Writing Prompt Story Starter: Cable Knit


This week’s Story Starter writing prompt image shows a knitted square in a cable pattern.

I’ve mentioned a few times now that I’m knitting and crocheting a lot at the moment, trying to use up a gigantic bag full of single balls of yarn. And I’m trying to do it usefully, making things either that I’ll wear or use myself, or that I can give to local charity shops to sell.

So far it’s been lots of fingerless mittens, which are my favourite to make – so easy, even on four pins, and useful. They’re great for a mobile phone with fingerprint recognition security. Hats, tea cosies, scarves – two pins, four, circular. I’m trying them all. Learning lots. And the contents of the bag is going down.

Today’s Story Starter image is a square that might have turned into one hand of another pair of fingerless mittens, but I ran out of yarn before I knitted its partner. But all is not lost. I didn’t rattle it down because instead this square could now become the centre-piece of, say, a cushion cover, or a blanket, even a patchwork sweater. So many possibilities…

And that’s why I thought it was useful as a Story Starter. It symbolises the very purpose of the Story Starter image, in fact. The image might show a scene or an object about which you could write literally. A door. A bridge. Flowers.

Let Your Imagination Run Free

But your imagination might lead you into a completely different story that bears little relation to the original picture. For example, a photo of a door could prompt a story about a new home. Or it might evolve into a story about new beginnings, opportunities, challenges. A bridge picture might prompt a story about an actual bridge, as in, say, San Francisco, or it might lead to something more metaphorical about friendship and estrangement.

You get the gist? I wonder what this picture of a knitted square in cable pattern will evolve into? Think of the possibilities….

If you’d like a wee reminder of how the Story Starter works, you can read it here.

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Shirley Blair

Fiction Ed Shirley’s been with the “Friend” since 2007 and calls it her dream job because she gets to read fiction all day every day. Hobbies? Well, that would be reading! She also enjoys writing fiction when she has time, long walks, travel, and watching Scandi thrillers on TV.