A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 1

This is the 12th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work through during this series of posts. For today, the most basic one:

If you have aspirations of becoming a professional screenwriter, you should be in the habit of generating story concepts.

Let’s say you write and sell a spec script. Congratulations. You’re the “flavor-of-the-week.” Your agent and manager set up meetings across Hollywood with producers and studio execs. The first words out of their mouths will likely be some variation of “Love your script ” (even if they haven’t really read it). The second thing they say will almost assuredly be, “What else have ya’ got?” If you haven’t been developing other stories, that is likely to be a very short meeting.

By the way, I give away these story ideas. They’re yours to use however you like. In fact, several writers have gone off and written spec scripts from story concepts presented in this annual series, one script making the Nicholl semifinals.

There are many ways to generate story ideas. This month, I focus on one: Looking for ideas in news sources. Each of the items I’ll be posting for the next 30 days comes from a news site.

Today’s story idea: Man Says He Lived in Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium for Years.

PHILADELPHIA — Like other Vietnam veterans in the 1970s, Tom Garvey chased one job after another, fending off memories. Unlike other veterans, he says he turned a concession stand in a major American stadium into a place to crash for three years.

The venue was Veterans Stadium, capacity some 60,000, home to two professional teams and, partly, where Philadelphia fans earned an infamous reputation as either the best worst fans or the worst best fans in the United States.

Mr. Garvey estimated that the space, whose ceiling sloped down with the 300-level seats above it, was about 60 feet long and 30 feet wide. He created a hallway of cardboard boxes to disguise the apartment from the door.

“I open the door and it looks like a storeroom,” said Mr. Bradley, the former Eagle. “But if you walk down between the boxes, it opened up into one of the neatest apartments I think I’d ever seen.”

There was AstroTurf carpet, a bed, some seating, a coffee table and lamps. Devices included a toaster oven, coffee maker, space heaters and a stereo.

“You walked in, it was very dark and there was equipment and boxes and crap sitting around,” said Mr. McNally, a former general manager of the Electric Factory, a Philadelphia concert venue. “He had constructed, in the back, a couple walls, a refrigerator, a couch, some chairs, a hot plate. It’s not like it was a luxury apartment.”

Mr. Garvey called it “cozy,” with “everything a guy would want.” Bathrooms were across the hall, employee showers downstairs.

Terry Nilon, Mr. Garvey’s cousin and another former stadium employee, said he saw the apartment but didn’t think much of it at the time. “I thought it was funny,” he said.

This reminds me of The Phantom of the Opera: A young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House.

Also The Terminal: An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.

What could we do with this conceit: Someone living in a secret stadium apartment?

My first thought went to this: Meet Justin McElroy. One-time basketball phenom who nearly blew his chance at making it to the NBA when too much partying and too little studying saw him dismissed from the South Carolina Gamecocks hoops squad. Blessed with natural physical skills, but a sketchy reputation, he tried out for the NBA G League. He landed a spot with the Maine Red Claws, whose home arena is the Portland Exposition Building, built in 1915.

When Justin arrives, he immediately learns two things. First, forget the idea of being on a “team.” Every player on this squad is out to get the attention of NBA scouts, so it’s pretty much nothing but hero ball. Justin is going to have to fight not only the opponents, but his own teammates when he’s on the court.

The second thing: The place is haunted. In hushed tones, players tell Justin about a ghost who comes out at night. An old woman with long, scraggly gray hair. She’s known as the Gray Lady. At first, Justin thinks the guys are pulling his leg, just trying to scare the rookie. But they seem to be serious. “Ain’t nobody hang around here after games. Don’t want to be seein’ no ugly ass ghost in the middle of the night.”

The first couple of games are rough for Justin. Relegated to the bench, when he does manage to get a few minutes on the court in garbage time, he gets manhandled not only by the opposing players, but his own teammates treat him like dirt. But he has one shining moment, late in a meaningless game, where he puts a move on a defender which recalls the poetry-in-motion of Michael Jordan. Slams it home. The few remaining fans applaud, but for Justin, it’s akin to, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one’s around, does it make a sound?”

The horn sounds. Game over. As he trudges off the court, he glances up. And there in the rafters, he sees someone. Or he thinks he sees them. Could it be the Gray Lady? He blinks. She’s gone.

His teammates don’t want to socialize with him. He doesn’t want to go back to his crappy apartment shared by three other obnoxious players. Frustrated late one night, he breaks into the arena, picks up a basketball, and starts to practice. One jump shot after another. A sole light over one basket. The rest of the place shrouded in darkness. Clank. Clank. Clank. The jump shot is NOT his forte, for sure.

Then it’s time to practice dunking. He tries a particular three-sixty spin move. Misses it. Misses it again. Misses it a third time and he’s so pissed off — at himself, his life, this moment — he kicks the ball the length of the court.

The ball bounces away, echoing as it disappears into the darkness. Drenched with sweat, Justin shakes his head. What the hell is he doing with his life?

Silence. Then… bounce… bounce… bounce. The ball comes bounding toward him from the darkness.

Holy shit!

Now footsteps. Emerging from the shadows, it’s the Old Woman! She DOES have long scraggly hair. It’s the Gray Lady! Justin freaks. Bolts for the exit. Then he hears her voice:

“Ya’ got talent, kid.”

He stops. Turns. It’s not a ghost. Just some grizzled old woman.

“But talent don’t mean anything unless ya’ got this.”

She points at her head.

“A head on your shoulders. You? You know where your head’s at?”

Thus begins the relationship between a troubled young man from the deep South… and an old woman (her name is Clara) who has been secretly living in this building for nearly a half-century.

Turns out, she’s a fan of the sport. Indeed, she used to play women’s basketball back in the day. She was the best, a whole other level than the other girls. She hated the whole six-on-six approach to the game.

“Nobody thought girls could play the boys’ game,” she mutters to Justin.

It was way before Title IX. No future in it for her.

But she knows things. About life. About sports. And how to shoot a God damn jump shot. Her form is perfection.

He needs a Mentor. She needs a reason to emerge from the shadows. There’s a mystery here: Why has she lived alone in this place for so long? Just like there’s a mystery with Justin: Why does he seem to get in his own way by his dumb behavior when he has some God-given talent?

That’s my setup. My first story idea for the month. And it’s yours. Free!

Each day in April, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are valuable skills for a writer to develop.

Here are links to previous series:

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2010)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2011)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2012)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2013)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2014)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2015)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2016)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2017)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2018)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2019)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2020)

See you in RESPONSES to hear YOUR take on this story idea. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.