Creative Writing Exercises - Leicestershire County Council

Small Detail
You will need:
What to do:
Section C
Longer
Exercises
• Take any small detail from a picture and write about it however you like.
• Read out the writing.
• Discuss why certain details appealed, and why the writer chose to write in the way they did.
Actual Description
You will need: or an
What to do:
• Look at the object or artwork and describe it as precisely as possible without using
metaphor or any other poetic or dramatic effects.
The use of simile is allowed. Essentially you are attempting to describe through words in
the way a draughts-person would copy.
Look At This
You will need:
What to do:
• Choose a painting and really look into it. Write notes on the details and content, be as
precise and thorough as possible (perhaps in similar way to the exercise above).
• Use the notes as the basis for a short piece of fiction, 1,000 to 1,500 words.
• The only stipulation is that it opens with the lines ‘Come on, have a good look. Look and tell
me all about this.’ These lines could also be repeated throughout the story.
Describing a Painting from Memory
You will need:
What to do:
• Stipulate a certain amount of time in which to observe the painting, this could be as brief as
20 seconds or as long as 5 minutes.
• Move away from the painting or put away the postcards, and then write about the artwork
from memory.
Exercises given by John Gallas, Mark Goodwin, Helen Johnson,
Deborah Tyler-Bennett
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