by Ruth Harris
The clip file.
Remember those?
Gone are the days of messy, torn-out newspaper and magazine articles jammed into over-flowing, disorganized files. Those ancient artifacts have been replaced now by their neat and spiffy digital counterparts. Writers are readers and what we read is (or should be) a rich mine of ideas. Here in our daily reading of magazines and newspapers is where we find the whack jobs, heroes, heroines, and leaders (influencers) good and bad.
Whether it’s an article with details about how to knit a cozy winter scarf or change the oil on a passenger jet, news items or magazine articles that grab your attention are a valuable resource.
- Write crime? Here you can find the deets about heists and hold-ups.
- Write mystery? Mix and match the perp from story A with the cop from story B
- Romance? Engagement announcements and wedding coverage give all the yummy details. (It’s up to you to add the adorable meet-cute, the make-ups, break-ups and sigh-inducing romantic reconciliations as your plot requires.)
Mean Girls and Happy Hookers.
Whether you’re writing about cops or perps, Mean Girls or do-gooders, happy housewives or happy hookers, scholars or secretaries, a well-maintained clip file can (and should) contain lurid headlines about misbehaving celebs, adoring features about the latest heart throb sex symbol, and/or serious think pieces about the classical acting style and up-from-the-mean-streets background of a dark-horse Oscar-contender.
- Are we talking park bench or Park Avenue?
- Or juicy gossip overheard in the ladies’ room?
A clip file is also the perfect place for those interesting odds and ends that might not really fit in anywhere (at least right now), or perhaps serve to fill out a newspaper page or pad a magazine article.
- They are those off-beat, can-you-believe-this?items emblazoned in the tabloids.
- The holy cow! items lurking in the dusty corners of the internet.
- They might also be your own scribbled notes detailing office rumors, random tidbits overheard on the bus, commuter train, or subway, in the ladies’ room, men’s room, or at a party.
- We’re talking about a whole range of human behaviors from mundane everyday details (hair spray or hair piece?) to breath-taking show stoppers.
Bottom line, we mean anything that grabs your attention for almost any reason.
It can range from observing the attendant refilling the soap dispensers in a rest room at a sports stadium while obliviously blabbing away on his/her cell phone as the home team comes from behind to win The Big One in a thrilling, last-minute finish.
There’s also the stuff that stops you in your tracks like the gas station attendant (remember those?) refilling your tank with a lighted cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. Saw it years ago and can’t get the image out of my mind.
Whatever causes you to exclaim holy cow!
No matter what the subject, no matter whether you encounter it on TV, in the tabs or at lunch or a party, we’re talking about whatever you find intriguing/ridiculous/memorable/outrageous no matter how, when or where you stumble across it.
Newspaper Articles, Magazine Features, and Celeb Profiles.
Apart from your own scribbled notes as you go about your day, a well-maintained clip file will also contain newspaper articles, magazine features, and celeb profiles.
High quality clips will keep your scenes and characters fresh and original, anchor your settings with specific, credible details, add authentic dialogue, and contribute high quality descriptions of characters and settings.
In addition, good clip file maintenance will save you research time, spark new ideas, and serve to keep your scenes, settings, and characters fresh and original.
When you read or skim newspapers and magazines, be on the lookout for:
- The vivid and creative use of verbs on the sports pages.
- Descriptions of the arcane details of high-end tailoring on the fashion pages.
- Gardening tips and home-décor tidbits add the just-right details to help your reader visualize the settings against which the action takes place.
- High finance jargon on the business pages makes your tycoon, corporate con man, or on-the-make striver sound and feel realistic.
Men’s Magazines and the Women’s Pages.
Features offering tips about how to be well-dressed and well-groomed in men’s magazines will add details to descriptions of your hero’s looks and wardrobe, as well as indicate his status and income level.
- Is he to-the-manor-born?
- Or is he a slick and sleazy Tom Ridley making his way up in society and status?
Mix and match the crook from Story A and the cop from Story B and you have framework for a plot.
Insider beauty tips from highly-paid celebrity makeup artists on the women’s pages are a good source of ideas for describing your heroine.
- Is she a natural beauty? Or does her skillful use of lotions and potions merely create the illusion?
- Is she a beauty or a beast?
- Or a little of both?
- Is she high maintenance? If so, tell us the details.
Diet tips and exercise routines.
- Low cal?
- Or just low life?
- Hair styles and hair-breath escapes from the Bad Guys.
- Is she a tomboy in pigtails who’d never be caught dead in a beauty salon? Until she is.
- Or is she a High Maintenance PITA who never passes a mirror or shop window without taking an admiring peak?
Until she does.
And thereby causes the down-at-the-heels-but-sexy PI who’s been assigned to follow her to lose her — and his high-paying client. Just as the rent for his crummy office is due and his thuggish landlord is making ominous threats.
