Make Some Fiction About Your Fiction

Here's today's writing assignment for my 10A classes:

Create a character with your name, and put him or her at Staples. Tell us a true story, but don't worry about sticking to the actual things that happened. Mine your life for something true, real, and meaningful, and change all the details around until your story really gives us the truth of it.

Put a disclaimer at the top of your story that goes something like the one from the front pages to The Things They Carried:  "This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details regarding the author's own life, all the incidents, names, and characters are imaginary."