We’ve talked a lot about the ways story ideas pop up. Interpretation of artwork, old family stories, historical or current events … Stephenie Meyer’s claim that it all came to her in a dream is the least interesting method to me, mostly because I don’t really believe it. I mean, sleeping dreams are pretty crazy, y’all.
But when you’re awake … that’s another story.
Stories are all around, if you’re alert to them.* An author friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that she was taking a few days off to spend spring break with her daughter. “But I’ll be carrying my little black book with me,” she wrote, “for jotting down ideas!”
Exactly! When you’re out and about, running errands, meeting friends, or whatever, don’t turn off your idea radar.
Here’s an example: In 2012, I traveled around Ireland with a friend, and on a lovely day in Cork, we asked for a restaurant recommendation and were directed to the Café Paradiso.** We stepped inside just behind a tall, slim man, early forties. The restaurant was packed, but immediately a woman a few tables in leapt to her feet, smiling hugely, and came toward him. They embraced and held hands back to her table. As it turns out, we were seated right next to them—the tables were so tightly packed, I could have embraced him without leaving my seat at all—and we “eaves-watched” them for the next two hours. (Between the noise of the restaurant and the accents, the conversation was impossible to discern.) She was about the same age, also tall.
They were really, really into each other. No PDA other than that spontaneous, excited hug, but—the eye contact, the animated conversation, the leaning in, the leaning back, the laughter, the smiles. Oh, my goodness, the rest of us might as well have not been there at all! Honestly, it was lovely.
And I imagined a million different stories for them. Can you?
Were they a happily married couple just meeting for lunch on a busy workday? Old college friends (perhaps they’d once dated) meeting up for the first time in fifteen years? Were they just embarking on a love affair? How would it end—with marriage, or a broken heart, or …? What was going on here? You tell me!
Like my author friend, I carry a notebook with me and scribble things down if I don’t want to forget them. I wrote this story into a blog post later that day when I was reviewing my photographs. Not that I will ever forget this couple—they were electric!
So look around. Carry your notebook. Write it down. Think imaginatively. You never know.
I tried to take a surreptitious photo, but it doesn’t do either of them justice.
* Another author friend of mine regularly uses the phrase “stories are all around us”—and she has a wonderful story about a used book she helped to find its way home 130 years later. Read this and this, then the followup: this and this. It’s lovely!
** The meal, by the way, was spectacular. If you’re ever in Cork …
There are other articles in this series: parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Tweet: Where do you get your story ideas? Just walkin’ around!
Tweet: I imagined a million different stories for them. Can you?
Tweet: Stories are all around, if you’re alert to them.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”