Posted in Starts

Story Starters Part II

On July 15, 2020 I posted an article entitled Story Starters. In that article I talked mostly about the What If statement, and many examples were given. One example mentioned was: what if you stumble upon your parents who aren’t your parents but they look like them? In this article I would like to give you a variation of the What If statement.

Maybe the What If statements aren’t the way you come up with story ideas. That’s ok. We’re all different. Here’s another way you can do that without using the What If.

SettingCharacterActionDisaster
A FarmJeff (the owner)He’s milking the cowHe receives word that his
brother died.
He has no brother…
A high school classroomThe teacherShe is teach a math classShe is arrested.
A parkMr. John’s and his dogHe is walking his dogA random woman accuses him of breaking into her house.

You can see by reading the above examples, there’s much you can do with these general statements. The sky is the limit. But my point here is that the table above (and maybe you’d rather not use a table) is just one way of organizing your thoughts. The way each idea is stated is done in such a way that you can mix and match them. Instead of the teacher being arrested, Mr. John’s could get arrested in the park as he’s walking his dog. You see how this way is more versatile?

Feel free to use any and all ideas I present on this blog. Happy writing. Have fun.

Posted in Writing

Writing Prompts: Part II

Hello everyone. I hope your day is going well. A while back I published a post with some writing prompts. Here are some more.

Photo by Ian Turnell on Pexels.com
  1. As I shut my draw, something tiny and black flew into it.
  2. The cool water caressed my feet. But…
  3. I did a double take, when I passed…
  4. The day came when…
  5. “I talked to him yesterday. He said…”
  6. “You’re standing in my way. All I…”
  7. Choose an article in the newspaper, look at the fifth or sixth line, and use it to create a poem or short story.
  8. I reached into my purse then realized…
  9. Write a story about a talking gold fish.
  10. Write a story with the line, “Then he/she slapped me.”
Posted in Social

What Lies Beyond

Posted in Writing

Story Starters

What do you think about when you’re standing at the top of a mountain? What’s going through your mind? Is your imagination poking at your brain? Is fear setting in? There weren’t any side rails along the road on the way up, so you’re wondering how you’re going to get back down without going over the edge. Getting up there was easy. What if you get stuck on the way down (if you climbed up)? Questions questions.

Story ideas start with questions. Usually they’re ‘what if’ questions, but that doesn’t mean they have to be (see above questions for examples). I like the ‘what if’ questions only because that’s what my brain goes to automatically. Below are some ‘what if’ questions you can steal. Remember, one what if question can create more than one story.

  • What if you were eating in a Chinese restaurant and received a fortune cookie made gold?
  • What if someone knocked at your front door? You answer it and it’s your late grandfather. You give him a hug and immediately that takes you back in time to his era.
  • What if you’re walking to the elevator in the busy office building you work in, and you suddenly realize you’re alone. You’re the only one in the whole building.
  • What if you stumble upon your parents who aren’t your parents but they look like them?
  • What if the spiritual realm became visible only to you?
  • What if a one hundred dollar bill was found stuck in your second story bedroom window and you know it’s not yours?
  • What if you bit into a cookie and found a ring inside with an inscription?