Writing Exercises: From the Blank Page to Everyday Practice

Begin by getting to know your teacher for the course, Aniko Villalba. She tells you about her relationship with writing, how traveling helped her grow professionally, and about the artists that inspire her work.

Before you go any further, gather all the materials you need for your final project. Then discover why adopting a realistic mindset is crucial to developing a writing habit and learn about the stages of the writing process as well as how to approach each one. Aniko also gives you some tips on where to find ideas for stories and explains why writing is just like exercising.

Meet your new best friend, the notebook, and find out why you should always carry one on you, whether analog or digital. Now get ready to fill it up! Following your teacher's instructions, complete ten short exercises ranging from timed writing to documenting experiences and generating ideas; use your imagination and draw inspiration from your surroundings–even the most mundane objects can spark an idea.

Tie everything together by seeing how you can use the texts you wrote in your notebook throughout the course, as well as how to improve them. Finally, learn why knowing yourself and developing your own voice is the key to becoming a better writer and fully enjoying the act of writing itself.