If you’re anything like me, you have your favorite writing styles and you tend to stick to them. I like to write essays. To me, there’s nothing more exciting than writing about settings, experiences and emotion. I would not, however, consider myself a poet, and fiction is something I’ve only just begun playing at. So when I get stuck, when I’m feeling uninspired, sometimes it helps to venture into the unknown a bit. Instead of working on the essay I’ve been struggling with, I’ll grab a notebook and pen and try my hand at a freestyle poem. Or I’ll take a topic, word or scene and play it out in a fictitious story just to see where it takes me.

The next time you’re feeling bound up in your own writing style, try something new. Take the essay topic you’re writing about, the short story theme you’re working on or the poem you just can’t finish and turn it into something new—your essay can become a short story; your poem can become an essay; a scene from your fiction can become a poem. You can also simply set aside the current work and try the exercise below. You never know what might come out of it. Your short story turned poem might lead you to some dialog or setting that you hadn’t considered. The poem turned essay might open your mind to a deeper theme or symbolic connection. Wherever it leads you, have fun experimenting with new techniques and styles. Stretching your writing can only improve your ability. Enjoy a little change of style.

Write Out Loud Exercise #2 – Style Switcheroo

The exercise is simple. You can choose a topic you’ve been writing about in your usual style, or you can choose a completely new topic. (If you need a prompt, try one of the Feeless Free Writer prompts, this week’s Sunday Scribblings prompt, or any one of the words at First 50 Words. ) Then pick an unfamiliar technique—think poetry, essay, fiction, even dialog—and spend 30 minutes writing in this style. Whatever technique you choose, don’t worry about the details or about getting it “right.” Free write–no editing allowed–and just let yourself experiment with the new style.

If you post the exercise on your blog, don’t forget to leave a comment with a link to it. Let us know what your usual style/technique is and what styles you’re experimenting with. Whatever you’re writing, enjoy the process and Write Out Loud!

What’s your usual writing style and do you find that dabbling in new techniques helps you to write better?