Writing Prompt Story Starter: Ballet Shoes

Ballet shoes inspire Fiction Ed Shirley to take a picture as her Writing Prompt Story Starter. Will they inspire you?

These pink ballet shoes were hanging on a door in Rethymnon in Crete in the summer…The pink against the grey-green of the door is pretty, isn’t it?

We were sitting at a table outside the café next door, and I expected to see a stream of little girls heading into or out of ballet class. But the door never opened, even though we were there for about an hour, relaxing and watching the world go by.

We also enjoyed watching the waiter. He never wrote down a word of an order and yet everyone got exactly what they wanted with a smile and a friendly word. And he was quick to tidy up after his customers had gone, wiping down the tables, straightening the chairs. Such great service, and it made for an inviting place to sit down for spell.

There was no music seeping from the doors or windows next door either, although, again, I had expected to hear piano music.

So although I had assumed at first glance that it indicated a ballet school or ballet class, mayhap I was wrong.

And on a side issue, it’s a shame the word “mayhap” has dropped out of common usage.

Such a soft word, much nicer than “perhaps” or “maybe”. But now that I think about it, mayhap it’s only in Scotland that it’s not common. One of my many Leicestershire uncles used to use it quite often, I remember.

Themes

But getting back to the ballet shoes, perhaps the theme is jumping to (wrong) conclusions. A bit like I did with mayhap…

Your story might be about a ballet class, either the pupils or the teacher, all with their own different dreams.

It might be about tiptoeing around a situation.

It might be about sitting outside a café in Crete watching the world go by!

If these shoes don’t have your imagination dancing, take a look at more of Shirley’s Story Starters here.