Creative writing exercises are designed to explore yourselves from within, tap your soul and bring to light your true emotions. We are here to explore creative writing exercises for your soul that would open your barriers and help you access your intuition and imagination that is dormant within you.
Creative writing exercises give specific prompts that help in making a shift in human consciousness and achieve transformation by tapping the inner voice of the individual. The main aspect of these creative writing exercises is the process itself and not the final result. Professional writers who are experiencing “writer’s block” can use these creative writing exercises to ease their flow of thought.
Explore your senses
Our senses are powerful enough to make us tap into our inner potential positively. Creative writing exercises for your soul facilitate writers to tune their five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell) as well as their sixth sense (intuition) and write an engaging and compelling piece to express their thoughts.
Examples:
You can explore creative writing exercises using these interesting prompts that are based on your senses.
- Think of a sound that startled you recently. Describe the sound in great detail. Elaborate on how you felt about hearing that sound. What made you so nervous? How did your body react? What did you do to come out of that fear? (Hearing)
- Visit a bakery or a fast-food center nearby where you can smell the aroma well. Describe the aroma in great detail and elaborate on how you respond to it. Do you feel hungry? Do you want to instantly taste the food? Would you want to learn the recipe and cook it yourself? (Smell)
- Visit an art gallery and pick your favorite painting. Imagine a story related to this painting and write a character that is relatable to you. (Sight)
- Ask your friends or family member to help you with this. Ask them to arrange 10 foods of different tastes at a table. You should not see them. Taste them blindfolded. Describe the taste in great detail and guess the food. How many of them did you get right? (taste)
- If you are feeling low, what would comfort you? Is it a hug? Or, would soft strokes on your body soothe you? Describe what kinds of touch make you feel good. (touch)
Imagine a conversation
Conversations are a powerful means to exchange one’s thoughts and feelings. An imaginative conversation helps you to explore not just your thoughts but also the responses you assume or expect from the person to who you are speaking. This is highly therapeutic when you imagine the listener responding to you in a way that you desire. You can try creative writing exercises by writing imaginative conversations based on certain situations.
Examples:
Use these writing prompts to write dialogues that you imagine would happen between characters.
- Imagine that you are taking an interview with your role model. It should be a heartfelt interview about what you want to learn from the person. Once you complete writing the questions, imagine what should your role model say to inspire you. This is a great way to motivate and inspire yourself!
- Imagine two characters who don’t know a common language. They communicate only through gestures. Draw the wordless conversation if you can or write only the gestures that would help anyone understand what they are trying to say.
- Think of a bitter argument that you had recently, which had no closure. Relive that argument by writing those dialogues. Imagine what would be the ideal way to end this conversation in such a way that both parties end up compromising for each other. This is a great healing mechanism for your body and mind that make you feel calm even though the reality may be different.
Take inspiration from objects around you
Objects around us can inspire us to associate our feelings, emotions, and memories if we view them creatively.
Examples:
These creative writing exercises will prompt you to look at objects around you differently.
Pick an object that you think is useless. Think of at least five creative ways in which you can put them to use in your daily life. What made you think of it as useful now and consider it useless before this exercise? Express your thoughts clearly in writing.
List down 10 things that you want to have in your bedroom. Associate each of these things with emotion and explain why these are important for you to have in your bedroom.
Consider two emotions – fear and hope. Think of five objects that you associate with ‘fear’ and another five objects that you associate with ‘hope’. Justifying by writing why you associate these emotions with each of the objects.
Write from random words
Ask your near and dear ones to tell you a few words that come into their mind. Write down these random words on a piece of paper.
Examples:
The following creative writing exercises help you to develop interesting content using these random words to develop interesting content.
- Weave a simple story by developing an interesting setting and characters using these words.
- Make one sentence each of your own with these random words. But this exercise comes with a catch. You should at least use one of the random words in each sentence. The last word of your sentence should appear somewhere in your next sentence. This exercise makes you churn out your creative juices and helps you to explore your potential.
Rewrite the stories known to you with an alternate ending
We would know a lot of popular stories – folklore, fables, classics, fairy tales, fantasy stories, etc. What if you were asked to write an alternate ending that is relevant to the modern context? These creative writing exercises help you to create your own world of fantasy taking inspiration from your favorite classics.
Examples:
- Let’s take the story of ‘Aladdin and the wonderful lamp’. Weave an interesting story around it. For example, if you met a genie, what would be the three wishes you would ask?
- If you were the farmer who owned ‘The goose with the golden egg’, what would you have done with all the eggs? How would you have handled the bird cleverly?
- If you were ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’, what would you have done if you are cheated by the king?
You can choose any famous story of your choice and rewrite it with an alternate ending.
Tap your emotions
Our personality is nothing but a reflection of our emotions and thoughts. Sometimes, we may find it difficult to explore negative emotions, which also means that when we are confronted with those emotions, we struggle to face them.
