creative writing workshops for adults

Search for a Class

Upcoming events, writers coffee break, queer writers meet-up @ eleanor’s nfk, show & grow your prose, writers zoom meet-up.

View Events Calendar →

Support the Muse

The Muse Writers Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and your tax-deductible donation will help us continue to grow and serve the Hampton Roads literary community, including offering scholarships and tuition help as well as through our outreach programs to youth, seniors, and the military community.

The Muse Writers Center celebrates creative writing and the literary arts throughout Hampton Roads, Virginia, the nation, and beyond. We offer in-person, online, and hybrid creative writing classes, workshops, and seminars in every genre (fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, songwriting, and comic book writing, as well as craft and professional development) for beginning and experienced writers--whether they be adults, children, or teens. In our Norfolk literary center, we house a library and space for writers to work and meet. We host diverse and culturally relevant literary events, readings, open mics, and special events at The Muse, around the region, and online for every audience. We never turn anyone away from a class because of their financial situation and have provided tuition help and scholarships to more than 4,000 people. Our engaging and creative outreach to youth and schools, senior living communities, and the military community is always expanding.  More about us →

Our Students Say

I think the Muse is brilliant and that Norfolk/Hampton Roads is unbelievably fortunate to have this resource. And that I am beyond fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of it, for which I am incredibly grateful for the Muse’s generosity in allowing me to participate in spite of my current state of very limited income.

Coming around the Muse is the most ‘at home’ I’ve felt in a long time. So glad you all are around.

The Muse keeps me afloat, and is the best community I’ve ever found. Thank you.

The Muse is the place where I can open my mind and let my thoughts out, since I can’t do that anywhere else, like in school. It’s more of a creative place where there are other people like me, and I can share my opinions and views and get feedback as well. I have definitely improved my poetry, and also I have started getting into screenwriting, and the classes give me short story ideas. I want a career as a writer; I aspire to be a professional author and poet.

Thanks for creating an outlet and community for something I’ve always wanted to do. I especially appreciate the rigor that The Muse provides. I’m always impressed by the caliber of the instructors and my fellow students. Keep up the good work!

The Muse is an amazing place and the fact that it is available even when I can’t afford to pay speaks to the true support of writing and all creativity. It is a quality place, and I am learning so much.

Welcome to The Muse!

READY TO WRITE?

HAVE THE MUSE SEND YOU CLASSES, TIPS, & TRICKS STRAIGHT TO YOUR MAILBOX :

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You’ve been successfully subscribed to our newsletter!

NEW VIDEO COURSE

Learn How to Write a Novel, Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class.

Learn How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months.

31 Best Adult Creative Writing Classes in 2024

Showing 31 courses that match your search.

Writing a Resume For Success

Kansas City Public Library

Applying for college or a new job is a daunting task, but having a good resume can alleviate some of the stress. In this class, gather tips and guidelines on how best to showcase your skills.

Website: https://kclibrary.org/blog/library-launches-online-writin...

Categories: Adult

Start date:

Open all year round

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Story Writing: How to Build Background With Imagery and Setting

This class is all about writing sensory descriptions and creating a sense of place in writing fiction. Discover how descriptive language can help ground your reader and create thought-provoking imagery that adds to the tone and intrigue of your story.

Website: https://kclibrary.org/calendar/story-writing-how-build-ba...

April, 2024

(Re)writing as Therapy

One of the most potent powers of writing is its ability to remold the past. In this class, we’ll use writing to explore past events, discovering how imagination can reframe good or bad times. You’ll even have the opportunity to literally rewrite a past event if you’d like.

Website: https://kclibrary.org/calendar/rewriting-therapy-0

How to Write a Novel

Your story matters. Unlock your potential with daily video lessons from bestselling ghostwriter Tom Bromley, and finish your first draft in just 3 months. Learn more →

Reedsy's course, led by Tom Bromley, is a 101-day program aimed at helping writers finish their first novel draft. It includes daily video masterclasses, a structured approach for drafting, and access to a forum and live webinars for interaction and feedback. The course covers various aspects of novel writing, including preparation, character development, plot skills, and writing techniques.

Website: https://reedsy.com/learning

Andrea Beginners Creative Writing Course March 2024

In this practical class, you'll learn techniques to unlock your creativity even when inspiration seems scarce. By the end of the course, you'll be equipped with a toolkit full of writing hints and tips. Additionally, you'll join a supportive global community of Black Women & Women of Colour writers, fostering connections and support.

Website: https://www.rewritelondon.com/product/andrea/

March, 2024

Adult Writers Circle

The Writers Circle

Led by Judith Lindbergh, this virtual 11-week workshop caters to adults 19 years and older. It focuses on various writing forms and genres, offering a supportive environment for developing writing skills. Key aspects like structure, character development, and style are emphasized, along with guidance on the publishing market.

Website: https://writerscircleworkshops.jumbula.com/2023WinterWork...

Creating Complex Characters

Dive into character development in this class, where students learn to add real human depth to their characters. By creating detailed backstories and understanding life-altering scenes, students will move beyond standard roles to develop characters whose personal traits make their story roles not only feasible but essential.

Website: https://litreactor.com/classes/creating-complex-character...

The Creative Writing Project

Contemporary Arts Center

The Creative Writing Project is a series of workshops tailored for adult writers at all levels. It provides a platform to delve into creative writing, supported by a community of writers and educators. Each month-long series features guidance and instruction from a diverse group of local and published writers.

Website: https://www.contemporaryartscenter.org/discover/programs/...

Bring Your Book to Life

This 10-week live webinar series is designed to help participants write, publish, and monetize their non-fiction books. It provides guidance on taking a book idea to the first draft in just 10 weeks, offers strategies for efficient writing, and helps in structuring and titling the book to resonate with the target audience. The program also includes a private book writing consultation session with Lisa Tener, personalized feedback on outlines, and advice on finding the right tone and structure for the book.

Website: https://www.lisatener.com/book/

Prerequisites: Before the first weekly class, you should have a book concept, content and structure.

How To Write A Book Online

Writers Write

This course provides a personalized learning experience for aspiring authors, focusing on turning ideas into plots, creating memorable characters, and the art of show-not-tell in writing. It includes eight 45-minute Skype sessions with a writing coach, immediate access to 60 modules, a printable workbook and PDF course, and practical exercises with feedback. The course is designed to be engaging and interactive, ensuring students receive personalized guidance and support in their writing journey.

Website: https://www.writerswrite.co.za/product/how-to-write-a-book/

The Write Your Memoir Course

UK Writers College

Ideal for anyone with a life story to tell, this course guides you through crafting a compelling memoir. With the support of a published writer, you'll learn traditional editing techniques, find your voice, structure your story, and start your manuscript with a 10,000-word target. The course includes seven modules with personalized feedback, fitting around your schedule over a 12-month period​​.

Website: https://www.ukwriterscollege.co.uk/write-your-memoir-cour...

The Classic Storytelling Course

The Novelry

This self-paced, year-long course consists of 55 lessons and includes a 45-minute coaching session. It focuses on developing storytelling skills, creating compelling characters, and constructing engaging storylines. With access to over 40 live classes and workshops a month, it's ideal for writers at all stages, including beginners, and is designed by a Booker Prize-listed author​​.

Website: https://www.thenovelry.com/courses/the-classic-course

How to choose an adult creative writing class

Looking to build your writing skillset, learn more about your genre, or finally finish that book you’ve been working on? You’re in the right place. That’s why we built this directory of the best creative writing courses.

However, creative writing classes aren’t one size fit all. If you’re planning to join an adult creative writing class in particular, you’ll want to make sure that it matches what you’re seeking to learn about the genre.

So make sure to consider the following questions when you’re researching adult writing courses:

• Who is the instructor? How many years of experience do they have in writing books?
• Is there something in particular you’d like to learn in a writing class for adults? Does this course include it?
• How long is the course, and where is it taught?
• How much does the adult writing course cost? Does it fit into your budget?

More creative writing resources

Whether you’re a new or established author, there are always evergreen resources out there to how to get a headstart on writing books. 

Free online materials

• Creative Writing Prompts (resource)
• Book Title Generator (resource)
• Character Name Generator (resource)
• Plot Generator (resource)
• Reedsy's blog guide to novel writing basics
• How to Edit a Book (blog post)

Recommended books

• For writers in the UK:  Writers' & Artists' Yearbook  
• For writers in the US:  Writer’s Market 2020

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Save your shortlist

Enter your email address to save your shortlist so that you don't lose it!

By continuing, you will also receive Reedsy's weekly publishing tips and access to our free webinars.

We sent over your shortlist. Thank you for using Reedsy's Writing Courses Directory, happy publishing! 🙌

Try our novel writing master class — 100% free

Sign up for a free video lesson and learn how to make readers care about your main character.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

• All Online Classes
• 2024 Destination Retreats
• The Portal: Summer 2024 Writing + Healing Program For Women Creatives
• Testimonials

• Create account
• — View All Workshops
• — Fiction Classes
• — Nonfiction Classes
• — Poetry Classes
• — Lit Agent Seminar Series
• — 1-On-1 Mentorships
• — Screenwriting & TV Classes
• — Writing for Children
• — Tuscany September 2024: Apply Now!
• — ----------------
• — Dublin 2025: Join List!
• — Iceland 2025: Join List!
• — Hawaii 2025: Join List!
• — Paris 2025: Join List!
• — Mackinac Island 2025: Join List!
• — Latest Posts
• — Meet the Teaching Artists
• — Student Publication News
• — Our Mission
• — Testimonials
• — FAQ
• — Contact

Shopping Cart

The best online writing workshops for emerging and established authors, filter and sort.

