The Lists of Five

You know you want to write something. You’ve cleared the time, the passion is there. Just one problem. You have no idea what to write about. You are at your computer staring at a blinking cursor. If only you had a good story idea. Or, maybe you’re mid-draft, and suddenly you have NO IDEA what comes next. Whatever the situation, you’re stuck… and you don’t know what to write. What do you do?

This is the part where I’m supposed to launch into the virtues of pre-writing and story planning, right? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE proponent of prewriting. (Seriously, do it). However, there are countless resources out there dedicated to prewriting. Do a simple Google search and you will be instantly flooded with all the story-charts and character templates you could ever need.

Instead, I want to share with you a tool I stumbled across a few years ago. I had never seen it before. At first I was skeptical, but in the years since, I’ve found it is a sure-fire way to generate a good story idea. It’s the best tool I’ve found to get your writing “unstuck.” In fact, it’s so powerful, if you do it correctly, it will guarantee you are always writing about things you are deeply passionate about.

This tool is the Lists of Five.

Below, you will find 5 Statements. You need to finish each statement 5 different ways. Simple enough, right? However, there are two requirements to do this correctly. First, you must finish the entire thing. You must provide all five responses to all five statements. Second (and this is most important), you must be completely honest with yourself. No one is ever going to see this but you. So, don’t sabotage your own work by lying to yourself. If you want this to work… be honest.

So, without further ado…

The Lists of Five

The quality of what you get from this depends on what you put into it. Search yourself deeply and answer as honestly as you can. For example, I wrote a piece years ago based on my response to #3 “I am afraid of.” It would have been so easy to duck that question and say something like “heights”. While it’s true, being in high places gives me the willies, that’s not truly one of my deepest fears. If you know me at all, you know my family is my world. When I search my heart, what I’m truly afraid of is accidentally hurting someone I love. With that, I had the beginning of an idea for a story.

If you’re really soul searching and answering honestly, something amazing starts to happen as you near completion. One of your answers is going to strike a particularly powerful chord with you. It’s going to resonate deeply within you. There is no need to force it. It will just naturally stay on your mind. THAT is what you need to write about.

How do you generate a play idea from one of the items on the list? Remarkably simple. Generate a character that embodies the idea floating around in your head. Write a simple monologue for that character about what is on your mind. I think you’ll find it doesn’t take long to identify a conflict within the monologue. Once you identify the conflict, it’s a short hop to an antagonist, which naturally lends itself to a plotline, and Voila! Story idea.

I’m not saying that this tool will give you every piece you need to create a script. There is still plenty of work in front of you. But, it is a way to get started. And, if you’ve really been honest with yourself, it ensures that you are writing about something that is near and dear to your heart. Which, really, is at the bedrock of all great story ideas.

BE HONEST

Happy Writing,

Scott

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