Story Ideas in the News

August 2, 2010 by Chris
Filed under: Lessons Learned

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I had to laugh the other day. I was doing some research on an article, trying to find a statistic. Dead end. What I did find was a news story using a similar plot convention that I used in my own mystery. Just goes to show that there are story ideas in the news. Change a few names and details and you have your plot.

It’s an unfortunate thing that the news shows you the dark depths of human nature. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing to be shocked by the next news story. Is it good that I haven’t thought of it, that I have faith in humankind? Or is it bad that the lower threshold keeps falling? Either scenario is sobering.

One of my favorite mystery writers is Ed McBain. His books never failed to shock me. I’m speaking as a small-town girl who knows nothing of urban crime, drugs, or any of it. His 87th Precinct novels are suspenseful as much as they are shocking. I think that if he were still alive today that the news would furnish him plenty of ideas for Detective Steve Carella.

People have an infinite capacity to surprise, whether it is for good or evil. As a writer, you can glam onto this aspect of human nature. You’ll never be at a loss for a story again.

Photo by lusi

Tags: news story, plot

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