Cathy and I were having breakfast this morning at one of our favorite local restaurants when a little boy’s head popped up above the partition separating our table from a booth on the other side. He was, as we would soon learn, “not three,” which we understood to mean he was two. He and Cathy carried on quite a conversation. His name was John, and he liked pancakes. He had a black and a pink crayon. Cathy pointed out the fact that the pink one was close in color to her fingernail polish. She said to John’s parents, “He makes me miss my great-grandchildren.” All in all, our encounter with John and his parents was a sweet thing—a few moments of personal contact with strangers. Of course, John will have no memory of this once he’s grown, but I feel sure Cathy and I will always remember this episode that was something different on this morning.

The arrival of a stranger can drive a narrative. My soon-to-be released novel, The Evening Shades, opens with the arrival of Henry Dees, a stranger to the small town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois. Mr. Dees, a pivotal character from my novel, The Bright Forever, is forced to leave his hometown, Tower Hill, Indiana, at the end of that book out of guilt over his indirect contribution to a horrible crime. I always wondered where he went and what happened to him after he arrived. I had to write The Evening Shades to find out.

So, here’s a brief writing assignment. Choose a character from something you’ve already written. Give them a reason to leave their home area, even if only temporarily. Are they carrying anything inside them because of their actions in another narrative you’ve written? What happens to them once they’re away from their home?

You might also choose a character from a previously written narrative whose life is about to change due to a visit from someone unexpected. Maybe that someone is a stranger, as in the case of Henry Dees, or maybe it’s an estranged family member or friend. The key is to let the visitor’s arrival jostle your main character out of their regular come-and-go.

Here are a couple of examples of first lines to help with either approach:

Lou Anne had only been to Memphis once, but that was before her daddy died and left her enough money to live on easy street the rest of her days.

He came in September just as autumn was beginning in earnest. The nights were cold and some mornings frost slicked the grass and the rooftops.

People come and go. They leave their homes and make new homes elsewhere, or they stay only to be profoundly affected by a visitor. I hope this writing activity will help you start a new piece of writing.