Many writers struggle with writer’s block, so I'm suggesting four exercises that could be used to stimulate a writer's creativity.

1. This idea exercise originated while I was at a baby shower playing games. Place several assorted items on a tray on the table in front of your writing group. Have group members to go up and look at the tray. Tell them to pick three items on the tray to write a story about.

Having the writers use those three items in a story serves two purposes. It helps them to become more observant as well as helps them have the beginning of a story. Examples of things to put on the tray include: a plate, a spoon, a walking pedometer, a chain link, a pen, a q-tip, a picture of a furry friend, a watch, a stapler, a small stuffed animal, a shell, a plastic flower, a hat, a teapot, a paper clip, a salt and pepper shaker, a calendar, a old cell phone, a piggy bank, and a key. Just think of the combinations any one of the writers can choose to use in their stories.

Let’s say, I selected the items...a q-tip, a piggy bank, and a chain link. Here’s my story starter.

“What did you find in the old smelly box?” asked Sofia, as she plopped down on the couch beside her best friend Markey.

“Nothing much. Junk really,” replied Markey. “A q-tip, an old cracked piggy bank and a link from a chain.”

“Why would anyone save that stuff?” questioned Sofia.

The only limitation to a writer’s creativity is how big their imagination is.

2.This next exercise to stimulate a writer came to me from an unexpected but everyday source. I had gone to the local bulk food store with my friend and her four little ones. I was busy helping keep track of the kids and wasn’t paying close attention to what I was doing.

I grabbed a bag of pretzels from the shelf and put them into my cart. It wasn’t until I got home that I discovered that the pretzels were shaped like letters of the alphabet. I pulled out three letters and the idea came to me.

a. The first one was a T-which I decided to use as the first letter of my character’s name, Torionanna.

b. The second letter was a C-which I used as to determine what kind of animal my main character was. She was a Cat.

c. The third letter was a B. I thought and thought and at first nothing came. Then, like a lightening bolt, I thought of “bats”. My main character’s conflict would be that Torionanna hated bats. Thus, my story was born.

My story’s beginning was: Torionanna the Cat hated bats. Big ones, small ones, and even the teeniest tiniest ones scared her.

3. The third exercise was free-writing. I picked up a newspaper and opened it up. I closed my eyes and pointed at a topic. The topic I selected was an article on Horse Heaven, a rescue project that deal with horses that were abused, or neglected. I sat down with pencil, paper, and a timer I set for three minutes and wrote whatever came to my mind.

Here’s what I wrote:

Horse Haven, what a great idea. I wonder if there is something like this in my area. Where are they located at? How would a person know about them? How would people get a hold of Horse Haven? Does Horse Haven advertise their services?

What kind of horses do they get? There aren’t any wild horses in this area, so they must get the abused and neglected ones...or the ones that come from the poor people in our area that are leaving Michigan due to the poor economy. What happens to the poor horses? Especially those who have been traumatized by abuse? Are there horses that they can’t find homes for? What happens to those animals? Do they ever have to euthanasia an animal because it would be the most humane thing to do?

What kind of set up do they have? How many horses can they care for? What kind of funding do they have? Does this program receive local, state or federal help? What services do they have? I assume that they have a vet or two on staff?

4. If you want to try something that a whole group can do together, a Round Robin-type of exercise may do the trick. It starts by having a third party write down a list of words on a chalkboard or a large piece of paper that is equal to the number of students you are working with. Each word can only be used once. Your third party can cross off the words as they are used.

For a group of ten students the list would have ten words. It works by letting the first group member select one word from a list. That member would start a story using her/his selected word. At any time the first person can stop and it becomes the second group member’s turn to select one word.

They start their section of the story while trying to figure out how to make the story seem like it is connected. Each member in turn takes their turn to select a word and tell their part of the story. It’s a challenge to do this. It’s not as easy as it sounds but hopefully it has turned your creative juices on.