Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Need a story idea? Try the Lost and Found!

Where can you find a good story idea? How about the lost and found? Hello, all. Dana Mentink here and there’s nothing more intriguing than a Lost and Found. It’s a tiny snapshot into the crazy world of people’s passions and playthings. If you’ve left something on a train, bus, cab or coach during your jaunt through England, you can visit the Lost and Found in the basement of Baker Street, Central London. For 75 years the place has been collecting items left behind by travelers. Not just the expected collection of brollies (though the basement houses more than 7000 lost umbrellas a year), you can find such nutty items as a puffer fish, clothing, false teeth, watches and two urns of ashes. No reports on whether or not Jimmy Hoffa has surfaced yet. I can’t help thinking this would be a great place to start a suspense novel. What if the clerk at the Lost and Found happened upon something…say a small black notebook with some hard to decipher writing? Or a round disk with a series of numbers printed on it? And what if this discovery soon had her running for her life? What do you think? And what, pray tell, is the strangest thing YOU’VE ever lost or found?

8 comments:

  1. Interesting thoughts, Dana. I had no idea such a place was there. And what a great story question!!
    At my kids' school there was a lost and found table, and I found a full outfit of my son's. Socks, underwear, pants, top. Everything all in one pile. (Someone had taken the time to organize either by size or by how they were found) I have no idea how he managed to get all that stuff out of the house, and I was sure he was dressed each day when he came home.

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  2. What a wonderful story starter, Dana. Are you using it...'cause you got my creative juices going? :)

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  3. I'm with Sandra, my creative juices are going. I lose things all the time. I once lost a movie ticket between the cashier's window and walking right to the entrance.

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  4. How funny, Barbara! Our school lost and found is always overflowing. Actually, one of our favorite stories is Mark Teague's The Lost and Found!

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  5. I lost my wedding veil after the wedding for a period of time. I was distraught and tore our condo apart looking for it until I finally figured out my mother had it!

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  6. What a great idea! I've seen single shoes on the side of the road before, and that sparked a whole suspense story idea about a kidnapping. :)

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  7. Interesting post Dana!
    Barbara, that is too funny that your son lost all that!
    I can't wait to see the editor's reactions when all these lost and found ideas get pitched at once ;) lol

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