Using What If to start your next novel
When we’re looking to start a new story idea, often the blank page is the scariest part of the process. You’re full of ideas, but nothing is riding the writing brainwaves to get the fingers typing.
When you’re feeling stuck, try adding the What If technique to the good ol’ writers toolbox.
Start with a What If brainstorming session
A What If scenario is everywhere, all the time. We have brains and those brains have thoughts. Those thoughts hold rationality, inquisition, and sometimes, silliness.
Our brains are wired to understand why things are the way they are; and when a glitch in the system occurs, we question the rules posed upon us. This is where What If begins.
We’ve grown up with rules and records of status quo and the nature of reality, regardless of our consent. Take folklore as an example of how what if scenarios can start a fantastic tale that lasts generations before proven differently. When we don’t understand a concept, we make it up—just like when the Sun God was mad at us, our ancestors believed he blocked the sun for a few hours. But in reality, it was only an eclipse.
Think about so-called conspiracy theories. The core of these theories is the concept that governmental bodies withhold truth from us; so, what happens? We create our own folklore, just like the Sun God scenario, or we create other tales to support our understanding of a topic. Let’s start with a simple idea of aliens. Proof is everywhere, yet the majority of governmental officials around the globe deny the existence. What if your neighbor is an alien? What if Bigfoot is an interdimensional cryptid accidentally created in a government lab?
Consider using alternative history as What if scenarios? In this case, look at any history book and imagine a different outcome. What if the South won the Civil War? Or What if the Witches released their fury on Salem and Christianity were destroyed?
After you’ve declared a What if situation, create a list, or write a quick synopsis of how the alternate history, or the aliens, effect society. What are the ramifications on humanity? How does one person, the main character, live and move through that world? Go down a rabbit hole, research everything on the topic, then build a situation with opposing views.
Examples of the What If Scenario
What if a dystopian novel tackled the concept that people don’t die naturally? There is no hunger, no disease, no war, and no misery. And now, the world’s inhabitants are at risk of overpopulation.
Then, a light bulb erupts with potential answers. Why not create a government branch of individuals, hand-picked, to play God.
This is an imaginative What If that Neil Shusterman answers in his young adult novel, SCYTHE.
Here’s a quick summary of this novel: In a future dystopian world, people don’t die naturally. They must be scythed by a society of independent Deaths, hand-picked persons to, in essence, eradicate a certain number of individuals per year in order to keep the population at the proper level. But what if a small faction of Scythes have other, more sinister plans of playing God? The concept is brilliant, and frankly, so is the book.
Let’s use another example of brainstorming. What if two teenagers fell madly in love, only to discover that their parents are mortal enemies and will never allow the two companionship? Well, obviously, they would fake their own death in hopes to runaway together. Duh! Then, they create a plan. Unfortunately, Romeo and Juliet’s plans are thwarted by miscommunication and everyone dies anyway.
Next time you need a new story and the creative juices are clogged, remember to try the What if technique. Try it while sitting with friends around a campfire. Watch the news and find loopholes in the topics, then create conditions that reflect those unspoken words.
You are the writer. The possibilities are endless.
Happy Writing.
-RADolence