Ideas to get you writing...

• It's a hot and sticky summer night. You and your best friend are sipping slurpees on your back porch. When the first star appears, you both make a wish at exactly the same time. Both wishes come true but somehow, they're mixed up and you accidentally end up with each other's wishes.

• Your substitute teacher seems okay but there's something about the way she looks at you with cold, angry eyes. It's as though she's seen you before and didn't like you then, either. Maybe you met her when...

• Why should your pet win the "2025 Best Pet in the World" contest and what will you do with the million dollar prize?

• Compare a hurricane to your family dinner.

• Write a conversation between an alley cat and a catfish.

• You are an "A" student. Your best friend is barely passing but has been promised a trip to Disney World if he/she makes honor roll and you're invited. When you catch your best friend copying your project you...

• Read the front page of your local newspaper. Select an article about an issue or current event you find interesting. Think of a fictional character from a favorite book or movie. Write a response to the article from the character's point of view.

• Describe a pair of shoes. List all the details you can think of. When you've exhausted your imagination, put a character in those shoes and do a sketch of the person. Who wears those shoes? Where have they been and why? What's that person's story?

Lead Lines:

• Winter is the worst time to...
• The black car came over the hill...
• Uncle Ray hated it when...
• The lie I told came back to haunt me when...
• Everyone liked me until...
• I was looking forward to...
• The door creaked and then...
• When I lifted the lid I found...
• The music reminded me of...
• I could smell the ...
• "What are you talking about?" I shouted.
• It would be a day to remember if I could...
• If only I had listened...
• She turned the handle and...
• He hadn't been on time since...