WRITERS’ CIRCLES
Get inventive
Be inspired by the innovative ideas of inventors in these writing group exercises from Julie Phillips
Julie Phillips
The world is full of useful, amazing, advanced and downright silly inventions. Some have revolutionised the way we live today, saving lives, making our jobs less labour intensive or simply making life a bit more pleasurable and easier. From the invention of the wheel to the motor engine, there’s something for everyone. This month your writing group will be looking at some of these inventions and getting inventive themselves.
Ask the group to come up with a list of inventions that are absolutely brilliant or absurd. Get them to rank them in order of usefulness to the world. Is an invention always positive and for the better or could it be used for more negative, less helpful purposes? Some inventions could be used for good or bad, so what are the implications of this an inventor needs to consider? Ask the group to discuss what they think the best invention is and what the most whackiest or useless invention is. Thinking about inventions in this way allows the group to think outside of the box and consider the pros and cons. They can then apply this to their writing, changing the way they view what they’ve written and reinventing themselves as writers in a different direction.