Five Easy Pieces: February Write From Your Life

Start a story, poem, play, dialogue or even novel with five easy pieces. First, do the following:

1. Write a short description of a place that grabs your attention — it could be a silver-sanded beach, a giant parking lot covered in snow, or a high school gymnasium.

2. Describe a character (real or imagined), focusing on what s/he looks like, sounds like, walks like, speaks like, thinks like, etc.

3. Write down a challenge someone would have to overcome, such as poverty, an illness, the lack of a parking spot when most needed, the need to find a new job, etc.

4. Come up with an ordinary object that turns out to have magical powers: a small stone that can be held to engender visions of the future, a snow shovel that can be used to plow away memories, a feather that, when touched, will give the person touching it the ability to fly for 10 minutes.

5. Describe a helper — human, animal, angel, spirit, or object — that can help someone navigate a difficult situation.

Now put these five pieces together by writing something that incorporates and connects all five. Let your imagination take off, and see where the five easy piecs land you.

And if you love the written and spoken word, check out Poet Laureati: A National Convergence of 20 Poets Laureate, happening in Lawrence, Kansas March 13-14. Register today.