Story inspiration brought to life

[BobbyBrandt]

My first story prominently featured a red, 1965 Chevrolet Covair Monza convertible. It also played a minor role in some of my subsequent stories.

The inspiration for the car was one similar to it that I had in high school, and I have always wished that I had held onto it.
Now, I have the opportunity to buy one identical to the one in my first book. I have a mechanic inspecting it, and if it checks out, we'll buy it.

Have you ever found inspiration for a story and then brought it into your real life?

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Yep. Butt plugs.

 

[gunhilltrain]

View attachment 2211911
My first story prominently featured a red, 1965 Chevrolet Covair Monza convertible. It also played a minor role in some of my subsequent stories.

The inspiration for the car was one similar to it that I had in high school, and I have always wished that I had held onto it.
Now, I have the opportunity to buy one identical to the one in my first book. I have a mechanic inspecting it, and if it checks out, we'll buy it.

Have you ever found inspiration for a story and then brought it into your real life?

Wow, my ride in high school (and college) looked like this:

https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/hell-on-wheels-new-york-underground-photography-80s-62-5912c1d688ee3__880.jpg
That was one of the routes I rode, in fact. And I have used it in stories here.

 

[SamScribble]

View attachment 2211911
My first story prominently featured a red, 1965 Chevrolet Covair Monza convertible. It also played a minor role in some of my subsequent stories.

The inspiration for the car was one similar to it that I had in high school, and I have always wished that I had held onto it.
Now, I have the opportunity to buy one identical to the one in my first book. I have a mechanic inspecting it, and if it checks out, we'll buy it.

Have you ever found inspiration for a story and then brought it into your real life?

Putting aside for the moment they fact that I’m not sure where I would keep them, and the fact that it has now been more than ten years since I have been permitted to drive, there are three cars that I wish I had hung on to.

The first was a 1964 1275 Mini Cooper S. It was the size of a matchbox and had a brilliant exhaust note.

The second was a bright red Nissan 300Z Twin Turbo. A serious cruising machine and responsible for my only speeding ticket in 50 years of driving.

The third was a BMW M3 convertible – or ‘cabriolet’ as BMW called it.

I don’t think that I have ever used any of them in a story. Perhaps I should.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The first was a 1964 1275 Mini Cooper S. It was the size of a matchbox and had a brilliant exhaust note.

The second was a bright red Nissan 300Z Twin Turbo. A serious cruising machine and responsible for my only speeding ticket in 50 years of driving.

The third was a BMW M3 convertible – or ‘cabriolet’ as BMW called it.

I don’t think that I have ever used any of them in a story. Perhaps I should.

EB looked at Sam's list of cars. "Never thought of you as a rev-head, Sam. I'm impressed."

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Putting aside for the moment they fact that I’m not sure where I would keep them, and the fact that it has now been more than ten years since I have been permitted to drive, there are three cars that I wish I had hung on to.

The first was a 1964 1275 Mini Cooper S. It was the size of a matchbox and had a brilliant exhaust note.

The second was a bright red Nissan 300Z Twin Turbo. A serious cruising machine and responsible for my only speeding ticket in 50 years of driving.

The third was a BMW M3 convertible – or ‘cabriolet’ as BMW called it.

I don’t think that I have ever used any of them in a story. Perhaps I should.

I've had some pretty spectacular cars through the years, but nothing was as much fun to tool around in as that Corvair.

Of course, fun for a high school kid and fun for an old retired guy will likely be complete different. Will I be able to adapt to the lack of a cup holder?

 

[Euphony]

Yep. Butt plugs.

Yes but were they like the butt plugs you drove in high school?

It this a life long dream plug is what we're asking.

 

[NotWise]

View attachment 2211911
My first story prominently featured a red, 1965 Chevrolet Covair Monza convertible. It also played a minor role in some of my subsequent stories.

The inspiration for the car was one similar to it that I had in high school, and I have always wished that I had held onto it.
Now, I have the opportunity to buy one identical to the one in my first book. I have a mechanic inspecting it, and if it checks out, we'll buy it.

Have you ever found inspiration for a story and then brought it into your real life?

I drove one of those once. It was fun.

A friend of mine had one in college (not the Monza) and he wrote about it. He wrote about all the ways he thought the car was trying to kill him, like exhaust coming through the heater. He didn't even talk about the problems Ralph Nader pointed out in "Unsafe at Any Speed." That publicity ultimately killed the Corvair, even though the fundamental problem was fixed in the 1965 model.

