As we cast our eyes over the curious assortment of objects on the table – skulls, dragons, photos, jewels – we knew it would be an exciting night.
But first was the daunting task of choosing an object. A task laden with great responsibility for those who volunteer to choose one object (yes, only one!) that will be the prompt for their group. As these brave individuals carried their choices back to the groups, peals of laughter, hoots of incredulity and some muted groans were heard. How will we turn this into a story?
Prompt questions to the rescue, within a few minutes the room was filled with the buzz of gripping plots and twists unfolding – ‘who did this object belong to?’, ‘where had it come from?’, and the all important question ‘who might want it now, and why?’
We were enthralled to listen to the tales, especially when there was more than one story about the same prompt.
An innocent enough looking micro cassette recorder became the inspiration of two tales, one of gore and one a thriller. The first, a story of dismembered body parts, and as someone pressed play a sinister voice warned of more (dead) bodies to come! In the second story, a chilling scene left us anxious to hear the message of a long-buried family secret.
This was not all! In the second writing exercise of the night, we wrote about Alex, or Alexa. Written prompts this time, no objects, but all began with the same setting:
Alex was at a railway station on a wet evening, carrying an envelope. The last train had just been cancelled. A stranger approached Alex and said, ‘I think you have something that belongs to me.’
We were fascinated by the variation in tales that were told!
In one worrying tale that evoked empathy and wonder at the things people do for family members, Alex was delivering some illegal items for his brother and got into a bit of a skirmish.
A second Alex was left unnerved in the railway station after the lights had suddenly gone out – the stranger, and the envelope, were gone. What would Alex do next?
In a third tale, Alex finally read a letter written to her by her partner just before he had died five years earlier. Uncannily, a stranger appeared and insisted the letter was for them, but it was too late – Alex knew what had happened and there was no going back.
It was a thought-provoking night and a timely workshop that illustrated exactly the point Anne Hamilton (our recent guest speaker) made – we all think differently and draw on our unique experiences and perspectives. The same prompt, yet no two stories alike.
A big thank you to Carrie and Linda for such a wonderful evening, and to Susan for the brilliant writing exercises that opened our minds, sparked our thoughts, and gave us all something to explore.
By Jennifer Lerpinière