A fun ‘adjectives’ game to motivate your muse.

I have a tendency to rely on using the same adjectives within my writing. Adjectives, known as description words, can create excitement and add flavor to your writing. Overuse of the same words, though, is boring (as well as uninteresting, monotonous, dreary, dull, wearisome, and tedious) to the reader. In my professional writing, I limit the usage of adjectives unless they complement the content, usually utilizing standard marketing verbiage. In creative writing, adjectives are necessary to describe emotion, action, and location. 

I’ve created an interesting word play game to expand my adjective vocabulary. It is a simple exercise, which requires just a bit of time. This is a great way to actively write each day and it can fuel your creative juices.

The Adjective Game

• In a notebook, I write the letters of the alphabet in the left margin. 
• Day 1: I write an adjective that begins with the corresponding letter. Example: A = Alluring, B = Beautiful, etc. If I find that I just cannot think of a word off the top of my head, I pull out my old-school, printed dictionary and thesaurus.  If you don’t own either of these writing resources, I suggest you purchase either printed or e-book versions. Another option is to visit an online site, like thesaurus.com and dictionary.com. I find the online sites offer less examples than the books but this is still a viable option.
• Day 2: I write a new adjective with the corresponding letter: Example: A = Abrasive, B = Bouncy, etc. 
• Day 3 – 7: Repeat these steps.

There are some letters that are more difficult than others. My default ‘Z’ adjective is zany. Using this game as a writing exercise, I have zealously found zesty, zippy adjectives that have increased my vocabulary and added pizzazz to my writing. You can continue this game for as long as you wish. I stop after a week and move onto other exercises.

My goal is to continuously try new techniques to assist with development my writing craft. Personally, I need to strive to maintain my writing momentum, especially my personal creative writing. I struggle with allowing myself time to focus on this personal writing projects because I spend time on professional blogging. As you can tell, I currently blog on this site just once a week. My baby-step goals are to increase my personally blogging up to three times a week.

So, dear readers and fellow writers, what games and exercises do you use to increase your craft and inspire your creativity? What are some of your favorite, out-of-the-box adjectives you employ in your writing? I am always looking for new writing routines to expand my vocabulary and motivate my weary muse.   

Write on,

Laura L. Roberts