More Plot Possibilities...

Writer’s block? Try one of these:

·      Change of scenery: write a scene that takes place at: a park, the beach, the forest, the country fair, a theme park, the mountains, a relative’s house…

·      A Big Contest/Big Game/Big Prize is announced. Your character wants to enter, or maybe is convinced to enter by someone else…

·      Your character goes swimming.

·      Your character is called into the boss’s office. (Or, if writing a children's book, the principal's office.)

·      A stranger asks your character to do him/her a favor.

·      Your character sees someone in trouble.

·      Someone your character knows is in the news. Who? Why? What is your character’s reaction?

·      A fire breaks out. Or an earthquake. Or a tornado.

·      Your character sees a ghost.

·      Someone has been reading your character’s private journal/diary.

·      Someone breaks into your character’s house. Why? Do they steal anything?

·      Your character gets caught red-handed.

·      Your character does something he/she knows he/she’s not supposed to do.

·      Your character tells a lie.

·      What is the very worst thing that could happen to your character right now? Make that happen! How is your character going to get out of it??

Dallas Woodburn is the author of two award-winning collections of short stories and editor of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three years in a row and her nonfiction has appeared in a variety of national publications including Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Writer, and The Los Angeles Times. She is the founder of Write On! For Literacy and Write On! Books Youth Publishing Company and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Fiction Writing at Purdue University, where she teaches undergraduate writing courses and serves as Fiction Editor of Sycamore Review.