What If: A Creative Writing Exercise

What Is the What If Method?

The What If method is the engine of speculative fiction — and one of the most powerful idea-generation tools for any kind of writing. You take an ordinary situation, ask "what if?" and follow the answer wherever it leads. What if we could only speak 100 words a day? What if animals suddenly started talking? What if you found a door in your house that was not there yesterday?

This is how many famous stories began. What if a boy discovered he was a wizard? What if a girl was chosen to fight to the death on television? The "what if" is the seed; the story is the tree that grows from it.

On Writaya, What If is part of the Imagination theme and is the most direct method for developing your Imagination dimension score.

Why It Matters for Writers

What If questions do two things simultaneously: they generate story premises and they reveal your creative instincts. The What Ifs that excite you most tell you what kind of writer you are. If you gravitate toward social What Ifs ("what if everyone could read emotions?"), you may be a character writer. If you prefer physical What Ifs ("what if gravity stopped?"), you may be drawn to world-building.

This connects to the Imagination dimension discussed in our Imagination skill guide — the ability to think beyond what exists into what could exist is the core creative act.

How to Practice What If

Step 1: Start with something ordinary — your morning routine, a trip to the store, a conversation with a friend.

Step 2: Ask "what if?" and change one thing. What if the store was empty? What if your friend did not recognize you? What if the coffee tasted like nothing?

Step 3: Follow the consequences. If the coffee tastes like nothing, what else has changed? Has the character lost their sense of taste? Has something happened to reality? Is it a dream?

Step 4: Write the first scene of this scenario. Do not explain the rules — just drop the reader into the changed world and let them figure it out.

Step 5: Try the same starting point with a completely different "what if." Notice how the same ordinary moment can become dozens of different stories.

Try It Now: A 5-Minute Exercise

What if every lie you told became physically visible — a small mark on your skin. Write the opening scene of this world: a character getting dressed in the morning, choosing what to wear, looking in the mirror. What do they see? What do they cover up?

Tips for Getting the Most Out of This Technique

Push past your first What If. Your first question is usually the obvious one. Ask What If three times — each time more specific. "What if time stopped?" becomes "What if time stopped for everyone except children?" becomes "What if time stopped for everyone except one child who thinks it is their fault?"

Ground speculative What Ifs in emotional reality. The best speculative fiction is not about the premise — it is about how the premise affects people. Always ask: "How does this make someone feel?"

Keep a What If journal. Write down one What If question every day. After a month, you will have 30 potential story seeds — and at least two or three that genuinely excite you.

Practice What If on Writaya with scored exercises that push your scenario-building to creative extremes. Combine with Dream Harvesting for even more surreal premises, or Random Combinations for externally generated creative friction. Read our Imagination theme guide for the complete method set.