So … here’s a glimpse into the mind of a writer…

While driving home yesterday afternoon I spotted a guy lean out of his car window and hand an almost brand new pair of shoes to another guy who was begging at the traffic light. To a normal person this would have seemed like a perfectly normal and generous thing to do. The guy was probably just being nice.

There’s nothing wrong with being nice, right?

But then my writer’s brain kicked in and all hell broke lose in my mind. I mean, there was nothing wrong with those shoes. Why would you give away a perfectly good pair of shoes? Okay, maybe the shoes were too small for him. Or he’s becoming a Buddhist monk and is giving away his possessions to those less fortunate and taking a vow of poverty.

Seriously? Who gives away a perfectly good pair of shoes?

So …. This got me wondering what if the guy had just committed a crime…

What if those shoes were covered in evidence?

What if he’d just committed a murder and he hadn’t been able to get all the blood off and the shoes were not only covered in blood but gunshot residue as well?

What if he was getting rid of all the evidence that could link him to the crime by handing it to random beggars along some circuitous route from the crime scene?

Maybe he could be tied to the victim and if the cops showed up at his place they’d be looking for those shoes, but if he didn’t have them they couldn’t tie him to the crime. Think about it. The cops probably wouldn’t find the guy he’d given them to if he was a reasonable way away from the crime and not on his usual route to wherever.

As I drove behind the guy I couldn’t help but wonder about this fictional crime he’d committed. Had he maybe just killed his girlfriend in a jealous rage or had it been a burglary gone wrong? The possibilities were endless and rather delicious to contemplate and they certainly made being stuck in traffic a whole lot more interesting.

You see it’s these weird random everyday events that can spark a writers overactive imagination. Something that could be a perfectly ordinary everyday thing can make a writer go hmmm… I wonder … Could I turn that into a story?

What everyday thing have you witnessed that had you going hmmm…

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