A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 14
This is the fourth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.
Tip: Go random.
This is going to sound really stupid. Well, it is really stupid. But all it takes is one time to pay off, then it becomes clever because as we know, there’s a fine line between clever and stupid.
Anyway the very first screenwriting class I taught 10 years ago was at UCLA. One night, I took two caps and some 3x5 inch index cards. I handed out 10 cards to each student, then instructed them on 5 cards to write a job [e.g., plumber, lawyer, dog catcher] and on the other 5 cards to write a location [e.g., shopping mall, swimming pool, church]. I collected the cards, jobs in one hat, locations in the other.
Then we went around the room, each student pulling a card from each hat, an exercise in generating totally random story conceits.
So someone pulls out “Doctor” and “Cruise Ship.” Nothing much there.
Then another person pulls out “Jockey” and “Restaurant.” Again nothing.
Then someone pulls outs “Cop” and “Kindergarten.”
I. Kid. You. Not. “Kindergarten Cop,” totally random, right there in that Westwood classroom. Okay, so the moment of inspiration was 12 years after the movie, but still it proved — sorta — that sometimes totally random, stupid ideas have the potential to generate story concepts… and even be a little clever.
Today’s story: Ice Cream Vans Go To War:
YOU can’t make this stuff up.
A turf war over ice cream — yes — ice cream, has led to a ridiculous bust-up in the UK.
In a Breaking Bad-esque battle for territory, these creamers went to war in the English town Blackburn.
Apparently it’s a long-running feud; luckily for us this latest showdown was caught on camera by a witness.
“It was like watching Tom and Jerry. However, it’s unfortunate they chose my street as their battleground,” said witness Mobeen Yaseen.
Let’s break it down for you:
- Mr Whippy owns this turf; Mr Yummy is the outsider;
- Mr Yummy tries to undercut Mr Whippy’s customer;
- Mr Yummy cuts off Mr Whippy;
- Mr Yummy smashes in Mr Whippy’s window with a tyre lever;
- Mr Whippy, clearly provoked, rams Mr Yummy’s van.
From where we sit, Mr Yummy is 150 per cent in the wrong.
This is Mr Whippy’s town. Get out.
Three movies came to mind when I saw this item:
Tin Men (1987): A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.
Grumpy Old Men (1993): A lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood, only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street.
Mousehunt (1997): Two stumblebum inheritors are determined to rid their antique house of a mouse who is equally determined to stay where he is.
Feuds. Cain and Abel. Montague and Capulet. Hatfield and McCoy. People get riled up at each other, one thing leads to another, and suddenly you’re in World War III mode.
Since the particular story of ice cream van drivers takes place in England, why not go for one of those delightful quirky comedies from the U.K. like The Full Monty, Waking Ned Devine and Local Hero.
There’s a city block. Filled with distinctive, oddball and entertaining characters. Mr. Whippy ‘owns’ the turf, he has been servicing the citizens of this locale for years.
Enter Mr. Yummy. He offers something with his products and service that is better than Mr. Whippy. This causes a rift among the citizenry. Some stay loyal to Mr. Whippy. Others opt to spend their dollars with Mr. Yummy.
You can see where this goes… just check out the video above. Hell, it could turn into Do the Right Thing:
A conflagration. All over something as silly as ice cream. A satire perhaps.
What would you do with Mr. Whippy and Mr. Yummy?
HT to @NatalieHatch for sourcing the story.
Each day this month, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Gender bend, genre bend, what if. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are all valuable skills for a writer to develop.
See you in comments. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.
Comment Archive