Sunday 28 July 2013

Secrets in noisy cupboards


This piece of furniture is French. What makes it French is the long drawer in the middle which has been designed to store baguettes. It's an entirely functional piece of furniture intended to be very useful but the cupboards are stiff and open with difficulty and a loud noise. 

Create a scenario in which a person wants to retrieve an important document from the cupboard but can't because the house is never empty and opening the cupboards alerts everyone's attention. Imagine the document is a birth certificate that contains proof or evidence of great importance to the character.

The person is motivated to recover this document and this motivation drives him or her forward to take risks and think resourcefully. Motivation, risk and resourcefulness are wonderful ingredients for drama. 

This scenario could be very funny or it could be sinister or a combination of the two.

Think about why the document is important.
What will happen when the evidence is found?
Why can't the protagonist just walk up to the cupboard and open it?
Why is the protagonist so powerless?
Who in the household is the protagonist scared of offending or causing trouble with?

There's a film in this... or a novel...if you keep writing.

Is there a place in your home where secrets are kept?
Who keeps them and why?