By L. M. O’Neal

April 20.2025

Building a Fictional Story from Just Two Nouns

Story: The Ink Pen and the Water Bottle

Nina’s practiced fingers trembled as she turned the ink pen over in her hand. It was smooth, midnight blue, and far too ordinary to be at the center of a mystery. Yet here she was, sitting on a stone bench by the decorative fountains of her city park, waiting for the pen to speak, to tell her something.

Three nights earlier, she had found it—wedged between the pages of a discarded journal at a secondhand bookstore. The journal was blank except for a scribbled note on the inside cover: “When the bottle breaks, run. Don’t stop writing.”

It was nonsense. At first.

Until she encountered the water bottle.

It was just sitting there the next day, glittering in the sunlight on a park bench near where she had been sitting a day earlier, its smoked glass surface humming with heat even though the day was cool. Out of instinct—or maybe habit—Nina picked it up. A low vibration traveled up her arm the moment her skin met the bottle’s casing. She blinked. The sky shifted slightly. Or maybe it was just her imagination.

She briefly inspected it, noticing the bottle was sealed. But the second she unscrewed the cap, the park around her shimmered like a mirage. People paused mid-step, birds froze midair, and sound dropped away.

And she found herself seated on the park bench, with the journal open and the blue pen in hand. While holding the pen, and with no effort on her part, the pen began to write.

Her hand moved without command, ink flowing like water across the page. Words poured out:

“They’ve found you. Run. The bottle is the beacon.”

She dropped both pen and bottle in panic. The world snapped back to normal. A pigeon fluttered down beside her foot, completely unfazed.

She should’ve left it all right there. But the pen whispered to her, and the bottle pulsed softly. They had become... tethered to her. Or she to them.

Was she being tested, summoned or sought. She did not know.

The journal was back in her lap. The pen balanced between her fingers. The bottle sat upright on the bench beside her, full and sealed.

Again Nina drew in a breath and opened the bottle.

Nothing happened.

At first.

Then a crack sounded—a tree branch? No. Glass.

The bottle was bleeding. Tiny fractures crawled across its surface. And suddenly, the pen’s tip glowed.

It didn’t wait for her this time. The words exploded:

“Too late. They’re here.”

Nina bolted upright, scanning her surroundings near and far. Her journal flapped in the wind like wings. Something shimmered at the edge of the fountain—a ripple of light moving toward her.

She didn’t think. She ran. And she didn’t stop writing.

The Method Behind the Madness: How Two Simple Nouns Spark Infinite Stories

At first glance, “ink pen” and “water bottle” seem like ordinary, unrelated objects. They sit quietly on desks, in backpacks, or on café counters. But in the hands of a writer, they’re more than props—they’re portals and catalysts.

This exercise isn’t about creating logic from chaos. It’s about opening the creative floodgates and allowing imagination to do what it does best: connect the seemingly unconnected.

Here’s how you can do it too:

1. Choose Your Two Nouns

They can be anything: “room key and banana peel,” “window and brass bell,” “sandwich and gym shoes.” The more random, the better.

2. Assign Meaning or Mystery

Ask questions. Why are these two things together? What secret does one hide? What happens if you interact with one? Where are they found?

For example:

• What if the pen can only write future events, but only when the bottle is open?
• What if the bottle is a trap, and the pen is the only way to escape?

3. Add Stakes

Give your protagonist a reason to care. Make the objects urgent, mysterious, powerful—or all three.

4. Let the Story Evolve

Don’t force it. Allow the story to grow naturally, letting the objects shape the plot. Think of them as characters.

This approach is fun, surprisingly deep, and ideal for overcoming writer’s block. With just two nouns, you’ll never run out of stories to tell.

So go ahead—look around your space. Pick two objects. And write.