Window to a Different Time

So, it looks like everyone is on summer vacation. And since I'll be busy moving IRL (don't ask), I'm just going to give you all a few brain teasers to get the writerly juices flowing.

On my blog once a week, I post a what if question. I'm not seeking answers but putting out there an idea that may or may not generate story. That's one thing in speculative fiction--ideas can come from anywhere and aren't limited by the mundane world we see around us.

I hope you'll play along. And maybe a question will be the jumping off point for your next novel.

Over a decade ago, I had a lovely little room where I was able to shut myself away and write. It was in the back of the house, and I used to look out the window and watch the comings and goings of the neighbors in their cars.

The room was above the garage, and it had no door to access the outside. The only way to get outside would be to climb out the window. But why would one do that when one could just leave the room and access an outside door.

But the outside door was far enough away that to reach it, one would no longer see out the window. So, if someone was outside and one wanted to go and talk to them, that person could be gone by the time one got there. Which is kind of where this odd thought I had came from...

What if you had a window in your house that looked out into a different time? (It could be different by five minutes or fifty years.)

I thought about this one for a long time. Would I be able to interact with those outside? Could I find a way through that window? If I did, would I be able to get back? Or was I doomed to just watch? And would it be a future I saw or a past?