79 products

Course Subject

The Portal: A Summer Writing + Healing Program For Women Creatives, June 18th - September 3rd, 2024

The Practice of Revising Poetry 4-Week Online Workshop, Starts Monday, May 6th, 2024

Screenwriting 4-Week One-on-One Mentorship with Meredith Alloway: Apply Now, Starts May 15th, 2024

Literary Agent Series: Harnessing the Power of AI for Writers: Unleashing Creativity and Efficiency Zoom Seminar, Saturday, May 4th, 2024

Lost in the Woods: Writing Immersive Settings in Flash Fiction Zoom Seminar, Starts Saturday, May 4th, 2024

Writing About Race and Racism 4-Week Zoom Class, Starts Sunday, May 5th, 2024

How to Write Exciting, Evocative, & Commercially Viable Historical Fiction Zoom Seminar, Sunday, May 5th, 2024

Introduction to Personal Essay 6-Week Online Workshop with Diana Spechler, Starts Monday, May 6th, 2024

Exploring Poetic Forms: a 6-Week Generative Class, Starts Monday, May 6th, 2024

Writing Through Parenthood 3-Week Nonfiction Zoom Seminar, Starts Monday, May 6th, 2024

Writing Essays About Travel & Food 4-Week Online Workshop with Diana Spechler, Starts Monday, May 6th, 2024

Advanced Personal Essay 6-Week Online Workshop with Diana Spechler, Starts Monday, May 6th, 2024

Building Interiority in Characters: Writing Memory with Karen E. Bender, a Zoom Seminar on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

Writing Our Memories as Poems 4-Week Generative Zoom Workshop, Starts Thursday, May 9th, 2024

The Better Cut: Leveraging Concision in Fiction Writing Zoom Seminar, Saturday, May 11th, 2024

Start a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network & Business Zoom Seminar, Saturday, May 11th, 2024

The Art & Craft of Writing Fiction that Sells 4-Week Zoom Workshop, Starts Tuesday, May 14th, 2024

Mindful Ink: A Generative Writing 6-Week Sprint (Zoom), Starts Thursday, May 16th, 2024

Funny at 40 (or beyond) Zoom Seminar with Janine Annett, Sunday, May 19th, 2024

The Storytelling Lab: Read & Analyze 5 Great Stories in 5 Weeks with Robert Anthony Siegel (Zoom), Starts Tuesday, May 21st, 2024

Introduction to Fiction: An 8-Week Writing Workshop (Zoom), Starts Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024

Book Proposal 101: Stop Dreading It and Start Writing It Zoom Seminar, Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024

Fiction Technique in Memoir 8-Week Zoom Workshop, Starts Thursday, May 23rd, 2024

Exploring Strategies for Story Beginnings with Karen E. Bender 1-Day Fiction Master Class (Zoom), Saturday, May 25th, 2024

Create an online course, reach students across the globe, & earn money.

SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION IS HAPPENING NOW!

Collection: Adult Programs ~ In-person or Online

Our Adult Workshops and Events are an opportunity for writers to explore, learn, and develop their writing skills through specialized lessons and activities. 

Review description details for the workshop or event you are interested in. Specialty Workshops are for ages 13 to adult. In-person or online * Introduction Workshops * Weekly Workshops (Online Only)  * Writing Courses * Grammar Lessons * Package Options * Specialty Workshops * Just Write! Drop-in Sessions * One-on-One Sessions

Write On! Creative Writing Center's Workshops are a time to unleash the imagination and discover the writer within, while developing literacy skills, building confidence, and encouraging creativity.

CALL US TODAY TO REGISTER   ​~  214-915-2155  or  REGISTER ONLINE BY SELECTING OPTIONS BELOW

Adult Writing Course 10 Session Package - In-person Only

Adult writing course individual sessions - in-person only, adult writing course 10 session package - online only, adult writing course individual sessions - online only, intro to write on creative writing workshop for adults, meeting with vicky - one-on-one sessions for novel coaching or creative writing, write on-line weekly writing sessions, just write sessions, children's book writing for adults intensive workshop, screenwriting specialty workshop, plotting a novel specialty workshop, write on creative writing center gift card, meeting with raul - one-on-one sessions for college entrance, scholarship essay, creative writing, prose and poetry, and finding your writing voice, subscribe to our emails.

Be the first to know about new collections and exclusive offers.

• Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
• Opens in a new window.

Writing workshops are a wonderful way to grow and expand your writing skills—provided you know how to workshop creative writing. There are different writing workshop models, both online and in person, each with their own particular ways of benefiting your writing journey. What are those models, and how do you engage in proper critique writing?

This article is all about making the most of your writing workshops. Whether you’re taking a course with Writers.com, entering your first workshop in undergrad, or putting together your own private writing group, the tips and models in this article will help you learn how to workshop creative writing.

There are a couple of different definitions of writing workshops. For the purposes of this article, we will examine writing workshop models under the university definition, which is the process of sharing your work in a setting where you receive writing feedback and suggestions for improvement. 

If you’re looking for the best multi-week creative writing workshops, here are some tips for finding the best on the internet:

The Best Online Writing Workshops: How to Succeed in Creative Writing Workshops

Different Creative Writing Workshop Models

There is no singular way to workshop a piece of writing. Different schools, universities, and institutions have developed different models over time. Even at Writers.com, some of our classes use different writing workshop models.

Here are a few common models you might see employed around the web. Note: this list only applies to adult writing workshops. Youth-focused writing spaces tend to use some form of the model developed by Lucy Calkins .

1. The Iowa Writers’ Workshop Model

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is one of the most prestigious writing programs in the United States, having produced dozens of Pulitzer winners, National Book Award finalists, and poet laureates. It also developed the standard writing workshop model for universities, specifically under the directorship of poet Paul Engle.

The writing workshop rules are pretty simple: the writer’s work is distributed to every workshop attendee in advance. Each writer then comes to the workshop with their thoughts on the work. The attendees have a conversation about the piece—how they interpret it, aspects they like, what can be improved, etc.

Most importantly, the author cannot speak at any time. This is the “gag rule” of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and it’s the aspect that’s both the most recognizable, and the most criticized, of this workshopping model.

Pros: The argument for keeping the author silent is that the author should not have to explain anything in the work. If the author is allowed to speak, they will most likely interrupt the conversation to defend the writing, rather than pay attention to what does and doesn’t work, and what readers failed to grasp.

Cons: This writing workshop model has been routinely criticized for the ways it silences the author . While authors certainly shouldn’t commandeer the conversation to defend their work, they also deserve space to explain what doesn’t seem to be clicking for the readers. Writing workshops have historically catered to privileged groups; if you’re the only Asian author in a room of non-Asian writers, and the conversation gets stuck on dim sum , shouldn’t you be allowed to correct course?

Workshops should privilege the author and provide useful feedback to all attendees. The “gag rule” has some merit, but as workshops become more diverse—both in identity and in genre—there have to be better ways to run productive creative writing workshops.

These next models all, in some way or another, correct the deficits of the Iowa Writers’ model.

Check Out Our Online Writing Courses!

The First Fifty Pages of the Novel

with Sandra Novack

May 1st, 2024

The first 50 pages sets up plot, characters, and voice, and it lays the groundwork for your book's overall structure and success. Receive critical, supportive feedback on your book's start from novelist Sandra Novack.

Poetry as Sacred Attention

with Nadia Colburn

May 7th, 2024

Poetry asks us to slow down, listen, and pay attention. In this meditative workshop, we'll open ourselves to the beauty and mystery of poetry.

Toying with the Truth: Writing the Personal Essay

with Shelby Hinte

May 8th, 2024

Experiment with creative nonfiction forms and find the best way to tell your personal stories. Write a short piece each week, and choose one draft to polish. 

Experiments in Poetry

with Elizabeth Winder

See poetry in a totally new light! Draw inspiration from the most radical, innovative, and imaginative poets in literary history, master their techniques, and write new exciting poems of your own.

Writing Circle Workshop: Moving Toward Creativity & Light

with Susan Vespoli

Connect with other writers, spark your creativity, and write light-filled poems in this writing circle workshop. 

2. Liz Lerman’s Writing Workshop Model

Choreographer Liz Lerman developed a feedback model that has been adapted to a variety of settings, including creative writing workshops. It’s a 4 step process that runs as follows:

• Statement of meaning: Each group member tells the writer what aspects of the piece resonated for them. This allows the session to lead with what’s working, which is important because an author often doesn’t know what’s good about their writing, and an author usually revises based on the best parts of their work.
• Questions by the writer to the group: The writer asks questions they have in mind about craft elements in the piece. Did this work? Do you understand this? Typically, these are yes/no questions, and the group members shouldn’t elucidate unless asked to.
• Questions to the group by the writer: Group members then ask questions about the work, including aspects of it they didn’t understand. This is a much more empathetic way to approach creative writing critique, because it uses questions to point to improvements in the writing, rather than stating “X needs to improve because Y.”
• Opinions: If there’s time, group members then share their overall opinions of the work, highlighting more of what they liked and wish to see improved.

3. The Playwriting Writing Workshop Model

Although this model is specifically used in playwriting workshops, it can be adapted to poetry, nonfiction, and fiction writing workshops, too.

In this model, participants do not read the work ahead of time. Copies are distributed to everyone, and roles are assigned to the participants. (If there aren’t many characters, participants might be assigned pages; for poetry, only one person might be assigned to read the poem.)

After the reading, the workshop leader will host a general discussion of the work.

This model can prove super beneficial, as it allows the author to hear their work spoken aloud. Where did the reader stumble? What did or didn’t sound natural? Engaging with the work from a distance helps the writer see it more clearly, and they might come away from this reading already with new ideas and opportunities for revision.

And, rather than have students prepare thoughts in advance, a general discussion in the moment reveals how readers will engage with the work in the moment. When you have a book, story, or poem published, the reader probably won’t write out all their thoughts afterwards; eschewing this model gives the writer direct, unadulterated insight into how people engage with their writing.

4. Wild Writing / Writing Circles

The Wild Writing model was developed by Laurie Wagner, and it encourages writers, particularly poets, to produce as much material as they can from their own unconscious minds.

Our instructor Susan Vespoli bases her writing circles off of the Wild Writing workshop model. In these Zoom-based poetry writing workshops, participants do the following:

• Each participant verbally shares an image with the group. It is an image that has sat on their minds for a few days. They should share it without qualifying it—as in, keeping to visual language, not using words like “beautiful” or “interesting.”
• The group leader reads a poem twice. They then highlight some striking lines in the poem, which can be used as starting points for the writing session.
• For 12-15 minutes, each writer free writes, without editing themselves or eschewing certain thoughts. Writers should not cross out words, and they should keep the pen moving. (When they run out of things to say, they can try putting in transition phrases, like “What I mean to say is…)
• At the end of this, each writer goes around reading from their journals. Writers do not comment on one another’s journal entry . The point is to write and share what’s on the mind in a supportive, encouraging environment.
• Typically, a Zoom call will repeat this process twice, for 3 sessions in total.

