A New Challenge

So, that's right. I have a new challenge for those of us who love to write. Pick someone, a random stranger. Don't speak to them, just passively observe them. Make mental notes of everything about that person. What they are wearing, their demeanor and overall appearance. It could be any one. Perhaps someone in a restaurant check-out line or even in the car next to you. Do they seem to you affluent or a normal-Joe?

Then, when you've cataloged all you can, go home and close your eyes and let the magic happen. Create a fictional tale of the person based on what you took note of. Add in all the elements you've noticed and weave that into a story with a good story arc and plot.

Here's a plot line I imagined the other day in response to a question that was poised to me. I was asked how do I come up with the stories, where does the imagination come from?

It is of a tired looking woman who was in the twilight of her stellar career as a literary agent. Long gone are the big contracts and big paydays. Each night, after another day of failure, she drowned her memories of being one of the premier agents in cheap wine until the bottle is as empty as her stable of competent writers.

She was desperate to possess her former status in the industry when she reviewed a query letter of a suspense novel full of high stakes intrigue and conspiracy. She requested a full manuscript.

It had all the elements to be a trendy best seller. A good looking studly Senator as a main character, a beautiful damsel of ulterior motives and a mistress of even darker ambitions. It had an air of opulence and an uncanny behind-the-scenes feel of powerful politicians and hated wives. It was a ravishing tale of sex and murder, blackmail and compromises. It was the kind of tale the reading public would clamor for.

During her peak, she could get a hansom seven-figure offer from a major publishing house with little or no effort for a book like this. As she put the manuscript down, she wasn't so sure. She was a has-been and a subject of water-cooler gossip. She needed an edge. Something, anything that would get her noticed and back on top.

All she needed was... a murder.


And there you are. I thought this up in the span of three minutes. Perhaps, one day, I'll actually put it down on paper and begin building a project from it. I think it would be a fun book to write.

Now, its your turn! Let me know what you come up with. Remember, we are vessels from which a character's life flows to paper. Be true to their story. Don't worry about what people may think of you. Once you inject your outward concerns, you defile the life story your characters have chosen to entrust to you.