Thursday 4 April 2013

Dancing queen...

Just got back from my writers group and realised I hadn't posted today's post for the A to Z Challenge, deary me!

Without further ado, I give you today's writing warm-up...

D is for Dance


1. Picture the scene: a young couple, in love, dancing to a live swing band. Why are you watching from the back row? Is a broken leg/shattered pelvis preventing you from hitting the dance floor? Are you a creepy stalker to one of the lovebirds? Does the trombone player have something terrible on her mind? Scribble down your thoughts in a free-flowing manner for five minutes.


2. Sketch a mind-map using the key word as the nucleus, then branch out in whatever direction you please. You might find yourself going in completely unrelated paths (which I personally prefer). Do a five-minute freewrite incorporating as many (or few) branch words as you like. Here is my mind map (created using the SimpleMind app on my phone).




3. Choose one of the following sentence starts and freewrite for a few minutes, letting the words tumble out without a second thought:

  • Today I was paired off with a new dance partner...
  • His two left feet landed me in A&E...
  • 'The customer paid for a dance,' Antonio snarled, 'so get out there and give him one, Crystal...'

I find it best not to read my freewrites for at least a few days. Why not stuff them in a drawer and surprise yourself? It's blatant evidence that our minds work in mysterious ways. Plus, I defy you not to find an array of story seeds amongst your work.

Do you have any writing warm-ups you'd like to share?

Take care,
Catherine x

Note: All photos in the A to Z Challenge 2013 are my own. Feel free to use/copy/share to your hearts content. Help yourself. :)

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2 comments:

Maria said...

Pictures are good for me. Give me an image and I can usually string a few words together.

Catherine Noble said...

I hope my swing band picture gave you some inspiration, Maria :)

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