A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 22
This is the 15th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Because the best way to come up with…
This is the 15th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Because the best way to come up with a great story idea is to come up with a lot of ideas. And the best way to come up with a lot of ideas is to be proactive in sourcing story ideas.
Today’s story: “Prank Ends in Arrest of Frat Bros Who Dumped Cow Carcass on Rival Lawn.”
Four members of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity in Oklahoma were arrested for a long-standing prank war between their house and another that turned grisly when they dumped the disemboweled body of a longhorn on their rival’s lawn last December. Bennett Fady, Luke Ackerley, Brody Shelby, and Andrew King were arrested on Wednesday for unlawful removal/disposal of a carcass, a misdemeanor. Police say Fady was initially discouraged from pulling off the prank when he discussed it with other fraternity members, but eventually went through with it with the others. They took pains to conceal the pickup truck they used to transport the carcass to the rival FarmHouse fraternity, where it was found tied to the porch with a large slash on its belly and the words ‘F — k FH’ branded into its hide. Authorities ruled that the cow had died of disease 36 hours earlier and was not killed for the prank. All four booked into the Payne County Jail and later released. They have pleaded not guilty.
There was the 1984 movie Revenge of the Nerds.
There was the 2014 movie Neighbors.
And the greatest of them all Animal House (1978).
Isn’t it time for a big, dumb frat movie? And I’m here to gift some lucky writer with a story setup based on my own collegiate experience.
My last two years at the University of Virginia, I lived in a house with 11 other guys just off Rugby Road which is where a bunch of the frat houses were located.
Let’s be clear: I was not a member of a fraternity. I was far from that raucous lifestyle and our house was inhabited by guys with various religious backgrounds. But I did intersect with frat culture in an odd way: I became know as The Typing Guy.
In high school, I took a year-long typing class. My mom recommended I take the class — as it turns out, a fantastic piece of advice given my work as a writer — but I was mostly interested in the class because I was one of two guys amidst a gaggle of gals. As a result, it was one of my favorite classes in high school.
I digress.
Here’s the thing: I became a good typist. A really good one. When I headed off to college, my parents bought me a Royal manual typewriter.
Even on a manual typewriter, I could type 80 words per minute.
I was fast!
There was this guy in one of my college classes I got to know. He lived in what was known as the “Jewish frat” which happened to be located across the street from where I lived. He complained about how much he hated typing his papers. He was awful at it, his papers got downgraded because there were so many mistakes, and so forth.
As the professor handed back a writing assignment, he glanced at my paper and noted how neat it looked.
“Who types your papers?”
“Me.”
“You?”
“Yeah. I took a class in high school.”
He offered to pay me $1 per page to type his papers. So I did.
Word spread. Soon, I had a group of “clients” from his frat. I was making about $50 per week typing these papers. That was good money back then. It actually covered my portion of the rent.
As noted, I wasn’t a frat guy. But what if you take the same setup — let’s call our story Protagonist Bernard (my middle name) — and through his connections as a typist, he gets pulled into frat culture.
What if his much desired services create tension between this frat and that as to who gets first dibs on Bernard’s services?
Then there’s this: What if some sorority girls approach Bernard.
“Could you please write this paper for me? I just don’t have the time and I’d be sooo appreciative.”
Soon, Bernard has been pulled into a sorority’s orbit not only typing their papers, but writing them as well.
You can see where this is going: A slippery slope to partying, sex … and potential consequences.
With all the online resources and AI nowadays, this would have to be a period piece. But there’s possibly something there with this setup.
There you go. My 22nd story this month. Free for you to take and write.
Previous articles in this year’s series:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
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.
See you in RESPONSES to hear YOUR take on this story idea.
Let’s say you’ve found a story concept from an article in this series. Or you have an idea of your own, but you’re at the very beginning of the story-crafting process.
How to develop, then write it as a screenplay?
May I humbly recommend my book The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling.
Hundreds of people have sent photos of my book. Here’s one.
The book is structured to provide writers an approach to the story-crafting process grounded in immersing oneself in the lives of the characters (Parts I and II). Then Part III presents a stage by stage approach to break story: from concept to outline.
Go here to read endorsements from dozens of professional screenwriters, authors, and academics.
You may purchase The Protagonist’s Journey here:
Come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.