This is one way to keep bookstores alive. Kudos to Jim Patterson.

And a writing prompt: How do your characters share their wealth?

The Check Is in the Mail: Patterson Sends Over $267,000 to Booksellers

http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/61111-the-check-is-in-the-mail-patterson-sends-over-267-000-to-booksellers.html

If you’re a millennial, you probably already know these traits. If you’re not, how many of them — in good or bad incarnations — do your characters have?

Or try impatience as a writing prompt.

5 ‘Bad’ Millennial Traits That Are Actually Good for Entrepreneurs | Entrepreneur.com

http://m.entrepreneur.com/article/231620

I hate traditional outlining. I think lots of people found it hard to deal with during those teacher-enforced research paper projects in school.
Still, we need organizing tools when we write. I tend to use spreadsheet software to keep track of my characters and events in longer fiction. Kira Brady has another approach.

How to Plot a Novel: The Plotting Board Method | Kira Brady
http://kirabrady.com/2012/09/24/how-to-plot-a-novel-the-plotting-board-method/

Seeking a different perspective? Consider author Virginia Morrell’s revelations about animal minds.

Try a prompt: write a sketch from a parakeet’s point of view. Or a chimpanzee’s.

What Are Animals Really Thinking? Author Explores Hidden World
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140223-morell-animal-wise-animals-science-book-award/