MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More (4 page)

INDOOR

An empty classroom.

A baseball glove: child or adult size, new or worn.

A mitten without a match.

A child’s shoes.

Children in school uniforms.

A woman in a sundress.

A man in a three-piece suit.

A lady’s hat for wearing to church.

A trucker hat.

A flannel shirt.

An unmade bed.

A bedroom plastered with posters.

A pile of dishes in the sink.

The view of a city from the top of a tall building.

Dust particles in the air.

Condensation on a glass of ice water.

A flickering candle flame.

A wedding gown hung on a door.

A diamond ring.

A pearl necklace.

A pocket watch.

A birthday cake.

A FedEx package.

Party balloons.

Flutes of champagne, with the tiny bubbles rising to the surface.

A dozen roses.

A dead houseplant.

A spider.

A cockroach with twitching antennae.

Drops of blood in the sink or on the bathroom tile.

A taxidermy animal head, or the whole animal.

A human skull, or a carved one.

A dirty or naked doll, or part of one.

A mannequin.

A shopping cart.

A Halloween or carnival mask.

An old road map.

A desktop globe.

Skeins of colorful yarn.

A pincushion full of pins.

A crocheted afghan.

A cross-stitched quote or picture.

Plastic bins full of stuff, in the attic or the basement.

Tropical fish in an aquarium.

A spiral notebook full of notes and scribblings.

A new box of crayons.

A “Help Wanted” sign in a storefront.

A claw-foot bathtub.

Shag carpeting.

A long row of high school lockers.

Stained glass windows.

A jar of homemade preserves.

An ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles.

A leather jacket.

A pair of cowboy boots.

An elegant porcelain teacup and saucer.

Cream swirling in coffee.

Raw steaks or raw hamburger.

A delivery pizza in a greasy cardboard box.

A bowl full of M&Ms.

The glow of an open refrigerator.

A hairbrush full of hair.

A single eyelash on a fingertip or cheek.

A tampon or sanitary pad, used or not.

A box of condoms.

A bra on the floor.

An ashtray full of cigarette butts.

An empty whiskey bottle.

A row of perfume or cologne bottles.

A souvenir snow globe.

Bookcases full of books.

A tall ladder.

A winding staircase.

A ceiling fan.

A chandelier.

Piano keys.

A bare mattress.

A blanket fort.

Tarot cards.

Dice.

Scrabble tiles.

A chessboard and pieces.

Suitcases by the door.

Binoculars.

An umbrella—brightly colored or classic black.

OUTDOOR

Fall leaves swirling in the wind.

The skeleton of a desiccated leaf.

Gnarled tree roots.

A monarch butterfly, flitting among weeds and wildflowers.

An empty stadium.

The reflections of clouds on the glass windows of a skyscraper.

A reflection of the sky in a puddle.

A rainbow in an oil slick.

Sunglasses reflecting someone else’s face or a landscape.

A vacant lot full of weeds.

A dead bird on the pavement.

A fire truck.

A police car.

Wet city streets at night.

Sunlight streaming through tree branches.

A hornet’s nest or beehive.

A bird’s nest.

A single feather.

A red cardinal on a snowy branch.

A flock of birds rising up and flying away all at once.

A crocus poking out of the snow.

A cherry tree in blossom.

A field full of sunflowers.

A dandelion ready to be wished on.

Horses grazing in a pasture.

Haystacks.

A weathered barn.

The framework of a house being built.

Wind turbines.

Ripples in a pond.

A road shrouded with mist.

A campfire, with sparks flying upward.

Fireworks.

A house lit up by a zillion lights for Christmas.

A porch light.

A night light.

The glossy fronds of palm trees.

Seashells and sand dollars.

Saguaro cacti in the desert with their arms in the air.

A canyon.

Carousel horses.

A Ferris wheel.

A pile of pumpkins.

Hand-lettered roadside signs.

Jet trails in a blue sky.

