Use any of the following at the beginning of a piece of fiction or non-fiction and see what your creativity does with it.

1. Ruthie started the dress in the store window and sighed.  It was just perfect for the ………
2. “That’s great.  Just great!” exclaimed Josh almost falling over his feet as he pushed the car door open and ………
3. In better days the now rusted steam engine had ………

Use the following 10 words in a piece of fiction or non-fiction.  They can be used in any order as long as you use them all.

1. Abstain
2. Cherish
3. Eloquent
4. Lustre
5. Maid
6. Oak
7. Rinse
8. Steam
9. Unusual
10. Wallow

Set your watch, kitchen timer, desktop clock for 20 minutes, type the title at the top of the page and see where your creativity takes you.  Don’t edit, just write!

(more…)

In a novel, dialogue is often a good way to show the age range of your characters.  Try this out with the following exercise:

(more…)

If you could go back and change one decision that you’ve made in your life, what would it be and why?  If you haven’t made a decision you now think you should have made differently, write about decisions that have led you to be in the place you are now with your life.

Use any of the following to start a piece of fiction or non-fiction:

1. The car left the area leaving dark marks in the road showing the ………
2. Aisha looked in disbelief as she saw the hairdresser’s ……….
3. Des considered his daughter’s idea of “appropriate” clothing as she stood on the porch waiting for her ride to the mall.  Did other parents really allow their daughters out looking like this?  What would her mom have said?  He sighed.   It wasn’t easy single parenting a 14 year old girl.   If only Monica had had time to leave a book of instructions before she’d ………

So do you care if Nicole’s in prison, or Beckham’s found a new house?  Are you an avid follower of “A” list gossip or do you think that it’s all a bunch of publicity hype?   Love it or loathe it, you can’t escape it, so what’s your opinion of all this celebrity centered media attention?  Write a letter, as if to the editor of your local paper, stating whether you think it’s worth all the ink that’s used on it.

Today I want you to write down a list of everything you know about one of the two following cities (if you live in, or near one of them, you must choose the other).  Once you have a list use it to write a piece of fiction (or non-fiction if you prefer) that will clearly identify the city without actually naming it.

(more…)

Write a piece of fiction or non-fiction that fits the photo.

(more…)

What frustrates you?  Write an essay about the things in life that frustrate you.  These might be big things that affect a larger population, or just things that annoy you.  Whatever they are, write down what they are and explain why they frustrate you.