And right there are a few ideas to kick off a mystery.
Or maybe a romance.
Or both?
***
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Women’s fiction meets cozy mystery in the Big Apple.
WHEN BILLIONAIRES BREAK BAD.
When the oh-so-dead body of a celebrity Mad Man washes up on East Hampton’s Billionaires’ Beach, PR whiz Blake Weston and her handsome, sexy, ex-cop husband must spend the summer in the fancy-pants resort to find out what — or who — killed Jay Caruso.
Was it his wife?
Which one?
From East Hampton With Love, available on Amazon
***
And don’t forget that Anne will be appearing next week with TV actress Mara Purl and friends at VoP bookstore in Los Osos, CA
Yes, although I write in a different genre than you, I still have a clip file and place newspaper articles in it. In fact, I am often surprised when I come across a newspaper or magazine article from 20 or so years ago that I had forgotten about.
Nowadays, I also keep a lot of different articles and quotes in Notepad files, PDFs, webpage files, etc.
As an aside, you mention “happy hookers”.
This reminds me of a joke by one of my favorite comedians:
“Now that I am a little older, when I go out, I hire two hookers.
That way, if I fall asleep — they have someone to talk to.”
— Rodney Dangerfield
Ernie–Rodney Dangerfield! The world needs another Rodney Dangerfield these days. He helped us laugh at ourselves.
Did he mention whether or not he gets a discount? A two for one special?
Great ideas, Ruth, but how do you keep your clip files organized? I could see this burgeoning into a disorganized mess where nothing is easy to find.
Kathy–I don’t know if Ruth will have time to respond to comments today, so I’ll jump in. I know she uses Notepad, which makes saving clips easier. Personally, I save things in files labeled “blog ideas,” “short story ideas” and “Camilla ideas.” But I still have my jumble of actual clippings in a 3-ring notebook from the 1990s, not organized very well. But just perusing it usually gives me an idea or two.
I don’t take time to organize. I rely on free association which actually works very well. I also regularly cull so the files don’t get unwieldy + gives me chance to review to refresh my memory.
I hope that your post prompts more authors to start a clippings file, as it is such a smart way to save story elements and ideas, not to mention contacts in media. Here’s another use–descriptions! I keep pages from shelter magazines that describe rooms, exteriors and decor with clever turns of phrase. Drawing inspiration from different places keeps fiction prose fresh.
Carmen–I do that too! In these days of Zillow and other real estate sites, we can actually see photos of interiors of homes all over the world. I sometimes “shop” for houses and apartments for my characters and keep the photos in my file for that WIP.
Ruth, superb tips. Using the perfect specific details you describe make a meh character leap off the page. Or cause a chase scene to cause white knuckles for the reader. Or transform what could be sappy sentiment into tender poignancy.
Eavesdropping on conversations at the adjoining cafe table, or the row behind you on the plane, or speakerphone chats from restroom cubicles…the list goes on forever if you keep eyes and ears open.
Would love to hear your answer to Kathy’s question about how to organize these snippets? Any brilliant ideas?
Debbie–Eavesdropping can be a fun way to get ideas, can’t it? I often jot down snippets in a notebook I carry with me. As I said to Kathy, I’m not sure Ruth will be available to respond to comments today because of family obligations, but I know she likes to save things to Notepad. I have different files for different projects. I’ll have one for my WIP, and others for blogposts and short stories.
Debbie— I don’t organize them. I just have one file and use “search” to turn up what I’m looking for. Quick, easy & efficient.
Yikes,
I am apparently in the minority here. Though I know lots of fabulous authors who maintain clip files (both digital & analog), I don’t. All these odd bits just float around in my beleaguered brain & pop out occasionally in stories. I suppose it’s another case of vive le difference!
CS–Having a good memory probably helps. 🙂 I guess I have some hoarder instincts. I feel the need to collect clippings and stories somewhere other than my aging brain.
CS—so true! After all, you have to remember you saved the d*mn thing in the first place?
Sometimes the news is too crazy to be believed!
Images can work just as well, from scenery to an old building to a weird technical gadget.
Alex— yes! Images are crucial!
Carmen—ditto! Also gardening, fashion & travel magazines are goldmines of info & inspiration.
Hmm. I might try this …
Anne, I hope you have fun with Mara and friends! She’s just done a few terrific posts at Writers in the Storm (the last was Women’s Fiction vs Men’s Fiction), and they’ve been fascinating. Say hi from meeeee, please. 🙂
Jenny–Will do! Mara is a dream to work with. I loved her post on women’s vs. men’s fiction. We had an in-depth discussion about the subject the last time she was in town for one of our dramatic readings. I think she’s absolutely right about it.
I have a clip file but still rely on hundreds of post-its and other items in file boxesl
Traci–I have post-its all over the edges of my monitor! I decided yesterday that I had to organize them. 🙂