Herein begin new creativity exercises for fiction writers and essayists.
MONDAY
Work outside. Garden, paint, rake, walk, wash your car or windows, sweep, weed. At least 90 minutes.
TUESDAY
Visit a petstore or Petsmart. Guess how owners behave at home, why/how they chose their pet.
WEDNESDAY
Listen to a radio station you detest. Start stream-of-conscious writing how much you hate it.
THURSDAY
Turn on an oscillating or electric fan. Talk into it, just vowels/consonants. Noises. Until you hear the first word you want to write.
FRIDAY
Use a kid's riddle book.
SATURDAY
Choose a photo. Study. Cover.
SUNDAY
Go through an unfamiliar store department. Write down brands, odd words/gadgets.
BONUS
Buy a dictionary of famous/noteworthy individuals. (I picked famous innovators.) Close eyes, flip to a random page, drop your finger, and see who you've got.
Write about a skilled worker or craftsperson with a project half-finished, how the next steps intrude upon the moment the person inhabits.
Have the mind escape a crisis moment, like a medical diagnosis, meeting the in-law, etc.
Strive to capture the character's motivation in his/her purchase.
Use extended hyperbole, metaphors, Texan exaggeration.
Stretch your brain for a creative way to stop the song/station. How will you revenge?
Harder exercise: Rant like a prophet. What will befall the awful-doers?
Pick one and write from an observer/news reporter's point of view, as events unfold.
Pacing/timing the punch line is the point of this exercise. How much build up does your writing style require?
Describe it exactly opposite your memory.
Harder task: Be a teller of the memory to a foreigner/child.
What was the inventor like?
Imagine some quirky person that you know --like wheezy Uncle Horman--doing/accomplishing what this person did. Write a first person 'diary' or report by your quirky person.