Writing Exercises

I used to write writing prompts and writing exercises daily and weekly for my site, Word Grrls. These are my posts from that site. I will add fresh writing inspiration now and then.

There are 1,701 posts filed in Writing Exercises (this is page 1 of 284).

53 Word Short Story

I found a 53 word short story contest. I like limited word story writing. You need to consider each word, work with the order of your words and still have it all make sense and be a good story. Short stories are very under appreciated.

This is the story I wrote. It’s based on an idea I had very early this morning. A longer version would give details and explain everything. But, I think this short version gets the idea across.

I hadn’t planned to spend my night waiting with the Witch and spoiled Asian cuisine in the abandoned restaurant.

“Bad business plan, cursing their annoying customers.” The Witch toys with her magic glass jar.

A tiny Oriental doll in the jar, screams, unheard. Creepy. Will my bitchy little sister even say thank you?

Les Miserables: Even After all These Years

My sister-in-law gave me Les Miserables (by Victor Hugo) for Christmas one year. It was a big book, a tome. But, I was curious. I hadn’t read the book, seen the movies or performances. Also, the story is over 100 years old (closing in on 200 years even) and I really like history. What better way to see history than from the words written by someone who was there.
Reading the book took awhile. I was glad my version of the book was translated by someone who took out some of the less relevant parts. Victor Hugo did go on about a lot of things, like the war which happened before the story in the book, the slang used in France 200 years ago and other things. The editor (Norman Denny) did not remove these sections from the book, but left it up to the reader to decide to read them or not. Which was good because Les Miserables is a very long book with a story which pauses frequently to discuss life and philosophy in what seems a roundabout way by current/ modern standards of book writing.

Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables almost 200 years ago.

Yet the story isn’t so outside of our own experience with broken families and trying to manage on a tight budget. I had expected the story to be more about poverty and drudgery. It wasn’t. It also was not just about a police chase. I had seen some of the Les Miserables movie made in the 1970s. The part I watched (before turning the channel) was all about Jean Valjean being tracked down by Javert. If this is your impression of the story you should read the book. There is more to it.

Which movie version of Les Miserables have you seen and which was your favourite?

Jenny Holzer Writes Projections as Art

Jenny Holzer is an artist presenting ideas in words for public spaces. 
The public dimension is integral to Holzer’s work. Her large-scale installations have included advertising billboards, projections on buildings and other architectural structures, and illuminated electronic displays. LED signs have become her most visible medium, although her diverse practice incorporates a wide array of media including street posters, painted signs, stone benches, paintings, photographs, sound, video, projections, the Internet, and a race car for BMW. Text-based light projections have been central to Holzer’s practice since 1996. As of 2010, her LED signs have become more sculptural. Holzer is no longer the author of her texts, and in the ensuing years, she returned to her roots by painting.
Quoted from Wikipedia.
I found her through Twitter, someone else said she was one of his favourite people to quote. My experience has been different. To me she sounds fatalistic, meaning she has lost hope and doesn’t feel anything will change for the better. 
ENJOY YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU CAN’T CHANGE ANYTHING ANYWAY
IN SOME INSTANCES IT’S BETTER TO DIE THAN TO CONTINUE
CALM IS MORE CONDUCTIVE TO CREATIVITY THAN IS ANXIETY
These are among her recent posts. The first one is current, posted today. I don’t find those inspirational and I don’t agree with them either. 
I do like some of her quotes, but these three make me worry for her. I hope she has people around to notice should she need help. 
Anyway, I posted her link and her art out of interest for the genre. I like combining art genres and styles in new and interesting ways. What would you post up on a building in lights? Something you wanted to share and inspire the world (or at least the city) with.