Constrained Writing: It’s a Thing!

I had no idea it was a thing. In researching the topic of creative constraint, I was led to this Wikipedia article, and proceeded down a rabbit hole!

Writing “with limitations” is ubiquitous. Six-word memoirs, seven-word summaries, haiku poetry, and 280-character tweets are all examples of constrained writing.

I became interested in exploring more about creative constraints in writing after reading How to Think Like Shakespeare, by Scott Newstok. The book describes the kinds of writing exercises that students in Shakespeare’s day completed and presents a strong case for revisiting some of these “constrained writing” activities. It includes an entire chapter “On Constraint.”

“Perhaps giving oneself a tight structure, making limitations for oneself, squeezes out new substance where you least expect it”

~ Doris Lessing (1972) Source: How to Think Like Shakespeare by Scott Newstok (120)

Here are some “constrained writing” activities that might entice even the most reluctant writers. Some are used by professional authors to overcome “writer’s block.” Use them for warm-ups, contests, include them in projects, or just share them with your language lovers.

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UNJOURNALING ~ This book contains 200 “constrained writing” prompts that I’ve often been able to incorporate into multidisciplinary units. For example, one prompt challenges writers to mimic the first sentence of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address but in reference to another event. Students could relate their imitation to a topic of study (e.g. astronomy). Instead of “Fourscore and seven years ago…” they might write: “Threescore and four years ago, a new era in space exploration was brought forth, in this universe, in this solar system, conceived by the Soviets, and dedicated to the proposition that man could travel beyond the stratosphere.” Some of these prompts could be completed in less than 15 minutes and others might be inserted into units of study or offered as weekly challenges.

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HOW DO I WRITE THIS? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS

The writing exercise shown here dates back to the 1500s! Writers were challenged to discover many ways to express the same thought. This list shows only a portion of the over 150 variations of the phrase “Your letter pleased me greatly” from Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style by Erasmus. If nothing else, it could be fun to share the original 5-word sentence and have them rewrite it a few ways, then show them this partial list!

Lofty Language, a twist on “pompous proverbs,” involves a similar kind of engagement with words. Read more about it in More Pun and Games: A Little Language Levity and have students write their own!

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OFF LIMITS GAME ~ (all grade levels) If you’ve played the game Taboo,™ you know that the object is to give clues that lead to someone guessing a “target” word. However, the clue must not include taboo words; these are “off limits.” These kid-friendly cards can be used to play the game orally with advanced students as young as kindergarten.

However, as a writing exercise for older students, add some constraints. Send the student “guesser” out of the room. Display a card and tell the remaining students they have thirty seconds to write a clue, a phrase of no more than 10 words, on paper or individual whiteboards. The “guesser” is then called back into the room and directed to choose students, one at a time, to reveal their clues. If the “guesser” correctly guesses the word on the very first clue, the class gets 50 points. If not, the “guesser” selects another student to reveal a clue, worth 40 points. Each time an additional clue is required, the awarded points decrease by 10. This version forces students to choose words carefully. Students love to try to beat the class score in successive games!

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UNIQUELY POETIC ~ Unless you’re writing in free verse, poetry involves writing within specific structures. Here are several types of poems that might be new to students:

• Lipogrammatic Poem – (a letter or letters is intentionally not used ~ see photo below)
• Univocalic Poem – (only one vowel is used – find another example here)
• Fib Poems – (the number of words in each line follows the Fibonacci sequence)
• Palindrome Poems – (can be read from the top to the bottom and vice versa)

ONE MORE

PILISH ~ The perfect activity for Pi Day! Students are challenged to write sentences or poems in which the digits of PI determine the number of letters in consecutive words. Read more about PILISH here: Celebrate Pi Day (3/14) in a Novel Way!

Hopefully, you found something new to try, but don’t discount activities that are “tried and true.” Rewriting songs, rhymes, and poems can be an excellent way to combine academics with creativity. The creative process in rewriting a familiar piece can be engaging for all ages. At the time of this writing, there are over 50 songs that are coronavirus parodies.

Do you have a different kind of writing exercise to add to these? Your comment below is welcome!