Creative writing is doubtless one of the most difficult types of writing, but certainly has its rewards. While most types of commercial writing are geared to marketing and sales, the objective of creative writing is to entertain and hopefully, to be thought provoking, allowing your reader to form their own conclusions. In order to improve your skills, a repertoire of creative writing ideas is necessary. You can use short, but demanding writing exercises to keep your writing fresh and your mind loose. If you choose one creative writing idea from your list each day, you'll see tremendous improvements in your writing.

You are faced with making your story come alive, skillfully weaving your tale, integrating conflict, drama and suspense that keeps your reader enthusiastically turning the pages. You need a protagonist and antagonist. You need to balance settings, perfecting the show-don't-tell, with effective dialogue that clearly and consistently reflects each character's personality. There can be no holes in the details, where an issue is brought up and then never resolved. Classic authors, whose work is still read decades and even centuries later, all mastered each one of these aspects of the creative writing process.

Here we have five creative writing ideas that are of a generic nature, which you can use over and over. Your subject changes with each iteration, so this list is virtually inexhaustible.

1.Objects: look around your home. Any object will do. Let's say you choose a black leather, broad-brimmed hat, with a band of leather strung with silver conchas. Describe its physical appearance in detail. Does that hat have a history? Where and why did you buy it? Do you use it as a rain hat when you go for a walk? Or is it a personal thing? Give that hat a life.

2.Settings: Postcards, photographs, and prints of landscapes, or simply what you see outside your window are all candidates for this creative writing idea. This exercise is perfect for developing your show-don't tell skills. Set the mood the picture evokes in your imagination. Rather than a technical description, write a narrative that describes the feeling of the setting. For example, you've chosen a Van Gogh print, 'Starry Night'. Instead of saying, 'the sky is a deep blue, filled with stars', something like 'the intense night sky swirls in a dizzying mix of blue, with stars in the heavens reminding me of the night my grandfather died ...' draws the reader into that moment.

3.Slants on rants: Everybody has a rant in them. Let's say you're fed up with the neglect of the environment. Choose a specific area, such as drilling for oil in the Alaskan wildlife refuge. Develop a slant and go to town! For example, tell your story from the perspective of the impact on a particular species of animal, or the land, or humanity in general.

4.Character development: This creative writing idea is one of the most difficult for most writers. Think of someone you know who is both interesting and possessed of a distinctive personality. Write a short story with this person as the central character. Again, show, don't tell. This person's actions, interactions, manner of speaking and how they address the conflict all help paint a picture in your reader's mind. This exercise also helps you develop skills in dialogue.

5.Slice of life pieces: You just went to the grocery store and a rude shopper ran over your heel with their grocery cart, without so much as an 'excuse me'. How did you handle the situation? There are at least a half dozen takes to be developed here. Exploit them all.

Just these five creative writing ideas can provide months of daily exercises. When you've written a particularly successful piece, pass it by some of the creative writing forums for a critique. You'll soon find significant improvements in your writing skills, as well as an emerging, distinctive style that's all yours.