Can You Write a Story Without Using the Letter E?

A lipogram is a type of word play whereby an author creates a piece of writing with a missing letter.  One of the most famous lipograms is Ernest Vincent Wright’s 50,000 word story, Gadsby, which omits the letter E.

For a fun way to engage students in writing and help them with the trait of word choice, challenge them to write their own lipgrams.  When they’re done they can exchange the lipograms and try to guess the missing letter.

Another interesting exercise in word choice might be to imitate Mary Godolphin’s one-syllable adaptations.  Godolphin (Lucy Aikin) wrote one-syllable versions of Pilgrim’s Progress and Robinson Crusoe.  Students could adapt short stories or they could make up their own.