Writing Exercises?

[Phillip]

Hey all,
My wife and I are looking to get back into writing. Its been years since either of us have dedicated any serious time or effort. We're looking for a good source of exercises to break back into the flow.

I have both the 4am Breakthrough and 3am Epiphany but I found that they were a bit too advanced(?) for what I'm looking for at this point. We dont really have any past works to draw on.

Any suggestions on a good source? Book or website...
Thanks in advance.
phillip

[Jon]

I find the best practice for writing is in the doing. Perhaps it's me, but I'd rather compose original work than follow someone else's guide.

Perhaps a joint project with you and your wife would get you both back in the saddle. Brainstorm some story ideas, decide how to divy the workload, and let it rip.

[Michael]

When I'm trying to break back into writing after any length of time, I find the best way to do so is to just sit and force myself to write without stopping for at least 30 minutes. Just shut off your inner critic, don't use backspace, and write.

[Gordon]

I agree that the best exercise is simply to write. This year one of my resolutions is to write a minimum of 500 words a day, every day, and most if not all of that will be posted to my web site.
Since I work better under some sort of outside restriction, I'm taking part in WIP500, which is a sort of year-long NaNoWriMo with a much lower daily target of 500 words.

http://www.caramichaels.com/defiantly... if you want to check that out.

[Aethelberga]

Or try this place:
http://750words.com/
It's all about writing 750 words per day.

[kvon]

Podcast Writing Excuses. They give weekly writing prompts.

[Phillip]

Thank you guys for all of your feedback and suggestions. I heard about Writing Excuses. Thanks for that reminder. I'll add it to my podcast suggestions.