• Here’s an old nursery rhyme, which you may know:

Little Miss Muffet

Sat on a tuffet,

Eating her curds and whey;

Along came a spider,

Who sat down beside her

And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Tell the story of the nursery rhyme from the spider’s point of view. Give it spidery thoughts, whatever they are. Make up the workings of a spider’s mind.

• Jay or Jae wants to do something that is almost certain to turn out badly. Two of his (or her) friends are trying to talk him out of it. Make up the foolhardy act. Decide whether or not the friends succeed–or whether he persuades them to help him do this crazy thing. Write the scene or the whole story.

• Elinor or Eli arrives for the second week of training as a scout for King Aldric in his war against the cruel dwarves of Akero. When she (or he) gets there, she’s told that she’s been dropped from the training. Show her character by writing what she does next and what happens.

• Four friends are hiking together. They run out of trail mix. One sprains an ankle. Rain starts to fall. Their camp is three miles off. Make them all deteriorate into annoying people. Create a crisis and bring them back to likable.

• Bill or Billie wants to reform himself (or herself), stop being bossy and become more caring. Write a scene in which he completely fails at this self-improvement.