There’s a knock on your door. When you open it, you find a cowboy—complete with the hat, boots, spurs, six-shooter, the accent, everything—standing on your front step. He claims he has no idea who he is or what he’s doing there. Write this scene, as you try to sort out his (and your) confusion....

The department store elevator shuts down on the way to the fourth floor, with you and ten other people in it. You remain calm, but other people begin to panic. Write this scene and the dialogue between characters.

You are a world-renowned mystery writer living a life of seclusion. A random email informs you of a great story, the next bestseller. Unfortunately, you find the details to be a little too close to home. Write a scene where you confront this mysterious informant, who seems to know a little too much about...

The year is 3014, and you are on an intergalactic out to protect your planet. During your final battle, you cross paths with the leader of the opposing forces. It ends with the two of you in a sword fight, only problem is instead of swords you are both using (fill in the blank)....

You've been playing cards with your friend at a Las Vegas casino for a couple of hours now and he's up big. Suddenly, a pit boss grabs you and your friend and hauls you both off to a back room, where several rough-looking guys are waiting for you. "What's going on?" you ask. "Your...

You call an old flame from high school whom you still have feelings for and ask to meet up. The flame says, "Sure, how about noon at the pub by your house." While waiting at the pub, your flame walks in—wearing a wedding dress (or tuxedo). The flame looks at you and says, "I'm...

The snow is coming down and school has been canceled. Your brother, who has an important government job, has asked you to watch his kids during the day so he can go to work. While watching his kids, they reveal something top secret about your brother's job—and it's something, for the sake of your...

You receive a mysterious email and the subject line reads "Everything you know is a lie." You open the email and read further: "Act calm as to not alert anyone, but everyone around you is not who they say they are. You need to quietly get out of there and meet me at the...

You're a struggling musician who is playing small clubs on a summer tour across the country and who generally sleeps in your van. But one night, in a small town in (fill in the blank), a concertgoer offers to let you sleep on his/her couch. You take the offer, but by morning you regret...

What are your New Year’s resolutions for 2014? Post them here and then at the end of the year, I’ll feature this in the newsletter and ask you to check in to see which ones you’ve accomplished and reflect on your writing year.

Write a Christmas poem parody of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, only write it about an unexpected guest who isn't Santa.

An anonymous friend has been leaving you gifts at work to celebrate each of the 12 days of Christmas. All was fine and good for the first 11 gifts, which were thoughtful. But the 12th gift isn't actually a gift at all—it's a photograph of someone you love doing something they shouldn't be doing...

Write an end-of-days story from a non-human point of view (animal, tree, insect, cloud, etc.)

Your neighbor started hanging her Christmas decorations. You smile, wave and say, "Looks good," as you pull into your garage. Suddenly, you take pause and notice that her decorations look very familiar and, are in fact, yours. To confirm you dash to the basement and see that all of you Christmas decorations are...

You've been invited to attend a Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house, but when you walk in you notice there's no turkey and, instead, a giant "Intervention" sign hanging across the mantle. Your friend, who is surrounded by many of your other friends and family, sits you down and explains that you have a...

While shopping downtown one day, you find an antiques store that has a rare, old doll. You buy it for your daughter. A few days later she tells you her new toy can talk. You don’t believe her, until one afternoon you find yourself alone in the house, and it starts talking to you....

Your spouse wants to move out of your new apartment, saying that there is a large space you both can move into. When you go to visit the new digs, you find it’s an abandoned warehouse at an old train yard. Clearly you can’t live there. Only your spouse just spent your life savings...

Flipping through your library books for research, you find one of the books you incorrectly checked out. It’s a handwritten journal authored by someone you know. Who wrote it and what does it say?

You are trying to read the morning newspaper when your cat begins pawing at your leg. You brush it away, but it jumps on the table and begins meowing. Finally, the cat speaks. What does she say? Write this scene and what she is trying to tell you.

Everyone has an arch enemy, but until now, you never knew who your enemy was. That all changed one grueling night when, while on vacation, your evening was ruined by your enemy. What's more peculiar is that your enemy is a famous celebrity! Write about your evening, who your famous arch enemy is and...

Finish these sentences: “I have a little bit of a problem. I like to ______. It all started when I was ______, when _______.” Use this as a jumping point into a fictional story.

At an old bookstore, you find a book that helps you interpret your dreams. But something is strange about it. You fall asleep reading the book, and find yourself in a dream that you cannot wake up from. What is it? And how will you snap back to reality?