Oulipo!

Ouvroir de littérature potentielle, or the workshop of potential literature was founded in 1960, and is a loose gathering of (mainly) french speaking writers. They are interested in creating works using constrained writing techniques.

I've tried two Oulipo-style writing exercises and both have pushed my writing in new directions. One produced a new character and the other a new perspective on an old obsession.

For more information go here:

http://www.oulipo.net/

http://www.nous.org.uk/oulipo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo