This creative writing exercise is from Take Ten for Writers by Bonnie Neubauer
Take Ten for Writers • No. 70 Creative Writing Exercise
By Bonnie Neubauer | Updated September 9, 2018
Pick an item from each column in the grid below to create a simile. The odder the simile, the more fun it is to invent a story around it. If you want, generate a few similes and use them all. (Examples: Crooked like a yo-yo in a debate; Wild like a rocking chair in sneakers.)
Rotten like | a lead balloon | in pajamas |
Pink like | mashed potatoes | in headlights |
Ripe like | a yo-yo | at a wedding |
Handsome like | a feminist | in handcuffs |
Crisp like | a pig | in a dentist’s chair |
Tempting like | bricks | in flames |
Romantic like | a congressman | in a cookie jar |
Crooked like | a cheerleader | in summer |
Cold like | a jalopy | in a debate |
Sharp like | a hillbilly | in a video game |
Fresh like | a pinch hitter | in sepia tones |
Snobby | like a bowler | up a creek |
Wild like | Richard Nixon | in a pocket |
Hairy like | a dream | in left field |
Backward like | dynamite | in the dog house |
Stubborn like | a banana split | at a Bar Mitzvah |
Inflated like | a cockroach | at a protest march |
Loose like | a geek | in a junkyard |
Annoying | like eggs | in battle |
Crazy | like bagels | in a time warp |
Helpful like | a puppet | in cyberspace |
Psychic like | a rocking chair | in a think tank |
Witty like | a diamond | in sneakers |
Bored like | a cloud | in the refrigerator |
Clever like | lipstick | in a tornado |
Write your simile at the top of your page.
Pick a number between 1 and 10: ______.
Find your number below. This is the starting phrase for your story, in which you must use your simile.
Find your number here. This is the starting phrase for your story, in which you must use your simile.
Now TAKE TEN minutes and WRITE!
Similes are comparisons that jazz up your writing. Creative people also tend to be quite adept at another type comparison: comparing themselves to others, usually those who are more prolific or successful. This is destructive and a waste of time.
Instead, take the time to honor who you are. If you want to be more prolific, set aside more writing time. If you want to be more successful, learn how make your work more professional to send out into the world. Change because you want it for yourself, not because you are comparing yourself to, or competing with, someone else.
Next: VocabuLeery Writing Exercise
©2009 Bonnie Neubauer. All rights reserved.
Bonnie Neubauer is the inventor of the Story Spinner and author of the revised and expanded deluxe edition of The Write-Brain Workbook. ...