Variable Endings (Writer’s Prompt)

In James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure, he says that one of the best ways to avoid trite turns of plot is to cultivate the sort of imagination that “considers several possibilities before deciding which scene to write.” So today, pick up a piece of writing you’ve been working on, no matter what stage it’s in–planning, rough draft, editing, half-done, etc. Pick a plot point and spend at least 10 minutes brainstorming various alternate events or outcomes for that plot point. Go through each of them and evaluate them based on their originality, their ability to hold the reader’s interest, and their potential to lead to yet more interesting plot points.

James Scott Bell on the web