Examples:
The following creative writing exercises for your soul help you to deal with emotions that we tend to normally suppress.
- What makes you feel guilty? Narrate an incident that made you feel guilty. How would you have wanted to resolve it?
- You can use the same scenario mentioned above with different negative emotions – shame, embarrassment, conflict, etc.
You would be surprised when you complete this exercise that you would have found your own way to resolve such disturbing issues!
Read good books
Stephen King, the popular novelist says, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
There are many reasons reading books makes you a better writer.
- Reading expands your vocabulary in a big way.
- It exposes you to different writing styles.
- It subconsciously improves your grammar, sentence structure, and flow of thoughts.
- Read every day and read different materials, such as books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, press releases, etc.
Once you read, pen down your thoughts on what you understand, what you liked, and what you didn’t like. Note down new words that you came across along with their meanings and usage. This exercise helps in expressing yourself.
Get inspired by words of wisdom
Words of wisdom, such as proverbs and adages are universally true. The words are so powerful because their interpretation becomes different at different stages of our lives based on our situation. The beauty is, they hold good all the time.
Examples:
The following creative writing exercises for your soul help you to explore your dormant emotions and thoughts by tapping your conscience deeply.
- Choose your favorite proverb or saying and write an incident related to your life that is true for that saying.
- In another exercise, write an instance from your life of how things would be different if you had followed a particular proverb or adage.
These creative exercises for your soul help in self-reflection and lead to self-improvement in the long run.
Express your thoughts through a letter
Writing letters add a personal touch and help you to communicate your thoughts clearly in a refined manner. You can write a letter to your near and dear ones, your friends, or even an unknown person to explore the unknown.
Examples:
The following creative writing exercises for your soul help you to bring out your heartfelt thoughts to the people to who you write.
- Write a letter to your dearest friend expressing how much you love her.
- Write a letter to your younger self and tell how you do certain things in your childhood differently today had you known better. How would you change yourself at present to become a better person?
- Write a letter to a person with who you don’t get along expressing what is the reason behind this dissent and how you both can work things out to have a better relationship.
These creative writing exercises not only enhance your relationships but expand your realm of thinking.
Tips to get the best results through creative writing exercises
Set your intention right
Creative writing exercises for your soul not only help in self-development but also in making a difference in the life of people around you. This is because changes in your inner self also reflect on your outward personality and behavior and improve your relationship with people around you. Hence, make sure you regularly do these creative writing exercises to achieve a larger purpose by setting the right intentions.
Relax and meditate
Before you start writing, calm yourself down by taking a few deep breaths. Close your eyes and watch yourself breathe for a minute, become aware of your body sensations, and relax.
Write in silence
Ensure that you are setting in a silent and well-lit place. Look at the writing prompt for a minute or two. Don’t start writing immediately. Let the prompt sink in well so that your thought process will flow without interruption or distraction.
Set your timer
Determine how long you are going to write – 5, 10, or 20 minutes, depending on how much feel like writing that day. Once you start writing based on the prompt, write continuously without stopping in the middle. Write whatever comes to your mind without worrying about how correct or cohesive it is.
Stop when the time is up
Once the time is up, stop writing. Read aloud whatever your write. While reading, listen to yourself so that you read your spontaneous thoughts once again. You would be amazed at getting to know your raw much better than before.
The more you trust this process of creative writing exercises, the more you would explore your true self as your conscious mind will not interfere with what is stored deep within.
Benefits of creative writing exercises for your soul
Creative writing exercises have a lot of benefits if done regularly in a disciplined manner.
Self-reflection
Self-reflection helps to explore your inner self and gives you the much-required space to listen. It helps in uncovering dormant emotions and feelings, and therefore, you can overcome your fears and negativity consciously. It helps you to enjoy the silence for the time you write and makes you raw and spontaneous rather than suppressing your thought process.
Acceptance
Creative writing exercises for your soul are a very intimate process because it helps to uncover the bare truth and reveal what lies beneath our conscious mind. It gives you the privacy to face your real self and accept reality rather than escape from it.
Strong intuition
It is proven that when your write down your true feelings regularly, you also touch deep into your intuition. Creative writing exercises for your soul enhance your intuition as you learn to face the reality and accept yourself as you are. The more you are in touch with your deeper self, the stronger your intuitions.
Healing mind, body, and soul
Creative writing exercises are an incredible outlet to heal your mind, body, and soul. The more you are in touch with your true emotions, the more you align with the people around you. Be it writing a journal, poetry, or pouring your heart out with your true emotions, these creative writing exercises help to explore your dark side that you would other suppress out of fear or discomfort. While talking to people who you know helps, sometimes, there are issues that you are not able to express to be people around you. These exercises help you to vent and relieve you of that stress and burden. In fact, creative writing exercises for your soul have been known to help people overcome mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.
Tips to improve creative writing skills
- Make it a routine to write every day. If possible, try to fix a specific time for writing and follow the same.
- Practice creative writing exercises of different genres.
