What story does this picture evoke in your imagination?
What does this picture say to you? Does a story begin to form in your mind? The teens in my writing workshop this past summer were given a selection of pictures of random things. After looking through the pile of pics each choose the one that spoke to them. I was thrilled with the creativity and depth of their rough draft story ideas.
The stories reflected their background and experiences. Some were humorous and others dramatic. The starting point wasn’t always the picture. One student after looking at the picture above started with a car accident that killed the husband and wove the picture into a flashback of the day he had proposed. Clever and troubling don’t you think. Her young life had already dealt with death and it was reflected in her story choice.
What kind of personality would this bike have?
Pictures speak to different people in different ways. This bicycle picture evoked a humorous story from another student. The bike’s point of view of a misspent life was creative. While this same bike was the final scene in a Sam Spade type detective’s investigation into a murder. That particular student love of mysteries was apparent.
Because there was no specific storyline that had to be followed each one was free to tell the story that sparked from their imagination. An imagination laced with the students own life experiences and interests. Pictures are great tools to get your writing mojo started. Character descriptions can begin with a picture. Settings can be captured in words from those vacation photos and travel magazines. Those thousand words a picture paints can find their way on the page with the right photo.
What story do you see when you look at the following picture?
I will not identify this photo but only say I was in another country when it was taken. Use your imagination and post a short intro to your story.
Can’t wait to read what stories this photo draws from your imagination.
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