Ask yourself what the last thing you wrote in English was. Probably it was about something "normal" - an email to a colleague or client, or a message to a hotel. It probably wasn't anything that required a huge amount of imagination or creativity. 

If that's the case, I say "what a shame!" 

Exercising your creative muscles in another language can be hugely rewarding, and when doing this with a group of like minded people it is doubly rewarding. 

This was the hypothesis for the most recent members challenge, The Creative Writing Challenge. 

The challenge ended on Monday, and it was a great success overall. 

Here's how it worked:

Every three days, I posted the start of a story in a special space in our community. The task was simple...to write the rest of the story.

This went on for a total of 15 days, so there were 5 “story starters” in total. 

In the numbers:

• Stories written: 101
• Words written: 30,499
• Likes given: 428
• Number of participants: 30

There were some fantastic stories, and it was wonderful to see people grow in confidence, creativity and style as the challenge went on. 

Here are the five different starts of the stories. Feel free to have some fun completing them in your own free time :)

Story #1: Joseph Could Do Nothing Right

It seemed like Joseph could do nothing right. For years he had lived in his sister’s shadow*, and felt like he was destined to be “Victoria’s brother”. He longed** to carve out*** his own path, to have something that was truly his.

For years, he never found it. That was until Monday, 6th of February, when ______

Story #2: A Box In The Attic

And there it was. Finally, Lucy found the source of the rumpus (="loud noise") she had heard for several days. It was a precious-looking box that had shown up in her attic (="room above a house") but wasn‘t hers. It wobbled and made weird noises. Anyway, Lucy opened the box and out came  ______

Story #3: Leo The Hungry Lion

The main problem with living in the savannah*, Leo had grown to acknowledge, was that every year it was harder to catch antelope**.

As a young lion, Leo had rarely gone hungry. But this proud and graceful beast was skinny*** and weak.

He turned to Leonella, his mate of five years, and said _______.

Story #4: The Unexpected Karate Class

As I went into the gym, I wondered what made me sign up for this karate class last week. I’m a lady, and I’m not exactly young anymore. The only other woman there is a teenager, I don’t know anyone, and I’m wearing this strange kimono* that’s far too big for me. Damn, I should have joined the pilates class with Anne. Anyway, now I’m here, all I can hope for is to get home on my own feet. 

Story #5: A Letter for Ms Martinez

“plop*” went the letterbox, followed by the telltale** sound of an envelope falling to the ground.

Cristina dashed*** to the door, picking up the letter so quickly it was as if it had bounced off the floor.

She saw her name staring back at her, “Miss Cristina Martinez”, with a large “PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL” stamp next to it.

She slipped**** her finger along the envelope, and pulled out the letter.

“Mis Martinez”, the letter read, “We _______

I also took part in the challenge, and had a huge amount of fun writing my own stories and engaging with everyone else’s.

The next challenge will be announced in late March. Keep your eyes peeled for details! 

P.s. If you would like to join all of our challenges, events, as well as access all our bonus content and learning materials then I'd encourage you to check out our membership options.