We did story starters today during the Summer Institute. Tina gave each of us a book and we chose a line from it. My book was Grendel. I was in a group of three. First, I wrote for three minutes and then the other group members took turns adding to my story while I was adding to there stories.
Here's what *we came up with:
"What was he?" I asked as the huge blob ran past us in the dimly lit hallway.
"I have no idea," Jane said.
"Maybe it was Bill playing a trick on us. You know how he is."
"Tell me about it. Remember last week when he thought it would be hysterical to take the dinner we had prepared and give it to the neighbors?"
"That's not the only thing he has done recently."
"That's right!" I said. "I remember him jumping out from behind the shed and scaring the beejezus out of me."
"Whatever it was," Jane said, "it can't be good. Bill has a way of getting us into trouble."
I never thought about the fact that Bill was actually at his friend's house that day until the second before the blob ran into me and I was now a pile of slime racing through the hallway.
*Our writing during the institute isn't perfect; our point is to exercise. We see our activities as an opportunity to practice and feel successful whether the writing works well or not.
