Although certain plots or characters seem to demand certain settings, it can be fun to deviate from the expected. This exercise allows you to play with blind choices and figure out how to make them work.

Preparation: Choose four numbers (from 1 to 10). Each number corresponds to an item on the Mix and Match Lists.Preview the document The numbers don’t have to be different (for example, you could pick all 4’s if you wanted to). The first number is the character your story will focus on, the second number is the setting, and so forth.

Exercise: Write one or two paragraphs in which you introduce your character, setting, time and situation/challenge. You do not have to solve the problem; just describe it. For example, suppose you chose a high school teacher, a car wash, during a snowstorm, who has just witnessed a robbery. Your paragraph could be something like this:

John didn’t know why he decided to go to the car wash in the middle of a snowstorm. Maybe he was just frustrated with trying to grade his sophomore’s essays on the Constitution and decided that some fresh, if frigid, air would clear his head and improve his disposition. He never imagined that he would emerge from the blast of dry air at the exit of the concrete cave just in time to see a man knock a woman into a pile of slush and grab her purse. The man was on foot; John was in his newly washed car with the motor running. He didn’t hesitate.