Ideas come from just everywhere, whether you’re attentive to them or not. In fact, if you’re a writer—newbie or experienced—even as you read this, with your fingers on your keyboard, there are at least 36 ideas screaming up at you, without you realizing it.

 36? Where did they come from and what are they, you might well ask. Well, the first 10 are the number keys on your keyboard and the remaining 26 are the letters of the alphabet. So, how do these become ideas?

 Simple. I’ll give you a real life example from my life. Some years ago, I was a prolific children’s short storywriter. I never worried as I sat down to write my story of the day that I had no idea in mind to base my story on. All I did was to look out of the window, my fingers on the keyboard, and press any finger on a particular key. Whichever letter appeared on the page I took to be the first letter of my story. So, on one occasion, the letter “I” became “It” and “X” became “X’mas.” Once I got this first word, I don’t know how, but the story just flowed. You could try it too, though it may sound difficult now.

 So much for the 26 letters of the keyboard, but what about the numbers? Well, is it difficult to say that Jane and her eight friends went boating on a certain summer afternoon or something like that and take the story from there?  Or that Nora never realized the power of 13 as an unlucky number till the day…

 Your keyboard, then, is the most powerful and unlimited source of ideas, if only you know how to harness it.

What do you think would be interesting reading regarding the 50th anniversary celebration of Rice? What angles, think deep and wide, could we explore?  What are the different ways we could report (analyze and evaluate it)? Post your ideas here!

Eventually, these writing prompts will be on a schedule; however, for now just expect them roughly once a week.  I’d love to hear from you if you use these prompts, especially if you publish the results somewhere.  Feel free to comment with links.

Fiction Prompt:  A neighbor’s cat appears on your doorstep one morning.  You reach down to pet the cat, but your hand touches thin air.  You look behind you to find a woman standing behind you wearing the cat’s collar.  You look around, but the cat is no where to be found. 

Who is the woman?  Is the cat actually a shape-shifter?  So many story lines, so little time

Non-fiction Prompt:  Is the rise in STDs due to the hype over female birth control, such as pills, shots, or patches?  Should more emphasis be put back on condoms?