Writing Activities & Assignments

I belong to four writing groups and two critique groups. Meeting with each takes up a lot of time, especially when you add driving time to the meeting times. But, even though it takes time away from actual writing, meetings can be beneficial.

Last night, at the August ETWA meeting, members read what they had written in response to the president's and last month's presenter's writing assignment - take a topic and write a 1 - 2 K short story. Any type of fiction was acceptable.

Sigh, I didn't do the assignment myself - I missed the meeting last month because I was in Wyoming - but what a variety of responses there were. I left the meeting determined to make up the assignment, so I can read mine next month during our share time. The president gave us another assignment for September. I've already written the rough draft for the first third of the assignment; I just couldn't wait.

My brain was stimulated from hearing what the other members present had done. Our assignment this time is to take a topic and write it in three different genres. These are shorter, between 250 - 500 words. I went a little over; well, alright over 150 words beyond the limit on my first version - a romance.

I've already plotted the next genre, a teen story. I'm planning on a science fiction for the third and final genre. The plot hasn't quite come to me yet, and I still have time to work on a different genre if I can't come up with one to fit the sci-fi idea.

Some writers don't like participating in writing in a different genre from the one in which they feel most comfortable. But in my humble opinion, I think it stretches me as a writer. I noticed that last night's assignments were in the same genre that each person normally writes. So this next project will force all of those who take the challenge to work outside of their normal box. It will be interesting to see what develops.