Ever wonder where fiction writers get their ideas?

     Well, check out these headlines that I’ve collected from the morning news:

“FERAL HOGS UNCOVER HUGE COCAINE STASH IN FOREST”

► Here’s your opening scene for a TV show about drug-runners and narcs.

“OREGON WOMAN FINDS COUGAR IN LIVING ROOM, SAYS TELEPATHY HELPED HER GET IT OUT”

► Why not spin this into a screenplay? Imagine the trailer: “After experimenting with a mind-altering drug in the Ecuadorian rainforest, an anthropologist discovers that she can communicate telepathically with animals!”

“NEW HAMPSHIRE DAD SUFFOCATES COYOTE WITH BARE HANDS AFTER IT ATTACKED TODDLER”

► This could be the seed for a good novel, wherein an urban family decides to relocate in rural Montana. The timid, citified father doesn’t realize what he’s capable of until his little girl is attacked by a pack of vicious coyotes. Suddenly, out pops Daniel Boone!

     So now you know. Fiction writers (including me) steal their ideas from the wild and wacky world around us. They assemble their characters by lifting odd little traits and idiosyncrasies from real live people. It’s possible that your bushy red eyebrows or lulu-of-a-tattoo has already been lifted by some passing writer and grafted onto a “fictional” character.

     Who knows? Maybe your spouse is already reading the book …

Bonus Headline: “Dog Gives Birth to Green Puppy, Family Names Him ‘Hulk’”