↓ Click for Links to Books & Interviews ↓ Musicians practice scales to strengthen their skills like rhythm and timing. Artists might sketch a hundred faces before they’ve mastered drawing one realistically. Dancers will practice a dance move countless times until their footwork and technique are flawless.

Just like those other artists, writers can sharpen specific skills through deliberate practice.

In this video, I’m sharing five powerful creative writing exercises from famous authors that will help you practice essential skills like crafting vivid descriptions, writing effective dialogue, creating compelling characters, and more.

FURTHER RESOURCES
My free email newsletter, The Inkwell: http://nicolebianchi.com/newsletter/
Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight: https://www.amazon.com/CreatingShort...
Toni Morrison Interview: https://arts.gov/stories/magazine/201...
George R. R. Martin Interview:    • George RR Martin on How to be a Great...  
Story by Robert McKee:
https://www.amazon.com/StorySubstanc...
Dani Shapiro Interview:    • Dani Shapiro's Writing Process & The ...  
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury: https://www.amazon.com/ZenArtWritin...
Hemingway's Favorite Writing Exercise:    • Ernest Hemingway's Favorite Writing E...  

TIMESTAMPS
0:00​ Intro
0:46 Exercise for Captivating Setting & Mood
3:01 Exercise for Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
5:18 Exercise for Writing Great Dialogue
6:43 Exercise for Writing with Originality
8:50 Exercise for Overcoming Writer's Block
11:48 Final Thoughts

Hi, I'm Nicole Bianchi! I’m a writer of short stories and memoir essays as well as a copywriter and production manager at a marketing agency. Here on my YouTube channel, I make videos that will help you take your storytelling, copywriting, and marketing skills to the next level so you can communicate your message effectively, tell powerful stories, and inspire more people with your words.

Subscribe now, and join the #InkwellWriters community. Here are some other ways to connect.

1. Join my email list & get the free writing guides: https://nicolebianchi.com/newsletter
2. Read my short stories and memoir essays: https://nicolebianchi.com/stories/
3. Check out more writing resources on the blog: https://nicolebianchi.com/blog/
4. Support my videos by buying me a coffee: https://kofi.com/nicolebianchi

Photo & Video Attributions

Photo of Dani Shapiro © 2018 by Larry D. Moore, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dani_Sh...
License CC by 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Photo of George R. R. Martin, courtesy of Worldcon 75 PreHugo Portraiture by Henry Söderlund,
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Qi...
International License CC by 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Photo of Ray Bradbury by Alan Light, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bra...
License CC by 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Photo of Robert McKee by Aleksandr Andreiko on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9642070...
License CC by 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Photo of Toni Morrison, public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Stock Footage from Envato Elements, Stock Photos from Canva