The Coffee Can Stories
What the heck are Coffee Can Stories? At each meeting of the
writers' guild, we assign a topic for the next meeting. Topics can be a few
words or a few sentences written on a strip of paper and kept in an empty
coffee can. At each meeting, the Secretary draws out a strip of paper which
will be the topic for the next meeting. Each member is encouraged to write 500
to 2,000 words using the topic as his/her theme. This clears the first hurdle
for a writer, "What will I write about?"
In this way, we learn to be flexible and avoid letting our creative style
fall into a predictable rut. These assignments also challenge the imagination
of the writer who wants to come up with something original that will not
duplicate what the other members are writing about.
The results of these exercises are often exquisite little gems that serve
as wonderful examples of the short-short in fact or fiction. Occasionally they
serve as the springboard to a short-story, novella, or even a full length
novel. In any case, they are always a fun diversion for the writer who needs a
break from his or her more serious work, and they are just as much fun
for us when we read them as a group.
In this section we will state the topic given the writers and then link you
to their work. We hope you will enjoy reading these short pieces as much as we
enjoyed writing them for you (while sweating blood!). Perhaps you'll feel like
writing something yourself using the same topic. We are not professionals
saying to you, "This is the way it should be done." Rather, we are all trying
to find a way to develop our craft by putting words on paper around a common
topic. This is not a competition, merely an exercise. It is up to the
individual reader to gauge the writers' ability.
The writers will appreciate any feedback you wish to submit to
them.
Assignment #90
"What Happened to the Coffee Can?"
Assignment #89
"I Had a Hard Week at Work, and That Was
Just Today"
Assignment #88
The day I disappeared...
Mae Ondracek
Assignment #87
It's 1970....
Assignment #86
A couple on the brink of a nasty divorce get
snowed in together during a blizzard.
Cat Carson
Assignment #85
A mobster's wife is targeted after talking to the feds.
Assignment #84
Until ____________________, nothing notable had happened
in this small town since the year of it's founding.
Assignment #83
'WHILE ON A HUNTING TRIP, YOUR FRIEND GETS
SHOT'
Assignment #82
With only the thought of survival ringing in
his/her battered mind,
he/she fought blindly and without skill.
Mae Ondracek
Assignment #81
You are invited to the White House. Write
about it.
Mae Ondracek
Assignment #80
Boldly, he/she set off like a spirited young
horse, eager to investigate the other
side of the fence. But which fence should he/she jump? There were so many.
Assignment #79
"My grandpa was my idol until I found out..."
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #78
"If I were President, this is what I would do..."
Assignment #77
"Why do the 12 days of Christmas baffle everyone?"
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #76
You are a journalist for a day...
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #75
"A border guard becomes involved in the trafficking of illegal
drugs/immigrants."
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #74
The swirl of colors on a city street...
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #73
'A piece of gossip sets tongues wagging--what are the consequences?'
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #72
'Butterflies the size of dinner plates flapped slowly past, towing the
electric clouds behind them.'
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #71
Write a short story with a main character whose life is changed by a piece of
gossip.
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #70
"A hit man/woman falls in love with his/her target."
Mae
OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #69
You write a note, put it in a bottle and throw it in the ocean.
Where does it end and what happens?
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #68
You see an ad of a two-man saw for sale. Write a story about the people
who have used it.
Gerry AhrensMae
OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #67
The starter is: 'I remember that song'; the scene: 'in a police station'; and
a word you
have to use in the story: 'zipper'.
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #66
'Where did everyone go? Charlie knew.'
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #65
A man/woman, frustrated over the end of an affair, decides to date his/her
former lover's best friend.
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #64
Your story should include: a pickup truck; lipstick; a silver earring.
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #63
A punk extortionist terrorizes a small business owner.
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #62
'Finally she had met Mr. Perfect. What could go wrong?'
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #61
Write a riveting tale that takes place within the confines of one hour.
Mae Ondracek
Linda LeMayW. E. Lopez
Assignment #60
Include in your story:
As the moon rose over the treetops, the shadows
of the jungle receded farther into the gloom from which they had come.
