This post has some notes on a test of the practice described here: The Story Idea as Object, from “Becoming a Writer”.
For the starting idea, I used a “starting situation generator” (link to RPGnet) that I put together using tables from Querent (link to DriveTrhuRPG).
Dealing the cards gave me:
- The main conflict is due to government or the law
- Setting elements: The protagonists will receive a wish; the place is associated with rebellion; it’s the location of a last stand
- A theme of the story is the need for teamwork
- One antagonist is giving and generous, and is looking for freedom
- A second antagonist is someone from the past, and is trying to reveal a secret
- Possible complication: a loss or betrayal; dealing with loss; a holiday or celebration comes into play
I immediately thought of a fairy-tale setting, with a city ruled by a stern wizard-king who has claimed all the magic and defeated rebels who have tried to steal spells from him. Perhaps the protagonists are two foreign, exiled princes who have completed a quest for the king. The brothers look like twins, and people have difficulty telling them apart, but the king grants only one of them a wish as a reward. The antagonists are perhaps sympathetic characters, but their actions also serve to divide the brothers.
I followed the instructions in Becoming a Writer: I went out for a walk while keeping this idea in my thoughts. When I returned, I took a hot shower then lay down and tried to keep my mind still with the story idea in the centre of my attention.
When I started writing, I explored a few directions and then a new idea arrived: I had been assuming that one of the brothers would be the viewpoint, but then I wondered if the story would be more interesting if it was told from the perspective of the wizard-king instead.
Is this an interesting insight? Would I have had it if I’d skipped the advice from Becoming a Writer? Unfortunately, there can’t be a control group for this sort of experiment. But it was an interesting process, and I’m looking forward to trying it again.