This week – the prompt is Q is for question.
Asking a question is a great way into a story, because it gives you endless possibilities.
It doesn’t have to be a momentous question. Think of how an innocuous question such as – ‘What time is it?’ or ‘Who did you see in the Post Office?’ – has given vital information to Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot.
Think about who is asking the question, and who are they talking to, and what the circumstances are.
It could be something as simple as ‘Where are you going?’. Think of how it could be said – in anger, or pure curiosity, or exasperation. My friend Catherine Carr did a whole series of podcasts where she went up to people and asked ‘Where are you going?’ and uncovered some fascinating stories. The website for that is here.
Everybody asks questions – some more important than others, such as police, medical people, fire and rescue services, coastguards….
Some questions could be quite run-of the mill to start with, – another drink? – but what reaction will the question get and what consequences will follow?
A question is also a great way to leave a story on a cliffhanger.
Or, you could just be musing, thinking about something, and of course one of the best questions is ‘What if…’ – my own book Twicetime grew from the question ‘What if Frankenstein had been a woman?’
So there’s plenty to go at.
As usual – who, what, where, when, how and why?
Let’s hear your stories, poems, pieces of descriptive writing – don’t forget it doesn’t have to be the complete story – prompted by the word ‘question’. But it is only a prompt. If you’ve got something else that you’re burning to write about, then write about that.
Send them to louise.hulland@bbc.co.uk and we’ll review them when we next meet on the radio. In the meantime, I’d like to wish you all a very happy New Year. I hope it’s all that you’d like it to be – and more.