Unlike other workshops where participants give each other writing feedback, this model produces work in a supportive community space. The opportunity to read work aloud allows writers to have deeper insights into their own writing and thinking. In this model, writers grow as writers not by giving feedback, but by being vulnerable in a safe writing space and encountering new ideas from both their brains and the minds of other writers.

When paired with lectures and written feedback outside of the Zoom call, writers come away with rich material for their own work, as well as a new, generative writing practice.

5. Other Modifications on Writing Workshop Models

Writers love to tinker with form, and this includes the form of writing workshops. This article by Jim Nelson offers one such way to modify the workshopping space so that each writer is treated with respect, dignity, curiosity, and encouragement.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: 15 Tips for Success

If you’re participating in online writing workshops, you will be presented with opportunities to give and receive writing feedback. Regardless of genre and the writing workshop model, here are some tips to get the most out of every workshop you attend online.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: Giving Writing Critique

• Share your own experience. How the work is impacting you as a reader. Readers are very different, so how the piece is landing for you is more helpful than general statements. “I read this as X,” not simply “this is X.”
• Praise what’s working in the piece. Writers need to know what resonates and where to build from. Every piece of writing has something working well.
• Keep all writing feedback constructive. Use encouraging language to frame your suggestions, such as “simpler dialogue tags might help this passage flow more smoothly.”
• Be specific in your feedback. For example, “I love this” is less helpful than “I love how your description of the character’s clothing gives a sense of his personality.”
• Consider the author’s intent with the piece. Don’t try to shape the work into something you would write; try to advise the writer based on their vision for the piece. If it’s unclear, ask!
• Consider asking questions when you have them. Instead of “X’s decision doesn’t make sense,” try “Why does X make Y decision?” Talking through ideas in this way can help writers consider new possibilities for the work, without making them feel like they’re doing something wrong.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: Receiving Writing Feedback

• Ask questions. The best writing workshops give you the space to work through what you don’t know how to do. Come prepared with questions about your work, and don’t be afraid to follow up with the suggestions people give you.
• Consider your ideal reader. Is the person giving you feedback the person you intend to read this piece? Ideal readers will probably give you the most useful creative writing feedback. That said, readers who have different backgrounds than your ideal reader will also have ideas you might not have considered, which can be useful for both your current project and future ones.
• Leave your ego at the door. All writers are protective of their work. It’s understandable! But if you enter the workshop space with walls up, you will prevent yourself from seeing the work through other points of view. Don’t let your pride, your vision, or your sense of artistic value prevent you from seeing ways to improve your writing. And remember, we’re all insecure in some way about our work. Workshops give us the chance to improve together, in both our craft and confidence.
• Know what you want to achieve. At the same time, it’s good to have a vision for what you want your piece to be. Coming into a writing workshop with this vision will help you ask questions and lead a more productive workshop session. It will also help you filter through the writing feedback you receive.
• Advocate for yourself. It is rare for a workshop to go south, but it happens. When the conversation doesn’t seem to be helping you (for example: non-Asian writers getting stuck on dim sum), you should be able to correct course and make the workshop work for you.
• File it away. After workshop, file the feedback away for a little while, and don’t try to fix your piece all at once. Rushing into revision is a recipe for regret, as it takes time to absorb and incorporate feedback into your writing. Be slow, methodical, and careful. Above all, don’t let workshop change your vision for the piece—creative writing workshops are stepping stones, not boulders, to your ideal work.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: Improving as a Writer

• Pay attention to other workshops. The workshop space isn’t yours alone. Often, engaging with other writers’ work and listening to other writers’ critiques will help you grow as a writer yourself. You will encounter dozens of ideas in one workshopping session. File these ideas for later, and pay close attention to everyone’s craft so you can later steal like an artist .
• Experiment. Writers who experiment with ideas often achieve the most. While it’s good to have an ideal sense of where your piece is headed, it doesn’t hurt to copy your work into a new document and try using ideas you disagree with. What happens when you try writer B’s suggestion over writer A’s? How about vice versa? The more time you spend tinkering with your work and experimenting with ideas, the more insights you have into the craft and into your own vision as an artist.
• Be patient. Writing is a craft that takes a lifetime to master—and even the masters want to write better. Most writers hate the work they wrote a year ago, and that’s good—it means they’ve grown, sharpened their skills, refined their tastes, and gotten closer to the kind of work they want to achieve. Above all, be diligent and consistent in your writing. It might not be this month, or even this year, but you will one day write stories and poems you feel genuinely proud of.

Find Useful Creative Writing Feedback at Writers.com!

The courses at Writers.com are designed to give you useful creative writing critique. Whether you write poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, you’ll receive expert creative writing feedback from all of our instructors, and learn how to workshop creative writing in the process. Take a look at our upcoming course calendar !

Sean Glatch

This is such a valuable article! The advice here has made me much less nervous about signing up for workshops in the future. Thank you so much!

What do you consider the ideal number of participants in a workshop? What if the goal is to workshop everyone’s submission once a month and there are more than three or four participants? How do you prevent spending all day workshopping? Our group is dealing with time management issues for both writers and critiquers.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

43 Creative writing exercises

A selection of fun creative writing exercises that can be completed solo, or with a group. Some are prompts to help inspire you to come up with story ideas, others focus on learning specific writing skills.

I run a  Creative Writing Meetup  for adults and teens in Montpellier or online every week. We start with a 5 to 20 minute exercise, followed by an hour and a half of silent writing, during which each participant focuses on their own project. Every exercise listed below has been run with the group and had any kinks ironed out.  Where the exercises specify a number of people, if you have a larger group, simply split everyone up into smaller groups as appropriate.

The solo exercises are ideal to help stimulate your mind before working on a larger project, to overcome writer’s block, or as stand-alone prompts in their own right. If a solo exercise inspires you and you wish to use it with a larger group, give every member ten minutes to complete the exercise, then ask anyone who wishes to share their work to do so in groups of 3 or 4 afterwards.

Looking for something quick to fire your imagination? Check out these  creative writing prompts for adults .

Writing Retreat in South France

A note on running exercises remotely

While you can enjoy the exercises solo, they are also designed for online writing groups using Zoom, WhatsApp, or Discord.

If you're running a group and follow a ' Shut Up and Write ' structure, I recommend connecting on WhatsApp (for example) first, doing the exercise together, sharing writing samples as needed. Next, write in silence for an hour and a half on your own projects, before reconnecting for a brief informal chat at the end. This works great with small remote groups and is a way to learn new techniques, gain online support, and have a productive session.

If you have a larger online group, it's worth looking into Zoom, as this has a feature called  Breakout Rooms . Breakout Rooms let you split different writers into separate rooms, which is great for group activities. The free version of Zoom has a 40 minute limit, which can be restrictive, but Zoom Pro is well worth it if you're going to use it on a regular basis. In my experience, Zoom has a better connection than Facebook chat or WhatsApp.

A Letter From Your Character To You

Spend ten minutes writing a letter from a character in your novel to  you , the author, explaining why you should write about them. This serves three purposes:

• As you write, it helps you get into the mindset of the character. Ask yourself how they would language this letter and what they would consider important.
• It's motivating to know that your character wants you to write about them.
• If your goal is to publish a complete work of fiction one day, whether it be a novel, a play or a movie script, you will want to contact an agent or publisher. This helps you practice in an easy, safe way.

If you're doing this exercise with a group of teens or adults, and some of the group haven't already started working on their masterpiece, they can instead choose any fictional novel they love. Ask participants to imagine that a character within the book wrote to the author in the first place to ask them to write their story. How did they plead their case?

The Opening Sentence

The opening sentence has to grab the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. Many authors achieve this by starting with an action scene. In modern literature, it's best to avoid starting with someone waking up, or a description of the weather. In this exercise the task is to write an opening sentence either to a book you're currently writing, or simply for an imaginary piece of literature.  Here are some of my favourite opening sentences to get you going:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell , 1984

The Golem's life began in the hold of a steamship.

Helene Wecker , The Golem and the Djinni

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy , Anna Karenina

It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.

Diana Gabaldon , Outlander

You better not never tell nobody but God.

Alice Walker , The Color Purple

The cage was finished.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez ,  Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon

Imagine that you are living your life out of order: Lunch before breakfast, marriage before your first kiss.

Audrey Niffenegger ,  The Time Traveler's Wife

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

Douglas Adams ,  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are a plethora of ways you can start a book, however two ways that help engage the reader immediately are:

• Set the scene in as few words as possible, so the reader immediately knows what's happening and wants to know what happens next.  The scene must be original and create a vivid image in the reader's mind.
• Surprise the reader with an unusual event or usual point of view.

Spend 5 minutes working on your own opening sentence, then share it with the other participants.

Make your protagonist act!

Exercise for 2 writers, or can be done solo.

According to John Gardner:

"Failure to recognise that the central character must act, not simply be acted upon, is the single most common mistake in the fiction of beginners."

Spend 5 minutes writing a scene where the protagonist is passive in a conversation with one other character. It could be that the other character says something dramatic, and the protagonist just listens, or it could be anything else of your choice!

Once the 5 minutes is up, swap papers with another writer. If you're using Zoom, or working online, send it to each other in a private chat. Now the other person spends 8 minutes rewriting the scene to make the protagonist as active as possible. This might include:

Read both scenes together. Which makes you want to keep on reading?

If you're doing this as a solo writing exercise, simply complete both parts yourself.

• Showing the emotion this evokes.
• Getting them to disagree with the other character.
• Showing how they respond physically (whether it's as a physical manifestation of how they feel, or a dramatic gesture to make a point).

Overcoming writer's block

Are you staring at a blank page or stuck for any story ideas? This exercise will help anyone who's experiencing writer's block with a particular piece of writing. If this isn't you, that's great, others will value your input!

