Looking for Story Ideas? It's a Walk in the Park!

Henry David Thoreau said “Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”

Nietzsche, no intellectual slouch said: “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”

Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wolff, Ingmar Bergman were all avid walkers. On one of his morning walks, Bergman saw a vision of two women comparing hands. That’s how the screenplay for Persona was born.

A publicity still from Persona. Photographer unkonwn (at least to me)

According to neuroscientists, walking lights up the brain. But when you have a camera in your hand while you walk (a mobile phone will do… most of the time), it lights up your whole world. It’s a magical blend of exercise and creativity that will make you feel like Spiderman with a lens.

Last Sunday, my wife and I went to Marine Park here in Brooklyn to say goodbye to Autumn. We try to do this every year. The leaves have already changed, the time has already turned. There will be no crowds and no wild animals, even though the park is a popular destination for Brooklynites. This time of year it’s like a Virginia farm in the middle of a pressure cooker.  As we were heading out, my next-door neighbor Bob Ruisk – retired judge, heavy drinker and smoker, lover (and sometimes writer) of poetry, accordion music aficionado – stopped me.

Bob: I’m sick of poetry. I want to write screenplays.
Me: Great idea. We don’t have enough screenwriters.  
Bob: The problem is… all my ideas are nebulous.
Me: Come to the park with us. There’s plenty of ideas there.
Bob: Nahhh. Allergic to parks. But if you see anything there worth writing about, send it my wife. A sumptuous dinner at a restaurant of your choice is on me.

I haven’t had a sumptuous dinner in a while, so I took Bob up on the offer.

Here are a few ideas I sent his way. Nothing major. A few cliches, just to start the man on his new journey.

1. During a routine walk in Marine Park, Martha finds a lost camera filled with intriguing photos. One of the photos is of her. Freaked out and determined to uncover the story behind the images, she embarks on a journey that takes her through hidden corners of the city, forcing her to get in touch with her dark side and face her own mortality.

2. Alternatively, the same setup as above, except the journey is lighter and friendlier. She embarks on a journey that takes her through hidden corners of the city, leading to unexpected friendships, long-buried secrets, and a chance at love.

3. A Ph.D. student in geology stumbles upon a mysterious pathway in the park that allows her to travel back in time by walking along it. The road leads her to her childhood home. What’s next? I have no idea yet. Let’s just say she must navigate the ethical dilemmas of altering the past and confront the personal consequences of tampering with the delicate fabric of time.

I even sent this video I made for him, hoping it would server as an inspiration.

But I have yet to hear from Bob. I have a feeling he might want to get back to poetry.

If you have any ideas about my ideas, or if you want to offer your own ideas, I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments (even if you think it was a bad idea to offer Bob those cliched ideas.)

‘till next time.

ak