10 minutes: This session I’m giving you a choice between two opening activities. Or do both if you’re keen! Let’s empty out those brains!!

Set the timer when you’re ready. Once you start, don’t stop. I want you to forget spelling, grammar and formatting. That’s not important here.

Option 1: For 10 minutes I want you to write whatever it is you’re thinking. We’re always thinking. You might write down the word “nothing” and there might be a lot of repeating at times but that doesn’t matter. No rules. Just 10 minutes of free thinking and free writing.

Option 2: There’s a movie being made about your present life with a narrator overlaying the movie. Write about the events the narrator would be speaking in the movie.

After the time is done, don’t read it. This is important. You can read it later, but don’t read it now.

40 minutes: Time to get our creative juices flowing. This time there are a few rules. So pay attention! This one might get tricky! This writing task is in four parts. Here’s the task:

1. Pick an environment you enjoy. Desert? Snow? City? Country? Mountains? A park? A forest? Anything. Pick one and describe it in 5 sentences. Now put a character into it. Is it human? Creature? Alien? Describe this character in 5 sentences. What are they doing in this environment? Now create a problem. What’s happening? What’s wrong? How is this effecting your character? (Within 5 sentences) Now have your character solve that problem but with an outcome that has somehow changed their environment. Describe those changes in 5 sentences. That means you should have four groups of 5 sentences/paragraphs.

2. Using only the 5 sentences describing your environment, take out the descriptive words (adjectives and list them. Do the same for the description of the character. Finally, take out the descriptive words of the changed environment.

3. Using these three descriptive stanzas, add another character to your original writing describing what they see but differently (you cannot use any of these descriptive words. Perhaps you used the colour blue to describe a lake. This time you might say a different shade or compare the lake to something blue. Just don’t use the word ‘blue’. Stick to the 5 sentence rule in this new paragraph. Do the same with the description of the original character. Sticking to the same rules. This time, when a problem is introduced, describe how the new character sees the problem within the same rules. Have them have a different solution. Does it clash with the original? Add a new problem that is created with this new character? Stick to the 5 sentences rule. Now solve the problem using both characters.

This exercise should have inspired new perspectives and how characters interacting with each other can really change the story. How did you go? Let me know in the comments below or give me a tweet. Are there any variations you did that you found helpful? Or did you find something challenging?

10 minutes: Read through what you’ve come up with. Does anything stand out to you? Anything you like you might want to expand on or use elsewhere? A highlighter would come in handy here. #StoryStones