tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post8293259790890246786..comments2024-03-29T02:43:11.575-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Where do you Get Your Ideas from?Jungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-68514961755614692562010-12-14T16:19:36.551-05:002010-12-14T16:19:36.551-05:00OH, good one, SIlver! xoOH, good one, SIlver! xoHank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-6507140450419794952010-12-14T16:18:39.940-05:002010-12-14T16:18:39.940-05:00I'm always jotting notes down for ideas gleane...I'm always jotting notes down for ideas gleaned from the newspaper or a news story. My last inspiration came from the discovery of a young boy's body in a chest-style freezer after his family moved away. That story was followed by a retirement party of a detective friend and his regret over an unsolved disappearance (and likely murder) of a young girl. Her body had never been found. By the time I got home, the two stories melded into that of a brand new Assistant District Attorney being "bequeathed" a retiring investigator's "regret" case--the body of an unidentified girl found preserved in a cypress box in the aftermath of Katrina. I just finished the first draft of this project and I'm looking forward to refining it after the first of the year.Silver Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15606837105470988646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-13370387934744647602010-12-14T14:47:01.420-05:002010-12-14T14:47:01.420-05:00Jan, I just finished the first draft and I'm ...Jan, I just finished the first draft and I'm in the editing phase, but if I get published, I'll send you a signed copy. ;0)Melissa Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11660227475140255088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-90052279799068862202010-12-14T12:59:17.297-05:002010-12-14T12:59:17.297-05:00Melissa, what a GREAT story!Melissa, what a GREAT story!Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-62422033171441109562010-12-14T11:59:09.011-05:002010-12-14T11:59:09.011-05:00Rhys,
Those are great true crimes. I'm actual...Rhys, <br />Those are great true crimes. I'm actually going to have to restrain myself from not what-iffing a story about the first one because I have other work to do. But I keep seeing the woman slipping out of the car....<br /><br />Melissa,<br /><br />That's a great story. I read and watch so much WWII history that I bet I'd LOVE your book.Jan Broganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11323983086318138814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-63662130673676276312010-12-14T09:41:17.768-05:002010-12-14T09:41:17.768-05:00My mystery is during WW2, so I look at personal ac...My mystery is during WW2, so I look at personal accounts and find neat things that way. I read one where a laundress was going through the pockets of Royal Navy Uniforms before washing them. She found a piece of paper in one pocket. She recognized one of the words, "Achung". The lady reported it and the Navy discovered they had a spy on one of their ships!Melissa Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11660227475140255088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-42767471003216553932010-12-14T09:30:15.875-05:002010-12-14T09:30:15.875-05:00You're so right Rhys. When folks ask -- as the...You're so right Rhys. When folks ask -- as they inevitably do -- "Where do you get your ideas from?" I always want to ask, "Where do you NOT get your ideas from?" They're just everywhere.<br /><br />One fun exercise I've done when asked to speak for a group of students -- and it's never failed me yet -- is to pick up a daily newspaper on the way to the school and spend five minutes leafing through it. Inevitably, there's a novel in there somewhere. Sometimes it's on the front page. Sometimes it's buried in the obits. But it's there every time. Then I spend the rest of the class brainstorming up characters and a plot with the students. <br /><br />Try this with middle schoolers and you'll be astounded what the little buggers come up with.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-8935917988309373752010-12-14T09:08:59.952-05:002010-12-14T09:08:59.952-05:00Oh, Rhys, that's just what happens - I read a ...Oh, Rhys, that's just what happens - I read a news item and then think--but what if...? I live about two miles from where that poor young man from N. Carolina ended up after falling from the wheel well of plane on its way into Logan. So sad, and the REAL solution was one you might what-if your way to and then reject as too bizarre, even for fiction.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-56914041662735760472010-12-14T08:28:16.865-05:002010-12-14T08:28:16.865-05:00I meant--"started" wondering. SIgh.I meant--"started" wondering. SIgh.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-25586181718400771172010-12-14T08:27:48.365-05:002010-12-14T08:27:48.365-05:00Oh, all my books come from snippets of reality..an...Oh, all my books come from snippets of reality..and stories I've worked on.<br /><br />DRIVE TIME emerged when I couldnt find my car in a parking garage! (How about that for making lemonade?)<br /><br />And AIR TIME when my luggage went missing at the airport. <br /><br />I just--stared wondering what might REALLY be happening. It was much more fun than reality.<br /><br />Hmmm. Adversity.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-55238568534393544372010-12-14T07:48:26.517-05:002010-12-14T07:48:26.517-05:00Just about every book I've written owes a debt...Just about every book I've written owes a debt to a news article. (Which is one reaason I want to see newspapers stay alive!) Dead Head was inspired by the story of an upper middle class woman in southern CA who was arrested when it was discovered that she was a fugitive from the law and had been living under an assumed name for decades. That's been my favorite What if? moment so far.Rosemary Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033747422699443024noreply@blogger.com