If anyone has a particular scene they're stuck with (a pool of blood on the floor they have no explanation for, a reason why the rich lady just walked into a particular pub, etc.) then at the start of the exercise everyone briefly describes their scenes (if working online with a large group, typing it into the chat might be best). Everyone then chooses one scene to use as a writing prompt to write a short story for 10-15 minutes.

Afterwards, split into small groups if necessary, and read out how you completed someone else's writing prompt. As everyone listens to everyone else's ideas, this can be a wonderful source of inspiration and also improves your writing. As an alternative solo exercise, try free writing. With free writing, simply write as quickly as you can on the topic without editing or censoring yourself - just let your creative juices flow. If you're not sure what happens next, brainstorm options on the page, jot down story ideas, or just put, "I don't know what happens next." Keep going and ideas will come.

Writing Character Arcs

There are several different types of character arc in a novel, the 3 most common being:

For this exercise choose either a positive or negative character arc. Spend 8 minutes writing a scene from the start of a novel, then 8 minutes writing a scene towards the end of a novel showing how the character has developed between the two points. Don't worry about including how the character has changed, you can leave that to the imagination.

The point here is to capture the essence of a character, as they will be the same, but show their development.

• Positive  - Where a character develops and grows during the novel. Perhaps they start unhappy or weak and end happy or powerful.
• Negative  - Where a character gets worse during a novel. Perhaps they become ill or give in to evil tendencies as the novel progresses.
• Flat  - In a flat character arc the character themself doesn't change much, however the world around them does. This could be overthrowing a great injustice, for example.

Sewing Seeds in Your Writing

In this exercise, we will look at how to sew seeds. No, not in your garden, but in your story. Seeds are the tiny hints and indicators that something is going on, which influence a reader's perceptions on an often unconscious level. They're important, as if you spring a surprise twist on your readers without any warning, it can seem unbelievable. Sew seeds that lead up to the event, so the twists and turns are still surprising, but make intuitive sense. Groups : Brainstorm major plot twists that might happen towards the end of the novel and share it in a Zoom chat, or on pieces of paper. Choose one twist each. Individuals : Choose one of the following plot twists:   -  Your friend is actually the secret son of the king.   -  Unreliable narrator - the narrator turns out to be villain.   -  The monster turns out to be the missing woman the narrator is seeking.   -  The man she is about to marry happens to already have a wife and three kids.

Write for ten minutes and give subtle hints as to what the plot twist is. This is an exercise in subtlety. Remember, when the twist occurs, it should still come as a surprise.

This is a fun writing activity for a small group. You’ve found a magic potion labelled ‘Cat Chat’ and when you drink it, you turn into whichever animal you’re thinking about; but there’s a problem, it also picks up on the brainwaves of other people near you!

Everyone writes down an animal in secret and then reveals it to the other writers.  The spell will turn you into a creature that combines elements of all the animals.  Each person then spends 5 minutes writing down what happens when they drink the potion.

After the 5 minutes is up, everyone shares their story with the other participants.

If you enjoy this exercise, then you may also want to check out our  Fantasy and Sci-Fi writing prompts  full of world building, magic, and character development prompts..

Joe Brainard wrote a novel called:  I Remember It contains a collection of paragraphs all starting with “I remember”.  This is the inspiration for this exercise, and if you’re stuck for what to write, is a great way to get the mental gears turning.  Simply write “I remember” and continue with the first thing that pops into your head.

Spend 5 minutes writing a short collection of “I remember” stories.

Here are a couple of examples from Joe Brainard’s novel:

“I remember not understanding why people on the other side of the world didn't fall off.”

“I remember waking up somewhere once and there was a horse staring me in the face.”

Giving feedback to authors

If you're running a workshop for more experienced adult authors and have at least an hour, this is a good one to use. This is the longest exercise on this page, but I felt it important enough to include.

Give each author the option to bring a piece of their own work. This should be double spaced and a maximum of 3 pages long. If you're running a workshop where not everyone is likely to bring a manuscript, ask everyone who wants to bring one to print two copies each. If someone forgets but has a laptop with them, the reader can always use their laptop.

Print out a few copies and hand them around to everyone in the workshop of the guide on: 'How to give constructive feedback to writers'

Each author who brought a sample with them then gives them to one other person to review. They write their name on the manuscript in a certain colour pen, then add any comments to it before passing it to a second person who does the same (commenting on the comments if they agree or disagree).

Then allow 5 minutes for everyone to discuss the feedback they've received, ensuring they are giving constructive feedback.

The Five Senses

Painting by Giovanni Battista Manerius -  The Five Senses

Choose a scene and write it for 5 minutes focusing on one sense, NOT sight. Choose between:

Hearing  Taste Smell Touch

This can be internal as well as external (I heard my heartbeat thudding in my ears, or I smelt my own adrenaline).

After the 5 minutes stop and everyone reads it out loud to each other. Now write for another 5 minutes and continue the other person's story, but do NOT use sight OR the sense they used.

You can use any sense to communicate the essentials, just focus on creating emotions and conveying the story with the specific sense(s).

If you need some writing prompts, here are possible scenes that involve several senses:

• Climbing through an exotic jungle
• Having an argument that becomes a fight
• A cat's morning
• Talking to someone you're attracted to

Show don't tell

2 or 3 people

A lot of writing guides will advise you to, "Show, don't tell". What does this actually mean?

If you want to evoke an emotional reaction from your reader, showing them what is happening is a great way to do so.  You can approach this in several ways:

Split up into pairs and each person writes down a short scene from a story where they "tell" it.  After this, pass the description of the scene to your partner and they then have 5 minutes to rewrite it to "show" what happened.  If there are an odd number of participants, make one group of three, with each person passing their scene clockwise, so everyone has a new scene to show.  After the 5 minutes, for small groups everyone reads their new description to everyone else, or for large groups, each person just reads their new scene to their partner.

• Avoid internal dialogue (thinking), instead have your protagonist interact with other people, or have a physical reaction to something that shows how s/he feels.  Does their heart beat faster?  Do they notice the smell of their own adrenaline?  Do they step backwards, or lean forwards?
• Instead of using an adjective like creepy, e.g. "Mary entered the creepy house", show why the house is creepy through description and in the way the protagonist responds - "The light streamed through the filthy skylight, highlighting the decomposing body of a rat resting on top of it.  As Mary stepped inside, she felt a gust of freezing air brush past her. She turned, but there was nothing there..."

World building

World building is the art of conveying the magic of living in a different world, whether it's a spaceship, a medieval castle, a boat, or simply someone's living room. To master world building, it's not necessary to know every intricate detail, rather to convey the experience of what it would be like to live there.

Choose one of the above images as a prompt and spend 10 minutes writing a scene from the perspective of someone who is seeing it for the first time. Now, move your character six months forward and imagine they've spent the last six months living or working there. Write another scene (perhaps with an additional character) using the image as a background, with the events of the scene as the main action.

Click the above image for a close-up.

Gossiping about a character as if they're a friend.

Judy Blume says that she tells her family about her characters as if they’re real people. 

Chris Claremont said, "For me, writing the 'X-Men' was easy - is easy. I know these people, they're my friends." 

Today’s exercise has 2 parts. First, spend 5 minutes jotting down some facts about a character you’ve invented that might come up if you were telling your friends about them. Either choose a character in something you’ve already written, or invent one from scratch now.

Answer the questions:

What are they up to? How are they? What would you say if you were gossiping about them?

Then split up into groups of 4 to 6 writers. 2 volunteers from each group then role-play talking about their character as if they were a friend (perhaps another character in the story).  The other participants will role-play a group of friends gossiping about the character behind their back and ask questions. If you don’t know the answer, invent it!

Degrees of Emotion Game

This is based on an acting game, to help actors understand how to perform with different degrees of emotion.

Ask everyone to write the following 4 emotions:

For groups of 5 or less, write down numbers starting with 1 and going up until everyone has a number, then give them out in order. For groups of 6 or more, divide groups into 3's, 4's or 5's.

Each person has to write a scene where the protagonist is alone and is only allowed to say a single word, e.g. "Banana".  The writer with number 1 should write the scene with a very low level of the emotion (e.g. happiness), number 2 increases the intensity a bit and the highest number writes a scene with the most intense emotion you can possibly imagine.

Once each writer has written about happiness, rotate the numbers one or two spaces, then move onto anger, then fear, then sadness.

It can help to give everyone numbers showing the intensity of the emotions to write about at the start of the exercise, in which case you may wish to print either the Word or PDF file, then use the ones corresponding to 3, 4 or 5 writers.

Everyone shares their scene with the other course participants.

Three birds, one line

The first paragraph of a surprising number of best-selling novels serves multiple purposes. These are to:

• Establish a goal
• Set the scene
• Develop a character

Nearly every chapter in a novel also serves all three purposes. Instead of establishing a goal though, the protagonist either moves towards it, or encounters an obstacle that hinders them from achieving it.

Some books manage to meet all three purposes with their opening lines, for example:  

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

J.K. Rowling ,  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  

A little more than one hundred days into the fortieth year of her confinement, Dajeil Gelian was visited in her lonely tower overlooking the sea by an avatar of the great ship that was her home.

Iain M. Banks ,  Excession  

"We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

George R.R. Martin ,  A Game of Thrones

For this exercise write a sentence or short paragraph that serves all three purposes. If you're already writing a novel, then see if you can do this for the first line in a chapter. If not, choose any combination from the following table:

Blind Date on Valentine's Day (Exercise for Adults)

In pairs one writer spends a minute or two describing a character they're writing about, or alternatively they can describe a celebrity or someone from a work of fiction.  The next writer then describes their character.

The story is that these 2 characters (or in my case, person and alien, as I'm writing a sci-fi) have accidentally ended up on a blind date with each other. Perhaps the waiter seated them in the wrong location, perhaps it's an actual blind date, or perhaps they met in some other fashion the writers can determine.

Now spend 10 minutes discussing what happens next!

