642 Things to Write About

Some time ago, I received a book with the title, "642 Things to Write About". I was appreciative to have this as a guideline to help me formulate some creative ideas and possibly overcome writer's block. After all, what could be easier than to flick open a page, get a topic, and start to write?

I soon discovered that the ideas were a bit unusual. For example, on page number ....well, there are no page numbers. Nonetheless, I could not imagine writing a story taking place in Argentina in 1932 where a teacup plays an important role. First of all, that sounded like it required a lot of research. What did I know about South America, the 30's, or china for that matter? I flicked to another page."Your favorite jeans". I don't wear jeans, hence no favorites. Actually, there was a blank rectangular box under this heading, no lines. Perhaps I was supposed to draw a picture? I put the book away and didn't look at it again until yesterday.

As I revisited this book, I wondered. Why did I think the ideas were odd back then? They suddenly looked like fun things to write about. The only drawback was that the spaces were a bit small and my handwriting is very large. I suppose that's what computers and blogs are for.

My first effort was in reponse to this offering.

"Think about a person you despise. Now describe all the wonderful things about that person."

I don't really despise anyone I thought. I broadened the spectrum. Perhaps I should go for dislike, disapprove, or disrespect. It didn't take long. Here is my description. I'm not certain it's all that wonderful, but it's the best I could do. Can you guess who it is?

- is a Canadian
- knows how hold onto a high paying job and has for many years
- is able to spell "prorogue"
- has influential, powerful, and wealthy friends
- knows the Bush family of the U.S.
- photographs well, speaks fairly clearly
- lives in a nice house in Ottawa
- has a good wardrobe
- says kind things about someone else's hair

 Now, let me flick to another page in this book and see if I can come up with a more creative writing topic for my next blog.