Writers: The 5-Minute Exercise That Can Help On Your Next Action Novel

Set a timer for 5 minutes. Choose one of the scenarios below, and write forward without stopping, deleting, or editing. Lower the pressure on your next first draft by trying a "5-Minute Timed Session". Write as fast as you can without looking back, editing, or correcting syntax.

The goal is simply to build momentum and bypass your inner critic.

• The Escape: Your protagonist is trapped in a tight space (a moving elevator, a collapsing warehouse, a stolen car). Write the 5 minutes leading up to their breakout.

• The Drop-In: Start your character mid-air or mid-fall (skydiving into an enemy compound, jumping across rooftops, or dangling from a ledge).

• The Interrupted Routine: Start with a completely normal activity (ordering coffee, sitting at a red light). On minute two, someone grabs them, or an explosion goes off or some kind of big action effects your character.

Rules for this session

• Focus on Senses: Write only what the character hears, feels, and sees in the chaos.

• Use Short Sentences: Mimic the fast pacing of an action scene with short, punchy phrasing.

• No Backspacing: If you make a typo, leave it and keep running.

• The "Life-Changing Scene" Prompt: If you don't know where to start your novel, set a timer for 5 minutes and write only the exact moment your character's life changes forever (e.g., opening an unexpected letter or getting a life-altering phone call).

• The Brain Avalanche: If you are stuck on a difficult topic or article, take 1 minute to list bullet points of the elements you need to cover. Pick the most difficult point, and spend the remaining 4 minutes writing without pausing.

• The Free-Write: Write absolutely anything that comes to mind, even if you are just typing "something is happening here" over and over until an actual idea forms.

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Writers: The 5-Minute Exercise That Can Help On Your Next Action Novel

Writing In short focused blocks of non-editing time can really improve your overall ideas and help you tap into the creative side of your brain.

Once the timer goes off, get up, stretch, and give yourself a break before tackling the next section of your work. Pat yourself on the back because you’ve just created the draft that may just be your next biggest novel.

We always appreciate your comments & suggestions and what you write might just help the next struggling author. Thanks for stopping by and we sincerely hope this info helps you.

Be well and we’ll see you next week on Monday