This weekend, try this writing exercise on for size:

Find an object in your house that interests you, however strange or mundane: a feather boa, a meat grinder or a roll of toilet paper are perfectly good options.

Then sit down and write out, in your character’s words, why she or he stole the object. It’s a great way to get to know a character from an existing work, or start something entirely new.

This is one we stole from Fiction Writing at About.com. Which is fitting!

Happy writing, everyone.