1.6

Having a good imagination might also mean that the writer is good at seeing things differently – they ask ‘what if?’ of everyday situations.
For example, in a story about a straight-laced schoolteacher, what if at one time he worked in the circus?
Or what if that charming woman in the sweetshop poisoned her neighbour’s cat?
Or what if tomorrow I inherited a million pounds, and then what if the next day I lost it?
What if the characters are not as they first seem?
This ability to ask ‘what if?’ is a habit that can easily be learned.

In your journal, using the 3 observations you made in Activity 1.5 as your starting point, ask what if those things were different? Write down your thoughts.
Example: There is one small window, too high up to see out of. It is covered by a white paper blind that appears almost grey in the dull light of an early December morning.
Or: Beyond the prison bars over my cell window, I can hear the waves of the Caribbean sea against the beach.

The blueprints indicate a network of fat pipes just beneath the floor ofthe lower chamber. On gaining access through the ceiling one can see theyare covered in a slimy coating reflecting the little light available withstartling intensity. The chamber appears only as wide as it is deep, if itweren't for the pipes: the occupants must have felt crushed by their claustrophobic environs.