Friday Plot Swap~ Spring Break Style

Dawn's Plot Swap

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This has been Spring Break week for me! My family and I have done virtually nothing. It has been AMAZING! For our plot swap, I thought I'd offer up some great Spring Break ideas. What could you do with these? 

Fun for the whole family: 

Husband, wife bring kids to Utah bank robbery

The family that plays together stays together. I'm not sure which is worse. The fact they brought kids along or the fact they were caught because an off-duty police officer was having lunch across the street and thought the woman sprinting back to her car after going in the bank looked suspicious. 

So, romantic suspense: They were robbing the bank to protect their children from a nefarious villain.  

Romantic comedy: The sister of the woman must match wits with the off-duty police officer to prove she isn't guilty. 

Great recreation with friends: 

Mo. golfer survives fall into Ill. course sinkhole
This had to be a terrifying experiences. But, my favorite part is that his friend didn't see him get swallowed by the earth. When he vanished from sight they assumed he'd fallen down a hill, but didn't go looking for him until they heard moaning! 

Horror: The friends never find him and he must claw his way out before the demon beast at the bottom of the hole claws him. 

Time travel: Of course, the sinkhole is a portal to another dimension where he arrives and must solve five tasks (it was a par 5 hole) before returning. 

For the adventurous type:

North Texas hiker goes missing while hunting treasure

Did you know there is a book titled "The Thrill of the Chase" in which the author outlines clues to a $2 Million dollar treasure he supposedly hid in the mountains near Santa Fe? 

Well, this woman did. She went looking for it and got lost. She was later found safe.

But, oh, the possibilities! 

What could drive her to risk everything to go hiking alone searching for this treasure? 

What if she'd found it? 

What kind of personal growth did she experience while on the chase? 

Swap with me! 

Got any good plots going?

Great spring break plans? 

Intentions of committing a felony? 

Friday Plot Swap~Mismash Style

Dawn's Plot Swap

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I have an eclectic set of plot starters for you this week. 

Let's start with the cave!

Kids discover underground treasure: a cave in Bexar County 

This would make a great middle-grade plot. A"How I spent my summer vacation" type story. Or, a Dawn-would-never-read-this-because-she's-a-big-fat-chicken, horror story about the evil that would certainly lurk in such a place. 

DON'T OPEN~EVER

Brazil: police puzzle over 7 gift-wrapped skulls

Creepy. No other word for it. But, oh the possibilities. The article says a woman in a long skirt has been seen leaving the packages. Who is she? Why would she be doing this? Who are the gifts meant for? 

and, finally, 

Huh? 

Applebee’s waitress asks patron for ID, gets own stolen driver’s license in return

What kind of twists could you make out of that? 

So, swap with me. 

Add your story to our mix.

Friday Plot Swap~Text from Last Night Style

Dawn's Plot Swap

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It's been a while since we've done a Text From Last Night swap. 

What situation could you set up for your MC that would lead to these texts? 

(352): 

a pizza costume came into my possession last night. needless to say i showed up to his house wearing only the pizza, shouting "delivery" into his window.

(256):

Really? I thought your parents stopped loving you when you drunkenly fell through the ceiling...

(914):

Went outside and he was playing rock paper scissors with a cop over a drunk in public ticket.

Swap with me! Got any good plot-ready texts lately? 

Friday Plot Swap~ Valentine's Style

Dawn's Plot Swap

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Happy Valentine's Day! 

Could you make something sweet and romantic out of these? 

Roses are red, violets are blue.Name a roach for your Valentine,Courtesy of the Bronx Zoo.

Nothing really says, "I love you more than life itself." like nasty, hissing insects!

How you doin'? 

I can totally imagine a scene with a woman crying to her friends, 

"He named a ROACH after me!"

Seniors get their groove on at Valentine’s Dance

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/14/3235341/seniors-get-their-groove-at-senior.html#storylink=cpy

The interesting part of this story is that organizers brought in "20-something" rookie football players to make sure there were no wallflowers. 

Perfect set up for a young woman who had to take Grandpa to the local dance and met the man of her dreams... Who hopefully still had his own teeth! 

Especially if her grandpa was like this guy!

12 true stories of romantic trips gone awry

Still need some inspiration? Check out this link. Awesome plot-starter stories. 

I especially liked: 

"Do you wanna touch?"

and 

"Love, Italian-style."

So, swap with me!