Mae OndracekGerry AhrensW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #59
Your next story will open with: "Oh quit worrying. If fish had feet, they'd be
mice."
Mae OndracekGerry AhrensW. E. Lopez
Assignment #58
Write a story using the prompt: 'A funny thing happened on my way to the
(blank).'
Paschal RyanMae
OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #57
Write a
short-short story of less than 600 words. You cannot use words of less
than three letters!
Mae OndracekE. Kitson SouthwardNancy
J. SwiftW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #56
Use the words: disclose, fatten, hackle,
irksome, and sphenoid in your story.
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #55
Write a story about a character who is granted
three wishes.
Mae OndracekPaschal
Ryan
Assignment #54
"My first sighting of (blank) was as it leaped
across the road."
Mae Ondracek
Assignment #53
"If someone had wanted me dead, he would have missed a good chance when..."
Mae OndracekW. E. Lopez
Assignment #52
Within your short story, create a powerful scene without using any dialogue.
Gerry AhrensW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #51
Write about a week in December without using the words 'December, snow, or
holiday.'
Nancy J. Swift
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #50
"Just beyond the ridge, workers were shoveling gravel into a trench."
Mae Ondracek
Assignment #49
'Accidents don't just happen. But I was a willing victim.'
Mae OndracekW.
E. LopezGeraldine
Ahrens
Assignment #48
Start your story with: "They were sent from the gates..."
Mae OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #47
She was confident they would not overtake her.
Nancy J. SwiftW.
E. LopezMae
Ondracek
Assignment #46
A divorced mother of two boys fights for child support payments.
Mae
OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #45
'If you could live the life of a fictional movie personality, who would it be?
Why?'
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #44
'What happened? As my heart skipped a beat I realized I couldn't get_____.'
Mae OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #43
"You open a package of M&M's and get
the surprise of your life."
Mae
OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #42
You are cleaning
out your grandfather’s closet, and find an old shoe of his. Tell a story
about it.
Mae OndracekGeraldine
AhrensRobin
Flinchum
Assignment #41
"It's morning, sleepyhead,
time to get up. Remember today we have to [fill in the blank]."
Mae OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #40
Start your story with, 'Dear Sir; I received your rejection letter
today and...'
Mae OndracekW.
E. LopezRobin
FlinchumGeraldine
Ahrens
Assignment #39
Start your story with, "Even before I opened the letter, I
knew what it was going to say..."
Mae OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #38
"A wife finds her husband's secret
diary and is shocked to find he's led a double life."
E. Kitson
SouthwardMae
OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #37
“I’m in a severe state of _______.
Why did this have to happen to me?”
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #36
"It is Friday the 13th. Write a chain of
events that happen to the main character."
Mae OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #35
“I’m dealing with a lunatic and I’m
really scared. Maybe I should ________”
Mae Ondracek
Assignment #34
A wealthy yuppie goes on a killing spree.
Mae Ondracek
Assignment #33
She was a poor woman with great intelligence. Tell how she emerges
from poverty into a great fortune.
Mae OndracekW.
E. Lopez
Assignment #32
A senator’s daughter is
kidnapped.
Robin FlinchumW.
E. LopezMae
Ondracek
Assignment #31
You enter an antique store and accidentally break a rare vase. Tell what
happens.
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #30
“A detective tracks a serial killer”
Paschal Ryan
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
E. Kitson
Southward
Assignment #29
“______ was a collector of ______.” Tell what s/he collected and how s/he
has them stored.
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #28
A very small problem for me, becomes a very big problem for you.
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #27
S/he discovers an ancient amulet that bestows incredible powers.
Mae Ondracek
E. Kitson Southward
Assignment #26
Did a priest kill a female parishioner?
E. Kitson Southward
Paschal Ryan
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #25
A disgruntled lab employee unleashes a devastating virus; or did he?
