Day 31: Word up!

Sometimes you sit down to be creative and there is just nothing there. At least that's what happens to me from time to time.

So to remedy this 'block' here is a little exercise to help:

Open a book, any book. Point to a word and write it down. Do this 3 times (with the same book or different ones I guess) and hey presto, you have a 3 word starting point.

Here is one I prepared earlier! My words came from 'What I Was' by Meg Rosoff (which I've just started and it's going pretty well).

Here goes...

The words: 'examine' 'something' 'impossible' See if you can spot them!

“This is impossible.” I said, trying to unscrew the pipe under the sink. “It’s never going to stop dripping. Just look at it.”

“Who are you talking to, Lucy?” said Michael from behind me. I turned to meet the cupboard door in my face.

“Aww! Who put that there?”

“Err. Luce, it’s always been there. It’s the cupboard.”

“Shut up!” I said standing up, hands on my hips.

Michael pointed at my t-shirt. “You’ve got some brown stuff on you, by the way,”

“Yeah well done, genius. I’m trying to fix the tap. It’s hardly surprising you haven’t noticed. It’s been leaking for days, probably from your stupid party the other night. Dad’ll kill you when he gets back.”

“Chill, sis,” he said taking the spanner from me. “Leave it to me.” He crouched down on the floor, without banging his head I might add. Mr perfect, as always! “And it was a gathering, not a party.”

“Whatever,” I said, arms crossed. He’ll screw up in a minute. All I have to do is wait.

After taking a million years to examine it, he finally started banging about.

“Well?” I asked. He was full on lying on the floor now. Images of beached whales came floating to mind.

“Give me a minute.” he said.

The doorbell rang. “It’s probably Jessica.” I said, running to the door. I opened the door and she stared at my t-shirt as if a dead rabbit had been smeared over it.

“It’s only oil from the pipes,” I said. “Michael and his stupid college friends broke it at their ‘gathering’.”

Jessica giggled. “Was his friend Toby there?”

I rolled my eyes, “Don’t start that again. Come in.”

Together we walked into the kitchen just as the pipe started spraying something brown everywhere.

“Michael! What have you done?” I said.

“Nothing.” He quickly tightened the nut and it went back to the drip. Casually Michael got up. His t-shirt was now an interesting shade of brown. Jessica burst into fits of laughter.

“Good one, Mike,” I said as he passed me the spanner.

“You’re right, it’s impossible,’ he said and out he went.

So, there you have it, a creative piece inspired by just 3 words. Use my words if you like, or find your own. Whatever takes you fancy.

And don't think this idea is only for story writing. I wrote a story 'cause that's what I do to be creative. Try and use it in whatever you do, dance, drama, music, animation, art...

See what you can do. Go...