Creative Writing – Week 9: Writing with Objects — Details that Tell a Story
Objective
“Small things can tell big stories. Writers use objects to show character and hint at meaning without saying it outright.”
Students will learn how to use specific objects to reveal character, history, and emotion in their writing. By the end of the class, students will be able to write a scene or description where a single object anchors the story’s meaning or mood.
Tell Me Something Good
Warm-Up – Share one object that’s meaningful to you — something small or ordinary that tells a story about your life.
Prompts to guide discussion:
Where did it come from?
What memory or feeling do you connect it to?
What does it say about you?
“The Object Game”
Setup:
Set up a small collection of objects. Examples: an old key, seashell, coin, ribbon, photograph, pen, button, feather, etc.
Activity:
Each student selects one object.
Write for 5–7 minutes answering:
Who owned this object first?
How did it end up where it is now?
What memory or secret might it hold?
Share.
Context / Discussion
Talk about how authors use objects as anchors for setting and emotion.
What’s an object in a story or movie you still remember (the Mockingjay pin, a glass slipper, a diary, a photograph)? How do objects help us see a character’s world or values?
Classic & Literary Examples
“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant – A lost diamond necklace drives the plot and symbolizes vanity, class aspiration, and the cost of pride.
“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe – The narrator’s obsession with an old man’s vulture eye becomes the physical object representing guilt and madness.
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde – The portrait absorbs the moral corruption of its subject, serving as a mirror for the soul.
“The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams – Laura’s fragile glass animals represent her own emotional vulnerability and isolation.
Modern / Pop Culture Examples
The spinning top in Inception – A small totem representing the blurred line between reality and dreams.
Wilson, the volleyball, in Cast Away – A ball becomes a symbol of loneliness and the human need for connection.
The diary in The Notebook – A book serves as a vessel for memory, love, and identity.
The rose in Beauty and the Beast – A flower tied to time, transformation, and redemption.
Literary Excerpts
1. “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
“She kept all her kings in the back row. Then, when we got up to go downstairs, she took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on my head. ‘You forgot your hat,’ she said.
I put it on. I didn’t want to throw it away or anything. I knew I wouldn’t, but it was sort of embarrassing, in a way.”
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
“Boo Radley’s gifts appeared in the knothole of the tree: two pieces of chewing gum, a spelling bee medal, a broken watch and chain, a pair of carved soap figures… We never put back anything, but we took everything Boo left us.”
3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
“On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore.”
Mini-Lesson – How to Write Objects with Power
Start with Precision: Name the object clearly (not “thing,” but “bronze pocket watch” or “cracked teacup”).
Add Sensory Details: What does it look, feel, smell, or sound like?
Imply the History: Suggest how it got there or what it’s been through.
Connect to Character: Show what this object means to someone — do they protect it, hide it, forget it?
Let It Change: Over time, the object’s meaning can shift — like a letter that once hurt but later comforts.
Quick model:
The teacup had a chip at the rim, the kind that caught your lip if you weren’t careful. It sat on the windowsill, collecting dust and sunlight, long after she stopped drinking tea.
Ask: What can we guess about the person or story from this short description?
Writing Practice (20 min)
Prompt:
Write a short scene or descriptive paragraph centered around one object — real or imagined.
Focus on:
Showing the object in a setting.
Letting it reveal something about a person, memory, or situation.
Using sensory and specific detail.
Encourage students to avoid summarizing (“This object reminded her of her mom”) and instead show through description and action.
Optional challenge:
In the last two sentences, make the object’s meaning change slightly — reveal something new.
Share & Reflect
Volunteers read aloud
Peers identify what they learned about the character or story just from the description.
Reflection prompts:
How can one object shape a whole story?
What did you notice about how objects connect to emotion or setting?
How might you use objects differently next time you write?
Object Planner
1. The Object
What is it? (Be specific — not “thing,” but “old silver locket,” “bent key,” “cracked phone screen.”)
What does it look, sound, smell, or feel like?
2. The History
Where did it come from?
Who owned it first?
How did it end up here?
3. The Connection
Who values this object, and why?
What emotion does it bring up — comfort, guilt, hope, anger, nostalgia?
What memory or secret is tied to it?
4. The Role in the Story
How does the object appear in a scene? (Is it being used, noticed, hidden, given away?)
What does it reveal about a character’s personality or relationships?
How does it shape the tone or mood?
5. The Change
Does the object’s meaning shift over time?
What happens to it by the end — is it lost, broken, found, or redefined?
What does that change say about the character or theme?