Got any awesome love stories? 

Stupid-Cupid-Valentine's-Gone-Awry? 

Deep down, do you really want to a hissing cockroach after your significant other? 

A False Prophet, a Found King and Oompa Loompas

Friday Plot Swap

Dawn's Plot Swap

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We've got some good ones this week!

Homeless hitchhiker saves the day after driver goes berserk

How'd you like to be an innocent hitchhiker who catches a ride with a man declaring to be Jesus? 

I love how the news article causally mentions, "Oh, yeah, and the hitchhiker had a hatchet."

Of course, why wouldn't he? 

Body found under parking lot is King Richard III

This one is specifically for my time-travel writing friend, Janet Taylor. 

Oh, the possibilities. 

The historical story of how it got there. 

Maybe a modern psychic who kept seeing a body there?

 The implications for the business? 

 

A man in Norfolk, England, was reportedly attacked last week by a pair of Oompa Loompas.

Oompa loompa doompety doo
I've got a perfect puzzle for you.

When Oompas attack,

what will you do?

Bonus Swap: 

This story made my heart happy. I just had to share. 

Conn. couple named 'longest married' in US

They grew up across the street from each other. He used to drive her to school. They fell in love, but her father arranged for her to marry someone else. So, they eloped...and have been married 80 years! 

Sweetest love story ever. 

So, Swap with me!

Could you do something awesome with these? 

What twists would you add? 

Heard any good plots lately? 

Friday Plot Swap~ As Seen on TV

Dawn's Plot Swap

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AS SEEN ON TV

I went to a workshop once where the presenter compared loglines to the little blurbs you see on your TV guide. Last year, as an experiment I scrolled through my guide for some plot ideas. I decided to give it another try with some different movies this year.
Click on the logline to go to the movie description. 

What kind of fun could you have with these?  

College students play a treasure-hunting game that contains a deadly mystery.

A dullard awakens500 years in the future and finds that he is the smartest person alive

Asthe threat of cancellation looms, a TV talk show host pulls an outrageous stuntin an attempt to boost his ratings. 

The plan of three women to intercept a drug shipment for their boss goes horribly wrong. 

So, swap with me!

Books are always better than the movie. Could you make these into something awesome? 

Or

Leave a logline and we'll try to guess the book  or movie. 

Happy Writing!

Friday Plot Swap: Primitive Style

Dawn's Plot Swap

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What could you do with these?

Couple has been living under a rock,quite literally

The man decided he wanted to make his home under the boulder when he was 8 years old. He saved his money, bought the land and has lived there with his wife for 30 years, raising seven children.  What would their life be like? What if one of their children was accepted into a prestigious school and left home? What kind of culture shock would he/she experience?  

A Harvard professor says that by injecting Stone Age genes into a human embryo — and then implanting the embryo into a human surrogate mother — it will soon be possible to create a living Neanderthal.

In the past few days, the scientist has come out saying he isn't actively searching for a woman for this experiment. But, the science fiction implications of that kind of procedure are endless. What if the baby disproved everything we know about primitive man? What if the woman was meant only to be a surrogate and give up the baby to some scientific organization, but decides she can't. Then, takes the baby and runs? 

Explorer's rare Scotch returned to Antarctic stash

This is my favorite this week. Scotch, bottled in 1898 and left behind during a failed expedition in 1907 was found perfectly preserved in frozen crates during 2010. After extracting a sample to be used to recreate the formula, the bottles are being returned to where they were found as a tribute to the explorers.  

Stories, stories everywhere!

The story of the expedition. 

The story of finding the bottles

The story of the team recreating the formula.

What if someone wanted to steal it? 

The story of the team returning the bottles.

So many different plots! LOVE IT!

So, swap with me!

Read any good plots lately? 

Have any abandoned plots you want to drop off for adoption?
We accept all kinds. 

Friday Plot Swap~ Solid Gold Style

Friday Plot Swap

Dawn's Plot Swap

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Have I got a story for you this week! 

Can it be a coincidence both of the stories came out within days of  each other? 

I think not. 

This just begs to written

Germany is transferring nearly 700 tons of gold bars worth $36 billion from Paris and New York to its vaults in Frankfurt.

That could be an awesome story alone. Think of all the people who have to be planning and scheming how to steal even just a little of this money right now!

But, then you have to read this!

