Coffee break exercise: Time machine

Explore the possibilities of time travel in this week's creative writing exercise

Imagine you discover that you can take yourself back in time. Set the timer for five minutes and free-write about the idea. Do you have something like Dr Who’s Tardis or is the movement triggered by a place or an object? Can you choose where you go or are you taken back to the same year each time? What happens?

For the remaining time, create the beginning of a story about this situation. Does your character return – or do they decide to stay?

If you'd like to follow up this exercise and carry on with your time-travel story, read what acclaimed, Nebula Award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author Jeff Vandermeer advises on creating strong beginnnings and sucking readers into your story.