𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁.

*𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴-- 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬-𝘵𝘰-𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬!*

Together, we choose two totally random topics-- like whales, ghosts, high heels, Italian restaurants, the last day of school, ponies, explosions, or the King of Spain. We then each write a three sentence story that includes both topics in three minutes or less!

My students and I love this exercise because it helps calm the anxieties of perfectionists, focus the minds of dreamers, and encourage the minds of both to run with their first creative instincts. Stories are sometimes ridiculous, sometimes genius, but always fun to share. Students will receive light feedback on their piece, but the focus of the class is to get minds moving and forge new creative paths. 

This class is a great supplement to other ELA or creative writing courses, especially for students who may need reminding just how fun writing can be. It is suitable for all writing experience levels!

Here are some examples (please note, these are from the version of the course aimed at older students-- at this level, stories aren't expected to be quite so elaborate or long!):

Topics: Cake and Fortresses
"The witch had worked in a variety of mediums—gingerbread, cookies, candy—and yet the cake fortress was no doubt her finest work. Sure, the gingerbread house was effective-- it had lured in Hansel and Gretel after all—but the cake fortress was more spacious and, if the witch were being honest with herself, she rather liked the scent of buttercream frosting. There was just one problem, though: every time it rained, the exterior wall would collapse into the chocolate ganache moat."

Topics: Goblins and Swimming Pools
"Everyone agreed that it was only fair to give the Goblins access to the county swimming pool-- they worked hard, after all, mining all day, and while the sight of bumpy green skin in a bikini was a little alarming, it hardly hurt anyone. The trouble, however, was the stealing—the snack bar, people’s purses, even the diving pennies at the bottom of the pool. The Goblins couldn’t help themselves, and pocketed it all before scampering off to the parking lot, swimsuit bottoms lumpy and jingling from their bounty."

Topics: Robots and Squirrels
"The robots had easily overpowered the humans—they were slow, couldn’t fly, and were always looking at their phones rather than at their impending doom. Now, however, the robots were up against the world’s most formidable force—the common gray squirrel. There were thousands of them, and the squirrels roamed in packs, taking refuge in trees and dropping bombs made of acorns and dynamite, shaking their tails at the robots in furry mockery."