Debbie 1985.

[shakna]

Tell a story about Debbie, and her life. Maybe she gets a second chance?

 

[Rob_Royale]

Wives who are unfulfilled or generally disappointed in their lives/spouse/situation are pretty common in certain categories. My current WIP features Stacy, who had just such a life, sacrificing her dreams to support her husband as he built a business that ultimately led them to wealth and prosperity. Only for him to cheat on her with an employee. Now she is divorced, well off, and embarking on a series of incredible sexual adventures.

 

[gunhilltrain]

My favorite "Bowling for Soup" song.

Debbie just hit the wall, she never had it all
One Prozac a day, husband's a CPA
Her dreams went out the door when she turned twenty-four
Only been with one man, what happened to her plan?

She was gonna be an actress, she was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ass on the hood of Whitesnake's car
Her yellow SUV is now the enemy
Looks at her average life and nothin' has been alright.

There is a male version of that situation too. Maybe it's that guy she's married to.

 

[CuttingEdge]

I think any gender can relate to this who has any sort of age on them. Life does not turn out as you think it would. Sadly, with any sort of relationship issue, sex is the first thing that suffers.

There should always be change in a story from start to finish, so while it might be a bored housewife of a CPA becoming the center girl of a huge orgy, it also might mean she finally finds acceptance of her life through a different version of a story.

But that is the wonder of writing. All of us are just rearranging 26 letters to form words, that form much different stories.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I think any gender can relate to this who has any sort of age on them. Life does not turn out as you think it would. Sadly, with any sort of relationship issue, sex is the first thing that suffers.

There should always be change in a story from start to finish, so while it might be a bored housewife of a CPA becoming the center girl of a huge orgy, it also might mean she finally finds acceptance of her life through a different version of a story.

But that is the wonder of writing. All of us are just rearranging 26 letters to form words, that form much different stories.

People in Story Ideas seem obsessed with orgies and other extreme events. How is that going to help her find acceptance? She even says what she had wanted: to be in show business, either acting or as a musician (probably a singer, since there is no evidence she can play an instrument), or maybe both.

I had a plot I never wrote that is somewhat analogous to this woman, except she doesn't have any kids and is not as well-off. She is tending bar for a while to make ends meet, and there she meets a somewhat raggedy cover band who is also trying make ends meet. She works out a deal with them to help manage them, pick songs for them to play beyond the usual standards, and fills in as a lead singer. (She can sing moderately well, good enough for this band.) Eventually, she can make at least a part-time living off of this, and she gets to do something she had wanted to do - even if she never becomes a megastar.

 

[gunhilltrain]

That plot goes back long before my Lit days, and it was an attempt to write a screenplay. Actually, I assumed because of the length it would be a mini-series perhaps. There are other plot points that I didn't mention here. I doubt I'll ever try a prose version of it because I never could think of a suitable ending.