What was the saddest event to date in your main character’s life? How old was he/she was this occurred? Describe the event through the eyes of your character at the age they are now, but include how they remember feeling at the time it happened. Did it affect your character’s personality in any way - good or bad? How does your character feel about it being talked about? Write a scene for your current work-in-progress where this event is discussed.

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Write for 15 minutes on the following title. After that time is complete, feel free to continue on if your muse is on a roll.

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Your exercise today is to incorporate all of the following words into an article, short story, poem or whatever comes to mind. You must use all of the words (in any order) to complete the exercise, but the context in which they are used is up to you. Think about the words for a few minutes before you start to write and see what pictures come to mind - then see if you can weave them all together into a piece of writing.

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What’s the worst hairstyle you’ve ever had? Think about it for a moment and then write a description of the style, why you chose it, and why you now consider it the worst ever.

1. “Is there a law against pulling over and asking directions in your family?” Karen said as ….

2. Darren carefully picked up some of the larger pieces of shattered remains, trying not to ….

3. Meredith stared down at the new life in her arms, unable to believe ….

Your main character and a friend have been to a movie/show and are now having coffee at Starbucks (or equivalent depending on location and time period of your novel). Write down the conversation that they have about what they’ve seen.
The object of this exercise isn’t about what is being said so much as how it’s said. Relaxed natural dialogue is one of the most difficult aspects of writing. After writing your conversation piece, read it out loud and see if it sounds natural. If not, try to rewrite it making the changes necessary to make it flow without sounding false.

Write down the kind of thoughts that run through your head when you are stuck on-hold when trying to make an important telephone call. Do you hold “role play” conversations in your mind about whatever you’re making the telephone call about, or do you think more about how much you hate being placed on hold and subjected to the torture of telephone music? What was the most annoying experience you’ve had involving the telephone?

Your exercise today is to incorporate all of the following words into an article, short story, poem or whatever comes to mind. You must use all of the words (in any order) to complete the exercise, but the context in which they are used is up to you. Think about the words for a few minutes before you start to write and see what pictures come to mind - then see if you can weave them all together into a piece of writing.

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How health conscious are you? What is your current state of health? Write a journal entry about how you are feeling this morning, including any steps you are taking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you aren’t doing anything, but feel that you should be, write about things you could do to maintain a more healthy life - and then write down why you aren’t actually doing these things (are any of these reasons actually viable or are they mostly procrastination in disguise).

1. The fax machine whirred into action, sending the….

2. Marilyn looked around at the now empty classroom, remembering ….

3. What had started out as an innocent field trip to the nature reserve turned into ….