Free writing

You’ll need something to write with and a timer or stopwatch.

Set your timer to 5 minutes. Choose one of the following starter sentences and write without stopping for five minutes until your timer goes off. If you get stuck, repeat the last word again and again until you think of something but make sure to keep writing.

Starting sentences:

The biggest problem was that everyone was tired.

The first time I saw her, she was struggling to carry a huge box through a small doorway.

It didn’t make sense but we had to make the best of it.

I stayed at home because I knew it wouldn’t work.

He was whispering, so I was the only one who heard him.

Within moments of the rain stopping, we were outside again.

I should tell you about her, because she was the one who called the ambulance.

Things had turned out better than I expected.

We climbed out of the car and looked at the view, it was breathtaking.

Optional extension

Read through your piece and highlight your favourite parts of what you have written. Use these to create a longer piece or if you’re not keen on your ideas, try again with a different starting sentence.