Shoutout to the library in Springfield for showing me a better way to start a story

I used to stare at a blank page for hours trying to think of a perfect opening line. About two months ago, I saw a workshop at the local library about using objects as prompts. Now I grab something random from my desk, like a broken watch or a coffee mug, and write its history for five minutes. It gets words flowing way faster than overthinking. Anyone have a favorite weird object they've written about?

3 comments

3 Comments

joseph_hart3mo ago

Using objects as prompts" is a great idea. I have a stapler that's jammed with a piece of a tax form, and it has a surprisingly long backstory now. It really does get things moving.

walker.rowan3mo ago

Totally get the jammed stapler thing. I have this one specific coffee mug with a chip in the rim that I won't throw out. Every time I use it, my brain starts making up a whole story about how it got chipped, like some epic kitchen battle. It's weird how a random thing can just kick your brain into gear.

felix_coleman871mo ago

Right? It's like your brain just grabs onto that little flaw and runs with it. The backstory for my jammed stapler involves a frantic late-night tax session and a specific argument about a deduction for a home office chair that was just too comfortable. That piece of paper in the stapler has become the key piece of evidence in the whole thing, it's totally silly but it's the whole reason I can write about it.