Story ideas in Comic Strips

Several of the comic strips in today’s paper popped out as story ideas. Cathy features Mother’s recipe for Beef Stroganoff, consisting of a list of her beefs (pet peeves), with clippings, quotes, and other similar trivia thrown in for flavoring. Hmmm, I thought, I could make a list of my pet peeves. That sounds like great sport! Especially if I want to get depressed. Maybe I’ll make that a list of things I’m grateful for instead.

In Doonesbury, Alex is considering which track to take after graduation. Now, there’s a story. The summer after high school graduation. That was a storybook summer, for sure, and not one I’ve written about.

Frank and Ernest have a house for sale — by non-owners. We’ve sold our home two times, and both times were adventures, the second one yet to be written.

In Family Circus, Dolly is shocked by a photo of herself as a baby. I enjoy photos of myself as a baby, but what have I written about that? I don't remember my babyhood, but pictures can help reconstruct a fragmentary view of that time in my life. 

Other strips featured thoughts about fireworks, decluttering, insomnia, alien abduction, getting a new pet, studying for final exams and revenge. I could come up with at least one story on each of those topics.

If you are feeling stuck for story ideas, just look around you. Memory triggers are everywhere, even in the comics.

Write on,

Sharon Lippincott, aka Ritergal