A Success (Works best for online groups)

This exercise works best for online groups, via Zoom, for example.  The instructions to give are:

"In a few words describe a success in your life and what it felt like to achieve it. It can be a small victory or a large one."

Share a personal example of your own (mine was watching my homeschooled sons sing in an opera together).

"Once you have one (small or large), write it in the chat.

The writing exercise is then to choose someone else's victory to write about for 10 minutes, as if it was the end of your own book.

If you want to write for longer, imagine how that book would start. Write the first part of the book with the ending in mind."

This is great for reminding people of a success in their lives, and also helps everyone connect and discover something about each other.

Your dream holiday

You’re going on a dream holiday together, but always disagree with each other. To avoid conflict, rather than discuss what you want to do, you’ve decided that each of you will choose a different aspect of the holiday as follows:

• Choose where you’ll be going – your favourite holiday destination.
• Choose what your main fun activity will be on the holiday.
• Decide what mode of travel you’ll use to get there.
• If there’s a 4 th  person, choose what you’ll eat on the holiday and what you’ll be wearing.

Decide who gets to choose what at random. Each of you then writes down your dream holiday destination/activity/travel/food & clothes in secret.  Next spend 5 minutes discussing your dream holiday and add any other details you’d like to include, particularly if you’re passionate about doing something in real life.

Finally, everyone spends another 5 minutes writing down a description of the holiday, then shares it with the others.

A haiku is a traditional Japanese form of non-rhyming poetry whose short form makes it ideal for a simple writing exercise.

They are traditionally structured in 3 lines, where the first line is 5 syllables, the second line is 7 syllables, and the third line is 5 syllables again. Haiku tend to focus on themes of nature and deep concepts that can be expressed simply.

A couple of examples:

A summer river being crossed how pleasing with sandals in my hands! Yosa Buson , a haiku master poet from the 18 th  Century.

And one of mine:

When night-time arrives Stars come out, breaking the dark You can see the most

Martin Woods

Spend up to 10 minutes writing a haiku.  If you get stuck with the 5-7-5 syllable rule, then don’t worry, the overall concept is more important!

See  How to write a haiku  for more details and examples.

Unlike a haiku, which is profound and sombre, a limerick is a light-hearted, fun rhyming verse.

Here are a couple of examples:

A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his beli-can He can take in his beak Food enough for a week But I'm damned if I see how the heli-can.

Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1910

There was a young lady named Bright, Whose speed was far faster than light; She started one day In a relative way, And returned on the previous night.

Arthur Henry Reginald Buller in  Punch,  1923

The 1 st , 2 nd  and 5 th  line all rhyme, as do the 3 rd  and 4 th  line.  The overall number of syllables isn’t important, but the 3 rd  and 4 th  lines should be shorter than the others.

Typically, the 1 st  line introduces the character, often with “There was”, or “There once was”. The rest of the verse tells their story.

Spend 10 minutes writing a limerick.

Time Travel - Child, Adult, Senior

Imagine that your future self as an old man/woman travels back in time to meet you, the adult you are today.  Alternatively, you as a child travels forward in time to meet yourself as an adult.  Or perhaps both happen, so the child you, adult you, and senior you are all together at the same time.  In story form write down what happens next.

Participants then share their story with other writers either in small groups, or to the whole group.

Focus on faces

Solo exercise.

One challenge writers face is describing a character. A common mistake is to focus too much on the physical features, e.g. "She had brown eyes, curly brown hair and was five foot six inches tall."

The problem with this is it doesn't reveal anything about the character's personality, or the relationship between your protagonist and the character. Your reader is therefore likely to quickly forget what someone looks like.  When describing characters, it's therefore best to:

• Animate them - it's rare that someone's sitting for a portrait when your protagonist first meets them and whether they're talking or walking, it's likely that they're moving in some way.
• Use metaphors or similes  - comparing physical features to emotionally charged items conjures both an image and a sense of who someone is.
• Involve your protagonist  - if your protagonist is interacting with a character, make it personal.  How does your protagonist view this person?  Incorporate the description as part of the description.
• Only give information your protagonist knows  - they may know if someone is an adult, or a teenager, but they won't know that someone is 37 years old, for example.

Here are three examples of character descriptions that leave no doubt how the protagonist feels.

“If girls could spit venom, it'd be through their eyes.” S.D. Lawendowski,  Snapped

"And Ronan was everything that was left: molten eyes and a smile made for war." Maggie Stiefvater,  The Dream Thieves

"His mouth was such a post office of a mouth that he had a mechanical appearance of smiling." Charles Dickens

Spend 5 minutes writing a character introduction that is animated, uses metaphors or similes and involves your protagonist.

If working with a group, then form small groups of 3 or 4 and share your description with the rest of the group.

Onomatopeai, rhyme and alliteration

Today's session is all about sound.

Several authors recommend reading your writing out loud after you've written it to be sure it sounds natural.   Philip Pullman  even goes as far as to say:

"When I’m writing, I’m more conscious of the sound, actually, than the meaning. I know what the rhythm of the sentence is going to be before I know what the words are going to be in it."

For today's exercise, choose the name of a song and write for 10 minutes as if that's the title for a short story. Focus on how your writing sounds and aim to include at least one onomatopoeia, rhyme or alliteration.  At the end of the 10 minutes, read it out loud to yourself, or to the group.

Alliterations

An alliteration example from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea.

Onomatopoeias

Buzz, woof, quack, baa, crash, purr, beep, belch,...

The alphabet story - creating a story as a group

This is a novel way to write a story as a group, one word at a time.  The first person starts the story that begins with any word starting with “A”, the next person continues the story with a word starting with “B”, and so on.

Keep going round until you have completed the alphabet.  Ideally it will all be one sentence, but if you get stuck, start a new sentence.  Don’t worry if it doesn’t make complete sense!

It can be tricky to remember the alphabet when under pressure, so you may wish to print it out a couple of times, so the storytellers can see it if they need to, this is particularly helpful if you have dyslexics in the group.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Here’s an example of an alphabet story:

A Band Can Dance Each Friday, Ghostly Hauntings In Jail Kill Lucky Men, Nobody Or Perhaps Quiet Rats, Still That Unifies Villains Who X-Ray Your Zebras.

As I mentioned, it doesn’t need to make sense!

A question or two

Small or large groups

The standard format in our group is a short writing exercise followed by an hour and a half of silent writing on our projects.

At one point I felt like we'd done a lot of small group exercises, and wanted to gain an insight into what everyone was working on, so we did the following exercise instead:

Go round the table and ask everyone to briefly talk about their writing.  Each person then asks one or two yes/no questions.

Everyone responds either by raising their hand for 'yes' or shaking their heads for 'no'. You can also leap up and down to indicate a very strong 'yes'.

Questions can be about anything, and you can use them either to help guide your writing or to help find other people in the group who have similar interests.

Here are some random examples you might ask:

• I want to write a romance novel and am considering setting it in Paris, a traditional romantic setting, or Liverpool which is a less obvious setting. Who thinks Liverpool would be best?
• I need to know more about the life of a farmer. Has anyone got farming experience who I can interview in exchange for a drink?
• My character gets fired and that night goes back to his office and steals 35 computers. Does that sound realistic as the premise of a story?

This works best when you give participants some advance notice, so they have time to think of a question.

Murder Mystery Game

Groups of 3 or 4

This exercise takes 20-30 minutes and allows participants to create a murder mystery outline together.

Phase 1 (3 minutes)

• Split into groups of 3 or 4
• Decide as a group where the murder occurs (e.g. the opera house, a bar, a casino)
• Decide one person who will write the details of the victim and the murder itself.  Everyone else writes the details of one suspect each.
• The ‘victim author’ then invents a few extra details about the scene of the crime, who the victim was (a teenage punk, an adult opera singer, etc.) and the murder weapon and summarises this to the others.

Phase 2 (10 minutes)

Each person then writes a police report as if they are either describing the scene of the crime, or recording the notes from their interview with a single suspect:

Write the following:

• 1 line description of the victim.
• When they were last seen by a group of witnesses (and what they were doing).
• How the murder occurred in more detail based on the evidence available.

Write the following (from the perspective of the investigator):

• 1 line description of the suspect
• What they said during the interview (including what they claim to have doing when the murder occurs).
• A possible motivation (as determined by the police from other witnesses).

Phase 3 (5 minutes)

• Each person reads out their police reports to the other members of their small group
• As a group, decide who the murderer was and what actually happened

See more ideas on  creating murder mystery party games

The obscure movie exercise

Pick a famous movie and spend 5 minutes writing a scene from it from an unusual perspective.  Your aim is to achieve a balance between being too obscure and making it too obvious.  Feel free to add internal dialogue.

At the end of the 5 minutes, everyone reads their movie scene to the others and all the other participants see if they can guess what the movie is.

How to hint at romantic feelings

Write a scene with two people in a group, where you hint that one is romantically interested in the other, but the feelings aren’t reciprocated.

The goal of this exercise is to practice subtlety. Imagine you are setting a scene for the future where the characters feelings will become more important. Choose a situation like a work conference, meeting with a group of friends, etc. How do you indicate how the characters feel without them saying it in words?

Some tips for hinting at romantic feelings:

• Make the characters nervous and shy.
• Your protagonist leans forward.
• Asks deeper questions and listens intently.
• Finds ways to be close together.
• Mirrors their gestures.
• Gives lots of compliments.
• Makes eye contact, then looks away.
• Other people seem invisible to your protagonist.

A novel idea

Take it in turns to tell everyone else about a current project you’re working on (a book, screenplay, short story, etc.)

The other writers then brainstorm ideas for related stories you could write, or directions your project could take.  There are no right or wrong suggestions and the intention is to focus on big concepts, not little details.

This whole exercise takes around 15 minutes.

Creative writing prompts

Exercise for groups of 3-5

If you're in larger group, split up into groups of 3 or 4 people.

Everyone writes the first line of a story in the Zoom chat, or on paper. Other people can then choose this line as a writing prompt.

For this exercise:

• Say who the protagonist is.
• Reveal their motivation.
• Introduce any other characters

Once everyone's written a prompt, each author chooses a prompt (preferably someone eles's, but it can be your own if you feel really inspired by it.)  Then write for 10 minutes using this prompt. See if you can reveal who the protagonist is, what their motivation is (it can be a small motivation for a particular scene, it doesn't have to be a huge life goal), and introduce at least one new character.

