Michelle Richmond is the author of the novel Dream of the Blue Room and the story collection The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress. She currently teaches at St. Mary's College. And, she posts terrific writing exercises on her website. Check some of them out below, then surf over to her site and hit the refresh button for new exercises.

-- Choose a single flaw you have noticed in the body of someone close to you. Write about this flaw from the point of view of someone who finds it beautiful.

-- Make a list of five things you would never do. Write a story in which the main charcter does all of these .

-- To explore how you character moves, write a scene with him or her in the shower.