Story Bones

I'm listening to a podcast where the interviewer talks to writers all the time. And this interviewer (who is a popular name, at least if you listened to NPR for the past ten years) asks the question. That question. You know, the one about ideas.

And I'm thinking, heck, this interviewer is even an author himself. Then there's the people who go up to authors saying, "Hey, I've got this idea. You write it and we'll split the profits." What is this with not having ideas? I can't go to the bathroom without getting ideas. Are all of them story worthy? No. But still.

Here's three story bones just from off the top of my head (because I've also not thrown out some bones in a long while and it's the name of the damned blog). Plus, it's close to International Pixel-stained Technopeasant Day. So think of this as the Hanukkah version.

1) Guy walks into a bar, and it's a zombie bar. What would zombies drink? How would they pay? Is the bartender a zombie? What snacks would they serve? Is it a hip place because all these goths are into zombies and an honest zombie can't get a drink around here anymore.

2) Beowulf didn't defeat Grendel, but entered into a non-compete agreement with him. Beowulf would share his treasure with Grendel only if Grendel stopped eating
Hrothgar's men. So far, so good. Beowulf the Hero returns to England and defeats the dragon, which nets Grendel a huge sum of money. But now it's all run out. Grendel's hungry again. Would he have been civilized by now? How would he interact with the modern world that doesn't have Hero Halls to prey upon. Would Grendel do the Frankenstein (literary, not movie version) thing? Would he now be a thinking and reasoning monster in search of grace that would forever elude his grasp? And what if he just went back to old habits (hey, monster has got to eat, ya know), is there a way to have a modern hero quest? I mean, Grendel would make these wimpy vampires squeal for help. (Can you tell I really like this idea, especially the deal with Beowulf?)

3) Leprechauns are running Fort Knox (or, actually, the gold reserves 40 stories below New York City). Come on, that's cool. While they handle the world's gold reserves in good trust, they get a little possessive from time to time, which requires meetings with management. Hey, a leprechaun annual performance review. Oh, that's hilarious. "Well, McCready, your curly shoes just haven't been up to snuff these days. You jig dancing is a wee bit slow. Ya just aren't on the top of yer game now, are ya laddie." Good comic potential. "Da gold!"

And there you have it, three ideas in fifteen minutes. They may not all pan out, but I think they should. They all have the potential. Heck, #2 could be a novella or novelette length.