1. Story, article, or play ideas

2. Names for characters:
    boy & girl names
    adult names
    last names
    nicknames, silly names
    dog, cat, or horse names

3. Story titles you’d like to use.

4. Colors -­ new ways to say common colors:
    cherry, lemon, mint, dust, daffodil, ebony, chalk…

5. Strong verbs: make lists of different ways to say:
    movement = stomped, crept, skipped, zoomed, edged, etc.
    looked = gazed, stared, studied, glanced, peeked, spied, etc.

6. Descriptions -­ How would you describe yourself, your best
    friend, your house, your school, your pet?
    How would you show people feeling fear, sadness, happiness,
    worry, or anger?
    Make notes from books of how other authors handled
    description.

7. Weather – write up a description of:
    a summer thunderstorm
    a hot day at the beach
    a freezing night under the stars

8. Clippings from newspapers, cartoons, magazines

9. Family stories -­ holiday traditions, funny adventures, your childhood memories, tales from older relatives, favorite foods and recipes, family sayings, memories of favorite pets, who are your family heroes?

10. List favorite books and authors and why you liked them.

Copyright © 2010 by Marianne Mitchell
Marianne is the author of picture books and chapter books:
Maya Moon, Joe Cinders, Gullywasher Gulch,
Finding Zola, Firebug, and Over the Waves.