Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

Your browser window currently does not have enough height, or is zoomed in too far to view our website content correctly. Once the window reaches the minimum required height or zoom percentage, the content will display automatically.

Alternatively, you can learn more via the links below.

Donations via GiveNow

Email

Instagram

LinkedIn

ISSUE NO. 1

July 2024

Donate Here

Creative

The Write Ideas: Creative Writing Exercises!

Creative writing exercises: have a go!

Michelle Wright is a short story writer and novelist. She takes public tours of Pentridge Prison and has run creative writing workshops over several decades.

Jan Kahanek

Writing can be a great way to express yourself, to get things out of your head and to pass the time. But writing can also be daunting: where to start? These exercises will help you get your pen to paper.

The aim is to get writing, to get ideas flowing and to get something down on paper. It can be junk! There are no expectations, no judgement, no criticism. It can be a personal experience, a creative piece, a poem, anything! It can be short, it can be long, or maybe one exercise won’t work for you and you’ll move on to the next.

If you’d like, you can do these exercises with others, and share what you’ve written after. Remember: no judgement and no criticism! The purpose of sharing is to see what others came up with, to see the variety of ways that people can respond and to perhaps be interested, intrigued or inspired by something that someone else has written. It’s also great to build confidence in yourself and your voice!

Exercise prompts!

Write a piece where all the action takes place in one defined space, such as a bedroom, a cinema or a park. It can be indoors or outdoors, but the action must stay within that one space.

Write a piece where the action takes place on a form of transport (a car, a train, a bus, a bike, a plane, a boat).

Write a piece that is about something you can hold in your hand, such as a toy, prized possession, food, piece of clothing,
a photo…

Describe a family member or friend or someone you know, but limit the number of words in the description to the age of each person. For example, your 51-year-old mother must be described in 51 words, your 23-year-old friend must be described in 23 words, your 14-year-old cousin must be described in 14 words. Don’t just write a list of words, but a description with sentences.

Write a piece where the action takes place over a specific length of time – one minute, one hour, one day, one week, one month, one year.

Write a piece where the first word is a question: Why...? What...? Who…? When…? How….? Where…? If…?

Write a piece where each sentence begins with a letter from your name.

Choose one thing in each of the following: a number between 1 and 100, a family member, a colour, an object you’d find in a kitchen, a place you’ve never been. Write them down at the top of your page. For example: 41, sister, red, plate, Perth. Now, use all these words in a piece of writing. It can be anything, a poem, a story, but it must include all the words!

Writing can be a great way to express yourself, to get things out of your head and to pass the time. But writing can also be daunting: where to start? These exercises will help you get your pen to paper.

The aim is to get writing, to get ideas flowing and to get something down on paper. It can be junk! There are no expectations, no judgement, no criticism. It can be a personal experience, a creative piece, a poem, anything! It can be short, it can be long, or maybe one exercise won’t work for you and you’ll move on to the next.

If you’d like, you can do these exercises with others, and share what you’ve written after. Remember: no judgement and no criticism! The purpose of sharing is to see what others came up with, to see the variety of ways that people can respond and to perhaps be interested, intrigued or inspired by something that someone else has written. It’s also great to build confidence in yourself and your voice!

Exercise prompts!

Write a piece where all the action takes place in one defined space, such as a bedroom, a cinema or a park. It can be indoors or outdoors, but the action must stay within that one space.

Write a piece where the action takes place on a form of transport (a car, a train, a bus, a bike, a plane, a boat).

Write a piece that is about something you can hold in your hand, such as a toy, prized possession, food, piece of clothing,
a photo…

Describe a family member or friend or someone you know, but limit the number of words in the description to the age of each person. For example, your 51-year-old mother must be described in 51 words, your 23-year-old friend must be described in 23 words, your 14-year-old cousin must be described in 14 words. Don’t just write a list of words, but a description with sentences.

Write a piece where the action takes place over a specific length of time – one minute, one hour, one day, one week, one month, one year.

Write a piece where the first word is a question: Why...? What...? Who…? When…? How….? Where…? If…?

Write a piece where each sentence begins with a letter from your name.

Choose one thing in each of the following: a number between 1 and 100, a family member, a colour, an object you’d find in a kitchen, a place you’ve never been. Write them down at the top of your page. For example: 41, sister, red, plate, Perth. Now, use all these words in a piece of writing. It can be anything, a poem, a story, but it must include all the words!

Falling Like Angels

By Daniel

The pain that I feel, this place that I’m in, these four walls closing in…

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

2 MIN READ

As This Time Comes to an End

By Punkin

As this time comes to an end, I wonder which way the next will bend. The earth and moon will do their thing, I’ll embrace everything.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

2 MIN READ

‘God, I Am Deeply Sorry’: A Poem for the Prisoners We’ve Lost

By Triste

To all the prisoners who have ever spent time away from the ones they love.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

1 MIN READ

‘Tingers’ and the Squirrel Box

By Sara

In Creative Learning we get to see some amazing stuff made by talented people. The best part is hearing the stories behind how creative projects have come to life.

Creative

ISSUE NO. 23

2 MIN READ

Help Us Keep Publishing About Time

Without About Time, I don’t know where I would be – Mark, from a prison in Victoria

We need your help so that we can print and distribute the paper to every person in every prison for at least the next year. We value whatever you can spare, no matter how big or small.

Australia’s prison population is growing, and our many prisons are spread far and wide.

We need your help so that we can print and distribute the paper to every person in every prison for at least the next year. We need your help to cover postage for anyone who sends us a letter from the inside.

We value whatever you can spare, no matter how big or small.