A writing exercise

I just thought of this today. I'm sure I'm not the first one to come up with it, and I don't ordinarily care anything about this sort of thing, but this may be a good way to kick start some ideation.


Go to a place where there are a lot of people--preferably people who don't know you. Like a mall, or a park. Watch the people around you, and pick one or two out and come up with a story to fit with what you see them doing.


Here's the rub, though--don't use this as the starting point of the story, or even a scene in the story. Instead, use this as the ending for the story.


Say you're at the mall and you pick some guy sitting in the food court sitting alone, eating cheap Chinese food and reading a science fiction novel--probably me. How would this person sitting here, reading a book and eating, make a suitable ending to a story?


Yeah, it's not easy, but that's where creativity comes in. Maybe this person has agoraphobia and this is the first time he or she has left home in years. Maybe this person just separated from his or her spouse and is contemplating a long life of eating alone, with only a book for a companion. Maybe this person lives in a house full of children, most of home are shrieking and shouting as they play, and being able to sit alone and eat and read a book undisturbed is a triumph of the human spirit.


Anyways, give it a shot, let me know if you come up with anything interesting.