Rows of identical suburban homes.

A swimming pool.

A colorful city mural.

Sprawling graffiti on a wall.

A dumpster.

Smoke pouring from the smokestacks of a power plant.

An inflated flailing tube man in front of a used-car dealership.

Clothes hanging on a line.

A white picket fence.

A barbed wire fence.

A rusting wrought iron fence. 

A garden gate.

An old neon sign for a motel, diner, or bar.

A mobile home or trailer.

A camping tent.

A hammock.

Waves crashing into a rocky shore.

Brightly painted toenails.

Sand dunes.

Footprints in the sand or the snow.

A splashing city fountain.

A sofa set out on the curb.

A red wagon.

A blue bicycle.

Iridescent soap bubbles.

A harvest moon.

A streaking meteor.

A bolt of lightning hitting the earth.

A sleek sports car.

Cars lined up bumper to bumper on the interstate.

A dusty pickup truck.

A rowboat.

A metal tackle box or toolbox. 

A suspension bridge.

A church steeple.

A castle, intact or in ruins.

MAKING METAPHORS

A metaphor is a comparison of something to something else. Some of us had teachers who drilled into our heads that a simile uses “like” or “as,” and a metaphor does not, but it’s not that important of a distinction. Both make a reader think of something in a new way. It might even stick with her for a long time.

In order to work, the metaphor needs to line up with the point of view and the tone of the story. A funny character’s wit may be expressed through the hilarious comparisons she makes in her mind, while poetic metaphors may underscore a soulful narrative.

I didn’t create a list of metaphors, since their power comes from their originality. Some writers seem to have a natural gift for creating them, and if you’re one of those writers, you probably don’t need to be reading this at all.

If creating metaphors doesn’t always come automatically to you, though, it’s still something you can improve on with practice. I want to share one method that can help you write them. I first used this when I was teaching a beginning poetry workshop at university, and I’ve shared it with other people since.

First, write down a few concrete images, like
blue jay
,
geode,
or
gymnasium
. Feel free to use any from the preceding list.

For each of these nouns, write a few adjectives that describe them. For blue jay, I wrote down
vivid
and
argumentative
. It’s okay if you write some phrases. For geode, I jotted down
sparkly on the inside
.

Now without thinking about it too much, write down some other things that those adjectives or descriptions can describe.

From this, you should begin to see a good metaphor or two. For instance, for
argumentative
, one of the things I wrote down was
children.
Now I could write something like, “Outside the window, blue jays argued like cranky children.” For the geode, I wound up with, “The geode sparkled inside, like a brain full of daydreams.”

Some of these will work better than others, and some won’t work at all, but it’s a good way to get to ideas you might not have come up with otherwise. The more you practice coming up with comparisons, the more they will pop into your head on their own.

If you use clichéd metaphors in your first draft—“cold as ice,” “free as a bird”—it doesn’t mean
you
are unoriginal. It’s normal to think of those familiar phrases first. Just circle each one, give it some thought, and replace it with something fresher when appropriate. It doesn’t matter what a first version looks like. It’s the final draft that counts.

2. SETTINGS

The setting of a story is often an afterthought, but it has a big impact. The mood of a place can reflect the mood of a scene, or stand in ironic contrast to it. The setting can function almost as part of the supporting cast. An evocative place can even inspire a whole story.

Sometimes when you’re feeling apathetic or cranky, getting out of the house and going somewhere new can make all the difference. The same can hold true for your writing. If you’re stuck, your scene is falling flat, or your characters are stalled, think outside the house.

An interesting location or the backdrop of a particular event can add more flair to a first encounter, a showdown, or a breakup, breakdown, or breakthrough. Of course, your characters need to have a good reason to be there, but you’re clever enough to figure that out. The first list in this section will give you some ideas.

As writers, many of us fall short in describing settings in sensory terms beyond the visual. This is because most of us are more consciously aware of what we see, whereas we often process stimuli like background noises and faint smells on an unconscious level—particularly if they are sounds or smells we encounter over a long period, or every day.

