On the Beach - Sensory Description Exercise

The best writers have a talent for transporting their readers into the setting of their story or poem.

This is a skill that can be learned. This prompt is a practice at using all five senses to bring a setting to life.

Prompt: On the Beach
Imagine you (or your character) are on a beach. Describe the setting using all five of your senses:

• What can you see? How does the sea look? Does it remind you of anything (i.e. can you use metaphor or simile to describe it)?
• What can you hear? Waves crashing, seagulls screaming, children playing? Describe each sound and its effect on you/your character - e.g. is it piercing, irritating, soothing?
• What can you feel? Sand between your toes, sun on your skin? Take each part of the body in turn.
• What can you smell? Are the smells pleasant or unpleasant? Do they evoke memories?
• What can you taste? Are you eating an ice-cream, or just tasting the salty tang in the air? Taste is a very visceral sensation that lends itself to rich, sensual descriptions.

Send your finished pieces (prose or verse) to freewritingprompts@gmail.com - the best ones will be published on the blog. You can include a short bio and a link to your writing blog or site, or be anonymous.

Micro Fiction Competition

Fellow writing blogger Bone Machines is running a micro fiction competition. To enter, follow the link to submit a story of exactly 50 words (excluding title). The prize is a copy of his latest short story anthology.

50 Word Short Story Competition

In ultra-short fiction, otherwise known as flash fiction, micro fiction or nano fiction, every word has to count. It's not easy to squeeze a narrative into 50 words, but it is possible. For examples, check out Fifty-Word Stories: Volume Oneand Twoby Tim Sevenhuysen, creator of FiftyWordStories.com.

As promised, your first writing prompt is coming on Friday... email freewritingprompts@gmail.com to receive reminders (your email will not be sold or spammed).

Free writing

Free writing is a writing technique in which you write continuously, without censoring yourself or going back to edit what you've written. You set a timer and keep writing until it runs out.

There are two types of free writing:

• Unguided (where you write whatever comes into your head)
• Guided (writing in response to prompts)

Guided free writing is a great way to generate ideas for a setting, character, or sticky plot point. Most of my poems start life as guided free writing exercises.

The most important thing during free writing is to keep writing. If you're using pencil and paper, your pencil should keep moving on the paper throughout the exercise. If you're using a computer, it can be hard to stop yourself from going back and editing. Using Write Or Die can help you get around this problem as it forces you to keep going!

But what if I write rubbish?

It doesn't matter. When the timer runs out, you can go back and edit what you wrote. You will probably find that you want to throw most of it away, but the joy of free writing is that in among the dross you'll surprise yourself with phrases or images that you didn't know you were capable of writing. Keep these strongest parts and build on them. This is one of the most effective ways of developing your writing, and gives much faster progress than always staying within your limits.

For more information, follow the blog or send an email to freewritingprompts@gmail.com with the subject "subscribe".

Our first writing prompt is coming on Friday... watch this space!

Welcome to Free Writing Prompts!

Every week, we'll be posting a writing prompt to give you inspiration to get writing. You can use this prompt as inspiration for a story, poem, or short descriptive piece... wherever your imagination takes you!

I'll be asking you to share your creations by sending them to freewritingprompts@gmail.com. The best, most imaginative, and most interesting responses will be posted on the blog. Get feedback and develop your writing skills by becoming part of our community.

Of course, if you don't want to share, that's fine too. Feel free to browse and use any prompts that are useful to you.

To get notifications of new prompts, send an email to freewritingprompts@gmail.com with the subject "Mailing list". Your details will not be sold or spammed and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Happy writing!