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Notes to a beginning writer: Be observant –– steal good ideas
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Anonymous user Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments In my last article, I discussed the benefits of a critique group for the beginning writer.  A beginning writer should have something ready for his or her group/person to read. Story seeds are everywhere.
Well, last year she was doing combat missions in Afghanistan.
There’s a great story associated with that line. Why was the woman in the military? Did she return to the states unharmed?
I don’t know, but I can make it up.
While driving home, you pass by two cars pulled over to the side of the road. The woman is waving her hands and leaning toward the other driver, who in turn is holding his wallet open and listening. So, how did the accident happen? What appointment did she miss because of his carelessness? Do they know each other,  and what has the relationship been like? 
I don’t know, but I can make it up.
For a fiction writer, watching people is the stuff of dreams and details. Listen, watch, and make a few notes.
I’m late because there was a girl in a green bikini dancing by McDonald’s.
Tell the story from her point of view. Why did she take her boom box and bikini to that early morning sidewalk? Did she lose some bet, and who won the bet? The why is the starting point of a story. Give her a name, a job and a lover. Any story has characters and conflict (something happens) that leads to some conclusion. Perhaps the story is only about that one day — how did the day end? Was she happy, confused or dead by the end of the day? It all goes back to the why.
Try it. Watch people, perhaps while shopping for presents, and let your imagination run wild. Pick a few people, give them names and then imagine what they buy and who will get the presents. Some presents are for the kids, but who has been naughty or nice?
Write the story — just do it — and make corrections later. Let it sit in the computer for a day before printing it out. Read it aloud and put a red mark where it was hard to read — fix those later. Read again, rewriting as you go. 
Now you have a revised draft for that critique group. Make it fun and let your imagination run wild.
The two hugged as they parted, then without a backward glance, they headed in different directions.
Who? Where? When? Why? And who took the video on her cell phone? Choose the point of view:  Who tells the story and why?
I don’t know, but I can make it up.
See, even waiting in line can be a more interesting experience.

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