Imagine This...

Have you ever found yourself in a most unlikely situation? The day started out fairly normal, but then by, say midday, you're suddenly so far away from normal, you have no idea how you got there? What would you think first? Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently?

What if you left one day to go to work and wound up in a completely different state but don't remember how you got there? What would you do first? Call a loved one to see if he or she even noticed your absence or call your place of employment to save your job?

Pretend you're the best friend you had in elementary school. Now imagine where that person is right now. Based upon what you remember, what would have been the most likely path for him or her to have taken in life? Least unlikely?

Think of your spouse or a close friend. What's the one thing that he or she could do that would surprise you the most? Hurt you the most? Please you the most? What's the one thing you could do that would surprise, hurt, or please this person?

Now imagine you're in a room with a complete stranger and that stranger tells you he knows one thing about you that you don't even know. What would you ask first? What does he know or how does he—someone you've never met—know something about you?

What would happen if you took each of these situations and envisioned them in a completely different way? Imagine the complete opposite of what you first came up with. You might just wind up with a story in the making or the beginnings of a headache.

Welcome to the world of a writer.