5-Minute Writing Prompt #1

In an attempt to curb my own writer’s block, I’ve been creating activities to do when I get stuck. I’ve decided to share these on Medium in the hope that they help others. If this does inspire something you write on here, tag me in the comments and I’ll be sure to read and comment myself on it!

The Activity:

Pick a paragraph of genre writing where you can definitely tell it belongs to the genre. Make sure the paragraph has a character and the description of some action in it, not just a setting or a block of dialogue with nothing else.

Highlight the phrases that make it fit the genre. What did the author do to make it clear? Was it the type of action being done? Was it the description? Was it the word choice when describing the action (e.g. cowboys mozy, maidens float across rooms, soldiers trudge, the rest of us just walk)?

Now, replace those words with something else to try and make it fit another genre. Were the words you chose enough to get from mystery to romance? Western to sci-fi? Historical ficiton to fantasy? If not, look to see if there were more words that could get you there. If you write nonfiction, try shifting your tone to satire, science writing, editorial, etc. with the same process.

Try this with as many different genres as you can manage. You can choose another genre you love or you can really try and stretch your abilities by choosing something that feels impossible- it helps me to get out of my comfort zone and lighten up when I’m being too serious. It can also help my fiction because it requires me to see where I’m being too formulaic or vague.

If anyone wants, send your favorite before and after paragraphs in the comments. Better yet, write two versions of the same short story and link to them. I’d love to read what you create!