Encouraging Speculation And Exploring Motivation
Fiction prompts by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts —
The Exercise —
Imagine you are in a line of traffic driving away from the country at nine o’clock on a Saturday morning in August. This line of traffic is much heavier than you anticipated. Who are these people and why are they leaving the beach instead of going in the opposite direction? Account for the occupants of the six cars in front of you. (For examplel the man in the Chevy is going back to town because he just found out his doughnut shop there was broken into at 3:00 a.m. He is pissed.)
The Objective —
To train yourself to take off from what you see and hear and create an instant story out of it. To encourage speculation and explore motivation.
“Mom, why are we going so slow?” asked Anna. We are behind a line of traffic that is moving along like it’s a turtle procession. Look at that car ahead of us. That little girl is in the back window. That is what we did as kids. I’m guessing they will be stopped and fined before they get home.
“See the big truck way up there? It could be him who is slowing the rest of us down,” said Albert. He is probably working today and has to take his time in this much traffic.
I think it is just the lake, the two-lane road, and people turning into the casino over there. The guy in the sports car is passing on the right to go into the casino. He will probably get something to eat and get back on the road to get back home. He probably hates being up North and thinks the traffic will slow down.
“Mom, did you see that guy wave at us from the convertible? What do you think the guy in the convertible is going home to?” He is a minister and has to be back for church tomorrow. He loves fishing and could just get away for a couple of days. It is a great day, and he likes having the sun shining down. It is helping him to get ready for his sermon tomorrow.
That car full of girls are anxious to get back to their lives. They had a girls' trip to the beach, and had a blast, but they miss their families and can’t wait to get home.
What about you, Anna, why do you want to get home? I miss Sparky and Kiddo. I want to go to the river with Grandma tomorrow. I enjoy spending time with her on Sundays. And you, Albert? I want to go 4-wheeling with Grandpa. Can we, Mom?
And what do you think of that guy who just pulled off the road and walked toward the beach? Can you read what is on his jacket? He is a laid-back kind of guy who is not in a hurry to wait in line. He will enjoy the beach and the sun, and the great outdoors. He knows he will get back soon enough and that the wait couldn’t be helped.
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First published by Mercury Press on medium.com
About the Creator
Denise E Lindquist
I am married with 7 children, 28 grands, and 13 great-grandchildren. I am a culture consultant part-time. I write A Poem a Day in February for 8 years now. I wrote 4 - 50,000 word stories in NaNoWriMo. I write on Vocal/Medium daily.
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I Was Robbed
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — Here is the situation: You have just come out of the movie theater around seven in the evening, and you are mugged — a person asks for your money, then knocks you to the ground before running away. Or make up your own situation. Next, pretend you are telling the account of this event to five different people: Your mother, your best friend, your girlfriend or boyfriend (or wife or husband), a therapist, a police officer, The Objective — To become conscious of how we shape and shade the stories that we tell to each other according to the listener. Your characters also tell stories to each other and make selections about content according to who they are telling the story to, the effect they want the story to have, and the response they want to elicit from the listener. A lot of dialogue in fiction, in real life, is storytelling — and there is always the story listener who is as important in the tale as the tale itself.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
Comments (4)
Another great job, Denise. You covered the assignment perfectly. The guy in the image is right Knowledge is Power, and we must believe in ourselves.
Nicely done, Denise.
I love how you turned a simple traffic jam into a whole cast of characters. Each little mini-story feels vivid and plausible. You really captured the spirit of the exercise.
I liked how laid back the last guy was. Loved your take on this!