Creative Writing Activities for Setting or Description

Don't know where your character should live?  Here are some way to find out:

Everything but the Eyes Many of us are visually oriented. We forget that others may respond equally well to a sense of smell or hearing. Ask writers to describe a place of importance to them using sensory details of taste, smell, hearing or touch. Anything except the visual.

Photo Shuffle This exercise encourages vivid description and also illustrates how perception will vary from person to person. Have each member in the class or workshop bring in a photograph or image, along with a short written passage describing what the image signifies to the individual. Collect the images, shuffle them and pass them out, so that no one has the image with which he or she arrived. Now have each person write a passage that describes the subject or event shown in the photo and what it signifies. Then have each individual read his work aloud. Following this, ask the owner of the image explain what the photo meant to him or her.

Skimping on Adjectives

Creative writing instructors often caution against using too many adverbs, but adjectives too can become problematic if overused. To combat that, have students or workshop members perform a simple creative writing activity: Describe something in detail without using adjectives. Note—the use of color is permitted.