Objects

Valued possessions can tell us a lot about a person. Think of an object that's important to you (or to one of your characters). Write for five minutes about why this object is special and what you (or your character) would do if it was lost.

Fears

So many stories play out because a person is afraid of something specific happening. For five minutes write about what you (or your character) are most afraid of and why.

What If?

Pick any everyday situation (e.g. making a sandwich) and flip it on its head by asking "What if?" For example, what if I went to make a sandwich and found out that all the bread was gone? In fact, what if all the bread in the world was gone? What would I do then? For five minutes write about your own "What if?"

One day...

Stories tend to begin with a specific incident. Starting with the phrase "One day," write for five minutes about something that happened to you or to one of your characters.