Awakening the Imagination

I used to be opposed to story starters...

but reflecting on my own writing habits causes me to continuously question my beliefs about writers and writing. I write on most days. Some days I have a clear goal of what I want to accomplish during my writing time. Other days it's harder. When I'm stuck with writing words, I usually start by reading someone else's words until I find my own. One of my favorite resources is Writing Toward Home by Georgia Heard. The prompts at the end of each chapter have lead to some of my best writing.

but now I don't think they're so bad.

Not all of them, anyway. Some story starters are definitely more inspiring than others. "If I found $100..." is overdone and tired.

Not all of the time, either. Story starters can be a way to collect ideas for writing, but they shouldn't be the only way.

A good story starter awakens the imagination. Just before Christmas, I visited a classroom and watched as students drew inspiration from the story starter "Rudolph was ready to go when..." Perhaps my favorite story started with "Rudolph was ready to go when his nose stopped shining." The story went on to tell how Rudolph had stayed up too late the night before and as a result, his nose wouldn't shine. Since Santa couldn't make the trip without him, he solved the problem by giving Rudolph a cup of coffee to get through the night.

Would this third grader have written such a clever piece without the story starter? Maybe. But even more important than the final product is the process and practice of thinking like a writer: I wonder what would happen if Rudolph's nose stopped shining on Christmas Eve? Writers wonder and wondering is a skill that needs practice.

Newsweek makes a compelling case that our country is in the midst of a Creativity Crisis. Wondering awakens the imagination and develops creativity. Yes, I used to be opposed to story starters, but now I think they have a place in our writing instruction.