My paper given at the NAWE 2010 Conference grew from my concern over how I can balance the teaching of Creative Writing with my own writing. Teaching in Higher Education – as with all other teaching sectors – is demanding and the workload is constantly rising, making it increasingly more difficult to find that very precious reflective space that is necessary to think and write. Likewise, I think this is true for a growing number of my students who have to juggle studying with work commitments in order to afford to study. The following are my reflections on the challenge of teaching fiction within Higher Education, discussing some character-based exercises which I draw on that have proven useful in helping students to quickly tap into their imaginations.