2. Collect motivational statements about writing or creativity or perseverance. Use them to keep yourself writing.
3. Describe yourself as if someone else were describing you to a third party.
4. Write about a creative person you admire but don’t know personally. If necessary, do a little research to find out more about this person’s creative gifts.
5. In one week, write for at least a half-hour in three different places. After the week is over, reread what you wrote. Look for variations in tone.
6. Warm up by reading one page from a book you enjoy.
7. Write about your first experience with death. Who died? When? What did you know about death before the event, and what did you know after?
8. Create two or three characters from facets of your personality. Put them in a car, driving to the coast in Argentina. Who drives? Who navigates? Give them a topic of conversation.
9. Write a monologue in which a character vents his rage. As the monologue develops, add clues that suggest the character is more fearful than angry.
10. You are afflicted with a rare (and getting rarer) disease in which you can only tell the truth, the whole truth. Now, introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. Tell your whole life story if you have to.
11. Write about a lie you told. Did you confess up later? Were you caught in the lie? What were the consequences?
12. Write about something that happened to you that made you very angry at the time but now seems funny. Recall the event in as much detail as possible, writing it down exactly as it happened.
13. Fictionalize an idea based on a real event but stick to the facts as they took place, simply changing minor details such as names and the characters’ appearance.
14. Try to remove all forms of “to be” from one of your short stories, without disrupting its flow.
15. Write a poem inspired by a political event.
16. Listen to music that you haven’t heard in ages. Write about the memories that come back to you.
17. List 10 things you’d like to accomplish in your lifetime and why.
18. Write a commencement speech that you will give to your classmates at graduation ceremony.
19. Appreciate the ordinary: Write about a girl/boy growing up in small town Argentina.
20. Talk to people who are considered successful in their work. Ask what limitations they’ve overcome, what limitations have spurred creative solutions and what limitations they’ve learned to live with.
21. Write about what mystified you as a child. How did you feel when you found out what was behind the mystery (for example, when you found out who the Three Wise Men really were)?
22. Draw or visualize what chaos feels like for you. Write a description.
23. What kind of people make you feel uncomfortable? Why? Write a dialogue between yourself and one of these people.
24. Write six ways to describe the smell of fallen leaves.
25. Write about a place you loved or hated. Incorporate all the senses in your description.
26. April Fool’s Day! This is like our “Day of the Innocent” on December 28. Write a humorous short story in which the main character is duped by an April Fool’s prank.
27. Do you believe in astrology? Try writing a horoscope for your friends. See if they believe it!
28. Starlight, starbright. Attempt to write a short story where all of the action takes place at night.
29. Write a scene in a short story or poem using variations of one color to create a specific mood. For example, using the words “blue,” “periwinkle,” “aqua” and “sky,” create a cool, clean feeling.
30. If you were a college professor of the course “Life 101,” what would you teach your students?
31. Read the daily paper with your morning coffee. Circle the stories that evoke the most emotion from you. Now, choose one and compose a letter to the editor about it.
32. What event would you never write about, and why?
33. Write a journal entry about someone close to you who is no longer in your life.
34. Spend a little longer than half an hour writing a short story. Ignore grammar and spelling, just keep writing.
35. And the dish ran away with the spoon. Personify everyday objects, and create a children’s story.
36. Browse the personals section in your local newspaper. Based on the details provided, create an expanded profile of that person.
37. Shut your eyes. Is the breeze moving? Is it cold or warm outside? Write everything your senses detect.
38. Simplify. To practice writing concisely, write simple scenes, simple paragraphs and simple sentences.
39. Try to be creative despite sensory overload. Work in a crowded mall. Walk a busy city street. Try to write.
40. List 10 expressions or idioms you found particularly interesting. Pick a couple and write short dialogues in which you use them.
41. Think about your most emotional moments. Write a bout how you could use them in your work.
42. Snoop around for anecdotes, gossip and stories. Write a story with a lively main character based on a piece of gossip.
43. Get a book of quotes. Circle the ones you like best. Write about them. What does each make you think about?
44. Write the first line of your novel. Then, try to puzzle out how an entire novel can grow from that one seed.
45. Fictionalize your life experiences. Write a story based on an event in your own life.
46. Write a story where the main character portrays a stereotype. By the end of the story change her attitude and behavior into a realistic character.
47. Go through one of your earlier stories and highlight the descriptive words. Now, think of other words that might work. Look for unusual images.
48. Read a book or short story. Take notes. Look for word play, puns, irony and wit. Why do these passages strike a creative chord within you?
49. Write a list of 10 people you have seen today that have potential for fictional characters.
50. Transitions are an important part of a story. Write a story where the setting changes several times. Practice transitioning from one scene to the next.
51. Write a “silent scene” in your fiction. Create a powerful scene without using any dialogue.
52. Write a letter to your favorite elementary school English teacher. Be sure to send it!
53. Grab a dictionary and randomly select five words. Use them in an opening paragraph to a short story.
54. Think about a time when you were strongly passionate about a political issue. Write a story in which the main character is affected by this issue.
55. Today’s journal entry: What do you avoid doing more than anything? Why?
56. We usually picture ourselves as the good guy. For fun, write a story where you are the bad guy.
57. Take a scene from an earlier short story and expand it. Describe the colors, sounds, scents and feelings.
58. Research an exotic, remote destination. Use this as the setting for your next story.
59. Reread one of your favorite books. Then, write a poem from one of the character’s point of view.
60. Write a children’s story where all the characters are food items.
61. Practice your dialogue. Take one of your short stories and rewrite it into only dialogue between characters.
62. Visit a thrift store and pick out the most unusual object. Write a story about where the object has been.
63. If someone were to write a book about your life, what major events should they include?
64. In the summer months, vacationers escape to tropical beaches and relaxing locales. What would paradise be like for you? What would you do there?
65. Where’s the creepiest place you’ve ever been? Write a horror story about it. Make up additional characters as needed.
66. Look up the meaning for your name in a baby name book or on the Internet. Does your name match your personality? If you could rename yourself, what name would you choose? Why?
67. Think about your childhood. What was the most memorable summer you had? What makes thus summer stand out from all others?
68. Reread one of your favorite books from childhood. Write a journal entry about why you liked it so much.
69. Write a scene in which you make a minor character vivid through a single quirk or personality trait.
Source: Writer's Digest. No. 12. December 2002
