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Writing Exercises

Exercise: Thinking Outside of the Box

by | July 23, 2015 | | 0 Comments

by Lucy Felthouse

I don’t really post exercises here, but I used this recently at a talk I did at the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference in London, and it seemed to go down really well with attendees. So here goes… I hope you’re inspired 😉

I’m going to give you a theme, and I’d like you to write something down that’s outside the box. You may or may not use it in future, but I think if it sparks your imagination, it can only be a good thing!

  • Uniforms
  • Curvy men or women
  • Christmas
  • Chocolate
  • Sex at work
  • Twenty-four hours in a city

The reason I included the twenty-four hours in a city example is because I’m Managing Editor for the City Nights series from Tirgearr Publishing. These are novella length (25 – 30k) contemporary erotic romance stories that take place within a twenty-four hour time period in a city somewhere in the world. They’re all completely standalone stories, and we’re releasing one per month, with a break in December. We’ve just released the thirteenth! So if this is something you’re interested in, the full submission guidelines are on their website. I’d love to see some more submissions!

Happy Writing!
Lucy

*****

Author Bio:


Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and
erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100
publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several
editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic
Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and
co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house.
She owns Erotica For All, is book
editor for Cliterati, and is one eighth
of The Brit Babes. Find out more
at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk.
Join her on Facebook
and Twitter, and subscribe to her
newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Writing Exercise – The Kyrielle

by | July 6, 2015 | | 11 Comments

By Ashley Lister

It’s almost three years since I first mentioned the kyrielle and it’s
become one of my favourite poetic forms. Below is what I originally said about
the poem.

You suggested we try new positions

You could tell that thought got me
perplexed

You ordered some manuals from Amazon

I wonder just what we’ll do next?

The kyrielle is a French form of poetry written in quatrains. Each
quatrain concludes with a repeated line or phrase that works as a refrain for the
poem.

The first book we opened had pictures

It’s title was The Joy of Sex

We followed the instructions on Monday

I wonder just what we’ll do next?

The kyrielle has a meter usually composed of eight syllables per line
but it can be varied. There is no limit to the number of stanzas but three is really
the minimum.

On Tuesday we read marriage manuals

On Wednesday it got more complex

On Thursday and Friday you filmed us

I wonder just what we’ll do next?

The normal structure of the kyrielle is a/a/b/B, c/c/b/B, d/d/b/B. with
B being the repeated line. A varied structure could be a/b/a/B, c/b/c/B,
d/b/d/B. etc. or even a second line that didn’t rhyme.

Now we’ve gone through the whole the Kama
Sutra

We’ve explored every page of that text

But now we must look to the future

I wonder just what we’ll do next?

As always, if you fancy writing a Kyrielle and sharing it in
the comments box below, we all look forward here to reading your work.

Ash

Writing Exercise – The Hymnal Measure

by | June 6, 2015 | | 5 Comments

By Ashley Lister

Amazing Grace is quite a treat
She likes to suck my toe
I suck hers too, she thinks it’s neat
But how I wish she’d blow.

Whether you call it the hymnal measure, the hymnal stanza or
common metre, this simple yet effective form of poetry is seductively easy. This form consists
only of two rhymes per stanza (a, b, a, b), alternating with iambic tetrameter (eight
syllables per line) and trimeter (six syllables per line).  Most of us are already familiar with this one
from the rhythm of Amazing Grace. And, once you start writing in this form, the
rhythm is difficult to escape.

Expose your ass, assume the pose
It’s time to spank again
Please bend forward and touch your toes
I’ll go and fetch the cane.

Admittedly, the stress on the third line of that stanza is
FORward, rather than the usual pronunciation of forWARD, but this is a small
sacrifice for the sake of the sentiment I want to convey.

As always, I’d love to see your hymnal stanzas in the
comments box below.  

Writing Exercise – The Diamond Poem

by | May 6, 2015 | | 11 Comments

By Ashley Lister

One of the reasons why I advocate using poetry as a warm up
exercise for writing is because it gets us to think about words in different
ways. When we write poems like the limerick or the sonnet, we end up
considering rhyme patterns. When we write poems like haiku and cinquain, we
count the syllables.  When we write poems
like the triolet or the rictameter, we consider the impact of refrains and the effectiveness
of repetition. This month we’re looking at the diamond poem and considering word
classes.

