Back by popular demand, I have another writing exercise for you all!
Do you know why I love writing exercises? Because introducing you to an exercise is like handing you a tool. My hope is that in trying a variety of exercises, you’ll find a few that work well in your hand. That when you’re stuck or needing inspiration or simply desiring to write, you’ll come back to one of these exercises and they’ll help you get from where you are to where you want to be.
That’s why I love exposing you to different starting places. Because once you start, you never quite know where the road will lead.
Today, I have an exercise that is fantastic for getting the writing juices flowing when you’ve been stagnant. It wakes up the nosy questioner in your brain–a muse that can get lazy when he’s not being actively consulted.
Your job:
Using the picture below, come up with as many “What If” questions as you can. Leave them here in our comment section. Once you’ve done that, go through your list and leave an * by the questions that have the most story potential.
And don’t forget to come back throughout the weekend to see what your friends have come up with. We like to cheer one another on here at Go Teen Writers.
Happy writing, everyone!
Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.
Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.
It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.
To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.
For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
What if the man gets attacked by a bear?
What if a hurricane comes? (Maybe not the best, but I tend to imagine worst-case scenarios.)
*What if the rocks surrounding the fire are magic rocks? (It’s official. I’m weird.)
MAGIC ROCKS! YESSSS!
*-What if this man is deaf?
*-What if his deceased father brought him here every summer?
-What if someone is watching him?
-What if he has no matches left?
*-What if this man is a pyromaniac?
-What if he came out here to die?
-What if no one knows his location and he doesn’t have service?
*-What if he came here after receiving a mysterious phone call?
-What if he’s never been camping before?
These are just a few! I’ll probably think of more later 😉
I like my magic rocks idea. I’m trying to find a way to incorporate a few of these into a historical fiction series I’m working on. Everybody has so many ideas!
Ooh, I love the magic rocks!! 🙂
What if the man is a wizard who lost his powers?*
What if the fire is really a magical plant?
What if he’s on the run from someone/thing?
I happen to know the man in the picture and he very well may be a wizard.
What if a breeze comes out of nowhere and carries a spark into the trees?
What if the fire flares up without warning, and out of that sudden fire a flaming figure appears?
What if the light in the distance isn’t the sun, but something more dangerous?
What if he – let’s call him George – is the last person left on Earth?
What if George is running from the law?
What if he’s a secret spy?
What if the trees are alive and listening to him?
What if aliens descend from space?
What if George has to stay away from the cities because there is a deadly disease spreading through them?
What if it starts raining acid or rocks?
I love “What if he’s a secret spy?”
And “What if are alive and listening to him?”
Trees that are alive! Do that one!
What if the sunset is actually a fire?
What if the trees start walking?
What if the man is a fugitive from a village that was burned by the g
Whoops, accidentally pushed submit before I was done! ?
*What if the man is a fugitive from a village that was burned by the government?
What if the trees are listening/watching?
What if the man is actually doing some magic that produces sparks?
What if there are spies watching the man from the forest?
*What if the man is living in the wilderness to escape a dangerous past?
What if the fire won’t start?
What if this is his last chance to light a fire?
What if he is signaling?
What if his signals don’t go through? What if he has a injured child to care for?
What if the child has hypothermia?
*return to top
Oh yeah. I like that fugitive idea!
*What if he’s trying to start a forest fire and the light in the background is other fires he’s started?
What if the the lump in his pant’s pocket is an envelope containing top secret information?
What if this envelope contains the instructions to start these fire?
*What if he’s being forced to start these fires against his will?
What if he’s stranded on a mountain and is going to cook what he believes to be his last meal over this fire?
What if this fire has been made with his last match and he believes he’s going to freeze to death?
*What if he has run away from his family, believing he is a terrible husband and father?
Ooh, I love the “what if the lump in his pants’ pocket is an envelope containing top secret information?”! Very creative!!
Anytime anyone is forced into crime against their will you have a story!
What if he is one of the knights of the round table who has only lasted this long because he disguised himself as a normal American male?
What if Morgana is after him because he is the only one left who knows the place where the holy grail is laid?
What if the fire is meant to call the lady of the lake up from the water so she tell him where Excaliber is placed?
What if Excaliber is in a casino in Las Vegas, disguised as a smartphone?
What if Morgana can appear as the Lady of the Lake?
What if he falls for it?
What then?
I am just going to star all of this. ****** Oh, man ideas are running now…
What if he’s lighting a signal for fairies to come to him?*
What if he’s looking for his best friend/family and is setting up camp?
What if he is lost in the woods with no hope of return?
What if he is sitting in a long-dried up lake where dinosaurs used to live, and is creating a ritual to bring them back to life? (lol)
What if he sees me, then invites me to just sit by the fire and talk awhile? What if it’s okay to just sit and talk awhile? What if I might actually enjoy doing nothing? What if this small campfire finally chases away the coldness inside that’s haunted me even on the hottest summer afternoon? What if I actually talk … and remember … and allow myself to feel and hope again?
I may have done more of a short story than a string of lines ;p
keturahskorner.blogspot.com
WHAT IF…
He burns his hands?
He can’t get his fire started?
Something distracts him after he gets his fire started?
He decides to let the fire go out?
He is cooking for someone nearby?
A storm blows in?*
He is lost?*
He is searching for someone else who is lost?*
He is wandering because he’s on some sort of a quest/mission and he had to stop for the night?*
The fire is supposed to be a signal?*
Someone is watching him in the woods?*
A bear were to attack him?
He is making his fire in enemy territory and he doesn’t realize it?*
He is trying to make a settlement out in the middle of nowhere?*
He is captive, and his captors don’t know how to start a fire but he does?*
He is so tired that he starts hallucinating that the sticks are talking?
He is training as a Search and Rescue responder?
The picture is taken from someone invisible?*
You people are all so creative ugh 😛 😀 keep it up
“What if he is searching for someone else who is lost?” Sounds like an intriguing story…
Hi Shannon,
I nominated Go Teen Writers for the Versatile Blogger Award. I’m not sure if you’ve already gotten it (or if Go Teen Writers is too popular to care much about something as small as this… which would make it sort of embarrassing!), but I come on here all the time and I really wanted to nominate you guys for it. You can see the rules here:
https://writersblok.net/2019/05/04/the-versatile-blogger-award/
Thanks!
*What if the man is being pursued and has decided to camp here for the night?
What if he’s on a journey to find someone high in the mountains?
*What if the shadow of nightfall over the lefthand hills heralds the onset of an eternal night?
*What if the man’s fire can keep back that eternal night?
What if he has been separated from friends?
What if the fire doesn’t actually start?
*What if the fire enables him to perform magic?
What if he is somehow summoning someone or something with the fire?
What if he’s legitimately just trying to light a fire while on a camping trip?
What if his hat, which he has worn every day since his grandfather gave it to him, falls in the fire?
What if it starts raining?
What if he is building the fire to warm his sick friend?
What if he gets bit by a rattlesnake?
What if he is in the boundary waters of Minnesota and his canoe floated away so now he is stranded?