Objects are powerful and versatile storytelling tools. The closet in ’The Chronicles of Narnia’, for example, transports the characters into a different world, while in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, the painting reflects the protagonist’s inner journey, revealing its true colours. Let’s not forget Harry Potter’s Philosopher’s Stone with its promise of alchemy and immortality, or the Holy Grail that continues to inspire storytellers across the globe.
Cleverly used objects will help strengthen your story’s message, elevate the theme, reveal characters’ nature and be agents of change, because objects are wells of stories. You only need to pick up a misshapen clay mug made by your best friend or an old pocket-watch passed on by your great-grandfather, that is rumoured to have saved his life during the war. While objects are inanimate, every scratch or crack and every worn-down spot or chipped corner can tell a story. Just think about heirlooms that collect stories from one generation and pass it on to the next.
Okay, maybe your great-grandfather only left behind a knitted vest, but even that old garment could tell interesting stories. It might have been, for example, the first present your great-grandmother ever gave him. Perhaps she even knitted it herself.
A well-chosen object will serve as a beacon to the heart of your story, bring out the character’s truths and secrets and solidify the deeper meaning you want to bring across. Since theory is no fun without practice, let’s check out a few examples of how you can use objects to amp up your storytelling.
1. Dig for stories
When you’re short of story ideas, use objects to write yourself into a new story. Combine the exercises below with some free-style writing.
Exercise 1: Visit a local flea market and pick an item that draws your attention. Take a picture of it, then find a quiet place and take pen and paper. Looking at the image of the object, write a few questions you have about it. These might be: Who did this belong to? How old is it? What was it used for? Was it made, bought, or given as a present? What did its owners do for a living? Imagine the previous owner interacting with the object. Did they cherish it and keep it at a visible place or was it gathering dust in a storage or at the back of the house? Try to figure out why.
If you run out of ideas, consult the image. See if you can find a detail that draws your attention and gives new information about the item or its owner. After you’re finished writing, pick one of the answers you find most interesting and dig deeper into why, how, when and who.
Exercise 2: Pick a familiar object, something you see on a daily basis (e.g. a lamp on your night table or a plate) and put yourself in its place. Write your story from the perspective of this object from its beginning to this point. If it’s a lamp, imagine that you are the lamp. What have you seen and experienced? Don’t limit your time to when you bought the lamp. Explore the time before as well, when the lamp was in the factory and the store (or at the garage sale or the flea market). What things has the lamp witnessed when you weren’t there (or before you came into the picture)? Write up a dozen examples, then choose one you find most interesting and expand on it.
Exercise 3: Search Google images for ‘object’ and save the first three that draw your eye. Write down all the connections you can think of, then pick one that speaks to you most and use it as inspiration to start writing a story. At this point, you don’t have to know where you’re going. It’s enough to have a vague idea and run with it. When the writing slows down, pick the second image and incorporate it into the story. Use the third image to wrap things up. You can repeat this exercise with more images.
2. Weave in the backstory
Exercise: In this exercise, you will be expanding on the stories you’re already working on. Take your lead characters or villains and define a single object that means something to them. This can be a heirloom, a present from a loved one or something that reminds them of a special event, a talisman or an everyday thing, as long as they’ve got a good reason to be emotionally attached to it.
Now make the object disappear exactly when your character needs it most. Write up that scene and take the time to show why they need it and bring out the character’s panic and despair. Is the object gone forever, hidden or broken? I leave that up to you, but don’t let your character find it before you reveal the reason why this object means something to them. By doing so, you can reveal a part of your character’s personality and bring in a part of their backstory as well.
3. Magical powers
Choose an everyday object, e.g. a spoon, a mirror or hat, then give it magical powers. Say the spoon makes anyone who holds it tell the truth, or the mirror can show you your soulmate, or the hat takes you to a different dimension. Once you have your object, put it into the hands of someone who has stolen it and wants to use it to their own advantage. What would its owner do to get it back? What would happen if they didn’t? Write that story.
Like the exercises and want more? Or tried them and got stuck? Let me know in the comments.
