12 new chapters or scenes - in one hour

Okay, maybe that's overselling this idea a bit but I still believe you can create 12 new chapter ideas or scene moments in an hour and here's how.

DAILY CREATIVITY EXERCISE

Work with a character you know very well. Maybe it's a character from your new play, in a novel you're trying to finish or a short story - maybe it's a character that's been walking around in your brain and hasn't yet made it to the page. Just focus on that one character. Give yourself a few quiet minutes to think about the character in depth.

Write these prompts on slips of paper (or make up your own):

Name of your character...

...is standing in a doorway
...is involved in a ceremony
...is wounded
...finds out something he/she is not supposed to know
...writes a letter
...discovers the contents of someone's closet
...does a forbidden activity
...gets up in the morning
...kisses
...finds his/her way through a city
...deals with his/her hair
...sees a shooting star
...breaks a promise
...visits a fortune teller
...gets caught in the act
...in a grocery store
...falls from grace
...is injured
...gives someone a present
...attends a dinner party
...has an epiphany
...asks for mercy
...walks in the back yard

Put these slips in an envelope and shake them up. Get a timer. Give yourself five minutes for each scene/chapter. Pull a slip from the envelope and make your character take that action.

Write as quickly as you can explaining why that action was taken, how the character got there, why they did what they did, who was with them, what was around them, when it happened, where the event took place, etc.

Write for the full 5 minutes. Don't stop. As soon as the timer dings, pull a slip and do it again.

You can write for a full hour and that should give you 12 new scene/chapter beginnings or you can write until your hand cramps and get as many as you can stand.

PICK UP YOUR PEN AND GET STARTED!!