Ass
Plump,
Round
Quivers,
trembles, anticipates
Hand, paddle,
crop, cane.
Shouting, shrieking, screaming
Reddened,
punished
Cheeks

The diamond poem is seven lines long. 1 x noun, 2 x
adjective, 3 x verb, 4 x noun, 3 x verb, 2 x adjective, 1 x noun. 

As I
mentioned before, the benefits from this exercise are considering word classes
and how they are used. Also, as a piece of concrete poetry, I do think diamond
poems look pretty on the page. Another added bonus is, because of the absence
of prepositions, they tend to sound like ‘proper’ poetry.

Toys
Hidden,
forbidden
Buzzing,
sliding, gyrating
Dildos, clamps,
clips, vibrators
Plug, Play,
Please
Private, adult
Toys

As always, I look forward to
seeing your diamond poems in the comments box below. 

Writing Exercise – Limericks

by | April 6, 2015 | | 31 Comments

By Ashley Lister

A silly young woman
called Alice
Used live dynamite for a phallus
It blew her vagina
To North Carolina
And her ass to a ranch up in Dallas

I’ve mentioned limericks before but I’m mentioning them
again as a writing exercise for one very important reason: they’re fun.

Note the rhyme scheme: a-a-b-b-a. 
This is consistent for the majority of limericks.

A very good friend of
mine, Paul
Has got a hexagonal ball
The result of its weight
Plus his dick’s length times eight
Is his phone number: give him a call

Note the metre/syllable count.  In
this one it’s 8/8/6/6/9.  Commonly, each
limerick is 8/8/5/5/8 although they can go a couple of syllables either side
depending on how they’re being performed. 

Please remember that the most important thing about the
limerick is that the form lends itself to fun. 

One morning a
nobleman, Andy
Woke up feeling properly randy.
He said to his aide,
“Please fetch in my maid,
Or the dog, or whatever is handy.”

As always, I look forward to seeing your limericks in the
comments box below.

Writing Exercise – muzdawidj

by | March 6, 2015 | | 4 Comments

by Ashley Lister

Our lives are complex as a Rubik’s cube

I give advice to prove I’m not a rube

And say, “Please don’t use chilli sauce as lube.”

It’s true I do not have a lot of class

With words of wisdom, I don’t have a mass

But I don’t stick spicy sauce up my ass.

Let me beat my message loud, with a drum

Let me warn you the results are not fun

Let me say: keep spices out of your rectum.

The poetic form of the Urdu masnavi were originally religious
in content.  Additionally, they were written
in couplets.  Over the years the form of
the masnavi has been appropriated and modified until we’re left with today’s
form: the muzdawidj.

As you will have noted from the example above, the muzdawidj
uses triplets (a a a / b b b / c c c…) 

We’ve known each other for a while,

I’d give so much to make you smile.

So, shall we do it doggy-style?

I think true love should know no bounds

I want to hear those special sounds

You make when we’re like rutting hounds.

They tell me that true love is blind.

I love your body and your mind.

Get on all fours. I’ll go behind

The muzdawidj is a straightforward poetic form that works
best (like most rhyming forms) when each line has a similar metrical
value.  As a writing exercise to start
your creative juices flowing before you get down to your daily writing routine,
the muzdawidj is accessible, easy to remember, and surprisingly
challenging.  I look forward to reading
your poems in the comments box below.

Writing Exercise – the Dizain

by | February 6, 2015 | | 5 Comments

by Ashley Lister

You may tie me up tight if that suits your need

Suspend me by piercings through my bare skin

Spank me so hard that my flesh starts to bleed

Make me go shopping with a butt plug still in

I shall surrender to your every sin.

You may use or abuse me howe’er you want

You can make me send mails in comic sans font

Whate’er you fancy I’m sure would be groovy

There’s only one act that I’d find repugnant

Please don’t make me watch the Fifty Shades movie.

The Dizain is ten lines of rhymed poetry following a
pattern of a b a b b c c d c d.   Usually this form is presented in iambic
pentameter, although other variations work equally well. The majority of the poem
above consists of eight syllable lines. Originally a French form, the Dizain has
a stylish rhythm that works well with erotic subject matter.

