Three story ideas from my notebook
1. Two men , moved to Brighton from Brazil (??) because they were persecuted for being gay
To research ... Attitude to homosexuality in South America
South America pretty open to homosexuality generally, so moved characters to Tunisia - only 2% of people surveyed n 2013 think it should be accepted by society. Same sex activity illegal, up to 3 years in prison. No legal recognition or social support. Minister for Human Rights said in 2012 homosexuality was "perversion" and should be "treated medically". Gays often subject to harassment, followed and assaulted. People claim to be tolerant but aren't. Associated with paedophile a, sex addiction, sin. Difficult to be openly gay.
So story ..... 2 Tunisian men, gay, want to be openly together, one was married, the other was threatened with some sort of medical treatment (RESEARCH). Fled the country and settled in Brighton, but someone followed them.
What if ... The person who followed them was one of them' lover? Wife? A contract killer?
What if ... They were still being persecuted in Brighton - but for being foreign, rather than gay?
What if ... One of them was ashamed of being gay and was secretly having some "medical treatment"?
2. A story set in the world of boudoir photography ... Linked with Shakespeare quote "Reasons are as plentiful as blackberries"
To research - origins and meaning of phrase, reasons why people go to boudoir photographer
Henry IV: If reasons we're as plentiful as blackberries,I would give no man a reason upon compulsion.
Reasons to do boudoir photography shoot:
Surprise gift for partner
Wedding gift
Confidence boost
Strut your sexy stuff
Have fun
Capture beauty forever
Spice up sex life
Pre baby pics
Celebrate womanhood
Self awakening
To dress up
Act out a fantasy - Business sexy, school girl sexy, country girl sexy, sporty/sexy, girl-next-door, dominatrix, just washin' the clothes and doin' the laundry sexy, 4-wheel drivin' sexy, etc…
Dudeoir (men's boudoir)
Couples boudoir? RESEARCH
With a group of girlfriends
Hen weekend
Self love
Self esteem
At home session - to show off new home, first home, special place
Celebrate singledom
Celebrate divorce
Celebrate weight loss
After leaving military (or another strait laced job)
To feel empowered
Heal from domestic violence
Celebrate transitional period eg kids leaving home, engagement
Find yourself
Do something different
Feel sexy
Body builder
Get photos to use in adult dating/escort business??
Novel based around the lives of the women who have sessions .... Needs to be some sort of link. Something to do with the photographer?
What if ... The photographer is male?
What if ... The photographer is selling the photos to porn sites?
What if ... One of the customers is an undercover cop?
What if ... a serial killer starts taking out the women?
What if ... The women are connected in some way?
What if ... The women are all friends, but they all keep their photoshoot a secret from each other ....?
What if ... The photographer is acting out their own fantasy of being a photographer?
What if ... All the women die in mysterious circumstances?
3. Stalker relationship .... Woman meets man at coffee shop, childhood sweethearts? One time work colleagues? Love of her ire anyway. They Go to museum, restaurant, gig ... Finally bump into each other, he doesn't recognise her, all been in her imagination
To research... Language, needs to be loving yet slightly unhinged.
Pathological obsession. Delusional.
"I think about him all the time, day and night—who he’s with, what he’s doing. I hate it, but when he tells me how much he needs me, I can’t resist"
Obsessional Love Disorder
Wanting to possess the other person (or be possessed)
Jealousy, insecurity, resentment
Low self esteem
History of childhood abandonment
All-consuming
Keeping tabs on them - social media
Drive bys - driving past their home or work
"Key to happiness"
Tunnel vision - can't focus on anything else
Health problems eg asthma, diabetes, obesity, depression, self harm
Inability to accept rejection
Unrealistic fantasies
Romantic love
"Hooked in the look" - obsessed with physical appearance rather than personality
"Being happy and in love is all that matters"
"Soul mates"
What if ... The situation was reversed .... Man stalks woman?
What if ... The man is married?
What if ... The woman is married?
What if ... The man reports to woman for stalking?
What if ... The man falls in love?
What if ... The man doesn't exist at all?
Faye had always been a loner. As a teenager she was bullied mercilessly by all but one of the girls in her class, and she longed to be loved by her father, but he was too busy working to spend any time with her. Faye had survived by focusing on her studies, which, of course, only increased the teasing as she was then seen as a geek as well as a weirdo. She left school armed with a bunch of good GCSEs and landed a secretarial job at a local solicitors practice. The job suited her well enough; her boss told her what needed doing each day and then left her to get on with it. She dressed smartly for work, and the blouses and jackets did a good job of hiding the livid scars that laddered her arms. Sometimes she wished she could stop the cutting, but seeing the blood roll down her arm was about the only thing that proved to her she actually existed. Apart from her boss she could go for weeks without speaking to another soul. Her parents were dead now, her one friend from school had long ago stopped phoning, and even the cashiers in the supermarket seemed to look right through her.
But then there was Paul. The light of her life. The bright spot of her day. Her soul mate. She'd met Paul on her very first day at work, when he delivered some papers to the office. He'd arrived in full bike leathers and when he took off his motorbike helmet and she saw his clear blue eyes, she thought she'd died and gone to heaven. From that moment on she knew she was in love and she was sure he felt the same. He lived with his brother in a flat in the centre of town, but it was only a matter of time before he asked her to marry him. And then they'd I've together, happy ever after, and everything would be amazing.