Try This - Ask "What If?"

By Margo Sorenson:

Sit down with a notebook (imagine that!) and a pencil and just look around you, wherever you are -- a shopping mall, your office, a bus or metro, or a playground. Absorb the sounds, sights, and the smells. 

Then, let your imagine run -- ask yourself, "What if?"....the shoppers suddenly were flying instead of walking, the objects in your office--pencils, scissors, etc.-- were real and could talk, on the bus, suddenly everyone turned into a farm animal, and on the playground, one kid was completely invisible. 

What if?? What could happen? 

Let go and find a fun scene to create, and then, pick a character from that scene and give him or her a problem and something he or she really, really wants.  Have a great time; skip lines when you write and only cross out words, don't erase. After all, you may want to use those words later.

Here's one of my "What If?" pages from AMBROSE AND THE PRINCESS (Liturgical Press 2005):

Click to Enlarge this Notebook Page

National Milken Educator Award recipient and author of twenty-nine books, Margo Sorenson has won recognition and awards for her books, including being named a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in YA Fiction. She enjoys Skyping and meeting with readers from Minnesota to California and Hawaii. You can find her on Twitter at  @ipapaverison and at her website - http://www.margosorenson.com.