Anthologize This

After my post “Things I’m No Longer Allowed to Write About”, I am left feeling kind of lost as far as subject matter. So, I’ve complied a list of humble, mundane things that I can make a story out of.

There is nothing wrong with writing a story about some situation that is “beneath you”. Sure, maybe in my own head I’m grappling with life, morality, death, love, whatever… but that doesn’t mean I can’t write about something frivolous and simple. Those kinds of stories can be as engaging, memorable and meaningful as anything else. I’m thinking of that movie A Christmas Story, where Ralphie is naively obsessed with that BB gun. Humble, ordinary, but still interesting. The narrator is telling us about something he has grown past, something to which we can relate and something of which the narrator has a complete and full understanding.

If you are having trouble with your characters, making them deep and consistent and well-developed, take a step back. Maybe even go back in time. I myself have always written about characters older than myself when the reality is that I am nowhere near being a mature adult. So why not go back in time? Write about something like that Red Ryder BB gun, something clear and tangible, illustrated from a simple but engaging point-of-view.

So, here’s my list of manageable subject matter that’s still content-rich.

making dinner
silly crushes
cleaning a room/house
grocery shopping
falling asleep
working in an office
getting somewhere on time
finding someone’s diary
having a job you hate
finding something you lost
feeling ugly/beautiful
trying to get noticed
staying close with your family
recovering after an embarrassment
trying to stay awake
trying to save money
cutting in line
reconnecting with old friends
taking the bus
talking to people you find boring
leaving your parents
going to church
throwing a party
keeping a pet
pleasing your parents
explaining things to children
trying to kindly say something potentially hurtful
breaking a routine/ritual
buying someone a gift
being a tattle-tale
finding a table in the cafeteria
getting fired from a job
stupid things you do after a breakup…

Maybe, as a writing exercise, pick one of the mundane activities above and write a story about it. When you pick something manageable, you add your own depth and insight to the story, instead of trying to fish it out of some huge, intangible abstract idea.