Take turns reading out your stories to each other.

• Write in the first person.
• Have the protagonist interacting with an object or something in nature.
• The challenge is to create intrigue that makes the reader want to know more with just a single line.

Creative story cards / dice

Cut up a piece of paper and write one word on each of the pieces of paper, as follows:

Give each participant a couple of pieces of paper at random.  The first person says the first sentence of a story and they must use their first word as part of that sentence.  The second person then continues the story and must include their word in it, and so on.  Go round the group twice to complete the story.

You can also do this creative writing exercise with story dice, your own choice of words, or by asking participants to write random words down themselves, then shuffling all the cards together.

Alternative Christmas Story

Every Christmas adults tell kids stories about Santa Claus. In this exercise you write a Christmas story from an alternative dimension.

What if every Christmas Santa didn't fly around the world delivering presents on his sleigh pulled by reindeer? What if gnomes or aliens delivered the presents? Or perhaps it was the gnomes who are trying to emulate the humans? Or some other Christmas tradition entirely that we humans have never heard of!

Group writing exercise

If you're working with a group, give everyone a couple of minutes to write two possible themes for the new Christmas story. Each theme should be 5 words or less.

Shuffle the paper and distribute them at random. If you're working online, everyone types the themes into the Zoom or group chat. Each writer then spends 10 minutes writing a short story for children based on one of the two themes, or their own theme if they really want to.

If working alone, choose your own theme and spend 15 minutes writing a short story on it. See if you can create the magic of Christmas from another world!

Murder Mystery Mind Map

In a murder mystery story or courtroom drama, there's often conflicting information and lots of links between characters. A mind map is an ideal way to illustrate how everything ties together.

Split into groups of 3 or 4 people each and place a blank piece of A3 paper (double the size of A4) in the middle of each group. Discuss between you who the victim is and write their name in the middle of the piece of paper. Then brainstorm information about the murder, for example:

Feel free to expand out from any of these, e.g. to include more information on the different characters involved.

The idea is that  everyone writes at the same time!   Obviously, you can discuss ideas, but anyone can dive in and write their ideas on the mind map.

• Who was the victim? (job, appearance, hobbies, etc.)
• Who did the victim know?
• What were their possible motivations?
• What was the murder weapon?
• What locations are significant to the plot?

New Year’s resolutions for a fictional character

If you’re writing a piece of fiction, ask yourself how your protagonist would react to an everyday situation. This can help you to gain a deeper insight into who they are.

One way to do this is to imagine what their New Year’s resolutions would be.

If completing this exercise with a group, limit it to 3 to 5 resolutions per person. If some participants are historical fiction or non-fiction writers, they instead pick a celebrity and either write what their resolutions  will  be, or what their resolutions  should  be, their choice.

Verb Noun Fiction Exercise (Inspired by Stephen King)

Stephen King said, "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops."

He also said, "Take any noun, put it with any verb, and you have a sentence. It never fails. Rocks explode. Jane transmits. Mountains float. These are all perfect sentences. Many such thoughts make little rational sense, but even the stranger ones (Plums deify!) have a kind of poetic weight that’s nice."

In this fiction writing exercise, start by brainstorming (either individually or collectively) seven verbs on seven different pieces of paper. Put those aside for later. Now brainstorm seven nouns. Randomly match the nouns and verbs so you have seven pairs. Choose a pair and write a piece of fiction for ten minutes. Avoid using any adverbs.

It’s the end of the world

It’s the end of the world!  For 5 minutes either:

If working as a team, then after the 5 minutes is up each writer reads their description out to the other participants.

• Describe how the world’s going to end, creating evocative images using similes or metaphors as you wish and tell the story from a global perspective, or
• Describe how you spend your final day before the world is destroyed.  Combine emotion and action to engage the reader.

7 Editing Exercises

For use after your first draft

I’ve listened to a lot of masterclasses on writing by successful authors and they all say variants of your first draft won’t be good and that’s fine. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman summarise it the best:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”  

Terry Pratchett

“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonising over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed… For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.”

Neil Gaiman

Once you’ve written your first draft, it will need editing to develop the plot, enhance the characters, and improve each scene in a myriad of ways – small and large. These seven creative editing exercises are designed to help with this stage of the process.

The First Sentence

Read the first paragraph of the novel, in particular the first sentence. Does it launch the reader straight into the action? According to  On Writing and Worldbuilding  by Timothy Hickson,  “The most persuasive opening lines are succinct, and not superfluous. To do this, it is often effective to limit it to a single central idea… This does not need to be the most important element, but it should be a central element that is interesting.” Ask yourself what element your opening sentence encapsulates and whether it’s the best one to capture your readers’ attention.

Consistency

Consistency is crucial in creative writing, whether it’s in relation to location, objects, or people.

It’s also crucial for personality, emotions and motivation.

Look at scenes where your protagonist makes an important decision. Are their motivations clear? Do any scenes force them to choose between two conflicting morals? If so, do you explore this? Do their emotions fit with what’s happened in previous scenes?

As you edit your manuscript, keep the characters’ personality, emotions and motivation in mind. If their behaviour is inconsistent, either edit it for consistency, or have someone comment on their strange behaviour or be surprised by it. Inconsistent behaviour can reveal that a character is keeping a secret, or is under stress, so characters don’t always need to be consistent. But when they’re not, there has to be a reason.  

Show Don’t Tell One

This exercise is the first in  The Emotional Craft of Fiction  by Donald Maass. It’s a writing guide with a plethora of editing exercises designed to help you reenergize your writing by thinking of what your character is feeling, and giving you the tools to make your reader feel something.  

• Select a moment in your story when your protagonist is moved, unsettled, or disturbed… Write down all the emotions inherent in this moment, both obvious and hidden.
• Next, considering what he is feeling, write down how your protagonist can act out. What is the biggest thing your protagonist can do? What would be explosive, out of bounds, or offensive? What would be symbolic? … Go sideways, underneath, or ahead. How can your protagonist show us a feeling we don’t expect to see?
• Finally, go back and delete all the emotions you wrote down at the beginning of this exercise. Let actions and spoken words do the work. Do they feel too big, dangerous, or over-the-top? Use them anyway. Others will tell you if you’ve gone too far, but more likely, you haven’t gone far enough.

Show Don’t Tell Two

Search for the following words in your book:

Whenever these words occur, ask yourself if you can demonstrate how your characters feel, rather than simply stating it. For each occasion, can you use physiological descriptors (a racing heart), actions (taking a step backwards) or dialogue to express what’s just happened instead? Will this enhance the scene and engage the reader more?

After The Action

Find a scene where your characters disagree – in particular a scene where your protagonist argues with friends or allies. What happens next?

It can be tempting to wrap up the action with a quick resolution. But what if a resentment lingers and mistrust builds? This creates a more interesting story arc and means a resolution can occur later, giving the character development a real dynamic.

Review how you resolve the action and see if you can stretch out the emotions for a more satisfying read.

Eliminating the Fluff

Ensure that the words used don’t detract from the enormity of the events your character is going through. Can you delete words like, “Quite”, “Little”, or “Rather”? 

Of “Very” Florence King once wrote: “ 'Very' is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen .” Delete it, or replace the word after it with a stronger word, which makes “Very” redundant.

“That,” is another common word used in creative writing which can often be deleted. Read a sentence as is, then reread it as if you deleted, “That”. If the meaning is the same, delete it.

Chapter Endings

When talking about chapter endings, James Patterson said,  “At the end, something has to propel you into the next chapter.”

Read how each of your chapters finish and ask yourself does it either:

• End on a cliff hanger? (R.L. Stine likes to finish every chapter in this method).
• End on a natural pause (for example, you’re changing point of view or location).

Review how you wrap up each of your chapters. Do you end at the best point in your story? Can you add anticipation to cliff hangers? Will you leave your readers wanting more?

How to run the writing exercises

The editing exercises are designed to be completed individually.

With the others, I've always run them as part of a creative writing group, where there's no teacher and we're all equal participants, therefore I keep any 'teaching' aspect to a minimum, preferring them to be prompts to generate ideas before everyone settles down to do the silent writing. We've recently gone online and if you run a group yourself, whether online or in person, you're welcome to use these exercises for free!

The times given are suggestions only and I normally get a feel for how everyone's doing when time's up and if it's obvious that everyone's still in the middle of a discussion, then I give them longer.  Where one group's in the middle of a discussion, but everyone else has finished, I sometimes have a 'soft start' to the silent writing, and say, "We're about to start the hour and a half of silent writing now, but if you're in the middle of a discussion, feel free to finish it first".

This way everyone gets to complete the discussion, but no-one's waiting for ages.  It's also important to emphasise that there's no wrong answers when being creative.

Still looking for more? Check out these creative writing prompts  or our dedicated Sci-Fi and Fantasy creative writing prompts

If you've enjoyed these creative writing exercises, please share them on social media, or link to them from your blog.

Marketing Blog

• Real estate SEO case study
• Writing retreat in South France
• How Google detects and penalizes AI content
• 42 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writing Prompts
• Writing website content that converts
• Multilingual SEO best practices
• 85 Creative Writing Prompts for Adults

Indigoextra Ltd © 2006 - 2024

UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 1234 618 France Tel: +33 (0) 602 222 354

Testimonials - Terms & Privacy  - Ethics - Contact

a place for poetry

Stay up-to-date,  click here to sign up for our weekly e-blast .

Enhance your skills and deepen your work through these focused writing workshops. While the Poets House space is still closed for construction, workshops will take place remotely on Zoom. The link will be sent, along with any documents to be previewed, in advance of the workshop date.

3-Hour Workshops: $105 ($90 for members)

4-Week Workshop: $200 ($180 for members)

6-Week Workshops: $360 ($320 for members)

All are welcome, space is limited. A number of need-based scholarships are available. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

In-person workshops are held at Poets House, 10 River Terrace in lower Manhattan (corner of Murray Street and River Terrace in Battery Park City). Please check-in at the Welcome desk in the Atrium, where you will be directed to your workshop. Be kind, arrive on time.

