Write a scene for your work-in-progress where Halloween plays a major role. Capture the atmosphere of the moment and how your character feels about it - whether it’s back story (something that happened prior to the time frame of your novel but which can impact the storyline), or something that happens during the time of your novel. Maybe your it isn’t your protagonist that Halloween affects the most, but rather your antagonist who remembers being the only kid on the street who went out without a costume because his/her parents couldn’t afford the time or the money to find one. Or maybe your protagonist loves Halloween so much because of memories associated with happy times decorating the house and spending time with loved ones, even if they were squabbling over who had the best candy! Perhaps the most important people in your character’s life who made Halloween special are no longer around - how does that affect the way they feel about this time of year now?

Write the title “The Cottage” at the top of your page, think about it for 3 minutes, then set your timer for 15 minutes and start writing whatever comes to mind. Who knows, at the end of it you might have a draft of a slice-of-life essay, or a short story, that only requires editing before submitting it for publication!

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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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