A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 10

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week, I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

Tip: Look at magazines.

I love magazines. Or at least I used to. Before at one point, I had over 30 subscriptions! [Now I’m down to 2: The New Yorker and the New York Review of Books].

The thing is if you’re trolling magazines for possible story ideas, you have to avoid the biggies like People, US, Time, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, and so on. You can be sure that Hollywood studios and producers cover those regularly. Indeed more and more magazine writers tailor their stories as possible movie projects.

No, you need to dig deeper and go wider with your research into magazines. Fast Company, Smithsonian, New Scientist are some good ones.

Then think regional like Southern Living. Or foreign like Der Spiegel. Or really odd like Miniature Donkey Talk Magazine.

Again there are plenty of story ideas out there, especially in magazines. You just have to look for them.

Today’s story idea: Bebe Buell: The Mother Of Liv Tyler.

Before Buell became pregnant with Steven Tyler’s child, she was one of the most notorious groupies in the US. She got her start when Jimi Hendrix spotted her and a friend on the streets and catcalled at them out the car window, “Hey, girls, you wanna come with us to the show?” From there, she moved through Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and more.

She was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Todd Rundgren when she got pregnant with Steven Tyler’s baby. For the first 11 years of her life, Liv Tyler even believed that Rundgren was her father — until she met Steven Tyler and realized how much they were alike. Buell didn’t tell her daughter who her real father was until Liv made her admit it.

Liv resented her mother for it at first but says she’s forgiven her since. “She had two men who didn’t really want her,” Tyler said. “She did the best she could.”

Here’s where I went with this: One band. Four members. One groupie. Four lovers. She’s pregnant. Whose child?

Is that high concept enough for you?!?!

The band… let’s call them Gunk Pit… they’re on tour. New album. Lots of pressure as they haven’t had a hit in a while. The quartet has already showed emotional strains, you know, the whole ego thing. Nearly broke up, but managed to pull it together to see if they can salvage things.

Then Rita shows up. Eight months pregnant. And surprise! Turns out none of the four guys realize that Rita was sleeping with ALL of them eight months ago. She needs… nay, DEMANDS back rubs and support as she is an emotional wreck. Rita the infamous groupie to the stars! About to become a mother! At the time she discovered she was pregnant, she was overcome with the fantasy of having a child. But now that it’s about to become a reality… she is freaking the fuck out.

Four band members. One pregnant woman. On the road. Denial. Jealousy. Recriminations. It’s Spinal Tap meets Three Men and a Baby.

The cool thing is you can target different demo groups by your choice of music. Hip hop. Country. Rock and roll. Heavy metal.

There you go: My tenth story idea for the month. And it’s yours. Free! Here are links for all the previous posts in this year’s series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9

Each day this month, I invite you to click on RESPONSES and join me to do some further brainstorming. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when you play around with it. These are all valuable skills for a writer to develop.

See you in comments. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.