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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 21
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I always have more ideas for books than I can possibly write in a lifetime. So for those struggling to find an idea, what if we were to post a one-sentence story idea here? It might help a writer take the most important step in starting a book...the part where the writer thinks, "What would happen if..."
I'll start:
"In the wake of the Japanese earthquakes, a freight ship is torn loose from its moorings and driven across the Pacific toward the west coast of the United States. As the leader of the USCG salvage team airlifted onto the ship to help bring it under power and to a marina, you are shocked to find the crew aboard, but murdered. The worst is yet to come. The members of your own team are being killed one at a time in front of you. Who is killing your team? And why?"
So...what's an interesting book that you'll never write?
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
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Bumping this up!
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Joined: 11/11/2012
Posts: 13
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Very cool idea, Dave. By the way, thanks for accepting my connection request. I am following your second book and will be getting into it soon. So far, it is really good. I laughed because I've got a thing about typos and such (probably because I am the worst in the world) and I only found one in your work so far, and it is in the authors note. Not a thing in the book, just in your note. I'll leave it up to you to find it.
Okay, back on topic: You said a one sentence story idea, then went on to give a big chunk of the plot. No fair.
I always liked the story about Hemingway where he won a bar bet that he could write a story in six words:
"For sale: Baby shoes, never worn."
From the news (actually happened):
Just outside of Vegas a man was found dead in his house. He'd been there for a while, he was a recluse. The police found millions of dollars worth of gold and coins just scattered around the place. What if someone had gotten in there before the authorities? What if the old guy had an estranged family member who knew there was gold in the house, but the valuables were gone when the authorities showed up?
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 21
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Wow! Very interesting. Reminds me a bit of the old story about a man being found dead in the alley surrounded by 52 Bicycles....
Here's another:
Suppose an FBI agent is tracking a serial killer of children, and arrives just too late to save the most recent victim. The serial killer is gunned down, but has two other children hidden somewhere who will die if they are not found. The killer is laughing as he dies, knowing he has won. In a last act of desperation, our hero puts his gun to his head and pulls the trigger to follow the killer into Hell and find where the children are, not knowing how he will get back or be able to tell anyone, but not willing to let another child die.
Oh, wait. I think this should be my third novel, LOL!
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Joined: 11/11/2012
Posts: 13
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How about this: Ultra wealthy, elderly man has his wife kidnapped and held for ransom. Everything goes wrong and kidnapper ends up executing the wife in front of the old man. Old man responds with thanks, he'd been looking for a way to get rid of that old battle ax for years.
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Joined: 11/11/2012
Posts: 13
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Hey Dave, have you ever had this happen? I had a story idea that I carried for years about a kid in Iowa who finds a watch in an old barn and finds out that it can control time. I even went so far as to outline it and add some back and side stories.
Then,
I read The Girl, The Gold Watch And Everything by John D. McDonald. Figured out that he'd already written the story way better than I ever could.
I think that was when I truly realized that every story has already been told. It is up to me to tell it in my voice, with my style. That is what will make me a writer.
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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I've a phobia of this. I'm thinking of writing some historical fiction, based around Sulla of Rome or all the characters involved with the final victory of Thebes, ending centuries of Spartan bullying... and the plight of the Messanians, but suspect that after a couple of years of headaches and perspiration, as I reach the concluding chapters, I'll see a trailer for a Hollywood blockbuster about........ well, you get the idea.
I once invented a spade with a spring load and lever system which meant that all you had to do was stand on it to sink it in the ground, and it would do all the backbreaking work for you. I got all excited and sent my initial drawings to a friend. He send back a website link, where they were being advertised for sale.
I'm next thinking of inventing a 2 wheel mode of transport power by peddling. 
Cheers
Mike
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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Here's one that's a little more fantastical:
Trapped on a resort island turned prison, the disparate vacationers and staff have two choices: hide forever or enter the capricious game their jailer has created. The outside world can only watch as the nature and courage of the prisoners is tested.
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Joined: 11/11/2012
Posts: 13
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Nice, Timothy. Cool premise. Good, concise hook. Thank you for sharing it.
Dave
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Joined: 11/11/2012
Posts: 13
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I heard this at a publishing seminar. It is the formula for an automatic best-seller.
Find a way to combine Abe Lincoln, Nazis and kittens.
Pow, there it is. The secret is out.
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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Hey Tim
If we did a sequel to that hungry storyline it would be called Mockingjay........ but then Jay might give an even harsher review than usual, thinking it was a snub!
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