Three details a day

Assignment: Every day in your writer's notebook, write three details from life. Get into the habit of consciously observing what is going on around you by using the five senses. You will probably never use all the details you record, but sometime you may pull one out for your writing and it will pack the punch you need.

Example:

• frozen waterfalls hug the carved-out cliffs along the highway
• faint voices of Christmas carolers down the street
• musty odor hanging in the air of a used-book store in an old building

Remember to get a mixture of the five senses; also, remember to include details about unattractive things as well as pleasant things.