Facts stranger than fiction equals good story fodder

Are you writing a novel and looking to add some depth to your characters? Maybe they have a weak backstory and you want to spice it up?

Have no fear as there are plenty of ideas that are printed every day to help you out. No, it's not some mailing list or blog. These ideas are found in the newspaper.

Now you may be thinking are those things stil around and I assure you they are! Some even still deliver to your house. All kidding aside, the newspaper offers a plethora of interesting stories. Older newspapers are quite interesting to read when the printed word was much more descriptive.

Here's an example from a newspaper article from 1930:

It’s clear that there is much more going on here or maybe killing a dog escalates to murder. We’ve all seen John Wick, right? As a writer, you can use some detail of this to add depth to your characters. Maybe they are also out for revenge for a wronged committed against them.

You can find all sorts of interesting details in the newspaper. You don’t have to subscribe to anything either. The Library of Congress has a huge collection of old newspapers that you can search and read online for free.

There is also the resource of your local library to find current and archived newspapers. And who knows what article might ignite your writing muse.

Roll a Story - Science Fiction

Year in Review 2022

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