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Sparks

Have you ever wanted to learn something new? Most of us have things at the back of our mind that we always wished we could learn how to do, but for one reason or another, we always kept putting it off. Well, today is your lucky day. Today, we will take the plunge.

First, grab a piece of paper and pen, or position yourself in front of your computer. Take a second to breathe. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out of your mouth. Repeat this three times. Now, you're ready.

For the next fifteen minutes, make a list of things you always wanted to learn. Don't criticize yourself and don't concentrate on how much time or talent would be a prerequisite to learning a particular skill. Just imagine yourself in a perfect world, where you have any kind of talent you wish. One example list may look like this:

Learn:

1. to play the trumpet
2. to swing dance
3. to do stand up comedy
4. to speak Italian
5. to fly a plane
6. to cook
7. to write a poem
8. to paint with watercolors
9. about flower names
10. about Malaysia

You get my point. I could go on forever. My list would most likely be endless and yours might be too. It also might only contain three items. There are no minimums or maximums necessary for this list, just jot all you can for fifteen minutes.

Once time is up, look over your list. Next to each item, write an estimation of three things - how long it would take, how much it would cost, and how badly you want to learn it. The last point can be a grade from 1 to 10, where 10 represents the one you want most.

Once your list is complete, choose one item depending upon how much time and money you have to invest in this project. Once you chose what you're going to learn, guess what the next step is? You got it! You just start learning it!

After your allotted time for this exercise is over, go back to some of your old stories and have one of your characters learn the same thing. Since you experienced it first hand, you should have a pretty good idea about what's involved in learning that specific item.

You can also write a story where one of your characters already knows how to do that thing or just apply your recently acquired knowledge to a new story. For example, if you picked to learn about flower names, make sure to name all the flowers in your next story. Instead of just saying "Half a dozen flower pots decorated her windowsill," say, "Purple and yellow tulips fought for attention on her windowsill."

At least, you will have made the time to learn something you've always wanted to. Additionally, you now have that experience and knowledge to apply to your future stories.

As always, make sure to have tons of fun!