German police say robbers dug a 30-meter (100-foot) tunnel into the safe deposit room of a Berlin bank and escaped with their haul, setting a fire as they left to cover their tracks.

You know who is plotting to steal it?

THOSE PEOPLE! Right? 

What a great plot! 

Think of these characters: 

• The reluctant thief who is only involved because he/she plans to use the loot to do something noble. 
• The daughter of a former thief who wants to pull of a heist to shed doubt on her father's conviction. 
• ooh, even better, the daughter of an former thief who infiltrates her father's old crew to pull off the heist and leave them hanging just like they did her dad. 
• The police officer who just knows the tunnel robbers are going to make a move on the gold and wants to be ready for them. 

I could do this all day!

What do you got? 

Swap with me! 

Friday Plot Swap~People are crazy.

Friday Plot Swap

Dawn's Plot Swap

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First, a little music to inspire you today. 

The song would make a pretty good plot itself. But, 

today's swap is inspired by the chorus: 

God is great.

Beer is good.

And, people are crazy. 

Let's start with Mars, shall we? 

Mars One, a Dutch-based non-profit seeking to send people to Mars, has put up an advertisement seeking applications from interested parties. A total of 30 astronauts will eventually live on Mars, according to the plan, sent in teams of four making the journey every two years from 2023.

Definitely want to read the fine print on this one!

One note of caution: The trip is one-way, and if everything goes to plan, you will grow old and die on Mars.

So many places this story could go!

Then, we can move on to stupid crazy.

Serial Bank Robber's Love Letter Helped Convict Him

This guy's escape and crime spree could be a novel in itself. Guess he thought so, too. He wrote out every detail and sent it to a (hopefully, former) girlfriend. 

My favorite part is that at the very end of the letter, he asks her to send him $100. Run, sweetie. Run now! 

This just screams "creepy, stalker suspense!" What if the girl didn't even know him? Or if he is a long ago ex-boyfriend? Or, if all of it was a distraction so a different crime could happen? 

We'll end our swapping journey with just crazy, crazy. 

Man arrested for barking at police dog

The headline is slightly misleading. The man was already handcuffed and in the back of a cruiser when they brought a drug dog to search his car. Clearly, the man responded in the best manner possible barking and growling at the dog. 

I'm sure the officers loved that! 

Swap with me!

What kind of craziness is going on in your plot? 

Or your world? 

Friday Plot Swap~Love gone wrong style

Dawn's Plot Swap

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I knew I was going to use this first one the moment I saw it. 

A Navy officer has been relieved of his duties as commander of a submarine following the discovery that he faked his own death in order to end an extramarital affair. 

This screams mystery to me. Who is the woman? Why did the man feel the need to be "dead" to be away from her? The woman found out when she went to his former house. Can you imagine that conversation?

Maybe he needs to take a hint from this guy?

 

Mystery Man Spells Out Heartbreak on His Van

 First of all, Dude, WHAT DID YOU DO?!?! Second, what makes  you think "Linda" is going to see your random van? Lastly, how is she supposed to respond? Throw herself on the hood? 

I could see this working for a sweet, light romance or a creepy, stalker thriller.

Speaking of creepy, stalker stuff

Woman Finds Ex-Boyfriend Living In Her Attic.

 Oh, the places you could go with this one. The article has details about how he was living up there and the fact he was staring at her through the ceiling vents.

 So, Swap with me!!! What could make of these? Heard any other good plots lately?

Return of the Friday Plot Swap!

Dawn's Plot Swap

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It's Back!

I have missed swapping with you.

Have I got some stories for you this week!

Woman spends summer as mermaid 

This woman would make an awesome character! Her fiance is a pirate. Does it get any better than that?  

For the full effect, you really need to check out the video. 

 

Central Texas woman aims for skunk, shoots husband

This story caught my eye because allegedly she fired the gun outside. The bullet missed the skunk, ricocheted off a deck, traveled through a closed back door and hit the husband. Hmm, a bit stinky to me. :)  

 

 Mary Todd Lincoln to be retried for insanity

This is for my Historical writing friends, but the story kind of fascinated me. The plan is to have actors playing Lincoln and her son, but real judges acting as lawyers and trying the case according today's laws. Imagine the story of preparing for that, especially if it happened to parallel what was happening in the person's life at that time...or if the lawyer happen to fall for the actor! 

  SO, SWAP WITH ME!

It's been too long.

Heard any good plots lately?