 

[Comshaw]

View attachment 2211911
My first story prominently featured a red, 1965 Chevrolet Covair Monza convertible. It also played a minor role in some of my subsequent stories.

The inspiration for the car was one similar to it that I had in high school, and I have always wished that I had held onto it.
Now, I have the opportunity to buy one identical to the one in my first book. I have a mechanic inspecting it, and if it checks out, we'll buy it.

Have you ever found inspiration for a story and then brought it into your real life?

I had a '65 Corvair 140 hp turbo-air model. It was a hardtop though. With a couple of hundred pound of lead up front in the truck, it cornered better than almost any car I ever owned. I say almost because I had a 1963 TR4 Triumph which was the best cornering car I ever owned. That one I still have in a disassembled state, waiting a complete rebuild. The first car I ever owned was like exactly like this one oxidized black paint, rust and all:



A 1948 Oldsmobile two-door sedan with a straight 8 engine. I wish I still had that one. It rode like an armchair on wheels, quiet, cushy and comfortable.


Comshaw

 

[gunhilltrain]

This thread obviously reflects that transit market share in the United States is less than two percent. Have any of you people ever been on a bus, train, or streetcar even once? Yes, I have owned a number of cars myself, both used and new.

 

[NotWise]

This thread obviously reflects that transit market share in the United States is less than two percent. Have any of you people ever been on a bus, train, or streetcar even once? Yes, I have owned a number of cars myself, both used and new.

Busses and trains, yes, and in several cities. I've never been on a streetcar. Locally, the streetcar line disappeared in the 1920's. The trolleys rode on wooden rails and were pulled by mules. Modern mock-ups (with a gas engine in place of the mules) are used for guided tours, but I've never been on one.

I pass by a restored trolley fairly requently. It sits at a bed-and-breakfast that was a brothel back when the streetcars still ran, Prostitution was outlawed about the same time the trolleys shut down.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Busses and trains, yes, and in several cities. I've never been on a streetcar. Locally, the streetcar line disappeared in the 1920's. The trolleys rode on wooden rails and were pulled by mules. Modern mock-ups (with a gas engine in place of the mules) are used for guided tours, but I've never been on one.

I pass by a restored trolley fairly requently. It sits at a bed-and-breakfast that was a brothel back when the streetcars still ran, Prostitution was outlawed about the same time the trolleys shut down.

I was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek, although that 2% figure is accurate. I had some culture shock with the first post because in my high school there were 4,000 students, with 800 in the senior class, and I'd be hard put to remember if a single person owned their own car. (Some people would borrow their parent's cars, as I did.) Even "culture shock" is tongue-in-cheek, because even back then I knew I was living in an untypical place.

You don't have to tell us if you don't feel comfortable with it, but I can't figure out yet what place in the United States had mule-cars and then that's it. (Baghdad in Iraq did!) There are actually lists of such things for those geeky enough to care.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_streetcar_systems_in_the_United_States

I found out about Baghdad because Wikipedia, in its obsessiveness, tried to do the whole world and they probably came pretty close.

Maybe you were being being tongue-in-cheek too, although I'm sure it's true, but what did prostitution have to do with it? A mere coincidence?

 

[NotWise]

You don't have to tell us if you don't feel comfortable with it, but I can't figure out yet what place in the United States had mule-cars and then that's it. (Baghdad in Iraq did!) There are actually lists of such things for those geeky enough to care.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_streetcar_systems_in_the_United_States

I found out about Baghdad because Wikipedia, in its obsessiveness, tried to do the whole world and they probably came pretty close.

Maybe you were being being tongue-in-cheek too, although I'm sure it's true, but what did prostitution have to do with it? A mere coincidence?

I've never made much of a secret of being in Albuquerque.

According to the Wikipedia list, the transit system here converted from mule to electric in the early 1900's then closed in 1927. That seems to be a very typical pattern, but not something I recall reading about. They still find pieces of the track every now and then.

There wasn't a direct link I'm aware of between the transit system and prostitution. Historically, they're linked because the transit system closed down and prostitution was outlawed at about the same time, and the trolley is displayed at a former brothel.

Both changes were part of a move by a long-time Mayor to modernize and promote the city. He also planted Siberian elms all over the city to make it more appealing to people coming from the midwest.

