I found this book in the kids department of a local bookstore and having quite a bit of fun working through the exercises. There are 200 of them! I’ve been trying to do a few of them each day. Each one doesn’t take long.
Each of the 200 exercises is a short writing prompt. Here’s a few examples.
- Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but don’t use letters with dots (like an i or a j)
- A bad dude in a cowboy hat is walking into the saloon in a bad Western movie. He’s looking dangerous and mad. Tell what happens, creating a happy ending.
- Write a rhyme paragraph. Each sentence must begin and end with words that rhyme with each other. For example, Spring is a wonderful thing. Flowers start of sprout with the help of rain showers.
In case you get stuck, the authors have provided a so called “answer key” in the back, for each of the 200 exercises. It’s not really an answer key since each exercise could haver multiple, or infinite, responses. But an idea is there if you need help getting started.
Following is one of the pieces that I’ve written. It’s actually a multiple part exercise where you select an item from a list, write down everything you can think of about the item, and then use it as a basis for a fake news story.
Local Man Arrested for Snack Food Theft
The thief was easily identified by the fingerprints he left at the crime scene-the detectives didn’t even need to look for fingerprints! They were already there, in orange dust.
Winco Security had been noticing an alarmingly high level of shrinkage in the snack food area. Further investigation showed that Cheetoes were being frequently stolen. All sizes of bags and all flavors.
Winco worked with the local police department to install several security cameras around the snack food aisle in the store. It didn’t take long for them to discover Mr. Valencia growing in the store, wearing clothes at least 2 sizes too big, but his clothes fit perfectly upon leaving the store since his pants and shirt were full of stolen Cheetoes.
Upon leaving the store he immediately started munching. When he saw an unlocked car in the parking lot, with Cheetoes on top of a grocery bag, he opened the car door and snatched the bag of Cheetoes, a gym bag, and a small tool kit from the car.
He left behind orange fingerprints on the car door.
Whoops.