Do you prefer to write mysteries or romances, thrillers or fantasies, science fiction or historical fiction? Whatever genre you prefer to write in, I'm sure you can find a way to include one of these nutty holidays that occur during March in your writing. It will add a touch of something different to your story.

How many questions are you going to ask on International Ask a Question Day? Will you visit the Bohart Museum of Entomology on MOTH-ER Day? What kind of potato chips will you consume on Potato Chip Day? Are you going to bake a pie on Pi Day?

International Ask a Question Day - Any writer should love this day. Why? Because a writer's curiosity should be insatiable. And how do we try and quench this curiosity? We do some research, and we ask. The purpose of this holiday is to learn how to come up with more powerful questions.

Visit www.questionday.com/images/Questioning-Practices.pdf to find out how to become a person who asks outstanding questions.

Create a character whose curiosity is truly insatiable. He (she) asks questions about anything and everything whether it is of any real interest to him or not. He just like to ask questions. But this habit of asking every one questions gets him into some serious trouble. How? Why? What happens?

MOTH-ER Day - March 14 is MOTH-ER Day, not Mother's Day. So, what do we celebrate on this day? We appreciate the under-appreciated moth. At the Bohart Museum of Entomology, part of the University of California, they display specimens such as the Atlas moth, the bat moth, and some other fantastic moths. This event is free to the public and intends to bring more attention to these wonderful insects.

Investigate the world of moths by writing a story for children about a little girl who is afraid of every insect in existence, even the beautiful moths that flutter around their garage on the warm fall evenings. One evening she hears someone crying over by the garage and goes to investigate. A young moth is sobbing uncontrollably. What is wrong with the moth? How does this incident help the little girl overcome her fear of insects?

Potato Chip Day - Did you know that the very first potato chips were made on March 14, 1853? At a restaurant in Sarasota Springs, New York, a customer was not happy with his fried potatoes. He kept insisting that his potatoes be cut thinner before being fried. The chef finally cut them so thin that they could not be eaten with a fork. These thinly sliced potatoes when fried became the first potato chips.

To help you celebrate this day, how about some potato chip trivia?
1) It wasn't until the early 20th century that potato chips began to be sold in bags. Up until then, they were only made and sold in restaurants.
2) Unless your potato chips are flavored, they contain only three ingredients: potatoes, salt, and oil
3) Here in the United States of America, we call them potato chips. Overseas they are known as crisps.
4) The most popular flavored chip variety is Sour Cream and Onion. This flavored version of potato chips contains 20 ingredients, not just the original three.
5) This holiday was created by the snack food industry to try and boost sales.

Why not write an historical fiction story about the creation of this savory snack? A chef trying to please a disgruntled customer could make an amusing story.

Pi Day - This day (3-14) is for all of you math lovers out there. Pi, 3.14, is also the birthday of Albert Einstein. No, he wasn't born on pi, he was born on March 14, which can be written as 3-14. Pi was around long before his birth, though. How will you spend this day that celebrates mathematics?

Even though I homeschooled both of my children, I am not fond of math. Since I wouldn't really want to write about math itself, I think that a pie, not just pi, needs to have some reason for the creation of this holiday. The creator of this day is not known, nor is the reason it was created. So have fun coming up with a reason for this mathematical celebration.

Learn About Butterflies Day - Everyone loves butterflies, right? Well, when my daughter was about five-years-old, a beautiful butterfly landed on her arm. She screamed so frantically you would have thought a monster had attacked her. Now she love butterflies, but it hasn't always been that way.

It is about the time of year for these magnificent insects to start fluttering around our yards. How did my little girl get over her fear of butterflies? I taught her about these colorful insects, how gentle they are and how they spread pollen from flowers around so they will spring up in new places. Most importantly, she learned that a butterfly will not bite.

It isn't known who created this holiday, but I'm pretty sure it was started so people will learn more about butterflies and how important they are to our ecosystem. Why not write a story for children based on my daughter's experience?