Anyway, back to the topic... My first car was a 1963 Galaxy 500 XL land yacht. It had a V-8, an automatic on the floor, a center console that made a great beer cooler, and bucket seats all around, and it sat so close to the ground that it was nearly impossible to get under.

It was a great road car, and that's how I used it. I'd never want it back. I think the value in cars like that is strictly from nostalgia. The car itself was not especially well-made and had weird, ongoing maintenance problems. I got rid of it after one of the hydraulic brake lines ruptured and I smashed it into my sister's 1967 Mustang (bright red, chrome wheels). I eventually replaced it with a 1962 Econoline van.

Edit: "Big Baby Blue," is a character in my current work in progress. She's a blue, 1957 Eldorado convertible.

 

[Lifestyle66]

View attachment 2211911
My first story prominently featured a red, 1965 Chevrolet Covair Monza convertible. It also played a minor role in some of my subsequent stories.

The inspiration for the car was one similar to it that I had in high school, and I have always wished that I had held onto it.
Now, I have the opportunity to buy one identical to the one in my first book. I have a mechanic inspecting it, and if it checks out, we'll buy it.

Have you ever found inspiration for a story and then brought it into your real life?

I had an old '63 Corvair convertible (light blue) as my first car.

When I wrote my main character, I placed him in a timeline much later. I couldn't have him using a Corvair as his first car. So, I gave him a '70 Mustang convertible, since Corvairs were no longer being built by 1970. In my series, I eventually have him completely restoring his first Mustang as an antique ("Trusted Employees - On The Job"), something I wish I could have done with my Corvair.

I realize some of the sex antics in a Mustang wouldn't be as easy as they were in my Corvair. But I chalk that up to artistic license.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I've never made much of a secret of being in Albuquerque.

According to the Wikipedia list, the transit system here converted from mule to electric in the early 1900's then closed in 1927. That seems to be a very typical pattern, but not something I recall reading about. They still find pieces of the track every now and then.

There wasn't a direct link I'm aware of between the transit system and prostitution. Historically, they're linked because the transit system closed down and prostitution was outlawed at about the same time, and the trolley is displayed at a former brothel.

Both changes were part of a move by a long-time Mayor to modernize and promote the city. He also planted Siberian elms all over the city to make it more appealing to people coming from the midwest.

Anyway, back to the topic... My first car was a 1963 Galaxy 500 XL land yacht. It had a V-8, an automatic on the floor, a center console that made a great beer cooler, and bucket seats all around, and it sat so close to the ground that it was nearly impossible to get under.

It was a great road car, and that's how I used it. I'd never want it back. I think the value in cars like that is strictly from nostalgia. The car itself was not especially well-made and had weird, ongoing maintenance problems. I got rid of it after one of the hydraulic brake lines ruptured and I smashed it into my sister's 1967 Mustang (bright red, chrome wheels). I eventually replaced it with a 1962 Econoline van.

Edit: "Big Baby Blue," is a character in my current work in progress. She's a blue, 1957 Eldorado convertible.

Okay, I didn't catch that you said it was electric later. The usual pattern in the U.S. was to convert to buses in the smaller cities and the Sunbelt first (which were indeed smaller cities then) and then work up to the bigger cities and the Northeast by the 1960's. I don't think Albuquerque ever had serious plans, but Phoenix now has "light rail" and Tempe has a streetcar, all on the government's dime. I'm not sure it's worth doing that in such places, but it was.

When I was a teenager, I thought I had to have a convertible or nothing else would do. My actual first car was a brand-new 1983 Toyota Tercel (I was 27 by then). It was seriously under powered and the suspension couldn't stand up to the horrible New York pavement of the time. (Nothing - buses, Checker cabs - could stand up to it.) I still think the 1965 to about 1970 Mustang convertibles were the best-looking cars. I gave one of my female characters a green Mustang convertible in fact.

My second car was a new 1986 Volkswagen Golf, and I had it for about three months when some 70-year-old guy in a Camaro smashed into the rear of it on Route 22 in New Jersey. (Route 22 is a candidate for one of the worst roads in America.) When I finally traded it in, it was still visibly bent and the salesman said, "This car has obviously been in an accident."

I never knew prostitution was ever legal anywhere outside of Nevada. That's the great thing about Lit: I'm always learning something new.

 

[NotWise]

I never knew prostitution was ever legal anywhere outside of Nevada. That's the great thing about Lit: I'm always learning something new.

