DECEMBER 2024
Exercise #1 - Scent
Bringing the senses into a piece of writing can illuminate descriptions of scenes and characters. Descriptions of sounds, tastes, and smells will draw the reader into the world you are creating.
Describe an everyday object or a place primarily through its smell. Be as detailed and precise as possible.
Exercise #2 -Elizabeth Costello
Writing from the perspective of a character if the opposite sex and finding a truly representative voice is a very important, and difficult, skill.
Write an account of a small episode in which you hail a taxi but as you are getting in another person pushes past you and gets in. The taxi drives off. Describe what happens and what you are thinking. Does the other person say anything? If so, what do they say and how do they sound? Do you say anything? Then, flip the sex of the two protagonists around and rewrite the episode from the point of view of somebody of the opposite sex. Do the nuances of language change? Does the episode change in any way?
Exercise #3 - N + 7
A classic Oulipo writing constraint is N+7, whereby every noun in a sentence ius replaced by the noun seven places forward in the dictionary.
Write a short piece of writing on any subject you like, using any writing method you like, whether it be first person monologue, an account of your day, or just a single line of fiction. Once complete, grab a dictionary. Work through your piece, replacing every noun with the noun seven places forward in the dictionary. Once you've finished, read your writing back. How does it read? Does anything new and surprising jump out at you? Are there any new objects, ideas, or thoughts that might lead you onto another thought pattern for a new piece of writing? Or can you take your existing piece in a new direction?