Characters
Some of these characters may at first appear to be clichéd or stereotyped images - but you can always twist them around so they are anything but that! Use your imagination and remember appearances aren't everything.
Many may even sound familiar - you may have encountered similar types of characters in other people's stories - but you can develop them differently, for fun. And don't limit yourself to stories - try poems, articles, and scripts for drama - anything at all!
Real Characters and Real People
If you decide to write about any of these, you might find it worth while doing a little research first. Some are still alive; some are long dead. What they have in common is that that they are (or were) interesting people. What if any one of them was suddenly transported to our time? How would he or she cope? If you met one of these people, in either our time or their time, how would you react to them? Is there anything you would like to ask any of them? Maybe you could do an (imaginary) on-the-spot interview? Or maybe you'd like to write a piece of non fiction, about a person, or even an animal.
Caution: When writing about Real People, avoid libel! (They don't bite, but they, or their rellies, might sue!!)
If imaginative writing is not your thing, don't despair. An article - a factual one - on any of the following could be fun, a real challenge and interesting to try. As you already know, for a successful article on any topic, research is the key.
Marco Polo (or any other explorer you have heard of)
Richard l (the Lion hearted) or his (rotten little) brother King John
T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
any reasonably well known Australian politician
William Shakespeare (I once read a delightful science fiction story in which he was transported to modern times (incognito), did a course on Shakespeare's writing - and failed it!)
Richard lll (I for one do not believe him to be as villainous as he's been painted to be!)
Henry Vlll (a fascinating person - there's certainly more to him than his notorious inclination to marry - again and again!)
H.G. Wells
Elizabeth l
Queen Victoria
Leonardo da Vinci (or any other famous inventor/artist/whatever)
a famous author of science fiction, or romances, or westerns, or detective stories
Alexander Graham Bell
Alfred Nobel
A.B. Paterson
Anne Boleyn (or any other of Henry’s wives!)
Captain Cook
Rasputin
Mao Tse Tung
Mary l of England
Mary Queen of Scots
Thomas Edison
Beethoven
Marie Curie
Mozart
Sugar Ray Roberts
Picasso
Don Bradman
Tchaikovsky
U Thant
Winston Churchill
Yuri Gagarin
Albert Namatjira
George Washington
Isaac Newton
C.Y. O'Connor
Marie Antoinette
Chief Sitting Bull
Scott of Antarctica
Albert Einstein
Attila the Hun
Gengis Khan
Robert E. Lee
Abe Lincoln
Galileo
Ned Kelly
Lucrezia Borgia (or her brother Cesare)
Jane Austen
Julius Caesar
Alfred Hitchcock
maybe an author whose work you read and enjoy e.g. LM Montgomery, Nevil Shute, Oscar Wilde, J.R.R. Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, Mark Twain or Agatha Christie
any member of your own family
any reasonably well known sporting identity
someone you positively dislike (and it may be a good idea to destroy this piece after you have vented your spleen. )
any personality - male or female (must be well known)
someone you like or admire
use your postie or doctor or dentist or vet or optician or shrink or employer to create a new fictitious character (Change the name!!)
any actor or actress alive or dead, or a character he or she played
or maybe your favourite actor or actress
your favourite sportsperson
Yourself - come on, use your imagination - that's what it's for!
any other historical person in whom you have an interest - the list is endless, really