1 October Fashion parade
You thought you were unshockable but a new fashion leaves you astounded. Who has caused this? A relation? A friend? A colleague? How do you react? What happens?
Gill James
2 October Skyscape
Something odd happens to the sky. It goes a funny colour, the clouds form really vivid pictures or it is filled with ufos. What has happened? What do you do? How does the situation resolve?
Gill James
3 October TLAs
Three letter abbreviations. Write an article, poem, script or story in which at least three of these feature. Or you can make a really big play on them and produce a text which is tricky for the reader to follow. Make it a game.
Gill James
4 October Seeing something you shouldn’t
Maybe you spot something strange in a photograph. Or perhaps you look through a seaside telescope and see something strange. You might notice something odd in a film you watch.
What do you see? What do you do about it? What are the consequences for you?
Gill James
5 October Colour
Write an article, poems, script or story about how colour affects us. Which colours affect your mood the most? Write a poem base on one colour? Can you create a character who has lived a drab life that is suddenly injected with colour?
Gill James
6 October What a pickle
Think slapstick. One thing after another goes wrong. Which characters are involved? Which are the points of conflict? How does it all resolve?
Gill James
7 October What’s on?
Find a local magazines / newspapers / web sites that list events in your area. Choose an event. Can you go to it? Can you write an article or poem about it? Can you create a script or story about a character who visits the event?
Gill James
8 October A sense of smell
Write an article, poem, script or story in which smell is very important.
Gill James
9 October Fear
You or your character is afraid of something very silly. What is it? What happens? Do you overcome this fear?
Gill James
10 October Growing things
Are you a keen gardener? Can you write an article about one of your successes or failures? Can you write a poem about your garden? Can you write a script or a story about where a garden brings hope?
Gill James
11 October Imagination gone wild
Some people see evil everywhere. Then there are conspiracy theories. Or there are the things that go bump in the night.
Write an article, poem, script or story about someone who is totally fooled by their imagination.
Gill James
12 October Wild life
What is your experience of wild life? Have you had a close encounter with a wild animal? In your garden? On your daily walk? Or in a more exotic setting? Write an article, poem, script or story about this.
Gill James
13 October All change
Some people fear change. Others welcome it. What is the change that happens here? Do people embrace it or resist it? What happens eventually?
Gill James
14 October The danger of eating food in strange places
There are stories of people who find themselves committed to a place because they have eaten there. Remember Persephone, Alice and Coraline. Write an article, poem, story or script about how food ties people to place.
Gill James
15 October Word association
For ten minutes write down all of the words you can think of to do with October. Now, write a scene or story inspired by those words.
Gill James
16 October A suggestion
Someone suggests something that appears at first to be outrageous. However, after you think about it for a while the idea seems to have legs. So, you set about putting it into practice. How difficult is this? Does it work? Will you keep it?
Gill James
17 October Your character’s Christmas list
Think about one of your characters. Write their Christmas wish list – up to ten items? Now write the story of how they obtain one of them. Does it make them happier?
Gill James
18 October Run-over dogs
That’s what the French call the small articles in a newspaper. You know, “Garden Gnomes Stolen”, “Food Fight Breaks out at Pensioners’ Tea-party” or “Fifteen-year-old Rescues Cow from a Stream”. Find a similar article in a newspaper and turn it into a poem, script or story.
Gill James
19 October Ordinance survey map
Find an old ordinance survey map and use it for the setting of a story. Who lives here? How does the landscape affect their way of life? Where do some of the names come from?
Gill James
20 October Falling in love
Okay, so this is a bit of a cliché. But you can make it different. Maybe it is forbidden love. Or perhaps it is a place rather than a person. Is the love thwarted or reciprocated? Tell the story.
Gill James
21 October Hesitation
Your character has everything planned out in detail. Something happens to make them stop and reconsider. What is it? What does this make them do? How does the story resolve?
Gill James
22 October The invitation
You or your character receives an unexpected invitation. What is the first reaction? What do you do after more consideration? If you accept which preparations must you make? If you refuse, what are the consequences? Write the story!
Gill James
24 October New sporting activity
Your character takes on a new sporting activity. This has hilarious consequences. Can you write funny? Have a go!
Gill James
25 October Same old
Your character keeps repeating the same mistakes. Something eventually breaks the chain. What is the repeated action? What is the circuit-breaker? Does your protagonist manage to get out of the viscous circle?
Gill James
26 October Food tasting
You are invited to a new restaurant to try the taster menu. But something goes wrong. Maybe the food is awful. Perhaps you get food poisoning. Someone you’d rather not see may turn up.
Tell the story.
Gill James
27 October Disappearance
Someone disappears from your life forever. Tell the story from their point of view. Why did they need to leave? Where did they go? Do they get closure?
Gill James
28 October The influence of the moon
The moon is often associated with romance. It has a gravitational pull on the earth. There are unusual moons: red moons, blue moons and harvest moons. Write an article, poem script or story that features the moon.
Gill James
29 October Neighbourhood incident
Something terrible happens in your neighbourhood. Some people try to help put things right, others just mind their own business. What happens? How do people react? What changes?
Gill James
30 October Obstacles
Give your protagonist five obstacles to overcome, each one more challenging than the one before.
Gill James
31 October Illness
Write an article, poem, script or story about illness. How does it affect the person who is ill? Do they get better or learn to live with their condition? How does life change for them?
Gill James
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