Writing Exercises

I've had this book in my "arsenal" for some time now, but have only recently pulled it out and started looking through it. The exercises in it will work not only for fiction writers, but for those who write in other genres as well. Here is our first one from it:

**"Write a composition on the subject 'My Pet.' The only requirement is that this must be a pet you have never owned. It can be anything from a kitten to a dinosaur, from a fly to a dragon. Describe what your pet looks like, how you acquired it, what it eats and where it sleeps, what tricks it can do, and how it gets on with your family, friends, neighbors, or the people at work."**

Yeah, this is mostly a fiction exercise of course, but imagine what kinds of poetry you can get out of it as well. :-)