Jumpstarting your creativity

This week I’m teaching a course on writing “fantastic fiction” at Youthwrite Edmonton. I thought I’d post some of the ideas and exercises that I’ll be sharing with the young writers at the camp.

Day One, today, is all about generating new ideas, or jumpstarting your creativity if you're stuck with your writing and don't know what to do next.

Here's an exercise the students will be doing today:

Come up with a fanciful origin for your first name. 

If you know your name’s real origin, don’t use it - invent one. Try to make it sound as plausible as possible. 

Or not -- make the explanation as ridiculous as you like.