Nonetheless, sound and scent can create a strong sense of place in your story. Appealing to senses beyond the visual will make your readers feel like they’re really there.

What’s more, noises can have a strong emotional impact on your reader. One of my friends has a child who likes to watch scary movies, but when they get
too
scary, he covers his ears. He figured out that it’s less intense without the soundtrack. While we can’t impose a soundtrack over a page, we can still evoke sounds to affect the experience. Scent can be even more powerful, speaking to the most primal part of the readers’ brains and triggering memories.

To help you incorporate aural and olfactory cues into your scenes, I’ve made these two lists of ambient sounds and smells. Most of these are contemporary, but I’ve included some vintage ones as well.

100 POTENTIALLY INTERESTING SETTINGS FOR SCENES

Some of these are merely locations, while others are events. The list of evocative images can suggest additional settings.

1. A coffeehouse.
   
2. A bar.
   
3. A church service.
   
4. A funeral.
   
5. A wedding.
   
6. A graduation ceremony.
   
7. A beauty salon or barbershop.
   
8. An airport.
   
9. A hotel.
   
10. A cruise ship.
    
11. A forest trail.
    
12. Under a bridge.
    
13. Along the side of a highway.
    
14. The route of a marathon.
    
15. An office holiday party.
    

1. A library.
   
2. A music festival.
   
3. The department of motor vehicles.
   
4. A basement.
   
5. An attic.
   
6. A Renaissance faire.
   
7. A cemetery.
   
8. A beach.
   
9. A public pool.
   
10. A lake or a river.
    
11. A campground.
    
12. A ball game—Little League, or major league.
    
13. A stock car race.
    
14. A hockey game.
    
15. An abandoned building.
    
16. A construction site.
    
17. A rooftop.
    
18. A parking garage.
    
19. A dentist’s office.
    

1. A hospital.
   
2. A psychiatric ward.
   
3. An assisted living facility.
   
4. A gym or fitness center.
   
5. A locker room.
   
6. A city sidewalk.
   
7. A museum.
   
8. A tattoo parlor.
   
9. A lingerie department.
   
10. A grocery store.
    
11. A drugstore.
    
12. A home improvement store.
    
13. A giant discount store.
    
14. A flea market.
    
15. A farmer’s market.
    
16. A tractor pull.
    
17. A backyard barbecue.
    
18. A convenience store.
    
19. A public restroom.
    

1. The post office.
   
2. A cave.
   
3. A subway.
   
4. A bus stop.
   
5. A theater.
   
6. A movie multiplex.
   
7. A children’s recital or school play.
   
8. A children’s birthday party.
   
9. A high school prom.
   
10. A family reunion.
    
11. A high school or college reunion.
    
12. A cornfield.
    
13. A riding stable.
    
14. A shooting range.
    
15. A mountaintop.
    
16. A casino.
    
17. A morgue.
    
18. A lighthouse.
    
19. A costume party.
    

1. A parade route.
   
2. A political demonstration.
   
3. A car dealership.
   
4. An automotive garage.
   
5. A courthouse.
   
6. A city council meeting.
   
7. A TV news station.
   
8. A tax office.
   
9. A bank.
   
10. A payday loan agency.
    
11. A thrift store.
    
12. A diner.
    
13. A five-star restaurant.
    
14. An executive boardroom.
    
15. An animal shelter.
    
16. A dog park.
    
17. A playground.
    
18. A golf course—public, or part of a resort or club.
    
19. An observatory or planetarium.
    

1. A food bank or community pantry.
   
2. A church potluck.
   
3. An awards dinner.
   
4. A charity gala event.
   
5. A laundromat.
   
6. A greenhouse, gardening center, or plant nursery.
   
7. A front porch.
   
8. A winery or a brewery.
   
9. A dark alley.