Pilish — writing in which the length of consecutive words match the digits in the number pi.
How I need a drink, alcoholic in nature, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics!
(Word length matches the first 15 digits in the number pi. Example from Wikipedia.)
7. Punctuation restrictions — writing that excludes a specific punctuation mark.
Stop the madness. Rules for exclamation points.
Also, see Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang, a novel written without any commas.
8. Reverse lipogram — writing that requires each word to contain a specific letter.
I like idle lyrics intensely.
9. Six word memoirs — tell your life story in six words.
Did I sign up for this?
10. Univocalic poetry — poetry using only one vowel.
“Her speech melted Stephen, yet he nevertheless esteems, reveres her. He bent the knee where her feet pressed the green; he blessed, he begged, he pressed her.”
Excerpt from “Eve’s Legend” by Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland
What do you think readers? Care to give any of these a try?
This post was also published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.
