Friday 30 May 2014

Fifteen Minute Workout


BRAIN WORKOUT



The Fifteen Minute Game



Set your kitchen timer for fifteen minutes. Pretend this is a race. Write as quickly as you can. Don’t stop to think. Concentrate on filling the space with words rather than on getting it ‘right.’ Don’t worry if some of your ideas are a little crazy. Don’t worry about perfect spelling or grammar. The tidying up can be done later.



Jot down the following as quickly as you can:


Five story titles


Five names


Five settings


Five emotions


Five first sentences



Pick one from each list and just start writing until your time runs out. Don’t worry if your ideas change as you write – for instance you may decide that the story should be set on a beach rather than in the middle of a wood – or that your character’s name is Sylvie not Samantha.



You’ll probably find that you’ll want to go on writing after the buzzer goes!



(This exercise should give you enough ideas to spark your next four writing sessions).





Sue Johnson