Coffee break exercise: Make a meal of it

For three minutes, jot down five of your favourite dishes and match each one to a scenario, ie, date night, family celebration, office Christmas party, anniversary meal.

Now select one of the meal/event combinations and begin writing from the point of view of a character at the meal, starting from the point when the dish you've chosen is placed in front of them.

Write for ten minutes, then read what you've written. If it's a recipe for success, why not carry on and write a short story for Writing Magazine's Food Short Story Competition?

Find more competitions to enter, and examples of winning short stories, here.