What Ifs That Lead to Ideas

Week of August 21—Strategies for Finding Ideas for Writing

Wednesday, August 24—What Ifs That Lead to Ideas

What If?

Posing a question can often lead to a new idea for writing. One kind of question to use is a “What if . . .” question. In this exercise you want to think as wildly as possible. There are no limits. I find that listing many questions is the best way for me to finally come to one that sparks my imagination.

Today I sat in a meeting (which was not sparking my imagination) and here are some “What Ifs” I came up with. If any of my questions sparks a writing idea for you, go for it!

·        What if Saturn could tell how it feels?

·        What if school pictures were really X-Rays?

·        What if a baseball team had no equipment?

·        What if a parent decided to stay home?

·        What if a kid had magical powers?

·        What if kids could choose super powers?

·        What if zoo animals went on strike?

·        What if book characters came to life in the library?

·        What if a circus came to school?

·        What if a kid could design his own playground?

·        What if monkeys performed ballet?

·        What if cows formed a rock band?

·        What if a pig hated mud, but loved baths?

·        What if the library was closed?

·        What if stuffed animals came to life?

·        What if there was a real boogey man?

·        What if dusty bunnies were related to non-dust bunnies?

·        What if a kid never got a haircut?

·        What if a kid couldn’t stop hiccupping?

·        What if a kid was a NASCAR driver?

·        What if a kid overslept and were late for school?

·        What if a dog was a ventriloquist for its owner?

·        What if a family vacation ended up on the moon?

·        What if the ocean were full of root beer?

·        What if the class pet became invisible?

·        What if a teacher only talked in rhyme?

·        What if a kid got sucked into nursery rhymes?

·        What if kids ruled the world?

·        What if a kid’s sense of smell suddenly was 100 times greater?

What If?

It’s Your Turn!

1. Now that you’ve got the idea, grab your writer’s notebook and start making a list of as many “What If” questions a possible. When one rings your bell, stop and write!