What If

This post may help no one, but I felt I should make it in case it can aid someone out there.

So we always hear about making ‘what if’ statements to find ideas. This never worked very well for me personally, so I get my ideas other ways. Every once and a while I’ve found a good opportunity to use what if’s; when I find a dead bird and can describe the battle it just lost, when I see a suspicious person and can describe their lives, etc… But using them in my everyday life as often as most writers do… The skill never came.

I think I’m getting better at using what ifs however, for I had an ah-ha this morning about them. I really hope there’s someone out there who may have of yet not had my ah-ha; so this isn’t a wasted post…

This morning I was watering the plants. We have 2 small plants--they need a half cup water—and 2 big plants—they need a full cup. I filled two cups, watered a big one with half the water from one cup, then let it soak in while I watered the two small ones. I then went back to the big one and emptied the rest of its water into it. I hope that made sense. I refilled the cups watered the last—big—plant with half a cup, while I let it soak in I drank from the other cup.

That thrust a what if into my mind.

What if I was a plant.

Because of the fact that the first time I’d watered the little plants while the water was absorbed, the second time when I watered myself I got thinking; what if there was some plantperson who watered the others and itself. Could take place in some enchanted greenhouse or something.

Now, I’m probably not going to use that particular story idea, but the experience gave me an example of what ifs and helped me realized how they can be found anywhere in anything, if you just keep your mind open.