The next time you go out on the town, keep an eye out for shop signs that are next to each other and could be combined in strange and interesting ways. For example, this morning I saw a sign that on the top said “Carlson’s Donuts” and on the bottom said “Thai Kitchen.” Of course it was actually listing two separate establishments, but how much more interesting would it be to have one of the following establishments:

• Carlson’s Donuts and Thai Kitchen

• Carlson’s Thai Kitchen
• Thai Donut Shop
• Carlson’s Thai Donut Shop

All of those are much more unusual signs that would probably herald a rather unique establishment. Find a couple of signs to string together in a new way, one that suggests something a little (or a lot!) out of the ordinary. Then free-write about this establishment, or use it as the setting for a piece of fiction.

Coffee Wimp Large Mug

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

Look up a god from a polytheistic religion, such as Heru’ur, or Horus the Elder, of Ancient Egypt. (Do a web search or visit your local library.) We aren’t so much concerned with accuracy as inspiration here, so rather than doing an exhaustive search, pick a web entry or book entry that appeals to you. Many old gods consist of versions and variations, with different bits of lore sometimes attached to them and sometimes attached to other gods; you’ll often find directly contradictory pieces of information about a god from different sources. Thus, it’s your job to pick out the bits and pieces that form a picture of the god that most appeals to you. You might print the entry you like and underline, highlight, or take notes on the printout until you have a firm idea of what this “god” would be like in your version of reality. Finally, do one of the following:

• Write or brainstorm a short story from the god’s point of view.

• Write or brainstorm a short story from the perspective of a worshipper of this god.
• Tell a creation myth or folktale related to this god.
• Tell a tale of this god’s existence and involvement in everyday life.

Any of these can be set in the god’s original milieu and time period, a fantasy or pseudo-fantasy setting of your making, the present day, or any other time period you can imagine.

Since Heru-ur was a hawk god in some myths, here’s a new cafepress writing design for you:

Write with grace
Blank journals, ornaments, mugs, shirts, more

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, prompts, Egypt, religion, write, writers, writing

In previous “spam game” exercises, I’ve suggested that you take one of those weird randomly-generated spam subject lines and imagine what product the email would be trying to sell if the subject accurately represented the contents of the email rather than being randomly generated. Then you use the product in a story, write a pitch for it, or something similar.

Today I’m going to give you a slightly longer list of possibilities:

• Take several of these subject lines and list the words individually down the side of a sheet of paper. Number them. If you have dice or some other sort of randomizer, use that to choose several at random. Otherwise just close your eyes and mark several with a pencil. Use this new set of words in one of the following exercises (or some other exercise that uses a random prompt) in place of actual spam headlines.

• Choose a subject line at random and imagine that you’ve received an email from someone important to you (best friend, beloved aunt, older sister, etc.) with that subject line. Write the email, or a first-person stream-of-consciousness from your point of view as you read it, or a story in which you receive that email.
• Choose a subject line at random, write it at the top of a sheet of paper, and free-write from it as a prompt. Just let go and draw random associations.
• Choose a subject line at random and use it as the title of a short story.
• Choose a spam email at random–one that includes non-randomized text–and study its structure. Write a short-short story duplicating the structure as closely as possible. For bonus points, use the subject of the spam email to give you ideas for the story.

If you think of other possibilities, feel free to leave them in comments below.

In case you don’t get as much spam as I do, here are some of the more interesting spam headers I’ve received recently:

• Complication skyscraper

• Evolution bodice
• Impeachment secede
• Indefinitely sherbet
• Inspiration checkpoint
• Phlegm glossy
• Pinup prodigal
• Technical wholesome
• Trust, nutrient ratio
• Trust, paper jogger

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

Today, visit Seventh Sanctum and play around with one of their idea generators. You’ll need to get past the misspellings and such, but regardless of details like that, sometimes it’s fun just to generate a random character, toss him into a random lost civilization, and add a random story theme. Then set a timer for 15 to 30 minutes and see what you can come up with. Go!

Blank Journals

Technorati Tags: fiction, free-writing, prompts, idea generators, write, writers, writing

As an exercise in loosening up your powers of free association, sometimes it can be helpful to juxtapose absurd and completely unrelated things just to push yourself to come up with something creative and clever in return. One of the best examples of this I’ve seen are certain FARK photoshop threads, such as this one: photoshop a creep, something deep, and a marshmallow peep. The results can be silly, but some of them are also quite clever in their interpretations and associations. And either way, you exercise those creative muscles and teach yourself to come up with wild and crazy things that your readers won’t expect!

So today, take the above FARK photoshop thread and turn it into a writer’s exercise. Write about a creep, something deep, and a marshmallow peep. Set a timer for twenty minutes and go!

Messy Genius Tile Box

Technorati Tags: fark, free-writing, journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

Wander around your house or apartment for a bit and really look at the items around you. Pick three items that just don’t go together; for example, I might grab an ivory-colored pillar candle, a surgical steel griddle, and a cat bed. Use all three items in one of the following types of writing:

• Free-associate off of the combination and free-write for at least 10 minutes or two sides of a sheet of paper.

• Write a scene that includes all three items.
• Describe a setting that includes all three items.
• Write a journal entry (from the point of view of a fictional character) that makes mention of all three items.

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Take any of the following sets of words (or a set you create yourself). Set a timer for 10 to 20 minutes and freewrite using those words as inspiration. Try to use them all in the piece of writing, or simply combine the concepts and free-associate off of that.

• Memory, death, renewal

• Memorial, platform, junk
• Retrospective, consume, day

You can either just start writing and see what emerges or use one of the following formats:

• A dialogue between three characters (try to use one of the words as a touchstone for each character’s part of the conversation)

• A short story
• A fictional character’s memoirs

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First, list out every genre you can think of (mystery, science fiction, romance, etc.). Next list out every sub-genre you can think of; visit an online book seller if you’re having difficulty with this part.

Pick out two sub-genres of different genres; try to pick ones that are very specific and very disparate. Spend five minutes brainstorming new and interesting sub-genres that would combine these two sub-genres in some fashion.
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Part I: Without looking at the rest of this exercise, answer the following questions:

• What is your least favorite color?

• What animal does your favorite person most remind you of?
• Name a career or occupation that fascinates you.

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Once again I’m going to give you three genres or sub-genres of book, and I want you to follow the instructions below:

• Ecosystems

• Memoirs
• Graphic Design

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