Steal Scenes from Your Own Life

I’m writing a humorous story about a woman, who at this point in the tale is having problems constructing something. A humorous accident needs to take place where she’s left in danger. What I’d written though felt a little staged or cliché. I needed something fresh.

Struck by an Idea

Then, last night, as I was on ladder trimming honeysuckle growing on a tall trellis, the answer came to me. One of the ladder legs fell dropped into a mole hole and I was pitched off. On my way down I grabbed one of the trellis support beams but it broke off.

I hit the ground (less than gracefully) and the beam followed, clobbering me on top of the head. It rung my bell a little, and I felt a little Wile E. Coyote-esk, but I was in one piece.

I stood up slowly, checking for broken bones, but there were only scratches, a growing lump my head . . . and the answer to my story dilemma. My character could fall off a wall, the toolbox would follow, hitting her in the head and knocking her out!

Steal from Life

Hopefully, you don’t have to fall off a ladder to find your solutions, but you should feel free to steal shamelessly from events in you and your friends’ lives. It gives your stories a sense of realism and there is a never-ending supply.

So have fun stealing scenes. In fact, knock yourself out!