Writing Prompts

I never blog enough.  (No, that's definitively not the prompt...although if it works for you, go to town.)  But after two requests to post something new, I realized that even if a few people get something out of my blog, I should make a dedicated effort to write at least once a week.  Today's an insanity day - yoga, whirlwind trip to Philly, serving on a new writing committee, meditation, dog walk/cardio/dog spazzing at squirrels - all before 5 p.m., so rather than try and be witty or deep, I'll post my top ten favorite writing prompts all stolen from places that probably stole them from other places.  I keep these in my writing toolbox on the days that I run dry.

1) Stick a kleptomaniac smack dab in the center of a packed crowd and see what he or she takes.

2) Create a character who hates a holiday and make them live through it.  (Opt for the holidays less traveled - Valentine's Day is too easy.)

3) Think Warm Bodies and craft a creature who defies the norm (a girl scout who refuses to sell cookies, a doctor who takes lives, a poet who can't spell.  You get the idea.)

4) Chronicle a day in the life of a secret admirer who falls out of love right when the crush falls in.

5) Screw with your character's brain.  Make him or her go colorblind or lose the ability to count.

6) Have siblings fight!  It's been done, but if done right, it can always work again and play with ages.

7) Take your favorite song and find a gorgeous line.  Write it at the top and bottom of the page.  Fill in the blank space.

8) Frankenstein the following words into a story: arithmetic, gypsy, typewriter, cinnamon, concrete. (Any five random words NOT of your selection will work.  Pester creative friends for suggestions.)

9) Take your favorite vintage character and make a modern version.  Use a new name and all that good stuff, but he or she should have the same traits and flaws as the original.

10) Start your story with 'I need you.'  This is my favorite, and while I've never actually kept this first line, it brings about the best results.

HAPPY WRITING!