Creative writing exercise: if the glove fits

Get creative with your fifteen-minute workout!

Close your eyes and imagine a pair of gloves. Consider the following questions:

• What are they like?
• Who do they belong to?
• What colour and texture are they?
• Where are they kept?

For instance, are they delicate lace mittens worn by a Regency heroine at her first ball and kept in a sandalwood box or are they scuffed black leather gloves worn by a criminal?

Focus on your pair of gloves. Set a timer and free-write for three minutes. Don’t worry about getting information in the right order. Don’t cross out or censor what you write. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling for now.

Look and what you’ve written and underline any words or phrases you particularly like. (Three minutes)

Think about the hands that will be wearing the gloves – and then try to bring the rest of the person into focus.

• What are they like?
• Notice any blemishes or tattoos.
• What time of day is it?
• Where are they?
• What can they see from their window?
• How do they feel?

Free-write for three minutes about the hands and their owner. Again, don’t censor anything – just concentrate on filling as much paper as you can. Use the senses.

For the last few minutes of this exercise, draft the first few paragraphs of a story or create a short poem using the information you have gathered.