Mental Purgatory

My writing professor at school was very big on lists. Make lists of your ideas, list the things you want to write when you run out of time to write the rest of your story, or even just write a story of the lists. The thing is, you can reveal a lot through a list structure as it is very explicit about the information it’s conveying. And so, story idea #6 is simply a to-do list.

Each chapter of the piece would be another item on the to-do list. Following the item would be an elaboration on the item, why it needs to be done, how it will be done, what usually happens when it is done. By doing this, you will slowly learn more and more about the character telling the story and the life that he lives, all through a simple list of items.

I really enjoy this story structure, especially for the subtleties you can slip into it through the list. However, I haven’t yet figured out what I want the story to really be about. The good news is that this can be where the reason for the to-do list can decide that for you. Maybe the to-do list is the list of things you need to do to get over your ex-girlfriend. Or the list of preparations for your wedding. The movie High Fidelity with John Cusack and Jack Black used this list concept as John Cusack talked about his “five best break-ups.”