By Melissa Stoller
www.MelissaStoller.com
Where I live in New York, Autumn starts in September. This is the perfect month to fall for ideas. Here are a few prompts to get you started:
www.MelissaStoller.com
Where I live in New York, Autumn starts in September. This is the perfect month to fall for ideas. Here are a few prompts to get you started:
1) Think about fall foods that you enjoy now or that you loved as a child. Pumpkin lattes or apple cider? Apple pie? Cider donuts? Write a story that includes some foods of this season.
2) What activities do you enjoy this season? Apple picking? Hay rides? Fall foliage drives? Write a first line or title for a new story idea.
3) Take a neighborhood walk and look for signs of fall. Colorful leaves? Fall festivals? Local farms or farmstands with apples or pumpkins? Or look online for symbols of fall. Choose three and include them in a new story plot.
4) Think about back to school routines or rituals and include a few in a manuscript.
5) Ask friends and family what they love about fall. Make a chart, and then choose one idea to write about.
Enjoy the fall season! Let me know in the comments if these exercises helped.
Happy writing and cheers to creativity this September!
2) What activities do you enjoy this season? Apple picking? Hay rides? Fall foliage drives? Write a first line or title for a new story idea.
3) Take a neighborhood walk and look for signs of fall. Colorful leaves? Fall festivals? Local farms or farmstands with apples or pumpkins? Or look online for symbols of fall. Choose three and include them in a new story plot.
4) Think about back to school routines or rituals and include a few in a manuscript.
5) Ask friends and family what they love about fall. Make a chart, and then choose one idea to write about.
Enjoy the fall season! Let me know in the comments if these exercises helped.
Happy writing and cheers to creativity this September!
MELISSA’S BIO:
Melissa Stoller writes to bring connection, joy, and a bit of magic to her readers. Her newest picture book, Hazel and Mabel: Two Hearts Apart, illustrated by Anita Bagdi, releases from Gnome Road Publishing on September 30, 2025. Melissa’s next picture book, Stella’s Special Recipe, illustrated by Valerya Milovanova, will release from Kar-Ben Publishing in Fall 2026. Melissa is also the author of the chapter book series The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection - Return to Coney Island, and the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush; Ready, Set, GOrilla!; Sadie’s Shabbat Stories; Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom; and Building Bridges: Peace, Salaam, Shalom (co-written). Melissa is a Blogger for the Children’s Book Academy, a Rate Your Story Judge, a volunteer with SCBWI/MetroNY, and a Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center Trustee. In other chapters of her life, Melissa has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, freelance writer/editor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her family, and enjoys theatre, museums, and Central Park walks.
CONNECT WITH MELISSA:
https://www.MelissaStoller.com
https://www.MelissaStoller.com/blog
http://www.facebook.com/MelissaStoller
www.twitter.com/melissastoller
www.instagram.com/Melissa_Stoller
www.pinterest.com/melissa_Stoller
@MelissaStoller.bsky.social
Pre-Order for HAZEL AND MABEL: TWO HEARTS APART is available:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/hazel-and-mabel-two-hearts-apart-melissa-stoller/960a747616a2c234?ean=9781957655574&next=t&next=t
https://www.amazon.com/Hazel-Mabel-Two-Hearts-Apart/dp/1957655577/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hazel-and-mabel-melissa-stoller/1146882184?ean=9781957655574
Melissa Stoller writes to bring connection, joy, and a bit of magic to her readers. Her newest picture book, Hazel and Mabel: Two Hearts Apart, illustrated by Anita Bagdi, releases from Gnome Road Publishing on September 30, 2025. Melissa’s next picture book, Stella’s Special Recipe, illustrated by Valerya Milovanova, will release from Kar-Ben Publishing in Fall 2026. Melissa is also the author of the chapter book series The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection - Return to Coney Island, and the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush; Ready, Set, GOrilla!; Sadie’s Shabbat Stories; Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom; and Building Bridges: Peace, Salaam, Shalom (co-written). Melissa is a Blogger for the Children’s Book Academy, a Rate Your Story Judge, a volunteer with SCBWI/MetroNY, and a Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center Trustee. In other chapters of her life, Melissa has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, freelance writer/editor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her family, and enjoys theatre, museums, and Central Park walks.
CONNECT WITH MELISSA:
https://www.MelissaStoller.com
https://www.MelissaStoller.com/blog
http://www.facebook.com/MelissaStoller
www.twitter.com/melissastoller
www.instagram.com/Melissa_Stoller
www.pinterest.com/melissa_Stoller
@MelissaStoller.bsky.social
Pre-Order for HAZEL AND MABEL: TWO HEARTS APART is available:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/hazel-and-mabel-two-hearts-apart-melissa-stoller/960a747616a2c234?ean=9781957655574&next=t&next=t
https://www.amazon.com/Hazel-Mabel-Two-Hearts-Apart/dp/1957655577/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hazel-and-mabel-melissa-stoller/1146882184?ean=9781957655574
