Idea Seeds! Start your page with any of the following and see where your creative muse takes you:

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When creating a protagonist, we tend to concentrate on positive aspects of their character. However, in order to produce a character who is fully three dimensional, their darker side needs to be revealed, at least to you their creator! Think about your main character and make a list of their more negative personality traits, then write a scene for your novel which shows at least one of these qualities.

Write the title "Financial Accountability" at the top of your page, set your timer for 20 minutes and then start writing. Keep the writing going until your timer goes off. Fiction, non-fiction, personal memory – it doesn’t matter. Whatever the title brings to mind, write it down. When you timed session is over, read through what you’ve wrote – maybe there’s the start of a new work in progress there, or the bones of an article just needing some meat on it!

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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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Write an essay describing the worst illness you’ve had. It doesn’t have to have been life threatening – some of those so called "24 hour bugs" can be pretty nasty!

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 do you think about opinion polls? Are you interested in the results of published polls? When time allows, are you happy to offer your opinions for such polls when market research staff stop you at the shopping mall or ring you at home? Do you think there’s a need for such information? Today write an opinion essay on what you think about opinion polls – and then write down the kind of poll you would be interested in knowing the results of and why this one is more interesting to you than the rest.

1. The sledge slid gracefully to….

2. Hanging on the branch, just next to the window, was….

3. The words hung in the air, unwanted, and yet unable to be recalled, as….

Think of the natural skills your main character has. Is he/she mathematically gifted, or are they more comfortable in an artistic environment? Today write a scene where these skills are important to the main goal of your novel.

Non-fiction writers, why not use yourself as the "main character"? Write about your own skills and how these help you in your everyday life.

Write the title "A New Start" at the top of your page, set your chosen timer for 15 minutes and then start writing. Keep the writing going until your timer goes off. Fiction, non-fiction, personal memory – it doesn’t matter. Whatever the title brings to mind, write it down. When you timed session is over, read through what you’ve wrote – maybe there’s the start of a new work in progress there, or the bones of an article just needing some meat on it!

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