Stuck for an idea for a story? Well here’s a useful way to get yourself going. Go somewhere quiet, a park on a rainy morning, a riverbank, a street at night, wherever. Clear your mind, let it roam wherever it wishes. Think of the place as a stage and see who emerges from the wings.

Jot down fragments, thoughts, images, words. Why? Because thoughts that flash into your mind at any given time tend to disappear as quickly as they formed.

Focus on your person. Jot down half a dozen details about them. Just fragments. Could be way they move, dress, speak, think or the way they make you feel.

Doesn’t always work but it does more often that not and it’s amazing where the exercise will take you.

John Dean