Fun writing topic from Mary Brigid Barrett

Write about the day that is different. Anne of Green Gables begins on the day that the wrong orphan arrives. Fern is the
first one up in the morning on the day her father is about to kill runt pig; Charlottes Web begins on that gruesomely
exciting different day. Harry Potters story truly begins when he receives a letter delivered by an owl inviting him to
Hogwarts; not your normal day. Think about your favorite stories, I bet you they start on the different day, the day
when something out of the ordinary happens.
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Writing exercise presented by Holly Black
Take a fairy tale and break it down into the basic plot points and then reinvent it by working through those plot points
with a character in a different setting. This works well because, in classic fairy tales, the characters are not very
developed - they're just "the youngest prince" or "the goose girl" and so there is a lot of room for the stories to be
retold in interesting ways.
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Writing exercise presented by Joseph Bruchac
One of the simplest exercises that I often use with young writers is the use of memory. Think about things you
remember in terms of your senses. Things you've smelled or tasted or touched. Then begin by writing down the
words "I remember. . ." and go from them, always remembering to bring in that sensory information as you write.
Each of those sensory cues can lead to other memories. For example, "I remember the smell of bacon frying on my
grandmother's old cast iron stove on a winter morning when it was so cold that my fingers froze to the railing on her
porch. . ." (And that sentence is one I just composed right now.)

Storytelling advice from Joseph Bruchac

Something I've already mentioned--to listen. Listen well and you'll hear things that others miss. Remember that
stories are all around you. There are stories in every person and every thing. Don't worry about memorizing stories
word for word. Just try to tell them in your own words, seeing them as you speak them.
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Writing tip from Michael Buckley
I always love to come from a place of secrets. I think they make the foundations for great stories. Try writing about
the secret life of your grandmother. What does she do when no one is looking?
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Writing exercise from Sharon Creech

A carload of mammoth navel oranges from California

Choose a painting or photograph that interests you and pretend that you are either a person in the photograph or
someone on the edge of the scene. Describe what you see and what you are thinking. I like this exercise because the
artist or photographer has already selected composition, color, tone, detail, mood, and if you now render the same
image(s) in words, you are likely to come up with something intriguing.
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Fun writing topic from Doreen Cronin
 A great exercise is to write something really simple from someone else's perspective. Write about your breakfast from
the point of view of the spoon.
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Writing topic presented by Carmen Agra Deedy
One morning, when you are at the breakfast table, your dog talks to you. No one else in the room seems to hear him.
It took all the telepathic energy he could muster to send you this one all-important message: what does he say?
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Paula Deens fun writing suggestion
Why I love my favorite sandwich! Tell me why it's your favorite sandwich. Tell me how it tastes, what's in it? Do you
have a special memory sharing that sandwich with a friend or relative? Most of the time, a favorite food is associated
with a happy memory.
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Writing tip from Kate DiCamillo
Get on a city bus with a notebook. Write down some of the dialog that you overhear. Write a story incorporating some
of that dialog.
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Creative writing and drawing exercise from Tony DiTerlizzi
Here is a simple exercise that simplifies the questions I asked myself when I created the picture book, Ted (one of my
personal favorites).

