Writing Session Warm-Up with Rory's Story Cubes
The time has come for me to do some more writing in my serialized fiction, and that means doing a warm-up to get the creative gears turning. I've decided to utilize my Rory's Story Cubes, recently purchased and yet to see official use, to create a basic outline for a story I may or may not write sometime in the future.
In this particular case, I've rolled three of the story cubes, and I will use those three cubes to come up with a simple outline for a potential piece of fiction.
The resulting images were:
Sad Face
Lock
Bridge
Basic Premise: The story of a man who is attempting to reestablish contact with his daughter. Drama.
Opener
Man is in late-fifties/early sixties. Has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness (cancer?). Spends time undergoing various treatments, but none of them work for terribly long. Time spent in the hospital increases, and so he sees more and more of his fellow patients being visited by family members and loved ones. He continues his solitary battle, but is struck by the love of these families and longs for the family he neglected in his earlier years.
Scene I
He's not entirely alone. Neighbor helps him get to and from hospital, occasionally eats with him. Young man who has just started a family of his own, engaged, pregnant fiancee. Neighbor encourages Man to reach out to his estranged daughter. Resistant at first until a scene that juxtaposes his solitude and pain with the love of Neighbor's family. Living, and dying, alone becomes too much to bear.
Scene II
Man sends an email to his daughter. Small step at first, but he feels he is making an actual effort. No response comes. Uses this as support to keep himself alone. Neighbor continues to push. Another rough bout with treatment, followed by the scheduling of an operation, further hammer home the need for family, or at least atonement.
Scene III
Man calls Ex-Wife. Man and Ex-Wife meet for lunch, and Man gives news of his situation. Ex-Wife is sympathetic. What starts as a close moment of support slowly spirals into another heated argument as Man asks about Daughter. They cause a scene, Ex-Wife leaves restaurant, Man follows after. Convinces her on the street to help him find Daughter. Ex-Wife reluctantly agrees, and gives him Daughter's phone number. Man thanks her. Comedic brevity as Man is almost arrested for not paying at the restaurant.
Scene IV
Man calls Daughter. Brief conversation, but agrees to meet. Man sits at a nearby park nearly a half hour before the agreed time. Daughter doesn't show. Man returns home, distraught. Neighbor invites Man to dinner with family. Man and Neighbor talk about Daughter. Man confides in Neighbor about his past with his family (alcohol abuse? drug abuse? physical abuse to Daughter? Was there another child in the mix at some point? Abandonment?).
Scene V
Man calls Daughter again. Brief conversation that quickly turns into an argument. Man easily gives in to Daughter, letting her have her shouting match with him. He has accepted his faults, and is no longer asking to meet. Just for forgiveness. Daughter says she doesn't know if she is capable of forgiving. Conversation ends. End scene with Man alone in dark home. (Rain? Or too cliche?)
Scene VI
Man goes in for operation. Ex-Wife is there. Neighbor and family are there. He appreciates their support. Voices how, during the meeting with the doctor, he keeps watching the door to the room, waiting for Daughter to walk in. Man and Ex-Wife embrace. Much sad, such drama. Man goes in for operation.
Scene VII
Neighbor and Ex-Wife talk about each other. Conversation starts as 'getting to know you'. Where they work, where they're from, their families, etc. Slowly shifts to focus on Man. Neighbor and Ex-Wife discuss how they know Man.
Scene VII
Man wakes up from operation, in his room. Ex-Wife is there. They speak, but it is short due to Man's weakness. Ex-Wife gets up and leaves. Man closes his eyes and lays back. Feels a hand brush his. He speaks to Ex-Wife. Daughter responds. Man opens eyes to see his Daughter standing before him.
END
Seems decent enough, even if it's incredibly on-the-nose, predictable and formulaic. But it works. It's a story and it's complete. I'd end it before any conversation between the two of them, just to bring about the idea that the main character (Man) could have died, and perhaps is seeing his daughter before he passes fully. Or maybe she is really there and he has survived his operation? To really drive home this idea, I should remove Ex-Wife from the final scene, I think. That would give the story a bit more of an uncertainty, sort of subverting expectations that have been otherwise met completely throughout.
And that, dear readers, is my first story idea from Rory's Story Cubes! Now on to working on my normal serialized fiction! As always, you can find all of my work at the Kory Stories site!
No comments:
Post a Comment