Playing the Game of What If

2008-05-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

What if each of us took the same plot, say the story of a young girl returning to her home town for a class reunion? Do you think we'd all come up with he exact same storyline? I don't think so.

As a writer, I plot. I plot here. I plot there. I plot everywhere. As I'm drifting off to sleep, characters are still entering stage left and performing. What are they acting out? If you can answer this question, you probably are a writer. Well, they are actually answering one question that I ask over and over and over again. What If?

What if this young woman returns home to her small town for her high school reunion? The young woman enters stage left. What if the first night's activities occur in a local restaurant? Enter several characters all with their own direction. A waitress, a quite handsome man behind the counter, several patrons of the restaurant. At this point I've conjured up my scene. Now I begin to concentrate solely on the plot. What if the young man behind the counter, holds out a glass of soda toward the young woman and tells her that someone who believes she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen bought the soda for her? What if the young lady blushes, takes the soda and is led by a waitress to her seat in the corner of the restaurant? What if the young woman nervously looks around the restaurant and doesn't recognize one person and she wonders how the drink got to her so quickly?

Well, at this point we can go in several different directions with our plot line. Is it a romance? Then you might continue by asking the following what ifs: What if the young lady finishes her first soda and when the waitress appears she brings a second soda? What if the waitress indicates it's from the same admirer? What if the young lady looks over the crowd and sees the guy who had been behind the counter now with a crowd of people, people she recognizes? What if, in his environment, she recognizes the man who had been behind the counter as a man she'd known in high school? What if he smiles at her and raises his own class in salute? What if the man approaches and starts a conversation? Just about this time, you might start bringing in some conflict with questions like what if the last time they spoke, they had been angry with each other? What if he had used her to help him pass the big Trig test and when he'd passed he shrugged her off? What if his actions had caused so much pain that she never got over him?

Okay, okay. You got the hang of romance; and since you're asking, I'm not twelve years old. I just got carried away in the romance. On the other hand, what if you intend to add some suspense to your story? What if the lady has been here before? What if her hand trembles when she takes the drink from the man behind the counter? What if she's thinking this sort of thing is happening over again? What if she wonders how he could have followed her here? No one where she came from knew about her home town. What if the reunion was just a cover? What if she intended to seek shelter at home from some unknown stalker? What if she looks across the room and realizes that she can put a name to ever face in the crowd? What if she wonders if her stalker wasn't from her home town all along? What if she sees the man behind the counter standing with a crowd of men, and suddenly she recognizes him as the young boy she' had a crush on all those years ago? What if she believes this young man could be her stalker? Now, I like that a lot better.

Do you see how plots and plot twists can be built just by asking one little two-word question. Who has the time for writer's block?

Because I wanted to share something that I love with others, I have started this blog. I hope that it will be a place where writers can come and plot out ideas from a weekly suggestion. What I intend to do is to offer a single scenario each week, ask one "what if" question, and have you post others. Your plot twist can take off into the world of romance (clean and sweet, please), suspense, a character driven story, whatever you choose.

And, hey, if you get an idea for a story from this game, take it. Use it. Share it.

This week: What if a man receives a posthumous letter from an old friend asking him to do a very big favor?

Let's hear from my fellow plotters.

Lamb's World of What If

Playing the Game of What If