E. Kitson Southward
Paschal Ryan
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #24
Write a story about a date (social encounter), set in a cemetery,
beginning “On my 100th birthday…” and contains the phrase ‘bullet hole.’
Geraldine Ahrens
E. Kitson SouthwardMae
Ondracek W. E.
Lopez Nancy
J. Swift
Assignment #23
College pranksters discover the coffin of Dracula.
Geraldine Ahrens
Paschal Ryan
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #22
A retired sheriff runs afoul of an outlaw he once put behind bars.
E Kitson SouthwardMae
Ondracek W. E.
Lopez
Assignment #21
A petty thief accidentally
steals millions from a mobster.
Robin Flinchum
E. Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #20
A woman fears her mother has
risen from the dead.
E. Kitson SouthwardMae
Ondracek W. E.
Lopez
Assignment #19
The Carpet King was in the tattoo parlor. Was it a coincidence?
Geraldine Ahrens
E. Kitson
SouthwardRobin
Flinchum Mae
Ondracek W. E.
Lopez
Assignment #18
An Englishman, training in the US during WWII, fathers a child but only
finds out many years later.
Geraldine Ahrens
E. Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #17
Two cops, paired as partners by their Captain, learn about each other’s
troubled past.
Mae Ondracek
E. Kitson Southward
Nancy J. Swift
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #16
Attempting to move a household clothes dryer, s/he is injured by the 240
volt electricity, lapses into a coma, and awakens with telepathic abilities.
Mae Ondracek
Paschal Ryan
E. Kitson Southward
Nancy J. Swift
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #15
"Perhaps it was just a glimpse..."
Robin Flinchum
E. Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #14
There were nine crew members aboard the space station, now one is dead.
What happened?
Mae Ondracek
E. Kitson Southward
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #13
"We were dancing at midnight, when he/she began to..."
Mae Ondracek
E. Kitson
Southward W.
E. Lopez
Assignment #12
A bumbling entrepreneur opens a business providing revenge for people who
feel they have been wronged.
Robin Flinchum
E. Kitson
Southward
Mae Ondracek W.
E. Lopez
Assignment #11
I will probably get passed over for a promotion again, because....
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #10
Sometimes next door seemed like such a long walk, especially when....
Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #9
A covert defense agency tries to convince bureaucrats that aliens are
planning to save/enslave the Earth in the immediate future.
E. Kitson Southward
Mae
Ondracek W. E. Lopez
Assignment #8
A thief is tailed by the feds after they turn him/her loose from prison.
Mae Ondracek
E. Kitson Southward
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #7
An American loyalist is unwillingly drawn into the American revolution on
the side of the rebels.
E. Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #6
I was the only person boarding the last car of the automated shuttle
leaving the city. It had been a difficult day and I was glad there was no
one aboard because I wanted to be alone. I have no idea where he/she came
from. Had I failed to see him/her when I boarded, or had he/she just
materialized? I sat transfixed as I observed him/her moving toward me.
He/she slowly but deliberately reversed the backrest of the seat in front of
me so that he/she could sit facing me. I was speechless when he/she said....
Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #5
The tires screeched as Leslie pushed the little car into a sharp left
turn. The street was dark, pierced only by the twin daggers of the
headlights. A skid seemed imminent until Leslie pressed the accelerator and
pulled out of the turn...
Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #4
She/he wakes up in a hotel/motel room, not knowing how she/he got there.
A body lays on the floor, obviously dead. An amplified voice can be heard
outside... "Come out now, (name). Give yourself up and no one will get
hurt." She/he has no memory of what has gone before...
Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #3
Include in your writing assignment, an old boot, a wedding dress, and a
hayseed (either as a single kernel of grain or as a country bumpkin).
Mae Ondracek
E. Kitson Southward
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #2
Write 500 to 1,500 words using this theme: The (day/week/month) I Took
Care of My Neighbors (fish, dog, cat, ???).
E. Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
Assignment #1
You are a reporter for a newspaper. While out looking for a story, you
find a suitcase that belongs to a famous fictional character.
E. Kitson Southward
Mae Ondracek
W. E. Lopez
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