Conjure up an imaginary friend even if you are too old for such things. Wait, ESPECIALLY if you are too old for such things.
What is it? A person? A monster? An object? Food? A robot? A sock?
Are you still pals with this imaginary friend? Why?
Have you ever had a fight or argument with it? What was it about?
What does your friend like to do for fun? Eat? Swing? Race cars? Time travel?
Where does it sleep?
Can anyone else see it? If so, what happens when they do?
How does it get around? Fly? Swim? Run? Hop? Walk? Evaporate?
Does your character have a name? What happens when you say it? What happens when someone else says it? What if you say it
backwards?
Based on all of this, what does your imaginary friend look like? Draw a picture of it.
Now, can you come up with an adventure with you and your imaginary friend?
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Writing advice from Sharon M. Draper
Write about what you know about. Write about things you love. If you love dogs and you know how they run and pant
and sleep and eat and smell, then write about dogs. Use lots of details and have fun with it.More about Sharon Draper
Poetry idea from Margarita Engle
Go for a walk. Let the music of your footsteps turn into the rhythm of a poem. It doesnt have to rhyme, and the topic
doesnt matter. It can be a snail on a leaf in the park, the shadow of a passing cloud, or your hopes for the future.
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Writing suggestion from Mem Fox
 Never write on a topic suggested by someone else. You need to write what you need to write; and you need to write
for a reaction and a response from readers you care about. Write things that are about you and meaningful to you,
even though the names and characters you choose will probably hide the fact that youre really writing about yourself.
My book Koala Lou is ALL about me yet the words I and me never appear.
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Writing exercise presented by Neil Gaiman
What would happen if you shrank to mouse size? Or grew to house size? What if you discovered that your teacher
was planning to eat one of your class at the end of the semester? (And who? And why? And how would you stop him
or her?) What if you turned invisible after eating ice-cream?
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Fun writing idea from Margaret Peterson Haddix
Imagine that you're somebody else. Write a story from the perspective of someone who is much bolder, braver and
louder than you are in real life. (Or, possibly someone quieter, shyer, and more likely to observe than talk.) Or write
about a disagreement you've had--from the other person's perspective. See how much the story changes from when
you take someone else's viewpoint.
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Shannon Hales suggestion for writing your own fairy tales
Our graphic novel, Rapunzel's Revenge, takes Rapunzel from the fairy tale and puts her in the Old West. Now instead of
waiting in a tower, she uses her long braids to swing free and becomes a hero, whipping and lassoing bad guys and
dangerous creatures. When you take a fairy tale and change the setting, you get a new story. First choose a
tale: Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, etc. Next choose a new setting: the moon, under the
sea, New York City, your school. Now write your new story!
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Writing tip from Phillip Hoose

Pigeons at a drinking fountain in a park

Imagine that you are a pigeon maybe even a presidential pigeon and you live in the White House or the monuments of
Washington, DC. Write about your life as that pigeon.
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Images for inspiration
Some photographs and paintings from the Library of Congress collections for inspiration
LOC Connection Ideas For inspirational images, search the Library of Congress collections using the term animals in human
situations.
(1896 drawing) A luckless bull-frog lost his voice while talking in his sleep, and now he'll never fish it out -- his voice it is so
deep
(1897 photograph) "Fast asleep" / Louis D. Tandy, Schenechtady [sic], N.Y.
(1899 lithograph) Trained Dog Act
(1899 poster) Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows ... the Funny, Wonderful Elephant Brass Band
(1899 lithograph) The passing of the horse
(1899 lithograph) Prof. E.K. Crocker's educated horses, ponies, donkeys & mules
(1904 drawing) Making a clearing
(1904 photograph) Giant baboon on chair
 (1907-1916 photograph) Chimpanzee in clothing at door of automobile, with three men, at Napoleon Hippodrome
(1914 photograph) The bath
(1914 photograph) Playtime
(1915 photograph) Trained dogs and monkeys running a dog and monkey hotel
(1916 photograph)"Collie's special delivery"
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Liz Kessler a writing warm-up exercise
OK, heres one which is taken from a book by a friend of mine. Its called How to be a Brilliant Writer by Jenny
Alexander. (Definitely get this book if you enjoy writing its brilliant, and really helpful!) This is a quick 'writing warm-
up' exercise.
Make a list of ten subjects that interest you. Then pick one of the things on the list and write for one minute about it.
Dont stop to think about it, just write but stop after a minute. Then pick another one and do the same. Then pick a
third, but this time write for five minutes. This is a good exercise to do with a few friends, and then you can all read
out what youve written to each other which can make it even more enjoyable.
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Writing advice from Lois Lowry
Everyone has to find his/her own stories. I think one good way to start is to look back through your own experience
and recall somethinga moment, an incidentthat did two things: 1) caused you to feel deeply; and 2) caused you
to change in some way.
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Fun writing topics from Megan McDonald
Bad moods
Bugs
Mysteries
Sisters
Secrets
Sock monkeys
Penguins
People with wacky names
Getting in trouble
Famous girls in history
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Brad Meltzer's scary writing idea
Tell me about the night you saw the ghost. Also: Tell me about the greatest adventure you had with your imaginary
friend.
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Writing advice from Pat Mora
My advice to writers 4 or 94 is write about what you like. What animal would you like to be? What would you eat?
How would you play? Where would you sleep?
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Interesting poetry idea from Marilyn Nelson
I think it would be fun to try to imitate the reverso poems Marilyn Singer wrote for her recently published book,
Mirror, Mirror. (Note: A reverso poem has one meaning when read down the page and perhaps an altogether different
 meaning when read up the page.)
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A list of suggestions from Linda Sue Park
Im a big fan of lists! I use lists for everything from brainstorming to getting unstuck when Im stuck. Lists are fun and
fast and they help wake up the writing cells in your brain and get them going. Here are a few ideas for lists:

