Think Outside the Box Literally

I’ve been boxing up my house for weeks now. We’re about to move so boxes are in abundance around here. They’re lining the wall of my closet, my office, the garage. Every bedroom is packed and almost ready to go when the big day arrives. So seeing all this cardboard has given me an idea.

Sometimes in my writing I get snagged. I need to come up with a place and mood for the next scene, and nothing comes to me. Or I can’t picture how my characters are interacting with their environment.

Here’s where the box comes into play. What if I filled a box with items that’ll help me create the next scene? If I rummage through the box without looking, and pull a designated number of items out I can build the next section of my plot in an interesting way. You can employ the same idea with your work in progress too.

To start, you could fill it with pictures of places. Get your hands on:

  • Old magazines
  • Pictures of your vacations
  • Newspaper clippings

Add different objects to symbolize the weather. How about:

      • Cotton balls for clouds
      • A bottle of water for rain
      • A tennis ball for sun
      • Sunglasses to represent heat
      • Scarf shows that it’s cold 

And don’t forget one important sense that gets left out of writing a lot-smell. What about adding:

          • Potpourri sachet
          • Cologne bottle                  
          • Scented candles         
          • A banana peel in a bag to represent a bad smell

    Now you’ve got all the essential elements to get back on track, and you did it in a creative way. You could even take it a step further if you already know where you want the scene to occur, but you don’t know how to set it up. If you know you want the scene to be in the kitchen then what about putting kitchen items in the box? If an item gets pulled out, make the characters have to use the item. What about:

    • A rolling pin- It could be a dangerous utensil in a suspense
    • A pressure cooker- It’s comic what can happen when not locked properly or heated too high
    • A pitcher- tea anyone?
    • Apron- Is your male character only able to find a hot pink apron so he won’t mess up his suit?

    It’s fun to find new ways to brainstorm and develop your plot. Think outside the box literally and have a great time creating your next setting.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published.

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close