Freeing the Writer in You!

Freeing the Writer in You! is a self-contained writing journal of exercises for any person who wants to explore his/her writing abilities without the exposure to a class or workshop. It is also ideal for starting writing groups. The fun exercises help people loosen up and get to know each other.The author has used these exercises in a workshop of the same name many times, in many places, for would-be writers with no experience. Typically, they have come in with their heads down, muttering, "I don't know why I'm here. I really can't write." But after the first session, they left with a bit of a strut, well pleased with themselves and the level of imagination they've shown.The idea for the workshop came from the author's experience in many high-level classes and writers conference workshops, that often the best work is done to an impromptu exercise the writer approached as a fun experience that didn't 'count' as part of her/his serious work. In such circumstances, the editor in all writers can be overridden, and the imagination set free to create writing that otherwise would not have known life.The journal can also be used as a get-to-know-you party game for groups of people meeting for the first time; or for family reunions, to perhaps show everyone that they didn't know as much about each other they thought they did.