catedwrites

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@hypxrreal

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6 Quick Writing Exercises to Wake Up Your Imagination

We all hit those blah writing days. Your fingers are ready, your doc is open... and your brain goes static. That’s where writing exercises come in — small creative boosts to shake off the dust and get back into your story flow. Here are six to try when your words feel stuck in traffic.

1. The 5-Minute Word Sprint

Pick a random word (use a generator or close your eyes and point at a book), set a 5-minute timer, and write anything involving that word. No stopping, no deleting.

2. Dialogue Without Context

Write a short convo between two people. No descriptions. No setting. Just back-and-forth lines.

3. Rewrite a Scene in Another Genre

Take a scene from your current story and flip the genre. Drama becomes comedy. Fantasy becomes sci-fi. Romance becomes horror.

4. Describe a Place Using the Five Senses — No Sight Allowed

Can’t mention what anything looks like. Only sound, touch, smell, taste, and intuition.

5. Character Swap POVs

Write a paragraph from the POV of a side character reacting to your main character. Bonus if the POV is brutally honest or completely wrong.

6. One Line Story Hooks

Write 3 one-sentence story starters that make you want to keep writing. (Example: “I woke up married to my enemy, and worse — he knew it before I did.”)

You don’t need to write a masterpiece every day. But showing up — even for a silly exercise — keeps the creative part of your brain warmed up. Try one of these before your next writing session, and see where it takes you. 🍒

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When on Earth can I go back to Fableland? All too often, as soon as I close the pages of a book, I'm onto the next one, into another world, the setting that the last author created not...forgotten, per se, but subsumed by my own voracious appetite for reading. But I haven't had it in me today, to leave Howe's Fableland after finishing Love at Full Tilt. I keep wishing that it existed. I keep wishing I could see the movies. And yes, I know that Fableland is a stand-in for Disneyland and I could go to Disneyland if I really wanted, but that's beside the point. I love how joyful this book is. How it is as much about romance as it is about friendship and personal growth. How painfully real Lia is and how much her friendship made me smile, how much her parents made me cringe, how much her relationship with Mason made me kick my feet with glee. My recommendation for this is absolute: for young adults, for adults wishing to be young again, for Disney adults, for those who need the magic of Disney again. For the fat girls, for the girls pressing against the seams of the world.

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"Being self-aware is the enemy of all creativity. Because as soon as you start thinking about yourself and only yourself, you stop creating."

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A girl lost in the woods is a different sort of creature than a girl who walks purposefully through the trees even though she does not know her way.

This girl in the woods is not lost. She is exploring.

Erin Morgenstern - The starless sea

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add yours!

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OP made the post unrebloggable but said it's fine to screenshot and I'm in love with this

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defend joy as a destiny defend it from fire and firefighters from suicides and homicides from vacations and ruts from the obligation to be joyful

A Defense of Joy

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EMMA (2020)

dir. autumn de wilde

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First Time Sharing a Bed Dialogue Prompts

✮ “is it okay if i sleep this close? i promise i won’t take too much space.” ✮ “your heartbeat is louder than the city outside.” ✮ “this pillow’s yours now. no arguments.” ✮ “if i fall asleep touching you, don’t be surprised.” ✮ “it feels... safer, with you here. less lonely.” ✮ “you’re warm. dangerously so. i might never let go.” ✮ “i thought i’d be nervous, but you make it feel easy.” ✮ “you move in your sleep. it’s kinda cute, actually.” ✮ “i like the way you breathe when you’re drifting off.” ✮ “stay. please. just until morning.”

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i need this summer

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daydreaming isn’t enough i need it to happen to me in real life

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Avery Arujo has a rock-solid premise in Once Upon a Blue Moon, with enjoyable characters and a a plot that rockets along. It ticks the boxes for a "clean" romance, but never quite surpassed the basics for me.

My biggest issue was the writing style--it was very "tell" rather than "show," which became ever-clearer as the climax approached and the emotional stakes continually fell flat for me and the real physical/magical stakes felt stilted. I can see this writing appealing to some, especially those transitioning into adult romance or adult paranormal fantasy books. However, for me, it work.

I always feel bad not being able to enthusiastically praise a debut, indie author and book. I want them to be successful, and I think Arujo has the building blocks for a good book, but ultimately, it wasn't for me. Thanks to NetGalley and AA Lit for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

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Such Sights as Youthful Poets Dream

illustrated by Walter Crane (1869)

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The CEO I Hate is surprisingly….not filled with a lot of hate. Or at least the first part is, and it’s deliciously banter-y, but that quickly changes once our leads get together. While I felt as though the story really slowed down at that point, this was still an engaging read and a fun contemporary romance. My biggest complaint is the wire characters felt very flat and one-dimensional; I have a feeling subsequent books will focus on some of their stories— it will be interesting to see how North fleshes them out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Relay Publishing for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.