Writing Exercises - 2
Some other things for you to try...
In this post I’m going to suggest six poetry-related exercises. In this case the exercises are a combination of both type-1 and type-2. Remember:
type-1 is where the exercise acts as a prompt to write;
type-2 is where the writer is challenged to do something outside their comfort zone or where the constraint is significant enough to force them to try something new / look at language in a different way.
So Poets, if you haven’t already, have a go at these:
Write a ‘Found Poem’. Take a sample piece of prose (ideally non-fiction) - e.g. article, museum catalogue, tv & radio guide - and create a poem using only a selection of words taken from your source; the final subject does not need to be the same as that of the article. (2)
Create a 'Haiku chain'. In this collaborative exercise, the first person writes a Haiku, passes it on to the second who writes another 'in response', then passes to the third etc. Probably best with 2-to-6 people. After one, two or three iterations, the chain finishes with the first person writing the last Haiku. (1/2)
Create an Ekphrastic poem based on another work of art e.g. picture, photograph, sculpture. Think Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn. The trick here is (in my opinion) not to simply describe what you are seeing, but to use the experience to trigger a fresh response e.g. an emotional reaction, a memory etc. [See my work-in-progress post about the Grimsby Docks photographs.] (1)
If you only write free verse, write a formal poem e.g. sonnet, sestina, villanelle, ballad etc. A good villanelle is a real stretch! (2)
Editor. Take a poem written by an established poet and edit it to try and make it ‘better’..! This exercise helps you look at different styles / language that may not be natural to you. Obviously this is a strictly private exercise; you wouldn’t want to try and publish your output or submit it to a competition or magazine! (2)
Transformation. Similar to ‘Editor’ (and with the same caveats!) take a poem written by an established poet - e.g. ee cummings, TSEliot - and transform it into either your own or another poet’s style. This can be great fun, especially in writing groups. I’ve heard Pam Ayres’ I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth rewritten in the style of Sylvia Plath!
More exercises soon. Have fun!