Writers Block, I need a Cure...Please Help!!?

Question

I am taking a Childrens Literature Course, and I have such bad writers block right now. Anybody have any good ideas. Any help is very appreciated.
My assignment is:
Write a 500 - 1000 word story using the word list below as a guide:
whisper
slide
flag
cup
patch
leap
candle
sing
brush
float
The words can be used as story starters and the story can include all, some, or none of the words listed and be for young children up to teenagers.
Anyone have any good ideas? I am just stumped. The one's I came up with seemed really stupid and boring.
Thanks in advance all.

Answer 1

“Please dad, just one more story?” Maggie asked her dad as he tucked her into bed.

“Tell us the one about wishing on a star!” said Maddie, her twin sister.

“Okay,” said their dad, “Just one more and then it’s time for sleep!”

Kaitlin and Kathleen were twin girls just like you two. And just like you two, they loved to play on the wide porch of their house. Sometimes they would play with their dolls and sometimes they would look at their storybooks. Other times they would swing in the big wooden swing at the end of the porch. Every now and then in the summertime their parents would come outside and sit with them until the stars were bright in the sky and all the noises of the day faded away. Their mom would bring out some milk in their special cups with the pink flowers and a matching plate filled with homemade cookies. When they were finished they would troop inside for it would be time for Kaitlin and Kathleen to go to bed.

One night as they sat on the porch brushing their doll’s hair and whispering together they heard singing coming from far away. They though maybe it was a radio playing in the open window of someone’s house because it was a very warm night. They stopped brushing their dolls hair and stared into the darkness. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, they seen a bright light appear in the sky. It seemed to float for a second like a candle against the dark sky and then it fell in a gentle arc towards the earth. Kaitlin and Kathleen jumped to their feet and in one leap cleared the three porch steps to land on the soft grass. They held hands and made a wish for it had been a falling star! They always wished for a pony, but so far they hadn’t gotten one.

“Time to come in girls!” their mom called.

In they went to take their baths and put their pajamas on to go to bed. Their mom and dad tucked them in and then their dad asked them what story they would like to hear before going to sleep? Kaitlin said she wanted to know about falling stars. Kathleen said that she did too! So they talked about falling stars and Kathleen told him that they had seen one that night and made a wish. Kaitlin said they always wished for a pony, but never got one. Their dad just smiled. Then it was time to go to sleep. Their mom and dad kissed them goodnight and tucked them in so they were snug as two little girls could be in their beds.

The next day was Saturday so there was no school. They usually went to the park on Saturday. Kaitlin loved the slide at the park. It had two red flags at the top that always looked happy to her. They had a few patches in them, but that was okay. Kathleen loved the swings. But today their mom and dad told them they would be going in the car out to the country after breakfast instead of going to the park. When Kaitlin asked why, they told her it was a surprise!

The next thing they knew they were in the backseat of the car with their mom and dad in front driving out of the city and into the country. Kaitlin and Kathleen were happy and excited for they didn’t get to go out to the country too often. After what seemed like a longtime, but was only an hour, their dad pulled the car into a long driveway leading up to a big white house with an even bigger red barn in back of it. There was a lot of green grass all over with white fences that went so far that you couldn’t see the end of them. And there were horses! Lots of horses in all different sizes and colors! It was wonderful!

They drove past the house to the big red barn. There was a man who looked very friendly standing by the door of the barn and next to him was a pony! Kaitlin and Kathleen looked at each other in the backseat of the car. They knew that the wish they had made on the falling star had come true. The pony was going to be their pony.

And they were right!

Word Count: 742

Answer 2

It sounds like a great starter for a story about a journey. If you decide that your audience is small children, use an animal or funny main character. Something like "I went to the park and the other kids were going down a slide." Very elementary but I think you get my idea.

If you choose the older ones, I would still think journey but maybe more in a life sense vs. actual travel. Each of these words can be used to discuss an emotion or particular feeling. I'm not sure that the character would need to "go" too far to experience different emotions, etc.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Well, I can only speak for myself. But for me, it was a definite stoppage of flowing creative imagination. I stopped writing creatively for 6 years. But for me, it was real life crap that got in the way, some very personal things that needed dealt with. So yes, I think writer's block is a real thing. But I'm finding that lately that if I just relax and stop stressing over not being able to write, I find I usually can find my way around it again. So I do also think it's partly in the mind. BTW... I do agree that a lot of the people around here who ask about writer's block don't actually have it. I find that quite a lot of writing terms are being thrown around by people (kids) who really have no idea what the terms actually mean.

Answer 4

Many people when writing a kids book do feel like their stories sound stupid, but to a kid whose intellectual is not as mature as yours it may seem good.
Try to incorporate this into your ideas which i bet are not that bad

All of the words seem to be thingds that a kid does each day.
Wakes up, brush, sing in the shower, drink from a cup, play on a slide, see a flag at school, duck floats while taking a shower.

Answer 5

What I usually do for those kinds of things is think of a few stories of your favorite catogory( horror, comedy ...ect) and take your favorite pieces and parts whether it be the wording or where it takes place or the plot and put them all together make it a fantasy like a movie and my favorite for creative writing is horror you never know what will happen and NOTHING is prodictable! And the best part is you can put any twists and turns you want in it to make it YOUR story!
Good luck and if you need any other help be sure to ask!

Answer 6

A piece of clothing from the Goodwill (Oxfam for you Brits) has a patch and something appears to be important/interesting about it. . .

Wearing the coat with the patch makes one able
a) to sing like an opera singer and the hero gets invited to join an Opera Company. Ten the coat gets stolen/lost/burned.

b) able to float above the tree tops and see through roofs

c) able to win chess matches. . .

you go on from there. . .

Answer 7

2 little kids are playing in a playground, there's a slide. The wind carries whispers of tinby voices, they follow past some brush to an open patch of ground, they see a tiny village, there are fairys that live there. They flag one of the fairys who comes over and talks to them...they have tea with them in tiny cups....

Answer 8

A childrens book:

About a little kid who's shirt gets ripped at school. She is scared to tell her mom, but when her mom sees it, she PATCHes it up.

Answer 9

well, what exactly are you supposed to be writing about?????