Possessions

A creative writing exercise that has always evoked some remarkable descriptions of beloved and surprising objects. Choose one of the following possibilities.

• Think of someone you know well and list a few different possessions which you associate with that person. Then choose one of those objects, the one that seems most resonant to you, and write more about it, trying to be as precise in your description of that object as possible. Feel free to bring in any personal memories which this object triggers.
• Write about a personal possession/object that you would most want to save in case there was a fire in your house. Describe it precisely and explain to your reader why this object is so important to you. (Do not write about your mobile phone, since you already have that in your pocket!)

Working with photographs of people

This is a creative writing exercise that invariably leads to much laughter and animated discussions. I have adapted this from Alan Maley und Alan Duff’s Drama Techniques in Language Learning (Cambridge: CUP, 1982, 128-129). 

The class is divided into an even number of groups of 4-5 students. Each group will receive a large photograph of a person and are given about 15-20 minutes to discuss and answer the following questions. At least one person needs to write the answers down.

• How old might the person be?
• What might his/her occupation be (or have been)?
• Family circumstances (married or not, children or not etc.)
• What kind of a personality?
• Likes and dislikes?
• Where does the person come from?
• Life story?

After the end of this first phase, each group exchanges pictures with another group and after only 5-7 minutes, the two groups meet and compare their answers. First the 'non-experts' (the group that only had 5 minutes) give their answers and then the 'experts' tell the others what they 'know'.

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