Five things you love

Five things you hate!
Five objects in your room
The five best jobs in the world
The five worst jobs in the world
Five places you would love to visit
Choose three of the topics above and make your lists. Then pick one item from each of the three lists, think about
how they could connect, and write a poem or story that includes those three elements.
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Tips on writing from James Patterson
I think its important for people to write about what they love. Jack (my son) has had fun getting started as a writer.
Hes already written three novels, actually. The first one he wrote at the age of seven, and called it Death of the
Butterfly Catcher. Heres the story: The Butterfly Catcher gets on a plane, travels half way around the world; doesnt
catch a butterfly. He gets on a boat and travels another half way around the world; still doesnt catch a butterfly. He
gets on a train, catches the butterfly, steps off the train, isnt looking and gets hit by another train -- death of the
Butterfly Catcher, butterfly flies away. He dismisses it now, though, as a minor work from his early years. The point is,
Jack took elements from what he already lovedtrains and travel, for exampleand ran with them. Its a lot easier to
start if youre writing about something youre genuinely interested in or are good at.
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Fun writing advice from Katherine Paterson
Well, fun is where you find it, and what might seem like fun for one person might feel very painful to someone else.
For example, if I ask you to write about school lunches, as you remember them from first grade, would that be fun or
awful?
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Fun writing topics by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Write about things that make you happy your puppy, your friends, your favorite spot in the house.
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Writing topic presented by poet Jack Prelutsky
What's the funniest thing you've ever seen your brother or sister or dog or cat do?

Poetry exercise presented by poet Jack Prelutsky

Pick a poem you like, find a melody that works well with the poem's lyrics and then perform it for your friends and
family. For instance, Jack Prelutsky's poem, "Deep in Our Refrigerator" from It's Raining Pigs and Noodles, can be
easily set to the music of "The Yellow Rose of Texas," "The Wabash Cannon Ball," and "America the Beautiful."
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Fun writing advice from Doreen Rappaport
I dont think its a matter of a fun topic. Its a matter of kids writing about whats important to them, whats puzzling to
them. Get it down on paper and you learn about whats really important in your life and then you revise it because you
 WANT to make it better.
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Writing advice from Rick Riordan
Ideas are something you have to develop yourself, because you have to live with them for a long time if youre going
to turn them into a good story. Me telling you what to write about is like telling you what you want for your birthday.
Only one person should answer that question: You.
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Fun writing exercise from Jon Scieszka
Write about your family. Thats what I just did. I wrote stories remembering funny things that happened when I was
growing up with my five brothers. Its called Knucklehead. And I illustrated it with old family photos and my drawings
from kindergarten and stuff from my scrapbook.
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Fun writing exercise from David Shannon
If you could have any super power (flying, super strength, a giant brain, etc.), what would you choose and what would
you do with it?.
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Writing exercises suggested by Judy Sierra
Here are two exercises I remember from my first class in writing for children:

Go to the zoo, watch animals, and write five haiku about what you see.
Write the first paragraph of the most exciting book ever written.
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Jane Smiley's writing idea
Kids should write something they love or are curious about. My older cousin used to tell my other cousin and me
stories about our dogs, and we always enjoyed their adventures.
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Poetry exercise presented by Charles R. Smith Jr.
One poetry exercise that I always use when working with students of all ages, from kindergarten to college is one that
focuses on them called, I Am. The student repeats the phrase I Am to describe themselves in as many unique
ways as possible. The objective is to express what makes them unique in this world. Not just physical description, but
what makes up their soul. Even kindergartners can grasp this because they know each of them is different; the trick is
showing them how to express that. I tell the students there is no page limit, they can write as many lines as they want
because human beings are complex and their words should reflect that.
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Writing exercise from Cynthia Leitich Smith
For an exercise, write a description of your home and family from the point of view of a visitor from outer space.
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Writing suggestion from Rebecca Stead
You have just discovered that someone in your life has a real, comic-book-worthy, secret power. What is it, and how
did you find out?
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Poetry topic suggested by Judith Viorst
I once wrote a poem called If I were in charge of the world, and many teachers have found this a good first sentence
to get kids started on imaginingin versewhat THEY would do if they were in charge of the world.
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Begin writing with Jacqueline Woodson
Choose a year in your life and write down every single detail you can remember about that year who your friends
were, what your favorite outfits were, what your neighborhood was like, your room, the songs you loved, and on and
on. When you get to the place where you cant remember anymore, start making it up. Dont stop writing to think
about spelling or grammar just write.
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