Creative Writing Exercise – Using a Jump Starter

Exercise: Read the paragraph below and write at least four paragraphs to extend the story. There are no rules to what you can add. Once you start writing try not to go back and take it in another direction.

Purpose:The purpose of this exercise is to help you get used to writing from your own creative reservoir and to get you to write based on your mood at that very moment (not what you think readers will want to read). While a jump starter may spark your creative energies, it doesn’t tell you were to go from there. It is completely up to you. A creative writer has to be come comfortable with making decisions about a storyline. Don’t second guess where you are going with it, just go with what you feel at that moment.

Tips: Try not to spend too much time thinking about what to add to this paragraph, just write! Challenge yourself to take it some place one would never expect. For instance, I could have written about two people falling in love in an orchard and you could have added imagery of the couple actually being in the imagination of a disabled woman who stares at a plastic couple inside of a snow globe everyday, wishing her life were different. Get my drift?

Add to the following paragraph: Joyce tried to blink her eyes; nothing. Her eyes were so dry they hurt. She couldn’t bare another moment of it. Joyce attempted to use her hands to close her eyelids but they too would not move. In a panic, she tired moving other parts of her body. Nothing would move. She tried to scream but also paralyzed, her mouth would not open. Joyce frantically replayed the day’s events in her mind hoping to find some answers. “Where was she? Why couldn’t she move?” she thought.

If you would like to have your story posted, please fill out this submission form. By submitting your work, you can gain valuable feedback from myself and fellow readers. I reserve the right to decline any submission for any reason.

This post was written by:

Tressa Sanders - who has written 107 posts on Three West.

Tressa Sanders, founder of Three West Creative Development, Asabi Publishing, and Ijaba Films, provides active learning, workshops for business Image, publishing, creative writing, graphics design, and filmmaking. In addition, she has authored the curriculum for the Big Bad Business Image, Concise Publishing, and Creative Writing workshops as well as several literary titles. Tressa also holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology and authored the introduction for a book titled “A Peek Inside the Goo: Depression & The Borderline Personality”. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Tressa was a well established Information Technology professional working with the largest IT, communication, utilities and financial companies in the country. Some of the companies Tressa has worked for include, the New York Independent System Operator, GE Capital Business Asset Funding, IBM Global Services, AT & T Wireless, Hewlett Packard, MCI/Worldcom, GTE, and Sprint. Her areas of expertise include: Publishing Startup & Planning, Business Image Planning, Creative Writing Development, Effective Graphics Design, Cost Conservative Filmmaking.

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