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1) So many stories begin with waking up that it can be seen as a little cliche. Write a story of someone going to bed, reflecting upon their day/past.
2) A fifty-seven year old man just climbed a tree, why?
3) The bonfire is mere embers, almost everyone is asleep or gone. A pair of eyes suddenly glint back at you from the forest...
4) Your narrator is a cab driver. He has a substance abuse issue and one pet peeve that sends him into a rage/rant at least twice in your story.
5) The rain is coming down hard. A boy is skipping stones across a flooded road. A car approaches.
6) There is one thing that you want to do before the sun sets, and at least three reasons why you probably can't do it. Overcome at least two of those obstacles.
Bonus Craft Options:
a) Write it as a poem with an ABCB / DEFE rhyme scheme.
b) Include five paragraphs that are under five words long.
c) Utilize the /g/ sound as in "good" as much as possible.
d) Write your story in prose with greatly varying sentences lengths, but make your sentences rhyme in couplets (AABBCC).
e) Use only beats for your dialog, no tags.
Have fun with the writing exercise, whether you take it as a poetry exercise or a short story exercise. Don't worry too much about arcs or plot. If you find you're doing more thinking than writing, go with the old Allen Ginsberg adage "First thought, best thought" for the next five minutes at least and just let your mind take you somewhere, even if it turns out to be the middle of nowhere.
