Challenge #1

Sometimes I think all of writing is about challenging ourselves—to take on a project we’re not sure we’re capable of writing, to write about something that’s so personal you’re almost embarrassed to commit it to paper, to write something different than you’ve ever written before, etc., etc. So let’s make October “Challenge Month” and tackle a few challenges.

Let’s start with an easy one—I’ll call this the “Fall” challenge.

Fall is a beautiful season everywhere. It’s cooler, crisper—and depending on how far north you live if you’re in the U.S., it’s WAY cooler and WAY crisper than the rest of the year. But wherever you are in the U.S., fall is the time where the leaves change. Where I grew up in Iowa that change was easily recognizable—leaves changed color, they eventually turned brown, and they fell to the ground. Happens that way in, say, New England too—but the colors are different, they’re a lot more vibrant than the fall colors in Iowa. They say it’s the variety of tree species they have—amongst which are all those sugar maples with glorious red leaves.

So here’s the challenge: Come up with a story that’s set in the fall. It can be the fall where you live, it can be the fall of your dreams, it can be fall today or fall 50 years ago—but the story must take place during the fall.

In addition, the word “fall” must appear in the title.

See what’s happening? You’re creating a film that’s set in a time period—in this case, fall—and you’re using that time period in your title where the word may have a different meaning.

For example, let’s say I wanted to do a thriller about a woman, let’s call her Millie, who is about to get married at the age of 60. This will be her 4^th marriage and she’s a self-proclaimed romantic, claiming she falls in love like most people buy a new outfit. What Millie doesn’t know is that her new guy, Ted, believes Millie’s father broke up his home when he was a child by having an affair with his mother—and Ted’s dad killed his mom over it, thus causing Ted to be raised in a succession of foster homes. His plan is to drive Millie crazy—really make her think she’s going crazy because of a succession of things that he’s going to make sure happen on their honeymoon in a quiet little town in Vermont on Columbus Day weekend, when the color will be at its peak.

Voila! I have my story set in the fall—it’s a horror film set in Vermont. Now all I need is a title—and remember the stipulation, the word “fall” has to be in the title.

So let’s brainstorm a few:

• One Fall Too Many
• One Fall Too Far
• Falling
• Don’t Fall Too Fast
• Falling for the Wrong Guy

We could go on and on. When I look over that little list I think I like the first one best—One Fall Too Many because it fits the situation best. Again, she’s fallen for a guy… but this may be the one who kills her.

So go to it! Create a story set in the fall with “fall” in the title… have fun!

Copyright © Diane Lake

01Oct17

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com