“But me and Cinderella, we put it all together
We can drive it home with one headlight.”
One Headlight, The Wallflowers

In fiction writing, it’s tempting to provide our characters with whatever tool they need at a given moment. Do they need a hammer, an ice scraper, a clothespin, a lint brush? Poof! You write one into the scene. But it’s more realistic — and often more satisfying — to make them struggle a bit. Not everyone has a lint brush, for example — but most of us know that a piece of tape works in a pinch. And your southern-dwelling character might use a credit card in place of an ice scraper. The character of MacGyver was famous for being able to put together whatever he needed from everyday items. While I’m not suggesting you go to that extreme, you should give your characters a chance to use their brains and ingenuity by cobbling together what they need now and then.

Write a scene or story where the characters are missing a vital tool and have to piece together a replacement.

“Seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won’t you stop and remember me?”
Hazy Shade of Winter (as recorded by The Bangles)

Recently, I’ve been thinking (again) about a friend I lost many years ago. I’d like to contact her, but I haven’t because I’m afraid of getting hurt again; she broke off the relationship, and even after all this time, I’m afraid she wouldn’t appreciate hearing from me.

Coincidentally, I had a friend request on Facebook a couple of weeks ago from someone I hadn’t heard from in probably 15 years — and I was never really friends with that person then. Technology makes it very easy to reach out to people from the past, but the contact isn’t always welcome.

Imagine a character who unexpectedly meets or is contacted by a significant or controversial person from the past. How does the character feel about this incident, and how does he or she react? Write a scene or story exploring these ideas.

Once again, it’s Black Friday, when shopping takes over the country and normal people go berserk for bargains. (Sigh.) Unfortunately, people can get caught up in the moment, completely lose perspective and behave in ways they normally wouldn’t. This week, write a scene or story where someone gets too focused on a goal and ends up acting in an unreasonable or extreme manner. (Whether shopping is involved is up to you.)

Recently, Twitter friend and author Jonathan Wood shared a blog post about the difficulty of naming characters and places. I sympathize, since I’m often frustrated when trying to find the right name.

But Jonathan observed that certain names are ripe with possibilities, evoking ideas for characters, places and situations. Here’s a selection of names (courtesy of the Random Name Generator) to give you a head start on a new story, scene or poem.

• Otis Morris
• Kate Mccarthy
• Shad Dickens
• Regan Fallon
• Chester Spencer
• Lottie Staton
• Alexis Wingate
• Tess Dasilva
• Millard Pippin
• Lisbeth Sparrow