Think of an event in your life – it doesn’t have to be major, just
something memorable like a party, first day of school, a formal affair, or even
something as mundane as a shopping trip to buy a special outfit. Write down two
or three sentences describing the day as best you can remember it; think about
the people who were there, the color and sounds, even the smells.
Now try to change any two to three things you remember, maybe change the
location, the smells and the amount of people that were there. Finally, play “What
if…” What if on the way to the store to buy that dress the weather turned foul
and everyone had to shelter in the store? What if two of the people at your
dinner party got into an argument at the table? What if you witnessed a car
accident in your school parking lot and you had to pull someone from a burning
vehicle?
Your last paragraph should be a different story than the one you remember
even if some things seem a little familiar. This is the paragraph you can turn
into a short story or longer.
Rewrite this story and at every possible turn ask “What if?” this/that happened. Make sure to throw
in problems, conflicts and unexpected obstacles to the ultimate end. If your
story has you heading to a wedding for friends, for instance, think of
obstacles to prevent that wedding from happening. Yet for ever obstacle you put
into the path of the couple’s sought after happiness, think of all the things
they will attempt to keep it on track. Be mean to the couple when you write,
make it difficult for them. Readers will want to know how creative, resourceful
and courageous the couple will be to find their Happy-Ever-After and they will
keep reading. If you are not creating conflict, the story will get boring.
As you write, try to keep your voice from one perspective like a narrator
looking in or an individual character. Remember if you are writing the story
from the perspective of one of the characters, then it is only that character
whose head you can get into. Unless your character is really a mind
reader, don’t let him or her KNOW what someone else is thinking. You can
intimate and guess what another character is thinking by their actions
(slamming doors, trembling), voice (yelling, broken with sobs) and facial
expressions (smiling, unable to meet someone’s eyes) – but you cannot read
their minds.
Every time you expand on real life, every time you allow “What if?” to
change the original events, you begin to write fiction based on life.
Writing exercise:
Explore the road not taken – how would your life differ if you had
chosen another career? Write down everything you did today AS IF you were
headed to the alternate job instead of the one you are in. If you retired or
are otherwise not employed outside of the home, then how would you day have
been different had you held down that alternate job? (A different pay level,
maybe even a health effect or a continued obligation).
Writing prompt: Think of life changing experiences you’ve
had. How and why did these events change your life? Would you change anything If
you could do any one of those events over?
