The Word, the Phrase, the Sentence ...
Put them all together and what have you got? A story (maybe).
In the beginning was the word.
Most of my stories don’t start with character or plot, but with an image, or sometimes even a single word. For example, my story “So Silent and Still,” published in Smokelong Quarterly, began when I looked at a Trapper Keeper folder and started riffing on the words Trapper Keeper. One of my favorite writing exercises, for writing groups or classes, involves everyone in the group contributing a word and then using that word pool to build a story or poem.
This variation on it has three pools (think of them as the kiddie pool, the shallow end, and the deep end). You can generate the word pools in real time, or make some up ahead of time and then keep them around as a quick story starter. I keep mine in envelopes labeled WORD, PHRASE, and SENTENCE. Pick a word, a phrase (two words or more, but not a complete sentence), and a sentence from the envelopes (peeking discouraged), and then use them in your writing. Setting a timer for 20 - 30 minutes is often helpful.
What’s fun is to see how the words themselves suggest stories, and sometimes the very same words can take writers in such different directions. The words can spark a new story, give you a way to shape an idea that’s been percolating for a while, or help you go back to a problem story with a new approach.
What’s your favorite writing exercise?