Travel Offers Story Ideas to Writers

 

We have returned from our week of travel to visit my husband's two brothers and wives in IL. I would encourage all to make family visits more often. Lots of talk of old times, growing-up years, and what all our children and grandchildren are doing. Family time is to be treasured, and more so as we all get older. It had been four years since we had been together. The visit was short but the benefits were priceless. 

We stayed in hotels while traveling and while on the family visit. Story ideas were in great number. The people I observed gave me ideas for characters, and the places where we stayed or ate offered multiple story ideas. Watching my husband and his two brothers interact also offered story ideas. 

Wherever you go, story ideas abound. You have two choices. Either ignore them or take advantage of what is right before you and use them in your writing projects. If you choose the second option, a small notebook to jot notes would be helpful. 

As writer's we need to train ourselves to be observant and to develop a writer's eye. Not only of people, but places and scenery and situations. Overheard conversations in restaurants or airports or the grocery store can give you story ideas. Again, we must be tuned in to reap the benefit. 

We stayed in a major city and also small towns on our trip. Both places offered story ideas. So did some of the many emails, photos, and texts i received on my phone during those six days. We drove in city traffic (Ken did, not me!) and in many rural areas. The first hour of the trip and the last brought us through the Flint Hills of Kansas, where beauty abounds everywhere the eye can see. Can you get a story idea from looking at prairie grass and rolling hills? Sure you can. Use your imagination and see a rancher on a horse out to check his cattle. What about the spot where a school bus stops and several children get on or off? Imagine the prairie on a stormy day, or one where the sun beats down makes life uncomfortable. 

Ideas for poems come to us when we see something beautiful, impressive, or heartrending. It's August, and summer flowers are still blooming profusely. They inspire many poems, as do those lazy days of summer when we go fishing or swimming or sit on the porch with a book.  

When I use the term 'story idea.' I am not only referring to fiction, but other kinds of writing, including personal essays and poetry. It's all there for us, but it's up to us to detect the ideas and make use of them. Not everything we observe will be the basis of a story, but a good deal can help us in our writing. 

The 'What if...?' Writing Exercise

 

I attended a writer's meeting on Zoom last night. The people there were all from California plus me all the way from Kansas. In one conversation about inspiration--where you find it--, an old exercise was mentioned. It's called the "What if...?" and is meant to stir your imagination.

For those not familiar with playing the "What if...?" game, it's not difficult and can reap many benefits. It also helps you develop your writer's eye so that you become more observant of your surroundings.

Let's say you're walking your small dog in the park. There are kids on bikes, mothers pushing strollers, and other dog walkers. In the distance, you spot an older man who has a large dog on a leash. The dog is pulling at the leash with every step. Your mind starts the exercise by saying 'What if that big, strong dog gets away from his master? What if the big dog runs toward me and my dog? What if he knocks over a small child on a bike? What if people start yelling? What if a policeman comes running, captures the dog, and returns him to the old man? But, what if the dog reaches my little Daisy-poo, picks her up in his massive jaws, and runs straight to the road running by the park? What if he suddenly stops and lays down in the grass with Daisy between his paws and gently licks her head? 

You can see how this goes. Your mind can develop several scenarios for this situation. Which one would make the best story? So many possibilities.

Another possible use of this exercise is when you're at a point in your story and find yourself without a clue as to where to go next. Play the "What if...?" game using as many possibilities as you can think of. You'll discard some right away as they are impossible or ridiculous. Others are ok but don't grab you. You're going to hold on to the one that makes you say, "oh yeah, that would work." 

You could be having a fine time at the beach, lounging on a chair in the sand watching a little boy digging in the sand by the water's edge. His mother is nearby. Your mind starts asking "What if the little boy ventured farther out in the water? What if the mother turned to talk to someone and didn't see him? What if some older boys are roughhousing and knock the little boy down? What if he goes underwater, sand pail and shovel still in hand? What if no one sees what happened?" Of course, in real life, we hope that little boy stays perfectly safe with Mama by his side. 

Use this exercise to move a story along and for inspiration for a new story to write. Do it often enough, and your mind will automatically start saying 'What if...?"

The Writer's Eye

A wonderful writer who reported for and had a long-running column in the Kansas City Star passed away a few days ago. Yesterday, the paper ran a heartwarming farewell article featuring him and his writing. C.W. Guswelle was one of those writers who had the natural gift for the craft, even though he had to hone it and allow it to grow in the early years.

Mike Francher, who wrote and edited at the same newspaper was quoted in the article when asked about Guswelle. He said, "His writing talent and powers of observation were so good, he could've gone anywhere to live out his journalism career."

The phrase that jumped out at me in the quote was powers of observation. He did have a great talent for writing in a simple way that caught his readers in a net and kept them there until he was finished with what he had to say. His many books and myriad columns were made possible by those strong powers of observation that he had.

I'd guess that he had the writer's eye very early but that with each increasing year, he fine-tuned that ability until he achieved the 'master writer's eye.' That's something we writers should all strive to do. First to find your writer's eye and then to let it grow to maturity. You want to be able to use those powers of observation wherever you go. Use it when on a trip to a foreign country or when taking a walk in your neighborhood. Practise it at the local grocery store or when attending a symphony performance.

The more we sharpen our powers of observation, the better writer we will become. We have to see before we write. It takes practise to walk down the street and see more than a sidewalk, some trees and houses in a row.

I hope you'll click on the link above and read some of Guswelle's columns about his beloved hunting dogs, his family and other simple things in life. Whenever I read his columns, I felt like I was actually there--whatever place he was writing about. A gifted writer for sure.

What about your writer's eye, or powers of observation? How good are they? Would you like to make them better? Start looking around you more carefully than you ever have. You might be surprised at what you see.