Summer Time

Summer time and the living ain't easy. Three-digit temperatures and no rain. Steam baths in outdoor East Texas due to rain almost every day during the month of June and into July. A news story this evening on Channel 7 about a child's playground catching on fire because of spontaneous combustion.

My goodness, children are no longer safe on playgrounds because of mulch spread around as a safety device possibly catching fire. What next?

But, if you start thinking about the mulch situation as a writer, it could lead to potential conflict in a story, a new plot line. News stories are great sources of fiction ideas. I'm not a news hound. I've been accused of keeping my head in the sand. I find a lot of news on TV horrifying and disgusting. So much of it is slanted by the news directors, anchors, producers, etc., I don't want to hear their opinions. But occasionally there is a nugget buried in the yellow journalism we're subjected to in the media that a fiction writer can use. I found one a few weeks back and made a note of it. I'll contemplate it in the future after I finish my current wip.

So check out the news - just don't buy what the broadcasters are selling hook, line and sinker as the pure truth. Look for your own nuggets.