Writing Tips — Plant Inspiration
In this week’s Story Club, my writing workshop for young writers, we took inspiration from the plant world. I brought a willow branch that I had collected when it had no leaves and looked like it might be destined for firewood. After time in my flat, it had sprouted new leaves so I planted it in my garden. The resilience of Willow was my inspiration.
We investigated plants using the five senses and thought about what we found special about them. Here are the questions I posed:
What is your plant like?
- What does it look like?
- What does it feel like?
- Does it have a smell?
- What does it drink (normally water, sunlight, soil nutrients, or something else if it is a fantasy story)
- Does it have any sounds?
What do you especially like about the plant? For example, does it grow quickly, or is it really tough and survives difficult conditions? Or maybe it is fragile and only blooms on special occasions?
Write a scene or story inspired by this plant. The plant can be the main character, or the plant might inspire the setting or story.
Two stories arose out of this workshop:
In Mika’s story, a type of clover-inspired plant named Clovia (working title) bursts into flames as protection. Only small bunches of the Clovia catch fire to protect the rest of the plant colony. When an animal comes near, the ground shakes, which makes the roots rub together to spark fire. Fire fairies live amongst the plants, happy with the dry conditions the Clovia thrives in. The story set in this Clovia patch involved a fire fairy that accidentally fell into a pond, and lost all motivation and spark. Luckily she was quite a bully, so her fire wasn’t missed …!
Paikea’s story developed another imaginary plant, a beautiful silvery-leafed one that drank moonlight. This plant had the scent of ‘whatever made the person who smelled it happy’. It seemed a shy, powerful plant with beauty and a well-meaning spirit.
I could imagine an entire year dedicated to the meeting of the plant world and the inspiration that comes from it! Meanwhile, observe, touch, sniff, and pay attention to your favourite plant. Let me know if you follow my workshop questions; I’d love to hear about your story.