Remote 6-Week Workshop: Keisha-Gaye Anderson: Poetry of Witness and Resistance

In this 6-week course with Keisha-Gaye Anderson, we’ll look at the tradition of the protest poem and learn the key components of the protest poetry.

In-Person 6-Week Workshop: Drew Pisarra: Sonnets 101

In this six-session writing workshop, Drew Pisarra immerses us in strategies for sonnet-writing, and explores fresh ways of approaching our material.

Remote 3-Hour Workshop: Brian Turner: These Humming Engines

5/16: Brian Turner focuses on dreamscapes, poems of the underworld within, & that state where language and image meld as story gives way to song.

In-Person 6-Week Workshop: Jackie Braje: Poetic Disobedience

5/23: In this 6-week workshop with Jackie Braje, we’ll explore a small handful of the endless ways disruption can generate multivalent meaning in our poems.

All are welcome, space is limited. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Remote 3-Hour Workshop: Cindy Juyoung Ok: Lists and Litanies 

Reading and writing in the forms of inventories and recitations, this generative workshop with Cindy Juyoung Ok offers a way to begin and continue.

Six-Week Workshops

Open to all levels, six-week courses are offered on a wide variety of topics. Register early—first come, first serve.

Check back later for more Six-Week Workshop offerings!

Free Online Video Workshops

While the Poets House space is still closed for construction, please check out these past workshops, and check back later for more free online workshop offerings!

10*10*10: Free Video Workshops with Dave Johnson

Join Dave Johnson at 10am to write a new poem in only 10 minutes. We’ll present a new video every weekday for 10 days. For teens to adults. Free!

10*10*10*2: Daily Free Video Workshops with Dave Johnson: Second Series

Starting Monday, April 20. 10AM, Dave Johnson is back for 2 more weeks of free video workshops. Write 10 new poems in 10 days, weekdays at 10AM!

Advanced Workshops

Advanced Workshops offer advanced writers of poetry an opportunity to work intensively with some of the most respected poets of our time. An application of three poems is required, sent through Submittable ; space is limited.

Check back later for Advanced Workshop offerings!

Refund Policy

• Requests for refunds must be received in writing. To request a refund, email [email protected] .
• Poets House retains a $60 processing fee on any Six-Week Workshop or Advanced Workshop refund, or a $20 processing fee on any One-Day of 3-Hour Workshop refund.
• Refunds will not be issued after the following deadlines, regardless of participation. For Six-Week Workshops: tuition (less processing fee) is refundable until the second class meeting. For Advanced, One-day, or 3-Hour Workshops: refund requests must be made at least 24 hours prior to the first meeting.
• Tuition will not be pro-rated for missed classes.
• Six registrants are required in order for a class to run. If a course fails to meet the minimum registration, it will be cancelled and full tuition will be refunded to all registrants.

Register and Join us on Zoom

The writers circle.

creative writing workshops & community

Book Launch: AKMARAL by Judith Lindbergh

Join TWC's Founder/Director to celebrate her new novel - Thursday, May 9, 2024, 6:30 PM, Millburn Public Library, Millburn, NJ - Free and open to the public!

2024 Spring Mini-Retreat - May 19

at Lord Stirling Park, Basking Ridge, NJ

2024 Summer Creative Writing Intensives

For Teens Who LOVE to WRITE ~ Registration is open ~ Take advantage of our EARLY BIRD PRICING

Summer Adult Workshops

4, 5, and 6 week workshops - Summer is the perfect time to write!

Celebrating the Written Word

Summer adult classes are here take advantage of those long, sunny days for inspiration and writing, offering 4, 5 and 6-week workshops., great summer choices:.

Where Do I Begin? | Summer Writing Book Club | Creating Kid Lit | Romancing the Novel | Humor | Writing Short Stories & Flash Fiction and much more!

See our full schedule and register !

Special events : next up.

Book Launch: AKMARAL by Founder/Director Judith Lindbergh

Thursday, may 9, 2024, 6:30 pm at the millburn public library, millburn, nj.

AKMARAL : a nomad woman warrior of the ancient Asian steppes must make peace with making war

From the author of THE THRALL’S TALE, praised by Pulitzer Prize winners Geraldine Brooks and Robert Olen Butler, comes a tale inspired by Greek legends of Amazon women warriors and modern archaeological discoveries.

Judith will be in conversation with Art Historian and President of Friends of the Millburn Library Dorothy Kelly with live music provided by Cooper Davis & Friends.

This event is free and open to the public.  Advance registration is greatly appreciated!

Spring Mini-Retreat

May 19 at lord stirling park, basking ridge, nj.

Get away from the suburban hubbub and dedicate a day to your writing!

Summer Is Just Months Away!

Register now for our teen summer intensives and wordsmash mini-camps for 3rd to 7th graders., for teens who love to write, ~ now in our 12th season ~, week 1: july 15-19   |  week 2: july 22-26   |  week 3: july 29-august 2, ~ join us for one, two, or all three weeks ~.

The Writers Circle is a Scholastic Awards Summer Scholarship Program partner.

WordSMASH 2024 Is Live!

Registration is open for our creative writing mini-camp for grades 3-5 and 6-7 .

Our two-hour per afternoon, week-long program is chock-full of writing games, wacky prompts, and time to sink into a favorite book just to read! Seasoned writers will be challenged by story starters unlike anything they’ve seen in school. Reluctant writers will find TWC’s interactive games and prompts an irresistible invitation to start creating. Our collaborative, energetic environment will lay the foundation for kids to let loose and let the words flow.

We have programs in Morristown, Summit, and South Orange, NJ , plus virtual options for kids writing across town or around the country!

From The Writers Circle Blog

Writing When Life Gets In the Way

by Co-Director Michelle Cameron “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” – John Lennon Once upon a time, back when I worked for a digital agency, we were asked to explore a list of life events for a corporate client. No…

The Summer of Eras!

by Rebecca Kilroy, former Summer Intensive Program Coordinator, moving on to brand new things It’s the summer of Eras! I’ve lost count of the number of Eras tour t-shirts our students wore to the Intensive. Not a single Wednesday special event passed without at least…

On Journaling

by Christina Kapp, TWC Instructor & Outreach Coordinator I wish I could say that my journal was any less cluttered than my desk, my closet, my attic, but it’s not. I aspire to order in so many things and fail miserably. There are plenty of…

TWC New Jersey Locations & online classes, too!

Find out more:.

The Writers Circle reserves the right to shift any in-person or hybrid program to virtual instruction based on the health and safety recommendations of the CDC, WHO, the State of New Jersey, or other authorities or involved parties.

Connect With TWC

TWC on Instagram

• Built using Kale Pro by LyraThemes .

Creative Aging: Memoir Writing at 58th Street Library

• Wednesday, May 8, 2024, 2 - 4 PM
• Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 2 - 4 PM

Continue where we left off at the end of our Memoir Writing workshops for adults 50 and older and the May sessions are a continuation of the April sessions.

This program will be held in person at 58th Street Library and online for those who request it.

Teaching artist Frank Ingrasciotta will continue to guide participants through the art of writing over 5 extra sessions.

Storytelling is our most ancient art form and everyone has a story in us that wants to be told. When powerful storytelling resonates, it creates shared experiences of commonality that bonds us as a community. In this eight-session memoir writing class, we will examine various aspects of storytelling. Through writing exercises, we will explore the tools of your personal expression that bring writing to life.

Materials will be provided for this program. 

Attendance at all sessions is recommended as this is a series of classes and those who miss the first few may be lost. Space is limited and priority will be given to those who attended the first 8 sessions last year.  

Registration is mandatory.  Register for April and May events above with your email address. 

About the Artist

Frank Ingrasciotta (Actor/Playwright/Director/Educator) is the writer/performer of the award winning Off-Broadway solo play Blood Type: RAGU, performing over 1,000 shows nationally and internationally. As an actor, Frank has appeared in numerous stage productions, daytime dramas, and episodic TV shows. He has also directed many theatrical productions for numerous theatre companies. As an arts educator, he conducts workshops in acting, and creative writing with diverse populations and students of all ages. He holds a Theatre Arts in Education degree from SUNY Empire State College.

• Class Format: Hands on
• Skill prerequisites: No prior experience required. This program is perfect for all skill levels.
• Audience: Adults, 50+

• ALL MOSCOW TOURS
• Getting Russian Visa
• Top 10 Reasons To Go
• Things To Do In Moscow
• Sheremetyevo Airport
• Domodedovo Airport
• Vnukovo Airport
• Airports Transfer
• Layover in Moscow
• Best Moscow Hotels
• Best Moscow Hostels
• Art in Moscow
• Moscow Theatres
• Moscow Parks
• Free Attractions
• Walking Routes
• Sports in Moscow
• Shopping in Moscow
• The Moscow Metro
• Moscow Public Transport
• Taxi in Moscow
• Driving in Moscow
• Moscow Maps & Traffic
• Facts about Moscow – City Factsheet
• Expat Communities
• Groceries in Moscow
• Healthcare in Moscow
• Blogs about Moscow
• Flat Rentals

Art in Moscow: Museums, Galleries and Museum-Reserves

There is no strict dress code in Moscow museums. However, if you are going to explore ancient churches and holy places we recommend more conservative outwear. Women should have their heads covered.

All state museums and galleries are free every third Sunday of the month. Some of the Moscow museums are free on holidays, and during the «Museum days» and «Museum Night».

If you’re looking for great cultural tours around art points of Moscow, we have a great MOSCOW ART & DESIGN TOUR , available for you everyday except Mondays.

Moscow Museums

The Moscow Kremlin

Don’t miss a chance to see the very heart of Moscow, the Kremlin, the symbol of the Russian State, one of the greatest architectural ensembles in the world, a treasury of unusual relics and monuments of art. It is situated on a high Borovitskiy hill above the Moskva River, so you’ll be able to see a spectacular view of the city center. The famous Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund are real treasure-houses, where you can see ancient Russian regalia, ceremonial tsar’s dress, church hierarchs’ vestments, arms, gold and silverware by Russian, European and Eastern masters. The Kremlin is the official President’s residence and remains a gorgeous political landmark. The UNESCO has included the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin in the World Heritage List.

