Ideas for stories are all around us. Each day, there are unusual things to be seen and mysterious sounds to be heard. It is up to you, the author, to make stories out of these events.
mysterious hole in snow, picture by Lisa Binion
Do you walk into a room and find that an item has been moved? What about that mysterious howl that interrupts the quiet of your day? What about a fresh covering of snow on the ground that just doesn’t look right?
One cold winter morning, I wandered into the living room just as the sun was rising. I hadn’t had any coffee yet, and my eyes were still encrusted with sleep. When I looked out the window, I discovered that it had snowed a bit more than had been predicted. The snow was beautiful, but I wasn’t thrilled with it being there. As my eyes wandered over my white yard and road, I spotted something strange. There was a hole in the snow that shouldn’t have been there.
What do you see when you look at these pictures? Do you see a hole in the snow without wondering what put it there? Or does your imagination go wild coming up with reasons for its presence? I know mine did.
mysterious hole in snow, picture by Lisa Binion
My mind wasn’t yet thinking logically, so some pretty wild thoughts ran through my head. Had aliens from outer space landed their box-shaped ship in my pasture? I hadn’t noticed any little green men running around out there or seen any footprints in the snow, so I really didn’t think that was it.
Had someone been spying on us from some sort of contraption they set up in that spot close to our mailbox? Had the mail lady left a box sitting there for me and it mysteriously disappeared? And the list goes on and on.
Once my husband wandered in, he immediately gave me the logical explanation for that hole in the snow. And once I went out there and took the pictures, I realized he was right. But I’m not going to tell you what caused it. I’m going to let you put your writer’s imagination to work.
Take a closer look at the pictures. You will notice that the grass inside the rectangle cut out of the snow isn’t completely clear of snow. There are still remnants of snow spread across part of it. So either what was sitting there wasn’t solid or else it wasn’t there the entire night.
girl writing, writinglives.org
What if. . .
What if it was aliens? What if they are planning an invasion, one that starts at my house? If so, why aren’t there any footprints?
What if an alien ship has zapped that rectangle of snow out of my yard? Why would they do such a thing? Are they having a water shortage? Maybe one of their young ones had never seen or touched snow and wanted to have that experience.
What if someone set up something there to maybe try and catch one of my outdoor cats? If so, what was it? And how was it removed without leaving any tell-tale footprints behind?
What if a coffin had been sitting there? Was the coffin intended for me? What if the coffin belonged to a vampire? An alien vampire?
What if the heat beneath that one area is growing? What if there is a volcano forming in my yard?
In Bowling Green, Kentucky, a sinkhole opened up under part of the National Corvette Museum. What if no snow in that little piece of yard is a sign that a sinkhole is preparing to open up?
What if something is still sitting there? What if you can put your hands on it and touch it? What does it feel like? But your eyes tell you there is nothing there.
How many writing prompts can you come up with from the pictures I’ve shared? Allow your imagination to run wild and free. Can your creative mind come up with a crazy reason for that hole in the snow?
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