Idea Creation Part 3

If you’re still having a hard time coming up with ideas on what to write, here’s one final method. If nothing else, it’s a fun exercise that tests your creativity to the limit and challenges you to think outside the box. Below I’m going to include a list of questions. You could come up with some of your own or use mine. Print these questions out and cut them up into strips. Fold them up and place them in a jar, bowl, top hat, or other container. When you have an extra ten minutes and feel the creative muses calling, pull a question out of the jar and commit to writing nonstop for 5-10 minutes. See what you come up with—is it the beginning of a brand new story?

Do you recall any special event which took place on your block or in your neighborhood when while you were growing up? (deaths, fires, accidents, illness/quarantines, etc.)

What is your greatest joy? Your greatest sorrow?

Describe the perfect autumn day. What would you do?

Describe a sound from your childhood. What was it? When did you hear it?

What does it bring to mind?

Do you like to go to the theater? The opera? The symphony?

Tell about your life as the children left home. What did you do with your

extra time?

What do you remember about yourself as a teenager?

Tell about your father—personality, characteristics, coloring, talents, temper, his role, etc.

Are there any notable people from your hometown?

Tell the words of a song from your childhood. What memories does it bring?

Do you like rainstorms? Why or why not?