Exercise the Mind!

Krazy Daze and I got together and created a little challenge for ourselves, to get each other writing more often and to keep our creative juices flowing.

If you haven't treated yourself to a copy of Jerome Stern's Making Shapely Fiction, I suggest you do it today! After you're finished reading the items in this folder first, of course.

Not only is it an incredibly helpful little tome, it's also the basis of the exercises Krazy Daze and I have created for ourselves. You are welcome to join in on the exercises with us!

The book has a wonderful section called "The Shapes of Fiction" and each Sunday, we reach into a baggie and pull out a shape for ourselves. Now, the rules for this exercise are as follows.

We have to write a short story based on that shape and post it in our portfolios by 5:00 p.m. the following Sunday, at which point, we will pull a shape for the next week's exercise.

If you draw the same shape two weeks in a row, you do the shape two weeks in a row. If you draw it a third week, however, you have to put it aside and draw another one.

The story has to be at least two pages single spaced, or four pages double spaced. It can be longer, but it has to be at least that long.

The story should try and follow the "shape." However, if we find ourselves writing something a bit off track, we won't hold it against the other. Writing is good! This exercise is to encourage writing, not beat us up for it!

Have FUN with the shape! This is meant to be a fun exercise to get pen to paper, fingers to key board, words on a page. Those words can be turned into something Pulitzer Prize Worthy later on. For now, just get them out there!




NOTE: The stories in this folder will be ordered newest to oldest. The most recent story/shape will be on the top for your reading enjoyment!

Thanks for reading and if you wish to play too, by all means, join us! If you don't have Making Shapely Fiction and can't get a copy, but would like to try the current week's shape, drop me an email!

And don't forget to check out Krazy Daze 's port too! His shape could be different from mine each week! Not to mention, he's an amazing writer! You won't be disappointed in his stories.