Prostitution is effectively legal in the city now, though the law against it is still on the books. A few years ago the police formally adopted a policy of not interfering with prostitutes unless it was for their protection. If the business spreads outside neighborhoods where it's traditionally present, then the police may take action against the johns, because they're usually the ones who cause problems.

That's part of my story for Chloe's Mickey Spillane event. Maybe that's another case of story inspiration coming to life.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Prostitution is effectively legal in the city now, though the law against it is still on the books. A few years ago the police formally adopted a policy of not interfering with prostitutes unless it was for their protection. If the business spreads outside neighborhoods where it's traditionally present, then the police may take action against the johns, because they're usually the ones who cause problems.

That's part of my story for Chloe's Mickey Spillane event. Maybe that's another case of story inspiration coming to life.

This is mostly anecdotal, but my impression is that a great deal of prostitution is now conducted through online contacts. At least, they used to be visible all over the streets, even in daytime, but I haven't seen any of that in at least ten years or more. The police still do prostitution busts, like they did at a house in Yonkers a few years ago, but I have no idea of how important that is in their usual duties.

See: https://classic.literotica.com/s/new-york-taxi-driving-tales-ch-02 (non-fiction).

I have fiction about prostitution that might fit into the Crime and Punishment event, but they were published a long time ago and I have no new ideas at the moment.

 

[NotWise]

This is mostly anecdotal, but my impression is that a great deal of prostitution is now conducted through online contacts. At least, they used to be visible all over the streets, even in daytime, but I haven't seen any of that in at least ten years or more. The police still do prostitution busts, like they did at a house in Yonkers a few years ago, but I have no idea of how important that is in their usual duties.

See: https://classic.literotica.com/s/new-york-taxi-driving-tales-ch-02 (non-fiction).

I have fiction about prostitution that might fit into the Crime and Punishment event, but they were published a long time ago and I have no new ideas at the moment.

That's my understanding as well, and (except for a few important exceptions) it's how it works in my story. The exceptions are new at it and/or itinerant. They work bars, and they're disappearing.

 

[gunhilltrain]

View attachment 2211911
My first story prominently featured a red, 1965 Chevrolet Covair Monza convertible. It also played a minor role in some of my subsequent stories.

The inspiration for the car was one similar to it that I had in high school, and I have always wished that I had held onto it.
Now, I have the opportunity to buy one identical to the one in my first book. I have a mechanic inspecting it, and if it checks out, we'll buy it.

Have you ever found inspiration for a story and then brought it into your real life?

I think by that point they had fixed whatever Ralph Nader was talking about. (I still can't say for sure how accurate he was.) One of the few rear-engine cars ever done in America. GM's later small-car efforts (the Vega, Chevette, etc.) were pretty bad or unimpressive. The Nova, in its various incarnations, was pretty reliable from what I've heard.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I think by that point they had fixed whatever Ralph Nader was talking about. (I still can't say for sure how accurate he was.) One of the few rear-engine cars ever done in America. GM's later small-car efforts (the Vega, Chevette, etc.) were pretty bad or unimpressive. The Nova, in its various incarnations, was pretty reliable from what I've heard.

Ralph Nader's claims were thoroughly debunked by 1970, and he even admitted that he picked on the Corvair to make a point about shoddy consumer safety concerns at GM more than any proven problems with the car itself. He would have had a field day with the Ford Pinto if he ever wanted to.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Ralph Nader's claims were thoroughly debunked by 1970, and he even admitted that he picked on the Corvair to make a point about shoddy consumer safety concerns at GM more than any proven problems with the car itself. He would have had a field day with the Ford Pinto if he ever wanted to.

I thought the Pinto was the model he exposed? That's the one that made it into the Oz press, anyway. Not that either model was sold or manufactured here.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Ralph Nader's claims were thoroughly debunked by 1970, and he even admitted that he picked on the Corvair to make a point about shoddy consumer safety concerns at GM more than any proven problems with the car itself. He would have had a field day with the Ford Pinto if he ever wanted to.

A relevant legal case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimshaw_v._Ford_Motor_Co. (I can't get the link to work right. Just hit the correct name of the case on the page.)

Yet there is a debunker too, just as Nader had them. (All 56 pages are not necessary for the average person to read.)

http://www.pointoflaw.com/articles/The_Myth_of_the_Ford_Pinto_Case.pdf A summary of it is in here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto

Take your pick.