How To Write, Even If You Think You Can't: 21 Easy Exercises To Bring Out The Writer In You

By Angela Booth

Do you find writing a struggle?

I work with writing students every day who believe that they “can’t write.” And yet, they must write, for one reason or another.

My students include:

* Business people who need to write for their job: their livelihood depends on writing frequently, and well;

* A group I call my “at last” writers, who finally have time in their lives to write. They have time to write… and now they find that the words won’t come. It’s a cruel irony;

* Hobbyist writers, who’ve enjoyed writing, but are suddenly blocked. They’re disappointed, because their writing brought them joy. They have no idea how they’ll get the joy back;

* Professional writers who’re burned out. They need to write; writing is their business. However, writing’s become a stressful chore. They procrastinate. Their clients are angry. One writer signed a book contract, and by the time she got in touch with me, the deadline had long passed.

Try these easy exercises. They teach writing processes and strategies which work.

These exercises have helped many writers. They'll help you, too.

You CAN write. It doesn’t matter why you think you can’t. You can write, and writing will become easy for you.

Each exercise in this book helps you to write, even though you think you can't. Some exercises take under five minutes. None will take you longer than an hour. 

You can build on your exercises later, if you're inspired to create a complete work. For example, Exercise #4 - Tell Me a Story, often produces seeds of stories.

Use your intuition. Pick an exercise a day – any exercise which appeals to you on that day. Alternatively, write your way through them all. You can repeat an exercise as many times as you like.

Let’s get started. These exercises will change your writing life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Angela Booth
• Release date: Jun 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533737366

Book preview

Introduction: do you find writing a struggle?

Hi Fellow Writer .

I work with writers every day who believe that they can’t write. And yet, they must write, for one reason or another.

My students include:

Business people who need to write for their job: their livelihood depends on writing frequently, and well;

A group I call my at last writers, who finally have time in their lives to write. They have time to write… and now they find that the words won’t come. It’s a cruel irony;

Hobbyist writers, who’ve enjoyed writing, but are suddenly blocked. They’re disappointed, because their writing brought them joy. They have no idea how they’ll get the joy back;

Professional writers who’re burned out. They need to write; writing is their business. However, writing’s become a stressful chore. They procrastinate. Their clients are angry. One writer signed a book contract, and by the time she got in touch with me, the deadline had long passed.

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Try the easy exercises in this book

They teach writing processes and strategies which work for others. They’ll help you, too.

You CAN write. It doesn’t matter why you think you can’t. You can write, and writing will become easy for you.

Each exercise in this book helps you to write, even though you think you can’t. Some exercises take under five minutes. None will take you longer than an hour.

You can build on your exercises later, if you’re inspired to create a complete work. For example, Exercise #4 - Tell Me a Story often produces seeds of stories.

Use your intuition. Pick an exercise a day – any exercise which appeals to you on that day. Alternatively, write your way through them all. You can repeat an exercise as many times as you like.

Let’s get started. These exercises will change your writing life.

Exercise 1. Mini meditations: let yourself BE

This writing exercise is essential if you think you can't write. The exercise is what it sounds like; it's a mini meditation, and doesn't involve writing. However, it will unlock your writing.

The beauty of this simple meditation is that you can do it anywhere you happen to be.

Take a moment to consider your breathing, and how important your breath is. Your life ends when you stop breathing. You can survive a few weeks without food, a couple of days without water, but you can’t survive for many minutes without breathing.

Breathing affects everything you do, and it's affected by everything. When you’re tense, you’ll either hold your breath, or you'll breathe more rapidly. This affects your mind and your emotions.

Think about the last time you had an argument with someone. Can you remember what your breathing was like? Consider that if you’d taken a moment or two to take several deep breaths, the argument might well have been over, because you stopped reacting reflexively.

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Breathing basics: breathe from your belly

Are you breathing correctly? Although breathing is automatic, sometimes we develop bad habits.

Do a quick check, by taking a deep breath. What part of your body expanded when you inhaled, your chest, or your belly? If your belly expanded, congratulations. You’re breathing properly.

Harvard Health Publications has a great article on breathing properly:

The article reports: Why does breathing deeply seem unnatural to many of us? One reason may be that our culture often rewards us for stifling strong emotions. Girls and women are expected to rein in anger. Boys and men are exhorted not to cry. What happens when you hold back tears, stifle anger during a charged confrontation, tiptoe through a fearful situation, or try to keep pain at bay? Unconsciously, you hold your breath or breathe irregularly.

It’s vital for your