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Some story starters from Bonnie Neubauer’s The Write Brain Workbook.

He had the biggest ears…

The pickpocket gingerly…

There is no one more beserk than ______ on Christmas Eve.

He’ll never set the world on fire.

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Some story starters from Jason Rekulak’s The Writer’s Block.

Write about a black sheep in your family. How did he or she become ostracized? What are your personal feelings toward this person?

Write about the worst drive you’ve ever done.

Write about an incident that would be used against you should you run for political office.

Write about your favorite childhood toy.

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Here are some Master Plots, reworded and reworked from the originals in Robert Tobias’s 20 Master Plots and how to build them :

1. A character has to get something or somewhere.
2. A character has to defeat someone (a bully, for example) or something (say, a shark).
3. A character chases after someone.
4. A character tries to rescue a victim from a villain.
5. A confined character tries to escape.
6. A “wronged” character tries to get back at someone for a perceived offense.
7. A character has to solve a riddle by sorting out what really happened.
8. A character is involved in a power struggle with an equal or stronger rival.
9. A character tries to fight against a temptation, yields to it, and then learns.
10. A “cursed” character is changed into another form.
11. A kid grows up with an event that challenges his/her childish views of the world.
12. Characters try to find love in a world full of obstacles or in one hostile to their love.
13. An “attractive” character undergoes a decline due to some excess in his/her character.

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