A writing teacher named Daisee suggested this story starter, in which writers use an odd news headline as the basis for a short story. The instructions are to 1) choose an "odd" news headline (think "Brad Bitt, Zombie Fighter" or "FBI Captures Bat Child") from the tabloids or other news source, and then 2) write a story inspired by it.
An alternative exercise (as well as the title above) was suggested by a different reader, DarReilley. He wrote: "I read my local paper as well as the New York or Los Angeles paper and take the words from the headlines and rearrange them into a brief story that applies to the writing I want to accomplish that day. It stretches your creativity."
If you like what you write, post your story on the general submissions page.