Johnathan Colourfield's Writing Exercises - 5. Session Five: 11th July 2011

Exercise One: Write a Drabble (100 Word Story)

Joey walked along the crowded street and wished for a better life…

He had always been moderated by others, kept in check; for you see he came from a child’s correctional facility.

When he was a young child, he burnt down his children’s home and was sent straight into the correctional facility.

But now he was 18 and he was sent out into the world. Well, not entirely. Just for a day of annual leave. Then he would meet the officer and they would go into a real prison.

He wished he could be like the bird, free and everlasting…

Exercise Two: One major part of the creative process is creating new ideas for stories. Create an overall generalised plot in the style of Erotica. This is a challenge to plot outside of your comfort zone. Your situation is: Two boys, friends, have been kicked out of home.

I would have the story start with an all out sex scene between the two boys. Link into small amounts of context but not too much because that doesn’t fit the style.

After the scene, I would have them travelling. They talk about what just happened. They are both straight but wanted to experiment.

They go to work. They go back home but the door is locked. Notice on the door: “Not welcome here. We know what you were doing.”

They are now homeless. They end up living on the street together.

End up in a hostel. An orgy. The sense of realisation from one of them.

Apology. They end up in their old home again. All is well. Flirtatious comments throughout.

Exercise Three: One major part of the creative process is creating new ideas for stories. Create an overall generalised plot in a Historical style. This is a challenge to plot outside of your comfort zone. Your situation is: Two boys, friends, have been kicked out of home.

The story starts with the two boys, now men, in their old age. They look back on what happened when they were 18.

Flashback to their younger days. They end up together. One of them come from a religious family. This is in the 60’s, so there was still some prejudice and AIDS was just starting to spread.

They were lovers, in secret. The second boy was married.

Insert facts about the period and how AIDS affected the homosexual community but also slip in a mention of ‘Free Love’. Maybe the second boy’s sisters are ‘free lovers’ and they go around in their camper van, you know the stereotypical images.

Anyway, they end up together after many tribulations with family and suchlike and end up living together for years.

One of the men has an AIDS scare when they are older; but they end up happy as he is given the all clear. If there is such thing as an All Clear from an infection like AIDS.

Return to modern day. The man with the religious parents dies in his sleep. Aww. Sad.

The second wishes he could go back to his younger days. He doesn’t want to live any more but does go on living, in loving respect of the lover he once enjoyed most of his life with. Awww. Cute. Kinda happy yet sad ending.

Exercise Four: Finish each of the following phrases with the metaphor or similie that first comes to mind.

The hot wax dripped from the table like the first snowdrop of winter.

The old lottery tickets on the empty train station seemed like an aged old mystery, never to be solved.

The oars on the boat rowed as if they were coming from some mutated super-animal.

Leather is like muscles stretched taught over bone.

Kevin swallowed the coffee as if this was the last chance he would get to drink in his current establishment.

The waves rolled over the sea with the power several thousand iced east winds…

If I should wake before I die, then it would be like transfiguration of my soul and mind.

Sand in a bottle is like keeping a fish out of water.

An unread obituary is like kicking someone when they are down.

She watched the car rolling towards her from the wreckage as if she knew this day was coming for a very long time.