Magic Thursday: 'What If?"

We often ask the question 'What If?' in our lives.

And while we can imagine what a different choice would have done to our lives, we are never certain what the outcome would have truly been as we can't alway see every single possible outcome of that decision.

In fiction, authors can use the 'what if' as a starting point for a story.

Recently when I was writing author notes for my short story collection, Enchanted Dreams, I noticed how many of my stories started out with asking 'what if' questions, such as:

• “what would happen if you could walk into the picture’s world?”
• “what was the bride running from or running to?”
• “what if Cinderella hadn’t been the only choice?”
• “what if the Greek gods still existed in modern times?”
• “what if a dream man was real but you didn’t know it?”

In speculative fiction the 'what ifs' can be grand in scope. Whole new worlds can be created and explored with an assortment of characters that can have basis in legend or mythology, or can be completely made up.


Here's some 'what ifs' that you may recognise?
(I have no idea if the authors thought of these but I can see how these question could have been asked)

• "What if you followed the white rabbit?" - Alice in Wonderland

• "What if a blonde teenage girl was The One with special skills to fight off evil?' - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• "What if the back of your closet took you to another world?" - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

• "What if you were descendant from Jedis?" - Star Wars

• "What if standing stones could send you back in time?" - Outlander 

• "What if your adopted planet made you almost invincible?" - Superman

The 'what if' question is a powerful tool that can lead you down the rabbit hole to new and exciting stories. 

It allows a story to flow to all sorts of possibilities. Sometimes wrong turns are taken that really don't go with the story. But that's okay. That road was explored and you can learn about what you don't want in your story. Nothing is wasted. Perhaps that experience can be used in another project.


The 'what if' question may not only help you at the beginning of a story but also during it. "What if a character decided to pick path A instead of path B at point A, or perhaps at point B?" 

Would it move the story forward? Or would it grind it to a halt? 

Would it bring more obstacles to the character? Or will they have a moment's respite?

Is it the right time in the story for that path?

All these questions stem from that initial 'what if'.  Whether you are a potter or an organic writer, asking questions helps you discover your story.  Like Alice following the white rabbit, you never know where the path would lead you and that is an exciting part in writing.


~Eleni
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Eleni Konstantine writes speculative fiction and has had a number of short stories published.

Her love of reading comes from her avid reader mum. As a child, illustrated fairy tales and Greek mythology opened up a world of wonder for Eleni. She was bitten by the story bug which soon turned into the writing bug. She finds something enchanting about escaping the world she knows and entering another one. Magic, dragons, wizards, fairies, witches, unicorns, vampires and other mythical creatures have always fascinated her. What's not to like when anything can happen? Sprinkle in a romance and a happy ending and she’s on cloud nine.

Eleni has a love of chocolate (of course!), fizzy drinks, coffee and relishes her afternoon naps. She lives in South Australia with her family and is human to a sassy Rottweiler.

You can find Eleni at her website and her blog, Eleni's Taverna.

 


Eleni's recent release is Enchanted Dreams.

Be transported to fantastical worlds in this collection of nineteen speculative fiction shorts of previously published works and new stories.  From wizards to magic mirrors, dragons to ghosts, minions to goddesses, space ships to diamond slippers, there's an enchanting tale right for you.

You can buy it from a number of e-retailers.

Promo price of 99c (regular price: $1.99).

​Ends 31 October 2019