3 Collaborative Creative Writing Exercises to do With Your Friends and Family This Week

If you’re getting tired of the same old card game after dinner routine, try doing these collaborative creating writing exercises with friends and family this week instead for an engaging and memorable experience! 

For all these exercises, you will need: a group of at least 2 people, a piece of paper for each participant, a writing utensil for each participant

Collaborative Poetry 

1. Have everyone in your group sit in a circle, or if you’re doing this with one partner, sit across from them. 
2. On their piece of paper, each person will begin writing the collaborative poem by writing the first line. There are no rules or restrictions for this part– write about anything you want, or feel drawn to. The line can be however long or short you desire, but try to keep it to about a sentence!
3. After everyone has opened their poems with the first line, hand the piece of paper to the person on the right. This person will now write the second line of the poem. It may feel natural to continue what the first line has established, and if that feels good to you, continue the poem! If you want to deviate from the first line, that is also totally fine. It’ll only make the collaborative poem more interesting.
4. Keep rotating poems and writing new lines until the poem reaches about 10-12 lines, or until you see fit. At the end, read aloud the final collaborative poem! Reflect on how all your different perspectives have collected into one final work. Sign all your names on the pieces of paper, and give the poems titles, if that is what feels right. You can also adapt this rotating exercise to prose (instead of writing lines of poetry, each person will write a sentence)!

A Study in Differing Perspectives

1. The aim of this exercise is to demonstrate and explore how perspectives differ. We’ll begin by having everyone start their short story or poem (whichever literary form you feel more comfortable with) with the same line. We’ve listed some examples below:
1. “The sky was an odd shade of blue today… ”
2. “I wondered what she/he/they were up to… ”
3. “It was a treat of a lifetime…”
4. “I remember my tenth birthday…”
5. Or come up with your own! Brainstorm and workshop with your group– just make sure everyone starts their piece of writing with the same phrase/sentence.
2. Set a timer for 20 minutes, or the length of five of your favorite songs. Have everyone work separately on their writing. 
3. When 20 or so minutes have passed, or when everyone has finished, share your work with each other, having one person at a time read what they have written. Notice how, despite starting at the exact same point, you have all differed in the way you took the story. Reflect on these differences, and as always, thank everyone for sharing their work.

A Portrait in List Form

1. Have everyone in the group partner up. If you are working in a trio or an odd number group, sit in a circle and the person to your right will be the subject of your poem.
2. Observing your partner or assigned person, title the poem their name and begin to write a poem about them in list form. This means that you are simply listing out things you observe about them, or feel about them. For example, if my partner was Maya, and Maya was wearing a green sweater, had thick red glasses on, and had a warm smile, my poem might look something like this:

Maya

Green Chunky Sweater

Thick Red Glasses

Warmest Smile

1. Try to come up with at least 8 attributes, and when everyone is finished, take turns reading your poem to your partner/assigned person. 
2. Without painting or drawing, we have essentially created a portrait of someone else. This is an especially special process, and a great way to remind the people dearest to you that they are seen, and honored.

As always, get creative with it! Feel free to bend the instructions a bit to what feels right for you and the people you are working with. Let your creativity flow, and enjoy yourselves!