Browse through the headings before you begin. Try to complete at least one each week in preparation for the next workshop. Don't stress over these exercises, though. The most important element is to have fun!

Buy a small spiral notebook or binder to use as your writing journal. Carry it with you to record bits of conversation, unusual people you see, topics that interest you, or questions raised after reading or watching the news. Collect names for places and characters. Find and write down inspiring quotes. Review these pieces once a week and write down article ideas or story plots based on a merging of the bits and pieces you're recorded.

Use it to write scenes, stories, bits of dialogue, and character sketches as they come to you. The following ideas may help fill the pages and spark ideas.

Find a favorite magazine. Select an ad that inspires you. Find another ad or photo of a person. Write about that person in the setting or situation from the first ad. What happens? Is there a problem? How is it resolved?

Spend 5 minutes every evening listing interesting experiences you've had, people you've met or observed, or problems you've heard about or dealt with. Your list might look like this:

language barrier with bank teller
impatient drivers ignoring traffic right-of-way
woman wearing dark clothing sitting on park bench during hottest part of day
Raananah – delightful 8-year-old, pretty name (what does it mean?)
2-mile bottleneck near library (eager readers or accident?)

At the end of the week, review your lists. Write the following headers on separate index cards or sheets of paper: people, places, problem/events. Go through the daily lists and move promising details to the appropriate sheet or card. Select one item from each card and you'll have the basis for character, setting, and conflict. How many ideas for stories can you come up with?

1) 	Select three ads or photos from magazines that show both people and inspiring settings. 
2) 	Write down a focus point or question – a decision you need to make, a problem you need to solve, 
          a subject you're interested in learning more about, or a recent complaint.
3)	Select one of the magazine photos and write about your focus point from the viewpoint of the person
          in the photograph. Use appropriate language/vocabulary if this person is a child or teen.

Imagine what life was like in a time period from history that fascinates you. Now, imagine you are from that time period and have been transported to the present. Describe an average day from the time traveler's perspective.

An archaeologist in the near future uncovers a time capsule from your hometown buried when you were 10. Describe what the archaeologist finds inside. What does he assume some of the items are and what they were used for?

Twisting Things Up

Imagine you are an artist. What are you creating (painting, sculpture)? What medium are you using (oil, clay, stone, pastels)? What emotion do you hope to convey once this piece is unvieled?

Now transfer these thoughts to your own work. What techniques will you use to create that reaction in your reader?

1)	List at least 5 memorable events or incidents you've experienced during the past week.
2)	Choose 2 and think about each, adding characters or conflicting goals to create a strong story idea.
3)	Choose another 2 and think about specific details and sensory description to create an article or 
          personal essay topic.
4)	Review the 4 ideas. Which 1 most inspires you to write about it? Get started!

1) Choose one of the following locations:
A) Desert Island
B) Abandoned Cruise Ship
C) Northern woods in mid-winter

2) Select a pair of characters:
A) artist/accountant
B) socialite/hobo
C) construction worker/librarian
D) lawyer/ex-con

3) Plan a story based on the pairing of location and opposing characters. What problem do these characters face? Do they try to work together to solve it? What goes wrong? Who will change most during the story? Why?

4) When you feel you have a strong conflict-resolution defined, write your story.

Make a list of high points, low points, and turning points in your life.

Think about specific incidents related to each event and assess what you learned from each encounter.

How might you turn the truth of each experience into the theme for a story? What events will you use to illustrate that theme? How will the main character grow or change by the end of the story (to realize that truth?)

Write a telegram recapping your latest story idea. (Pretend you're writing this to your editor if it helps.) Remember to be brief. Each word counts stop each word costs stop

Alternatively, write the telegram your character receives that pitches the story into the heart of conflict. Have fun!

We each rely more on certain senses. Do you tend to notice the sounds used in writing? Do you notice more the noises all around you? Try to open up to the other senses. See! Hear! Taste! Feel! Smell!

Use metaphor and simile to help the reader connect. Metaphor compares two seemingly unrelated items:

Simile uses "like" or "as" to make the comparision. For example, find fresh comparisons for:

Fold a sheet of paper in half vertically. On one side list an occupation and then words that describe that occupation. Flip the sheet over. List nouns at random. Make this list good and long. Now, open the sheet so you can see both columns. Using one word from each column, create descriptive sentences. You may need to rely on similes and metaphor so the sentences make sense. Be as creative as necessary and write as many sentences as possible. Most of all, have fun!

Select a natural setting (a woodland park, the beach, the mountains, or a favorite getaway).

Describe this setting as it appears in each season (or at different times of the same day).

Think about the details that remain the same and those that change. Does the language of your description change depending on the season you're evoking, or the time of day?

Describe the same neighborhood from the perspective of three different people. For example, a lifelong resident very accustomed to the same daily routine, a teenager returning home after the first year of college, a first-time homeowner new to the neighborhood.

Describe the same character in three different situations. (Create any situation. For example: at work, at the grocery store, at a baseball game, at the dentist, during a business trip, in the locker room, giving a presentation, lost in a strange neighborhood, arriving late to an important meeting.) How does the setting and situation affect your character's appearance, posture, mannerisms, speech, and thoughts? In which place does your character seem most relaxed, youthful, worried, or lighthearted?

Describe a character as a blind person might describe him--use every sense except sight.

Describe a character who bears your name. (Consider traits you feel epitomize this name, even if you do not possess them.)

If you were a character in a story, what would you be called and why?

Find an old phone book. Open it at random and select an interesting street address. Write about the person who lives there. What is the person's name? How does this name fit (or not fit) the character? Why?

Now open to the yellow pages. Select a business. How will it fit into a story about this character? Is this where s/he works or is s/he dealing with conflict surrounding this business? (For example, dropping off car for service, working at a bank, or fighting a lawsuit.)

Describe the personalities, dreams, and present goals/problems of the following characters:

a 12-year-old boy

a 22-year-old woman (fresh out of college, working her first "career" job)

a 50-year-old woman (bored with career, looking for a change)

a 55-year-old man (at the peak of career, considering early retirement to enjoy life)

a 35-year-old artist

Select two characters and create a story focusing on both their goals/problems. How do the storylines merge?

June 18 is an important day in the life of your character. Write out a reason for this statement.

Imagine you're going to your 30-year high school reunion. Recall a person you remember and describe how s/he has changed since graduation. Now, write about what this person is really like when you run into her/him at the reunion. How far off base were you? What surprised you? How could either description be used as a character in your next story?

Collect quotes. Find an especially engaging quote and write about how it inspires or encourages you.

What non-famous person in your life made the greatest impact on the person you've become. How? Write abotu this person.

Read a book, article, or short story. What did you like about it? Why? Write a letter to the author describing why you liked it and what significance it brought to your life. (Mailing the letter is optional.)

What are the essential elements of a good story? Why? What about a strong article? An engaging memoir?

Find a magazine or an anthology focusing on the type of writing you most enjoy writing. Read and record your thoughts on how well the author succeeded in creating an exciting article or an engaging story. Why did you enjoy it? What elements are used that you have learned about? Write about your discovery and how you will apply what you've learned to your own writing.