Write about the woman whose henna-tattooed and bejeweled feet appear in this photograph. Free-write about her, speculate about her personality, life, and marriage, or use her in a story.
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Use this frozen wasteland of a beach as a setting for a story, or a scene from a story. Allow it to inspire you. Is this a tale of man against the elements? Is it the setting for part of an epic journey? Your imagination is your only limit.
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Take a look at the article, Brazil Nuts: For That Healthy Glow, and make sure to read through the entire thing, particularly the material near the end regarding the hidden and poorly-understood dangers that may lie in everyday things. Then pick an everyday thing that seems perfectly innocuous and write about how it might turn out to be dangerous. You can journal about a real-world item or use a fictional item in a fictional world for this.
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What if… the next knock on your door was the police coming to take you away for a crime you’re certain you didn’t commit?
You could journal about the real-world possibilities, or you could put a fictional character into this situation and see what happens. This needn’t be as straightforward as it seems. Did your character commit the crime or not? Was she framed or is it a misunderstanding? Are the police themselves after your character, are they the agents of something far more sinister, or are they the unwitting dupes of someone who has cooked up some very convincing evidence? How will all of this affect your character’s life?
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One thing people don’t often think about is the variable value of things (objects, people, abstract mores) from society to society. For example, read this article’s unusual commentary on the value of cell phones in Russia:
Thousands of crimes have been committed in recent years — including multiple homicides and arson — in which authorities say the primary motive was to steal cell phones.
In America, where cell phones are practically a dime a dozen and often come free with a cell phone plan, it’s hard to imagine such a great value being placed on them.
Today, imagine something else that’s an ordinary, everyday item or value in your life, and how it might be seen differently in another time and place. What consequences could this difference in value have?
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Incongruities can be great story starters, plot generators, and keys to characterization. According to dictionary.com, something that is incongruous is:
1. out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming …
2. not harmonious in character; inconsonant; lacking harmony of parts …
3. inconsistent
Things that are out of place make you question why? or how? For example, the other day I saw a fancy convertible. Its top was up, and a kayak was strapped to the top. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kayak or the like strapped to the top of such a car before, and it made me wonder what sort of people were driving that car.
Things that are out of place can also lend instant three-dimensional characterization to an otherwise flat character. A stoic, stern warrior who doesn’t like to show his emotions is nothing new, but what if when in bed with his beloved he finally smiles and laughs every bit as playfully and happily as she does?
Today, create or find an incongruity and use it to brainstorm a character or story premise.
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This morning I came across a fascinating philosophical blog entry regarding religions and traditions that contain both “inner” and “outer” teachings:
By the by, you get the same theme in western alchemy, the idea that the outer teaching - about turning lead into gold and all that - is really a distraction, or veil, for the inner teaching - which is about (perhaps!?) immortality, perfect knowledge, etc.
The author gives other examples as well, from Taoist alchemy, Christian metaphysics, and even modern politics. He then goes on to speculate on the purpose of these levels of meaning:
The different levels of teaching allow everyone to pick a symbol intepretation which they are comfortable with, without needing to feel like they are contradicting those who use another level of intepretation. The belief (meta-belief) in a higher level of meaning - the inner teaching - allows everyone to happily follow the same behavioural path without having to challenge each other over inconsistencies in their symbol intepretations.
For today’s exercise, do one of the following:
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Use the lovely artwork Her Valentine as a story starter today. Use it in any way you like–it might appear as a piece of art in your story, or the scene from that image might be a part of your story. Whatever you do, make sure the image puts in an appearance within the first two pages–preferably start with it.
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If you’re a fiction writer, pick or create a character that has a definable career he or she engages in. If you’re a non-fiction writer, use yourself in this exercise.
Imagine that your character commits the proverbial “career suicide”–he does something so ill-thought-out, foolish, or unintentionally blundering that it’s virtually determined to end his career. Perhaps at a party he accidentally spilled scalding hot coffee on the wife of the luminary he needs to impress in order to get a promotion. Maybe he said something scathing about a piece of artwork, only to find out his boss painted it himself. Depending on the career, the possibilities are almost limitless.
How does this come about? How does your character handle it? Tell the story of the mishap or its after-effects.
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