In a post on Writing Forward, Melissa Donovan offers some writing exercises that can help you figure out how to integrate physical objects into your story without overdoing it.
First, Donovan suggests thinking about a story you recently read and trying to remember what physical objects – the props – appeared in it. For each object, write a few words about its significance to the story. Was it used by one of the characters or reflect the theme? When you’re done, go back to the story and find ten more objects and repeat the exercise.
For practice, Donovan suggests coming up with a short story concept. List fifteen objects that will appear in the story: five that are incidental, five that the characters will interact with, and dive that are necessary to the story. Did this give you any important clues about your story? What did the props tell you about setting, character, and theme?
