Writing Exercises

I really like the writing exercises we've done so far. At first it seemed hard to have to include all these images, ideas, settings, etc., in a play and make it make sense, but as we kept doing the writing exercises, it became easier. The hardest part of writing a play for me is coming up with the story. With these exercises, this was a lot more doable. Many times the directions for the writing exercises would be to include certain things in a scene, and I found this helpful because it gave me some direction on how to form my story. For instance, it would be a lot harder to write a scene that could be about anything and had no rules attached than to write a scene that had to follow a few guidelines.

I also think these exercises helped me think a little more creatively. The plays I wrote before the writing exercises were mostly set in a similar setting to where we live, and weren't that different from what a BC student might observe in his or her every day life. When we did one exercise, one of the images I came up with was a raccoon with a finger in its mouth. I definitely don't think I ever would have included anything like this in a play if I hadn't done the writing exercises.

The writing exercises also challenged me greatly as a writer. I'm not used to writing things with such limitations. The exercises really made me think hard about how to not only make a good and interesting play, but to do it with certain elements added or taken away. I think my playwriting ability greatly improved just from these exercises.