J. L. Harland   •   March 10th, 2019

During the next few posts we hope to give you some ideas and questions to kick start your writing. If you’ve some great ideas of your own that you’d like to share, then drop us a line and let us know. We’d love to hear from you and may even publish your thoughts on the website.

Five story starters:

1. Adam stared at the screen. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

   (What does Adam read/see on the screen? A message? CCTV? A video? Is he monitoring a space ship?)

2. The glove lay at the side of the road, almost covered in dead leaves.

   (Whose glove? How did it get there? Lost? Dropped in error or during a struggle?)

3. The child looked lost and frightened, eyes huge in a sunken face; eyes that had seen too much.

   (What had the child seen? Horror? Abuse? Murder? Is the child innocent or guilty of something? Alive or a ghost?)

4. It was a new start. A chance to escape from everything and, more importantly, everyone.

   (Why the need to escape? Where from? Where to? Who is this person desperate to get away from?)

5. The heat of the summer’s day was nothing in comparison to the argument inside the holiday villa.

   (What is the argument about? Who is arguing? A couple? Family? Where is the villa? What are the consequences of the argument?)

As you can see, each opening provides different possibilities for the story to continue. Whatever genre you prefer to write in you can twist the tale to fit your style.

Why not try taking one of these openings and just write for ten minutes? See how you get on and come back for more ideas next week.

Remember – Keep Writing.