Ideas and exercising the brain

Ideas are, for lack of a better word, weird.

I get ideas in different forms.

A single conversation with another person may create interest in a subject for me which compiles an entire story.

Everyone works different. I have never sat at a computer and been unsure what to type. Other people may have this process but I can't work that way.

I have a lot of notes, conversations which create the foundation of ideas into a story. Some bits of conversation or what I'm thinking about at the time may build what becomes a novel or short story.

It's all up to the writer what they want to do.

I read a lot of books and follow up on interesting subjects. My friend Andrew mentioned the parasite Toxoplasma and I put it in a story because of the weirdness of how it works. People work different.

As screenwriter William Goldman said, 'no one knows anything' about how to write.

Everything is classified under the theory of "what works for me."

With that, I want to put a challenge to the readers of this blog. How about an exercise of using generic points coupled with the unique ideas of the writer?

An exercise for those who want to write a short story:

- 5 or less characters

- A shared experience which changed their growth into adulthood. Tragic or bonding.

- A gathering where it is shared again and a result.

- Less than 1,500 words total.