Monday Morning Spark

I've been thinking a lot about writing.

Shocking, I know, since I am a writer :)

But what with so many of us involved with writing - whether as writers ourselves, maybe striving to complete 12X12, maybe as devoted bloggers stretching ourselves through Mother Reader's Comment Challenge, or maybe just writing our own thing at our own pace - or as teachers of writing trying to encourage kids to express themselves, trying to show them the fun of creativity - I thought a little sparking activity would be fun :)

google images

So here's my Monday morning spark for you!

1.  Choose one of the following characters:
     a. a 4 year old girl
     b. a 5 year old boy
     c. a pirate
     d. a dog
     e. a monster

2.  Choose one of the following settings:
     a. the playground
     b. the bathtub
     c. the forest
     d. a train
     e. a picnic
... and, if you wish, combine it with one of the following adjectives:
     a. enchanted
     b. crowded
     c. cold
     d. boring
     e. funny

3.  Choose one of the following problems/situations:
     a. getting lost
     b. hates getting wet
     c. made a mistake
     d. scared of loud noises
     e. feels unimportant

4. Choose one of the following goals:
     a. wants to be really good at something
     b. wants to go somewhere
     c. wants to be in charge
     d. wants to get something
     e. wants to be different
   
5. Choose one of the following random words:
     a. orange
     b. key
     c. wish
     d. tomorrow
     e. turtle

6.  Choose one of the following bits of dialogue:
     a. "Don't touch that!"
     b. "Did you see that?"
     c. "That's strange!"
     d. "I want to go home."
     e. "I didn't mean to."

Now.  If you're a writer, take one of these things, or one from each group, or any combination, and turn them into a picture book/story or, if you're a teacher, share them with your class so they can make a story, either as a group or individually!

If you really want to add to the fun, tell us which prompt or combination of prompts sparked a story -  e.g. a monster (#1) who wants to be different (#4) gets lost (#3) in the forest (#2) and...  Maybe your combination will spark an idea for someone else.  Or add your own ideas for character, setting + adjective, problem/situation, random word, and/or bit of dialogue in the comments below to give readers even more spark options!  We could make a creative wildfire :)

I'll be very interested to see a) what characters, settings, etc. other people might toss into the arena, and b) whether this game actually sparks some real ideas for people, so please share!  Looking forward to your contributions, thoughts, story ideas :)