Keeping a List

I'm obsessed with lists:  Story ideas, good character names. even my characters make lists.  Many of us keep shopping lists,Christmas cards lists, birthday lists, to-do lists. How about getting in touch with your past lists?  Here are some examples:

1.  List all the friends you've had.  Put an X beside those you've lost contact with.

2.  List all the pets you've ever had,even the turtle that lived two days.

3.  List all of the moments you'd live over again.

4.  List everything you've done that you're ashamed of.

5.  List every object you've ever lost.

6.  List the best meals you've ever eaten.  And the worst.

7.  List the toys and games you owned as a child.

8.  List your favorite song.

9.  List your favorite smells.

10. List your goals for the next five years.  Prioritize them.

Take five to ten minutes on each list initially.  They will suggest events, emotions, people you haven't considered in a while.  What else do they suggest?  Use the lists for sources of material for your fiction.

                             --Taken from The Lie That Tells a Truth by John Dufresne, p.27

catherine@catherinealexander.net