Our world has been turned upside down this year. Not quite like in this photo, but in deeper ways.
If you remember my post from a few weeks ago about making sense, you can see that a story has to make sense within that story’s world, it may have a logic that we don’t have in our world.
When we first left our house after many weeks indoors, my children were in awe of everything they saw – they noticed the bugs (butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies), the animals (squirrels, ducks, fish) and the plants (lavender, daisies, wildflowers in bloom, incredibly tall).
They hadn’t walked those streets in a while and saw everything with fresh eyes. Because their world had been turned upside down. Or inside out. We were now so used to our apartment that the reality outside became a true novelty for them.
We fed the ducks by the canal – we had some seeds for them – and by the time we got back home the kids were ready to write a story. Can you imagine? A story about leaving your house and seeing how the world had changed.
This week, you can turn your character’s world around.
Imagine, for instance, that your character has grown up indoors (for any reason you choose; for example, this might be because of extreme weather, or because in this place where your character is people need to wait until they are six years old to be allowed to go outside, you decide!).
Then one day, after a long time, your character decides to leave the inside world and step outside. What does your character see, hear, smell? How does it feel to be outside for the first time ever? What happens once the character goes back home?
You can also choose to change another essential aspect of the world as we know it and turn your character's world around. On June 8 we celebrated World Oceans Day, what would the world be like if the oceans turned purple? Or turned to ice? Or we were not allowed to go in them because of pollution? What would happen if everyone you ever met was kind or helpful? Imagine the world you would like to live in.
Your fictional story can be in the first person (“When I opened the door…”) or the third person (“When she opened the door…”). What does your character discover on this journey in and out of home?
I look forward to reading your stories!
Happy Writing!
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