Let me put my lips around it.

I’d like to taste it with my tongue,

I want to coat it with my spit,

I need to suck it all night long.

This deviation keeps me young.

Now I’m on my knees before you

And you know what I want to do

Not too hasty. Let’s take it slow.

First I’ll slip off your small shoe

Then spend my night sucking your toe.

 

If you fancy sharing your interpretation of the Dizain,
please leave one in the comments box below.

Writing Exercise – English Sestet

by | January 6, 2015 | | 10 Comments

By Ashley Lister

Happy New Year.  We’re
at the beginning of another year and, as always, I’m hoping to share some writing
exercises in the manner of poetic forms. 
I thought I’d start this year with something relatively simple: the
English Sestet. 

Forerunners of the English Sestet can be found as the final
six lines of a typical sonnet.  A
giveaway detail to this relationship between the sestet and the sonnet is the distinctive
rhyme scheme of a, b, a, b, c, c.  Again,
because of its associations with the sonnet, the English Sestet is most
commonly written in iambic pentameter (that is, five two-syllable ‘feet’
following a pattern of unstressed/stressed).

Here’s an example:

I have only three rules you should follow,

To give us harmony when we’re alone.

Firstly you can’t spit: you have to swallow.

Second: you must be faithful to my bone.

The third rule is the easiest for you:

Enjoy each kinky thing that we both do.

This one isn’t technically iambic.  It has ten syllables per line (which is close
enough to the rhythm for my pronunciation) but the stressed and unstressed
patterns aren’t iambic. However this does follow the a, b, a, b, c, c, rhyme
scheme. 

The poem below also follows that same pattern:

You wouldn’t let me put it in your ass

You wouldn’t let me put it in your mouth

You say that my suggestions shows no class

You say that my charisma’s heading south

You’re making this small task a giant chore:

So how else could I take your temperature?

And it’s as simple as that. As always, if you care to share
your poetry in the comments box below, it would be great to see how others
approach this particular form.

Writing Exercise – the rondelet

by | December 6, 2014 | | 14 Comments

 by Ashley Lister

 The rondelet is a French form of poetry consisting of seven
lines.  The rhyme scheme is: A b A a b b
A, where each capital A is a refrain line with four syllables, and every other
line contains eight syllables. To illustrate:

Your cheeks are red

As though you’ve guessed my idea

Your cheeks are red

And there you lay across my bed

Holding up your cheeky rear

Shivering with shame-thrilled fear 

Your cheeks are red

I have to admit I’m a huge fan of the rondelet’s form.  Refrains are always a fun device in poetry,
making your reader/audience reconsider a sentiment from a different perspective,
or reiterating a point so that the weight of its importance can be
stressed.  The simple rhyme and metrical
pattern make it an easy form to use at the start of any writing session, just
to help limber up writing muscles.  Here’s
another:

It’s Christmas time 

A time when couples get to screw 

It’s Christmas time

And whilst I’m writing you this rhyme

I trust you know this much is true

I just can’t wait to be with you

It’s Christmas time

As always, I look forward to seeing your poetry in the
comments box below. 

Writing Exercise – The Burns Stanza

by | October 6, 2014 | | 5 Comments


by Ashley Lister

When it comes to raw sex appeal, it’s difficult to think
of a country sexier than Scotland. Famous for muscular males, proficient in caber
tossing and kilt-wearing; equally famed for feisty flame-haired females, Scotland
has been the home of raunchy romance since the earliest days of print.  

Scotland is also blessed with a proud poetic heritage
which gives us this month’s writing exercise. The Burns stanza is
named after Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns.

The form did exist before Burns made it his own in the
form of the Standart Habbie. It’s also known as the Scottish
stanza or, sometimes, simply the six-line stave. Personally, I’m
happy calling it a Burns stanza. This is my attempt at the form.

Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim’rous lassie, 
Blessed with a perfect, peach-shaped assie 
Your heels and stockings look so classy, 
Have a guess what’s on my mind
You know I’d love to mount your chassis
And take you rudely from behind.

Stanzas have six lines rhyming aaabab. As always, I’d
love to see your interpretations of this form in the comments box below. 

Hot Chilli Erotica

Hot Chilli Erotica

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