There are an abundance of unusual holidays in April. Whether you prefer to write mysteries or romance, thrillers or fantasies, science fiction or historical fiction, I'm sure you can find one of them that catches your eye and causes storylines to start running through your mind.

Will you forgo driving and walk to work on National Walk to Work Day? How much beer will you drink on New Beer's Eve? Will you wear tartan on Tartan Day? Will you buy yourself a new set of Teflon cookware on Teflon Day?

Drowsy Driver Awareness Day - If you drive and you haven't yet become drowsy while driving, I congratulate you. At one time or another, drowsiness affects almost every driver. What are the signs of drowsiness? Your eyes just don't seem to want to stay open, you keep yawning and your thoughts wander all over the place, just as your vehicle will do if you are too drowsy. You may find yourself missing exits and turns. It may be time to pull off the side of the road and take a short nap.

This isn't exactly a day to celebrate, it is a day to realize that driving while drowsy, though sometimes is unavoidable, is dangerous. On April 6, 1999, Robyn Konstantin fell asleep behind the wheel while traveling from Florida to California. She died as a result of the crash. Her husband created this holiday to draw attention educate the public about the dangers of driving while drowsy.

Create a character, maybe a truck driver or a paramedic, whose job requires them to drive even when drowsy. How does your character keep from falling asleep behind the wheel? Write a story telling how your character learned that he or she needed to deal with this problem.

National Walk to Work Day - Is it impossible for you to walk to work because you live so far away from your place of employment? The idea of this holiday isn't necessarily about you walking to work, it is about getting some much needed exercise. If you can't walk to work, walk to lunch, or walk just part of the way to work. Try to work at least 30 minutes of walking into your day.

The holiday is always the first Friday in April. It was begun in 2004 by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson. Use this day to start exercising. You will feel so much better.

Create a character who does exercise daily. His or path is always the same, what she see along the way never varies. But one day something is different. Is this good or bad? How long does it take her to notice? What is different?

New Beer's Eve - This holiday, of course, is the day before National Beer Day, the day in 1933 when Prohibition was legally over and it was once again legal to consume alcohol. If you drink beer, wine, or any other type of alcoholic beverage, you can extend your thanks to FDR.

Create a character who lived during these times. Through descriptive dialogue, clue your reader in on what life was like during this time.

Tartan Day -This holiday celebrates the repeal of another law, the Act of Proscription, which banned the wearing of tartan in Scotland. Who would forbid the Scots to wear tartan ? The Parliament of Great Britain is who passed this crazy law. They did it trying to end the ability of the Scots to revolt.

Write a story explaining why the wearing of tartan is so important to the Scots.

Teflon Day - Teflon, the non-stick coating covering most cookware sold today, was accidentally discovered by Dr. Roy Plunkett on April 6, 1938. Even though is was discovered in 1938, it wasn't applied to cookware until early in the 1960s.

You can research this on the web and find out exactly how Dr. Plunkett made this discovery. Create a character who was assisting him at the time of his discovery and write a story about it.