- Enhance your vocabulary by learning new words and using them in your daily life while writing and speaking.
- Revisit your writing pieces and improve their clarity, preciseness, and vocabulary to improve on it.
- Try to work with an editor, a mentor, or a support circle to get your creative writing exercises edited.
Henry Harvin – Creative Writing Course
Henry Harvin, the oldest training provider for content writing in South Asia, offers a hands-on Creative Writing course that enabled you to embark on your exciting writing journey. This institute is recognized by reputed organizations like the Government of India, the UK Cert, the Content Writing Association in India, the United Kingdom Accreditation Forum (UKAF), the American Association of EFL, and so on.
The Creative Writing Course offered by Henry Harvin covers various concepts and techniques of different types of creative writing, such as fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. You will learn to craft your own unique style of writing and become a flourishing writer with practice. No wonder this course has been ranked #1 in India by The Statesman!
Features of the Creative Writing Course
Henry Harvin’s creative writing course offers 9-in-1 benefits.
- Training: Creative writing exercises have been designed in such a way that students learn the nuances of writing different types of content.
- Recording of live interactive online sessions: The recording of online sessions is available 24X7 for the benefit of the students.
- Projects: Projects to get practical experience to develop original fiction and non-fiction works, including stories, poems, plays, etc.
- Guaranteed Internship: Internship Assistance is provided for gaining practical experience of the learnings.
- Certification: Henry Harvin Education offers the prestigious Certified Creative Writing Specialist (CCWS) certification.
- Placement: 100% Placement Guarantee Support for 1-Year post successful completion
- Bootcamps: Regular Bootcamps for one year after enrolment.
- Hackathons: Free Access to online hackathons and competitions.
- Membership: Get 1-Year Gold Membership of Henry Harvin Writing Academy for the Certified Creative Writing Course
Benefits of the Creative Writing Course
E-learning Portal
The e-learning portal allows 24X7 online access to course materials, tools, and assessments. Using the Moodle App, you can access easily access the learning resources. The exclusive learning management system (LMS) is available for you throughout the course.
Prestigious CCWS Certification
You get the prestigious certification on completion of the Creative Writing Course from Henry Harvin, the award-winning institute recognized by the Government of India.
1-year Gold Membership of Writing Academy
Gold Membership holders enjoy various benefits, such as recorded video sessions, live projects, guaranteed internships, weekly job support, and interview skills.
Brings Out Creativity
The comprehensive content writing syllabus helps you to discover your unique voice as a writer. The course is well-structured and designed to give ample practice for various types of creating writing exercises, such as stories, poetry, scripts, drama, etc.
What can I expect to learn from the creative writing course?
Apart from learning techniques to become a skilled writer, a comprehensive creative writing course teaches you the following.
- Understanding the different genres of writing
- Applying creative writing techniques depending on the type of writing
- Finding your unique voice and writing style
- Assessing your strengths and weaknesses while working on various creative writing exercises
- Knowledge of digital platforms where you can share your works online
Recommended reads
- What is content writing: A complete guide
- Top 20 Content Writing platforms
- 10 Best Content Writing Courses in India
Conclusion
Whether you want to become a professional writer or develop writing as a hobby, creative writing exercises are a great beginning to develop the art of writing by expressing yourself. Regular writing practice helps in opening your creative channels and accessing unexplored realms within you. Free writing is not about perfection – it is about practice, following the process meticulously, trusting it unconditionally without seeking results, and then getting in touch with your raw self. Timed writings help you develop self-discipline and produce original content based on prompts. But what is more important is, it expands your thought process in multiple dimensions so that you are not stuck in expressing yourself in unknown scenarios also.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some of the common types of creative writing include short stories, novels, essays, travelogues, memoirs, poetry, lyrics, speeches, plays, scripts for movies and television, etc.
The following people can enroll in creative writing courses: content writers, bloggers, digital marketers, business development professionals, students, teachers, trainers, lecturers, professors, and all individuals who want to develop writing skills as a hobby or a profession.
A skilled creative writer needs to develop the following basic skills: a flair for writing, vocabulary, imagination, motivation, self-discipline, research skills, communication skills, accuracy (grammar and punctuation), cohesiveness, marketing, and building a strong brand.
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at creative writing, but I wasn’t sure where to start. This article has provided me with so many great creative writing exercises to help me get started and improve my skills. Thank you
I never thought I’d enjoy creative writing exercises, but I was pleasantly surprised. They’ve helped me tap into my imagination and come up with ideas I never would have thought of otherwise. I’m looking forward to trying more of these exercises and seeing where they take me.
The collection of creative writing exercises on this website is a treasure trove for aspiring writers. From character development to storytelling techniques, the prompts cover a wide range of topics, providing ample opportunities for growth and experimentation.
I found the creative writing exercises on this website to be incredibly engaging and thought-provoking. The variety of prompts helped me explore different writing styles and develop my imagination. It’s a valuable resource for anyone looking to enhance their writing skills.