Site: http://www.kreml.ru/

The State Historical Museum

Ivan Zabelin, Aleksey Uvarov, and several other Slavophiles founded the State Historical Museum in 1872 to promote Russian history and national self-awareness. During its century-long history, the museum has collected more than 4.5 million of valuable items and over 12 million pages of documental archives. Its exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that lived in the territory of present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty. The museum’s historical building which was reconstructed and equipped to meet all the visitors requirements is on the Red Square.

Site: http://www.shm.ru/

The State Tretyakov Gallery

The State Tretyakov Gallery takes a special place among the national art museums of the world. Established with the efforts of one person, the dedicated collector Pavel Tretyakov, it possesses a unique collection of Russian art, more than 150000 masterpieces, created by famous Russian artists throughout the centuries. The historic building of the State Tretyakov Gallery at Lavrushinski Lane presents Russian art from the 11th through the early 20th century. The state Tretyakov Gallery at Krymsky Val has an excellent collection of Russian art of the 20th century, modern art and holds temporary exhibitions.

Site: http://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is one the largest European museums of fine art. It has one of the most remarkable collections of fine arts in Russia that consists of artworks from ancient times to the present day. Visitors can see great paintings by world famous artists: Rembrandt, Botticelli, Canaletto, Tiepolo, along with the remarkable collections of Impressionists, Post-impressionists, modernists: Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso and others. Moreover, the museum holds the private collectors’ galleries, many of were inaccessible to public for many years.

Site: http://www.arts-museum.ru/

Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Moscow Museum of Modern Art specializes in the modern art of 20th and 21st centuries. The famous Russian artist and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has founded it. The museum is located in four historic buildings in Petrovka Street, Gogolevsky Boulevard, Ermolaevsky lane and Tverskoy Boulevard. The museum’s collection depicts the development of avant-garde. The largest part of the collection consists of masterpieces of Russian artists, but you can also find works by Anri Russo, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and many others.

Site: http://www.mmoma.ru/

The Moscow Planetarium

The Planetarium in Moscow first opened its doors in 1929. After a global reconstruction, it was reopened in 2011. Now it is a multifunctional complex that combines scientific and educational resources: the interactive museum «Lunarium», the Museum of Urania, the Big Star Hall and the Sky Park, family recreation center, that focuses on different age groups. The Moscow Planetarium is one of the biggest planetariums in the world.

Site: http://www.planetarium-moscow.ru/

Moscow Galleries

Garage museum of contemporary art.

Exhibit on display during the opening of «Art Experiment»

The museum is a kind of independent platform aimed to disclose and reveal a new way of thinking. The Garage Center currently reflects the contemporary innovations of national and world’s culture. It invites you to the beautiful world of modern art, showing its best pieces. This center offers a great number of various exhibitions, educational projects for kids and adults, and publishing. The Garage Center is also called The Museum of Everything. It provides ways and reasons for public dialogue and the creation of progressive ideas.

Site: http://garageccc.com/

The Multimedia Art Museum

Fifty Years of Bond Style Exhibition

The Multimedia Art Museum opened in October 2010 at the base of the Moscow House of Photography. One of the main principles of MAMM s work is complete openness to the new forms of visual expression and for the fresh, innovative trends in the Russian and foreign media art and photography. There are seven floors of spacious exhibition halls and minimalist architecture that is a great font for modern art. The exhibition history of MAMM and Moscow House of Photography counts more than 1300 exhibitions in Russia and abroad. Moreover, Multimedia Art Museum has different educational programs and holds famous Moscow art festivals: Photobiennale, «Fashion and Style in Photography» and others.

Site: http://www.mamm-mdf.ru/

Lumiere Brothers Photography Center

This modern photo gallery is located in the very heart of Moscow, next to the Kremlin, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, big art galleries, design studios famous clubs and restaurants. The photography Center houses in an old and huge mansion at the Moskva River Embankment. Lumiere Brothers Photography Center has three huge exhibition rooms, lecture hall, library with an immense collection of rare books in photography and an independent bookshop. The Center is conducting research work, organizing educational projects, providing a base for the future Russian Museum of Photography.

Site: http://www.lumiere.ru/

Winzavod (Wine Factory) is the first and the biggest Center of Contemporary Art in our country. It unites all the areas of modern culture: exhibitions, festivals, lecture programs, cinema, concerts, theater premieres. You will find here a big amount of art galleries, artists’ workshops, designers and photographers studios, art cafes, fashion showrooms, a bookshop, children’s studio and many other things. The purpose of Winzavod is to support and to develop Russian contemporary art, art initiatives and help talented young people. Visiting Winzavod you will see the art that defines not only today’s but also tomorrow’s life.

Site: http://www.winzavod.ru/

The Manezh was built in 1817 in honor of the 5th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the 1812 war. Then it was called «Exerzierhaus», building, intended for military drills. The building has the unique construction – wooden structure trusses overlap the space of 44.86 square meters without any intermediate supports. After 1917, Manezh served as a garage for government vehicles. And since 1957 it has been continuously used for exhibitions and public events. In 2004, the building was severely damaged by fire. Renovated in 2005 the Manezh doubled its area. Nowadays it is one of the leading Moscow exhibition halls. There are two exhibition spaces, a conference room and a cafe on the third-floor observation deck. The Manezh hosts numerous fairs, festivals, and exhibitions.

Site: http://moscowmanege.ru/

Flacon Design Factory

Flacon Design Factory, located in the territory of a former glass factory, has become a pioneer in the revitalization of industrial zone outside the historic center of Moscow. Flacon has become a powerful launch pad for multiple cool projects, self-expression of creative individuals and carrying-out of sociocultural initiatives. No wonder that the atmosphere at Flacon entirely coincides with its motto: «Create as you please!» The Factory includes offices, co-working zone, shops, workshops, exhibition and creative projects spaces. Lectures, film screenings, fairs, design festivals, innovative exhibitions, presentations, concerts, limited actions and design community work days pass here weekly.

Site: http://flacon.ru/

Artplay is near Winzavod in the former industrial space in the area Kurskaya metro station and occupies an area of 75,000 square meters. Artplay, providing a new life to carefully reconstructed factory buildings, has become an important part of the contemporary cultural landscape of the city. Artplay unites designers, architects, furniture, lighting, ceramics, decorative materials shops, involving them in cooperation with each other. Young Moscow galleries, artists’ studios, cafes, bars, bookstores, music club, school of design, theater, children’s art studio are also situated here. Three exhibition halls regularly host contemporary art exhibitions, festivals, video art, alternative music concerts, performances, film screenings, lectures and master classes.

Site: http://www.artplay.ru/

CCI Fabrika

The Center For Creative Industries «Fabrika» is an art space for non-commercial creative projects. Today it is the example of peaceful coexistence of art business, operating enterprise, production, and workplaces for talented people in Moscow. CCI Fabrika is a member of the international network of non-profit cultural centers – Trans Europe Halls. This project is a typical umbrella-center. It is developing in both ways: creating and exhibiting its cultural projects and offering workspaces for other creative groups. Here you can find art studios and workshops of design, architecture, cinema, theater, cartoon animation and contemporary music studios.

Site: http://www.proektfabrika.ru/

Moscow Museum-Reserves

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve is one of the largest historical, cultural, recreation and touristic complexes. Its total area is more than 700 hectares. It is an excellent combination of nature – marvelous rivers, ponds, streams, forests – and scientifically restored and renovated architectural and landscape monuments. The museum’s collection of historical items, exhibitions, and educational programs will be attractive for both national visitors and foreign tourists.

Site: http://www.tsaritsyno-museum.ru/

Arkhangelskoye Country Estate

Russian cultural monument is a good sublimation of the stunning beauty of a green space and luxurious collection of paintings, sculptures, unique books and pieces arts and crafts. During its long history, the estate was used as a recreation place for emperors, politicians, famous writers and poets. Today it is the finest place to have an enjoyable walk and to see the richest collection Russian art.

Site: http://www.arhangelskoe.su/

Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve

A unique historic place – Kolomenskoe – is situated in the picturesque surrounding over the Moscow River banks. A magnificent country estate has appeared at the lands full of legends. Archeological discoveries state that the first settlements appeared here in the VIII century. It is an ancient and uniquely formed place. Today this is a unique complex of cultural monuments of high historical value.

Site: http://mgomz.ru/kolomenskoe

Sergiev-Posad City

Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve

Museum of Sergiev-Posad is a historical and art reserve. It is located within the unique wall of the St. Sergius Trinity Lavra. This ancient monastery gathered its treasures during centuries from the tsars, princes and boyars donations. Moreover, many art and craft items were made at Lavra’s workshops. Now, the collections of Sergiev-Posad Museum-Reserve include rare, ancient icons, Cyrillic alphabet books, medieval manuscripts, visual art items, gold and silver showpieces.

Site: http://www.stsl.ru/

PLAN YOUR TRIP WITH US

Happy to help you with everything, from general plan of your visit to plane tickets or hotel stay. We may also support your Russian Visa request with a letter of invitation if you need so.

SEE OUR TOURS

We host around 60 tours every month in English, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic and other languages. All of our tours =>

SAVE THIS LINK

If you only started to think about visiting Moscow, just save our site in your browser’s bookmarks or follow us on Facebook and Instagram to be in touch.

Our Private Tours in Moscow

Moscow art & design private tour, soviet moscow historical & heritage private tour, gastronomic moscow private tour, «day two» moscow private tour, layover in moscow tailor-made private tour, whole day in moscow private tour, all-in-one moscow essential private tour, moscow metro & stalin skyscrapers private tour, tour guide jobs →.

Every year we host more and more private tours in English, Russian and other languages for travelers from all over the world. They need best service, amazing stories and deep history knowledge. If you want to become our guide, please write us.

Contact Info

+7 495 166-72-69

[email protected]

119019 Moscow, Russia, Filippovskiy per. 7, 1

Mon - Sun 10.00 - 18.00