The past couple weeks I've been trying an exploration exercise entitled Ten Things, where whatever room you are in, whatever you may be doing, you look around and you note ten different things about the room you are sitting in. I will only share a handful of my lists, to give you an idea, but this exercise is to help you keep your eyes out for what's interesting.
10 Things-Blackbox:
1. Black curtains around the outskirts of the room.
2. Overhead walkways - could this be for crew or observers?
3. Stadium seating on one side of the room, metal stands -who sits there?
4. Onlookers
5. Group being watched
6. The teacher's horn
7. Skateboard hidden under the risers
8. Young students, older teacher
9. A language you can't understand (Improv game, Lost in Translation)
10, Old tape on the floor
There are several things you can do with this information. What came to my mind is a group of young scientists being lead by an older gentleman, as they observe and note the actions of the test subjects in the center of the room. They are watching from the risers and from the overhead walkways. Behind the curtains there are several pieces of lab equipment hidden from view. The test subjects speak another language, which they don't understand.
With the information I gathered you can already see a story setting beginning to emerge, and you can ask more questions to flesh it out. Who are the scientists? Who are the test subjects? Why are they being examined/observed/tested? What is the purpose of this room? Is there something else behind the curtains? Someone? Who's perspective is this from: a subject? A scientist? An outside observer? You can take this in so many different directions.
This exercise gets your mind thinking, but it also makes you look for the things in the world around you, keeps you on your toes and with a pen in hand. Always be noting this on a piece of paper, because you never know what may come to you one second and then be forgotten the next. Write an idea down on paper immediately.
What's great about this exercise is you can do it literally anywhere. It's meant to be a 'where-you-are' exercises, rather than going out and finding someplace, because honestly, we all want to be lazy and not have to go anywhere. This is perfect for you.
I did this exercise in different rooms: in the laundry room, in my bedroom. You can do it at work, at school, outside, in a library, in a store, in the kitchen, literally anywhere. Where are you right now? Take out a small piece of paper and jot down ten things. Things that interest you, that pop out, or don't pop out, the details, the little things, because it's in the little things that you find a story.
Being a writer isn't just writing, but seeing things differently than how other people might see them. Being a writer is being surrounded by the world and not ignoring it. Being a writer is being an explorer. So go and be a writer.
Write on!
-The Word Nerd
10 Things-Blackbox:
1. Black curtains around the outskirts of the room.
2. Overhead walkways - could this be for crew or observers?
3. Stadium seating on one side of the room, metal stands -who sits there?
4. Onlookers
5. Group being watched
6. The teacher's horn
7. Skateboard hidden under the risers
8. Young students, older teacher
9. A language you can't understand (Improv game, Lost in Translation)
10, Old tape on the floor
There are several things you can do with this information. What came to my mind is a group of young scientists being lead by an older gentleman, as they observe and note the actions of the test subjects in the center of the room. They are watching from the risers and from the overhead walkways. Behind the curtains there are several pieces of lab equipment hidden from view. The test subjects speak another language, which they don't understand.
With the information I gathered you can already see a story setting beginning to emerge, and you can ask more questions to flesh it out. Who are the scientists? Who are the test subjects? Why are they being examined/observed/tested? What is the purpose of this room? Is there something else behind the curtains? Someone? Who's perspective is this from: a subject? A scientist? An outside observer? You can take this in so many different directions.
This exercise gets your mind thinking, but it also makes you look for the things in the world around you, keeps you on your toes and with a pen in hand. Always be noting this on a piece of paper, because you never know what may come to you one second and then be forgotten the next. Write an idea down on paper immediately.
What's great about this exercise is you can do it literally anywhere. It's meant to be a 'where-you-are' exercises, rather than going out and finding someplace, because honestly, we all want to be lazy and not have to go anywhere. This is perfect for you.
I did this exercise in different rooms: in the laundry room, in my bedroom. You can do it at work, at school, outside, in a library, in a store, in the kitchen, literally anywhere. Where are you right now? Take out a small piece of paper and jot down ten things. Things that interest you, that pop out, or don't pop out, the details, the little things, because it's in the little things that you find a story.
Being a writer isn't just writing, but seeing things differently than how other people might see them. Being a writer is being surrounded by the world and not ignoring it. Being a writer is being an explorer. So go and be a writer.
Write on!
-The Word Nerd
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