How Asking 'What If' Can Spark Your Best Story

The cover of my novel: What's Left

My best story is the one above.

And it started by asking myself, "What If?"

When I try to come up with story ideas, I'll usually be out in the world walking around or driving or laughing with friends. I'll see someone on a bike go past and I'll think 'what if they bumped into me?'

They'd stop and apologise, I'd see something glint in their bag that looked like jewels. They'd carry on with their day and I'd carry on with mine.

And what if later that day a news article came out to say some jewels had been stolen from a local jeweller?

Would I turn the cyclist in?

What if I did?

I'd tell the police the description of the cyclist, they'd take it down and then... What if they didn't believe me?

What if they found the cyclist but they didn't do it? What if the jewels were slipped into their bag without them knowing?

The game of 'What If...' is fun to play in any scenario. You can go as dark as your mind allows or as light as your heart wants.

Let your mind run around in circles until you hit an idea that makes you smile, knowing it's inside your head going round and round and round.

Once you have that, you have a story.

Listen to the full podcast here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/57aB1tyCZSk0LFPpEdtj61?si=qOtBsbS-T_6mJb6Bam6rKQ