Around the World

A Creative Writing Activity

When I feel like I’m hitting a wall with my writing, I try to create fun ideas to remind myself that sometimes it’s okay to write just for fun or just to simply write; we don’t always have to be writing something that’s productive or something that is worth sharing. It’s important to exercise your skills in writing, even if that means you end up writing a story that you don’t love–at least you took the time to sit down and write!

One of these activities that I have created for myself (and my creative writing students) is called “Around the World”. Here’s how it goes:

• Find a map. I have a map in my room that has thumbtacks in it, so I can easily pin certain locations. A globe would work too!
• Close your eyes and pin a random place on the map. If you’re using a globe, close your eyes and place your finger on the globe in a random spot. If you don’t have a map or a globe on hand, google a picture of a world map, close your eyes, and select a random place!
• After you have done this, you will then write a creative fiction story that is set in that country. Some of my students landed in the ocean, and I gave them the option to either pick again or try to come up with a story that is set in the ocean. Some of them chose to write about sailing adventures, and others wrote about mermaids! There are several ways you can go about this–as long as you’re having fun and getting rid of your writer’s block!

I often land on countries that I have never heard of or know very little about, so I look up pictures and cultural facts about that place before I begin to write. This is a great exercise for not only your creativity, but for storytelling as well. This expands your knowledge of different places, which creates a new range of settings for other stories you may write one day!

I hope you’ll give this exercise a try if you feel yourself experiencing writer’s block. It is a fun way to get the creative juices flowing again, and you never know what it might lead to!

I’d love to hear your stories or your experience with this exercise, so feel free to reach out to me if you tried it out!

Writing Prompts:

• Picture your favorite place in the world. Why is it your favorite? Use descriptive language to explain what it looks like and how being there makes you feel.
• What does “adventure” mean to you? What ideas come to mind?